Business perceptions and satisfaction with e-government: Findings from a Canadian survey

This paper examines business perceptions and satisfaction with e-government. Survey data is analyzed from businesses across Canada to determine their use of e-government and their perceived satisfaction with this technology for public service delivery. There are three research questions of this paper: 1) Are there significant differences for businesses that use the internet to contact government compared to those that do not? 2) Is there is a relationship between having a more positive perception overall by business of government and e-government satisfaction? and 3) Is there a relationship between businesses having input into regulatory changes, essentially being inclusive of business in the regulatory process, and e-government satisfaction? The results from the statistical models indicated that all three questions were confirmed. The findings of this study imply that governments should try to understand the business environment. A more positive attitude by business towards government, and being more inclusive of business in regulatory changes, leads to greater e-government satisfaction.     

Integration and coordination: Advancing China's fragmented e-government to holistic governance

In the context of Political Science, fragmentation refers to the process of decentralization, department differentiation and division of management in governmental institutions. Increasingly fragmented features emerge in China's administrative values, public resource operation, public organizational structures and public service provision in the post-industrial age, which affect the planning and implementation of e-government and inevitably map onto virtual government, leading to a fragmented Chinese e-government. Although most of the literature include impediments or measures to China's e-government, hardly any research can be found that focuses on theoretically identifying and innovating the way to handle problems. An aim of this research is to determine that holistic governance could be considered a rational choice for the transformation from fragmentation to holistic development and an effective measure for the sound advancement of e-government.     

Responding to information needs of the citizens through e-government portals and online services in India

Providing government information, services, products and transactions electronically has the potential benefit of accessibility for a wider audience, political and administrative transparency, and improved service delivery. By using e-government websites, citizens can conveniently access government information and services and gain greater opportunities to participate in democratic processes. The present study aims to evaluate National Portal of India, which provides single window access to 601 e-government portals and websites in India. A total of 1576 online services are provided by these portals responding to information needs of the citizens. Ranking of the state and union territory portals has been done based on the number of online services they provide. The paper also focuses on the digitization of documents, acts, rules and schemes of central and state government departments and their availability and accessibility through government portals.     

Local e-government 2.0: Social media and corporate transparency in municipalities

Various authors have highlighted the potential contribution of the internet to enhance the interactivity, transparency, and openness of public sector entities and to promote new forms of accountability. The search for new styles of governance which promote higher levels of transparency and the engagement of citizens is viewed as a way of improving citizens' trust in governments. As the social media are becoming ubiquitous, both academics and practitioners need some initial and reliable background data about the deployment of this kind of technology at all levels. The aim of this work is to provide an overall view about the use of Web 2.0 and social media tools in EU local governments in order to determine whether local governments are using these technologies to increase transparency and e-participation, opening a real corporate dialog. In addition, the paper tries to identify which factors promote the level of development of these tools at local level. Our results show that most local governments are using Web 2.0 and social media tools to enhance transparency but, in general, the concept of corporate dialog and the use of Web 2.0 to promote e-participation are still in their infancy at the local level.     

The perceived impacts of e-government on U.S. cities: A survey of Florida and Texas City managers

This study examines the perceived impacts of electronic government or e-government adoption on U.S. cities. This research conducted a survey of Texas and Florida city managers in the fall of 2005 to find out their opinions on the impact of e-government on their city government. The results indicated that e-government is having a positive impact on management, stakeholder involvement, needs and collaboration, and procurement in American cities. There are, however, concerns over spam or unsolicited e-mail and the ability of e-government to reduce the level of staffing. The results of this study imply that, according to city managers' perceptions, e-government adoption in American city governments is positively viewed as having an impact on their organizations and communities.     

AI-based self-service technology in public service delivery: User experience and influencing factors

Public sectors are utilizing AI-based self-service technology (SST) at an accelerating rate, given its potential for improving work efficiency and user experience, reducing service costs, and relieving human workloads. However, there is a limited understanding of the factors influencing citizens' user experience when services supported by AI-based SST are provided. Thus, with insights from the Consumer Value Theory, this paper aims to explore the factors that are important to AI-based SST user experience and the conditional role of trust in government. The on-site survey of 379 citizens in a public service center in China indicates that user experience positively relates to personalization and aesthetics and negatively associates with perceived time spent on the AI-based self-service machines. In addition, the results suggest that citizens with more trust in government are more likely to have a pleasant experience coming from AI-based SST's personalization and aesthetics. Public managers should ensure that the AI-based SST is aesthetically appealing and should be able to personalize the delivery of the right contents to the right person at the right time. Furthermore, they should always prioritize cultivating more trust from citizens to achieve a more positive user experience.     

The e-government research domain: A triple helix network analysis of collaboration at the regional,country, and institutional levels

This study introduces a hybrid approach (i.e., a social network analysis technique and triple helix indicators) to study certain aspects of the e-government (EG) domain that would otherwise remain hidden when using conventional analytic tools. Particularly, we provide network analysis of the EG research domain by focusing on the network collaboration between regions, nations and institutions. We collected and analyzed 1091 scholarly papers which were classified as being about “e-government” by the Web of Science database. The results indicate that hybrid method can be used to understand certain network-level structures and patterns in the EG domain which are beyond the scope of the predominantly-used systematic literature review (SLR) method. Particularly, the hybrid method is useful in understanding collaboration patterns between countries, institutions and regions in the EG domain, identifying key players by studying their network properties (i.e., degree centralities); and in understanding the pattern of relations among universities, industries, and government. The implications of these results in terms of research and practice, and study limitations are discussed.     

面向市民的电子政务公共服务评价:以长江三角洲为例

市民是电子政务服务的主要对象,如何为市民提供高效、优质、规范、透明和全方位的公共服务,是电子政务的本质和宗旨。本文选择了与民生有关的生育、婚姻、户籍、文化教育、社会保障、公用事业、医疗卫生、交通出行共8项指标,采用电子政务公共服务成熟度方法,对长江三角洲各主要城市面向市民的电子政务公共服务进行了评价。结果表明：目前长江三角洲城市电子政务已处于公共服务型阶段,但公共服务的广度和深度都有待拓展和提高。     

高等师范类院校图书馆读者阅读行为的调查分析——以三所师范类院校为例

运用实证研究的方法,选取三所师范大学图书馆的900名读者作为样本,通过问卷调查的形式对高等师范类院校图书馆的阅读行为进行了调查分析,并就如何促进阅读提出了可操作性的建议。     

整形外科学书刊中图片的重要性及其审选

针对整形外科学书刊的特点--具有大量的图片,论述图片的重要性及其基本要求和审选方法.     

The impact of leadership and stakeholders on the success/failure of e-government service: Using the case study of e-stamping service in Hong Kong

Using e-stamping service in Hong Kong as a case study, this paper examines the impact of leadership and stakeholders on the success or failure of e-government service in Hong Kong. Multiple methods are used for data collection: documents and archival record research, direct observation, and interviews. Results show that both leadership and stakeholders have an impact on the success of e-stamping service.     

War 2.0:重大事件新闻发布与社会化媒体的“初体验”——铸铅行动YouTube以军频道实证研究

2008年末,以军在YouTube上开设频道实施铸铅行动战时新闻发布,成为首支在军事行动中官方运用此类社会化媒体的军队。通过采用内容分析、用户分析和舆情分析等网络传播研究方法对这一典型个案进行实证研究可知,以军YouTube频道战时新闻发布的传播意图多重且相对鲜明、传播战略规律但略显粗放、传播样式多样而过于单向,传播效果反响热烈但结果意外。作为重大事件新闻发布的新领域,社会化媒体拥有超能量的同时弊端丛现。     

New Directions in Health Sciences Libraries in Canada: Research and Evidence based Practice Are Key

This article is the second in a new series in this regular feature. The intention of the series is to look at important global developments in health science libraries. These articles will serve as a road map, describing the key changes in the field and exploring factors driving these changes. The present article by two Canadian librarians identifies important national developments which are shaping the profession such as the centralisation of health care services, the challenge of providing consumer health information in the absence of a national strategy, government recognition of the need to recognise and respond to the health needs of indigenous peoples and the growing emphasis on managing research data. Although their profession is strong, health science librarians must find ways of providing enhanced services with fewer staff and demonstrate value to organisations. JM     

Multicultural Libraries' services and social integration: The case of public libraries in Montreal Canada

Montreal is a multicultural city, with a high percentage of immigrants where great value is given to culture. The city has a network of public libraries, which are located in the different districts. The provincial government has just opened the new Bibliothèque Nationale du Québec, which combines a national library service with those of a public library. The Bibliothèque Nationale du Québec and the public libraries in Montreal have set a goal to facilitate the integration of immigrants into Montreal society. In this context, the objective of this research is to find out to what extent the public libraries in Montreal are facilitating the integration of immigrants into society and to discover what important role the libraries actually play in this process.     

A new benchmark for Internet use: A logistic modeling of factors influencing Internet use in Canada, 2005

Internet diffusion is not homogeneous and depends on many factors. This study uses data from the Canadian Internet Use Survey (CIUS) to explore the extent demographic variables affect Internet use by individuals in Canada. A logistic model confirms that certain factors, educational attainment, and geography in particular influence Internet use in Canada, controlling for age and income. Education maintains a strong, significant impact on Internet use such that the odds of using the Internet are about three times greater for someone who has some post-secondary education than someone who has, at most, a high school education. An urban–rural digital divide persists in Canada with the odds of using the Internet being almost one-and-a-half times greater for someone who lives in an urban area. While language also has a large effect on Internet use, the presence of children in households no longer seems to be a significant factor. This study thus underscores the changing digital environment in Canada and the need for adaptive, flexible policies addressing national connectivity issues and, in particular, broadband Internet availability.     

Dissemination of public health information: key tools utilised by the NECOBELAC network in Europe and Latin America

Background: Open Access (OA) to scientific information is an important step forward in communication patterns, yet we still need to reinforce OA principles to promote a cultural change of traditional publishing practices. The advantages of free access to scientific information are even more evident in public health where knowledge is directly associated with human wellbeing. Objectives: An OA ‘consolidation’ initiative in public health is presented to show how the involvement of people and institutions is fundamental to create awareness on OA and promote a cultural change. This initiative is developed within the project NEtwork of COllaboration Between Europe and Latin American Caribbean countries (NECOBELAC), financed by the European Commission. Methods: Three actions are envisaged: Capacity building through a flexible and sustainable training programme on scientific writing and OA publishing; creation of training tools based on semantic web technologies; development of a network of supporting institutions. Results: In 2010–2011, 23 training initiatives were performed involving 856 participants from 15 countries; topic maps on scientific publication and OA were produced; 195 institutions are included in the network. Conclusions: Cultural change in scientific dissemination practices is a long process requiring a flexible approach and strong commitment by all stakeholders.     

Neighborhood disparities in access to information resources: Measuring and mapping U.S. public libraries’ funding and service landscapes

Information inequity is a central concern of the digital age. Many recognize the role of public libraries in bridging such inequities. Unfortunately, however, public libraries are often limited by the funding available to them. This study used a geographic information system (GIS), inequality measures, and multiple regressions to analyze statistics from the Public Libraries Survey (PLS) collected by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and from census tract data. It evaluated the levels of public library funding and services and tested how these resources vary with neighborhood income and urbanization levels. This is one of the few nationwide multivariate studies of neighborhood-level variations. The study revealed significant funding and service variations across the nation's 9000 library systems. Distributions of digital materials, full-time staff with a master's degree in library and information science, and library programs were especially disparate. Library systems in lower-income or rural neighborhoods were relatively less funded and offered fewer information resources. Interestingly, the only variable that was not significantly associated with neighborhood income was the number of public Internet terminals. This suggests that recent funding and research efforts may have made a difference. Similar funding efforts are encouraged for other types of library resources such as staff education and training. In light of the prevalent disparities in resource levels across neighborhoods, the study calls for a fundamental evaluation of the funding mechanisms for libraries. Also, information behavior research should investigate how this structural information inequity affects individuals’ information use decisions.     

Publisher–Society partnerships to further image accessibility and global inclusivity in the Humanities and Social Sciences: Comparing top-down and bottom-up approaches

• Collaboration between publishers and learned society partners can accelerate and amplify DEIA outcomes.
• 97 HSS titles have adopted alt-text publication workflows and this change has been welcomed by journal authors and editors.
• Efforts to promote global inclusivity do not always result in greater membership diversity, retention and growth.
• Top-down, publisher-led DEIA initiatives are effective when they are aligned strategically to pre-existing society initiatives.
• Bottom-up, member-led DEIA initiatives benefit from publisher support to mitigate financial and time-based barriers to active participation.
• To reliably track DEIA outcomes, publishers ought to adopt systematic data collection strategies through initiatives like C4 and the Joint Commitment.