The Swedish People’s Awareness of The Public Sector Information Directive – a Pilot Study

This article is based on a pilot study that investigated the Swedish people’s awareness of the Swedish Public Sector Information (PSI) directive, their understanding of the difference between the PSI-directive and the Public Access Act and whether they had the prerequisite skills required for the use of the Public Sector Information (PSI). Sweden has a long tradition of readily access to official documents which could have delayed the implementation of the European PSI-directive that was enacted in 2003. Sweden implemented its Public-Sector Information (PSI) directive in 2010. The Directive focuses on the commercialization of government information to create an information market and to promote innovation. In Sweden, the PSI directive is intrinsically linked to the e-Government development policy. The study applied a literature review and interviews as data collecting techniques. Sixteen interviews were conducted with varying occupations such as students, a personnel manager, a head of a unit, a doctoral student, a pensioner, a clinical research associate, a workers’ union employee, a web designer, two archivists, a head of an archival institution, an associate professor, a receptionist, and two shoemakers. The conclusion is that there is a need to create awareness about the PSI directive, offer training, and to create an IT infrastructure and projects to promote information about the PSI to avoid a societal a digital divide. The reviewed literature confirmed that PSI usage is still concentrated in the hands of a few citizens that is, those that are already digitally empowered. The study had limitations since it based on a limited number of respondents which means that the results cannot be generalized.

Noark-standarden sett i lys av åpen forvaltning og tilgang til offentlig informasjon

Dette er en norsk oversettelse av artikkelen The Norwegian Noark model requirements for EDRMS in the context of open government and access to governmental information.

Examining the use of core terms in a records appraisal context – two Swedish examples

Records appraisal in the digital environment becomes a multi-professional enterprise, undertaken in the line of business, in which non-archivists play a vital role, but appraisal practices are not adjusted to this electronic reality. One aspect of this problem is the use and understanding of terminology. This paper presents a study on the usage of records-related terms in steering documents that affect records appraisal in Sweden. It uses a structured model for the analysis of steering documents. Used data sources are authoritative term databases and terminology report and steering documents from the three levels of regulations, i.e. Legislation and Regulations, Policy decisions and Instructions and Retention decisions steering documents from the Swedish National Archives and Stockholm City Archives, both archival authorities within their jurisdictions. The steering documents represents levels of hierarchical impact and are the foundations upon which appraisal is done and effectuated. Analysis of term frequency show change in vocabulary at level of hierarchy as well as development in time. Analysis of focus, characteristics and common features in definitions of terms show a variety of possible interpretations of the included terms, a result that affects appraisal and underpins a need for common corporate understanding in areas with multi-professional influences. The paper concludes that legal terms have impact on term use at regulation level, which lessens at lower levels, where vocabulary broadens. Difference is found between the two archival institutions studied, especially at decision level. Analysis of focus, characteristics and common features in definitions of terms show a variety of possible interpretations of the included terms, a result that affects appraisal and underpins a need for common corporate understanding in areas with multi-professional influences. An action suggested to mitigate risk is to form Communities of Practice for the task of records appraisal. One part of the task for these communities should be to agree upon shared concepts on used terminology that support electronic records appraisal. This would be a step where everyone involved develop a solid ground for the setting of the scope of appraisal. The idea of introducing Communities of Practice for the records and archives appraisal task is wider than the subject of this article, and should be further developed.

The Norwegian Noark Model Requirements for EDRMS in the context of open government and access to governmental information

This article analyses the relationship between the Norwegian Noark Standard and the concepts of Open Government and Freedom of Information. Noark is the Norwegian model requirements for Electronic Documents and Records Management Systems (EDRMS). It was introduced in 1984, making it not only the world’s first model requirement for EDRMS, but also, through the introduction of versions from Noark 1 to the present Noark 5, internationally the model requirement with the longest continuation of implementation.

Students’ Trust Formation and Credibility Judgements in Online Health Information – A Review Article

Health information is a frequent subject for online information seeking. Research on the phenomenon has to a certain extent included students. This review, based on an analysis of 61 articles, shows the current state of the art of research on students’ trust in online health information. The review covers methodological approaches and findings of previous previous empirical studies: research design; trustworthy health information sources; credibility assessment; and factors impacting on trust formation. The analysis of research designs reveals that the survey method was most frequent, but small qualitative studies were also occurring. More than half of the studies were administered in the USA, while only a smaller part concerned ‘non-Western’ countries. Female subjects were more frequent than male.The concept of trust was not always explicitly defined in the studies. The students' actual propensity to use internet was generally taken as an expression of trust. The antecedents of trust identified in the studies can be summarized as the perceived quality of the information, the perceived credibility of the source or source provider, the users’ general inclination to trust, the actual use of information, and the perceived intelligibility of the information. The findings show that Internet was among the main sources for health information, but parents or other family members, friends, schools, health professionals were also frequent sources of health information, and students were not immediately accepting online information as trustworthy. The students’ trust and credibility judgments were influenced by social and demographic, cultural, psychological, knowledge and skills-related, and source, system and content-related factors. Governmental and organizational websites were reported as the most trustful sources, although some issues regarding website features and presentation of content were reported as barriers. Easy access were of importance for using a particular resource, but there seemed to be a learning effect impacting on seeking behaviour and trust formation.

Elektronisk dokumentasjonsforvaltning – i teori og praksis Den første moderne læreboken på feltet som foreligger på et nordisk språk

Tom Sahlen: Informationsforvaltning - i offentlig och privat sektor Dokument & Arkiv nr 6, Näringslivets Arkivråd, Stockholm 2016.ISSN: 1 404-7640ISBN: 978-91-973863-5-7

Bevaring, formidling, interaksjon. Refleksjoner rundt arkivet som levende hus

Arkivenes samfunnsmandat er uløselig knyttet til deres rolle som vår kollektive kunnskapsbank, den demokratiske informasjonsfrihet og som historiske og kulturelle identitetsmarkører. Likevel må det kunne sies at arkivene fremdeles fremstår for mange som utilgjengelige og innesluttede institusjoner, i motsetning til sine "søsken", museene og bibliotekene. Ifølge Meld.St. 7 (2012-2013) er imidlertid målsettingen om at arkiv skal være tilgjengelig for flest mulig, uavhengig av forhåndskunnskap og tilpasningsbehov. Hvordan kan arkivinstitusjonene i større grad fremheve seg selv som levende, aktive samfunnsaktører? Hvordan står arkivformidling på brukernes premisser i konflikt med premisser vedrørende bevaring og proveniens? Denne artikkelen er basert på min eksamensoppgave i emnet Arkivformidling (Ark3200) ved Høgskolen i Oslo og Akershus, avholdt våren 2016.

Availability and findability of FOI and privacy statements on Finnish municipalities’ websites

FOI and privacy statements are statements in which an organization inform users about the accessibility of the digital and analog information in its custody and the privacy policy it has adopted. This study examined whether Finnish municipalities have posted FOI and privacy statements on their websites.At the first phase 309 municipal websites were examined to see whether the statements were located on the front page or if there were direct links to them at the front page. If the website did not have FOI or privacy statement or a link to statements at the front page, then it was studied whether the statements could be found easily in the municipal website by making a simple search. At the second phase 38 municipal websites were studied.The study resulted that FOI and privacy statements are non-existent on Finnish municipal websites. The study also revealed while there is sometimes an effort to provide information on municipal FOI and privacy practices, the information is scattered on the website and it is not easy to find. This is in accordance with the previous studies in other countries. Interestingly, long tradition of Finnish FOI legislation does not seem to make a difference when it comes to informing users about FOI and privacy policies.Future studies should examine how aware are the citizens about FOI and privacy rights; whether the citizens trust authorities in handling information; and what are the reasons why authorities ignore to inform the citizens about FOI and privacy practices.

An Information Management Framework for the Support of E-Government in Zimbabwe

It has come as a fact that the use of Information and Communication Technologies has come to stay in this world. It aids the implementation of the emerging and irresistible e-government concept that seems to be the in-thing the world over. Zimbabwe has also joined the world by ascertaining its commitment to e-government as witnessed by its promulgation of various e-government services. However, despite the government of Zimbabwe having committed itself to e-government, it is of concern to note that up to this day, the country is operating without a clear information management policy or strategy that will guide and direct all the information management practitioners in the country. This comes as a great weakness in this day and age when the government of Zimbabwe has declared its intentions to subscribe to the e-government concept both in principle and in practice. Although the country has managed to survive without a clearly defined information policy in the pre e-government era, chances of it rolling out an effective and sustainable e-government policy on the same foundation are very slim, given the importance of well managed information as a pillar of sound e-government. The paper employed document analysis as its methodology in which Zimbabwe National Information and Communication Policy (ICT) Policy Framework of 2005 and the Ministry of Information Communication Technology’s (MICT) Strategic Plan (2010-2014) were reviewed and assessed the extent to which they sufficed to serve as information management frameworks that can support e-governance in Zimbabwe. The study revealed that there are ICT policies that are meant to serve as ICT strategies for the country but none of them has been put to test and such policies are very piecemeal at best as far as their coverage of information management is concerned. The first policy of such nature was the Zimbabwe National Information and Communication Policy (ICT) Policy Framework of 2005 that was developed by the government of Zimbabwe. This was followed by the Ministry of Information Communication Technology’s (MICT) Strategic Plan (2010-2014) which was being led by the then Minister Nelson Chamisa in the Government of National Unity (GNU). Following the dismantling of the GNU, the MICT was also dismantled and a new Ministry known as the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services that was headed by then Minister Webster Shamu came up with a new draft policy to guide ICT in Zimbabwe. Ironically, that new policy did not see the light as the then Minister was relieved of his duties and the new and incumbent Minister; Mr Supa Mandiwanzira came up with a new draft to guide the ICT operations in Zimbabwe. Despite all these developments, it remains of concern to notice that none of these policies ever prioritised information management as a strategic pillar of e-government. It is the argument of these authors that without the country’s e-government strategy being governed by a sound information management policy that will ensure the creation, management, and preservation of information, the concept will suffer the consequences in retrospect, to the detriment of the concept and the citizens. The study further revealed that the present policies are only addressing technical issues such as network and infrastructural issues of information management, yet other important aspects such as preservation, disposal and legal issues of information management are neglected. The study recommends a new framework that is comprehensive in terms of all the facets of information management. The framework covers all the relevant information management players such as archivists, librarians, records managers and the ICT personnel who should work together so as to collectively manage national information that support e-governance which Zimbabwe has just embarked on. The study further recommends that every government department has an information manager and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services should be the one in charge of the information management framework and oversee its implementation.