Effects of Predictors of Citizens' Attitudes and Intention to Use Open Government Data and Government 2.0

This research proposes a holistic and integrative theoretical model to discuss the effects of eight predictors of citizens' attitudes towards open government and Government 2.0, and whether these attitudes influence their intention to use open government data in Brazil, one of the founding countries of the Open Government Partnership (OGP). Findings show the effects of six predictors of citizens' attitudes towards open government and government 2.0. In essence, these predictors are ease of use, usefulness, intrinsic motivation, political satisfaction, government trust, and intensity of internet use. This study also indicates that education, income, and region influence the ease of use and usefulness of open data. These findings also mean that public managers and political parties still have “homework’ to do to stimulate citizens' behavior towards open government and government 2.0. These initiatives encompass the government portals quality and data transparency improvement through less restrictive laws. Also, improve politicians' job performance.     

Reforms to counter a culture of secrecy: Open government in Australia

Governments for most of recorded history have surrounded their information and decision-making with a culture of secrecy. By the latter half of the 20th century western liberal democracies, driven by right-to-know movements, slowly moved away from secrecy towards more openness of government through public access to its information. Australia, with a series of reforms beginning in the late 1970s, declared in 2010 that government information was a national resource, and public access was the default position. This paper, by providing a history of the Australian Commonwealth legislative and regulatory reforms, their impetus and interpretations, explores the ebb and flow of openness and the intended and sometimes unintended, consequences for traditional government secrecy. Using the complete freedom of information datasets made available by these reforms, the paper presents an insight into government attitudes to openness by providing access to its information. These datasets also enable research into government and bureaucratic actions to pushback against these reforms for pragmatic or ideological reasons. The paper concludes that although there continues to be worrying vestiges of secrecy, on balance, Australia has achieved much in countering a culture of secrecy and the delivering more openness of government.     

Political distrust in Hong Kong: News media use and political beliefs regarding the 1997 transition

As Hong Kong prepares for a political transition in 1997, neither the existing colonial British government nor the impending People's Republic of China (PRC) has established a strong historical foundation for political trust within the territory. In this study, we examine the level of distrust towards the existing and future political regimes, as well as attitudes towards Hong Kong's future. Based on a representative telephone survey of Hong Kong residents (N = 512), we find a high degree of political distrust among respondents, particularly towards the PRC administration. Although initial bivariate analyses establish some association between distrust and media exposure, channel preference, and demographic variables, further multivariate analyses suggest that many of these factors are highly interrelated. One central finding is that among men and those with middle to high socio‐economic status, television news exposure is associated with trust in the PRC. Conversely, women and younger people tend to distrust the PRC, regardless of their news exposure.     

From one-stop shop to no-stop shop: An e-government stage model

This paper responds to two observations about current government service delivery. First, despite reasonable efforts to improve the design of forms and to establish single points of contact in one-stop shops, citizens still perceive forms as cumbersome. Second, citizens expect governments to act proactively by initiating appropriate government services themselves, instead of relying on requests for services from citizens. To address these two issues, this paper proposes a transition from a one-stop shop to a no-stop shop, where the citizen does not have to perform any action or fill in any forms to receive government services. The contribution of this paper is an e-government stage model that extends existing models. Stage models are suitable tools with which to inspire future developments, and ours extends previous models that guide progress toward the one-stop shop by describing two further stages: the limited no-stop shop and the no-stop shop. We define three dimensions along which to progress: integration of data collection, integration of data storage, and purpose of data use. We provide a first test of the model's validity through three case studies: the e-government practices in Austria, Estonia, and an Australian state government. Our work complements existing research on e-government stage models and proactive government service delivery.     

(1) International resource sharing: A New Zealand view

Abstract

The Australian public sector, like that in many other countries, has been undergoing substantial reform for more than a decade. The changes, which have been introduced as ways of improving efficiency, effectiveness and accountability, have affected all areas of government operations. The methods for achieving the improvements have involved substantial change in respect of financial management, goal setting and evaluation, structural change and human resource management policies. Occurring concurrently with change within the public sector, the Australian Commonwealth and various state governments have been pursuing substantial change programs in other areas, such as industrial relations, which have had many similar aims to those of the government reform programs, a major one being the improvement of efficiency and effectiveness in the workplace. Libraries have felt, and will continue to feel, the impacts of these reforms as new management requirements and methods are introduced. This paper briefly describes a number of aspects of the various reform programs highlighting their impacts to date and some of their likely future impacts on the librarian and the library workplace.     

Newspaper ownership in Australia

The author explores the structure of the Australian news paper industry and regulations governing ownership. He then examines the 1992 report of the government inquiry into the newspaper industry, which acknowledged that the basic cause of newspaper concentration lies in the economic nature of the industry and agreed that current concentration in the Australian press is excessive. The author argues, however, that recommendations of the government inquiry are unlikely to increase diversity of ownership or prevent future takeovers of the remaining papers not owned by the nation's two major publishers.     

Exploring open government data capacity of government agency: Based on the resource-based theory

Open government data (OGD) are valued by many countries and governments worldwide because of its important political, economic, and social benefits. Based on the resource-based theory, we construct a research model from the aspects of tangible, intangible, and human resources, as well as organizational culture to explore the factors that influence open government data capacity (OGDC). Results indicate that data variables, basic resources, organizational arrangement and technical capacity are directly related to the OGDC of government agencies; power distance negatively moderates the relationship between organizational structure and OGDC; uncertainty avoidance moderates the relationship among basic resources, organizational arrangement and OGDC. On this basis, we put forward relevant suggestions for the following development of OGD.     

Mapping Political Attitudes: The Impact of Concept Mapping on Ideological Constraint

People with more political knowledge tend to have more coherent ideologies (Delli Carpini & Keeter, 1996; Judd & Krosnick, 1989; Stimson, 1975; Zaller, 1992). Drawing on prominent theories of attitude structure (e.g., Dinauer & Fink, 2005; Hunter, Levine & Sayers, 1976), we propose an explanation for this relationship, testing whether people who spend time thinking about how political concepts relate to one another are more likely to exhibit ideologically coherent attitudes (Judd & Krosnick, 1989). We find that participants who are instructed to participate in an exercise that requires them to think about how political concepts are related exhibit greater correlations between social- and economic-policy attitudes than nonparticipants and find some evidence that participants’ policy attitudes are more consistent over time. Contrary to expectations, there was no evidence of greater consistency between policy attitudes and underlying values, including party identification.     

Internal,External, and Government Political Efficacy: Effects on News Use,Discussion, and Political Participation

News use and political discussion are often studied as important factors in understanding the effects of political efficacy on participation. However, measurements of external efficacy often blur distinctions between personal ability and government responsiveness. This study establishes a measure for perceptions of competence in the institutions of democratic government—government efficacy (GE). Drawing on panel survey data from the United States, confirmatory factor analysis introduces GE as a unique construct. Political efficacy dimensions are tested for their impact on news consumption, discussion, and political participation. Results add to the extant literature revolving the role of political efficacy on news use, discussion, and participation.     

Towards a multidimensional model for evaluating electronic government: Proposing a more comprehensive and integrative perspective

The use of information and communication technologies has been a key strategy for government reform. It offers diverse benefits, ranging from efficiency and effectiveness to transparency and greater democratic participation. Governments in many parts of the world have invested vast resources into electronic government projects with the expectation of achieving these and other outcomes. However, the results in many cases are limited and there is no comprehensive way to evaluate these initiatives at the aggregate level. A method for measuring and evaluating electronic government that identifies its advances and problems is needed. Previous efforts to do so are limited in terms of scope and dimensions being considered. Based on a review of current literature and the analysis of international best practices, this paper proposes a multidimensional model for measuring and evaluating electronic government. It also includes examples, a proposal of how to operationalize it, and several recommendations for practical use.     

Beyond the Federal Depository Library Program: Providing Access to Information From a Reinvented Government

The Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), conceived in the nineteenth century, has served the American people and libraries for 100 years. It has provided free access to government information through a network of depository libraries distributed throughout the country. Currently, Democratic and Republican political leaders advocate reinventing, rethinking, reengineering, and renewing government. Despite significant differences between the political parties on specific changes, there is a consensus vision of a transformed or reinvented national government. What does this mean for the FDLP and access to government information? This essay looks beyond the current debates about specific legislation on the Government Printing Office or funding levels for the FDLP and outlines a vision of a reinvented federal government based on ideas expressed by Alvin and Heidi Toffler, House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and Vice President Al Gore. This paper identifies the basic challenges that their ideas present for the FDLP and depository libraries. The author concludes that these challenges will move the United States beyond the FDLP as it is presently constituted and will force librarians to rethink fundamentally how they provide access to government information.     

Government innovation through social media

Social media in government is becoming one of the major trends in Electronic Government (e-government) research and practice worldwide. During the last few years, several authors have addressed the potential of social media for the innovation of public sector organizations. Most of these contributions have focused on the technical dimensions of social media, while other aspects have not attracted equal attention. In contrast, this introductory article interrogates the role of social media in the basic areas of e-government: government information flows and the availability of government information; the use of information technology to create and provide innovative government services; the impact of information technology on the relationships between the governed and those governing; and the increasing importance of information policies and information technologies for democratic practices. Accordingly, the next few pages propose and develop three dimensions of social media in government: tools, goals, and topics. We think that these dimensions could help to better understand the use of social media in government settings. Then, after a brief review of current trends in social media and government research, we present the articles included in this special issue. Finally, we present some practical lessons and suggest ideas for future research. This special issue could be seen as a starting point for the development of innovation through social media in public administrations around the world.     

Improving the assessment of digital services in government websites: Evidence from the Mexican State government portals ranking

Different definitions, frameworks and dimensions have been proposed in the literature to identify the best pathways for the development of government websites. Using these frameworks, several measurements and rankings to assess digital government success have been developed. Although these models have helped to understand the influence of many critical factors on the successful application of ICT in government, it is necessary to understand the empirical validity of these frameworks and dimensions. Some authors have proposed factor analysis techniques as a useful tool for this task. Using data from a ranking of state government portals in Mexico during the period 2009-2015, we conducted a principal component analysis (PCA) to evaluate the dimensions of the evolutionary model proposed in the ranking. Results ratify most of the original dimensions of the evaluated instrument, but allow reducing the number of questions and obtain more robust estimations. Also, the new reduced instrument is validated using data collected in 2016 and 2017. Based on the analysis, we provide a set of practical recommendations for improving measurement methodologies and the assessment of digital government services in general.     

How responsive is E-Government? Evidence from Australia and New Zealand

Governments around the world are increasingly moving toward online service delivery in what is commonly called e-government. There are high hopes for e-government, particularly that the associated technologies provide the scope to make government services more responsive. This article reports on a 2006 study of one aspect of e-government responsiveness, namely, the basic capacity to answer a simple question posted by email. To this end, federal and state agencies in Australia, and central and local government agencies in New Zealand were emailed (n = 273). Data related to locating contact email addresses and subsequent responses was collected. The key finding was that the Australian agencies consistently did not perform as well as their New Zealand counterparts, bringing into question one component of their higher ranking in international e-government studies and also their potential to deliver on the Australian government policy that e-government means more responsive government.     

Rush,Rachel, and Rx: Modeling Partisan Media's Influence on Structural Knowledge of Healthcare Policy

Examining the impact of various media sources on knowledge has a long tradition in political communication. Although much of the extant research focuses on the impact of traditional media on factual knowledge, research is expanding to include a variety of media sources and multiple dimensions of knowledge, in addition to understanding processes that better explain these relationships. Using a nationwide, opt-in online survey (n = 993), we examine the relationship between partisan media and structural knowledge, which assess how interconnected people see political concepts. Utilizing understanding of the Affordable Care Act as the content area of interest, we examine whether exposure to partisan media has differential effects on attitudinal ambivalence—holding both positive and negative attitudes toward an object—based on the political ideology of the respondent, and whether this impact of ambivalence influenced structural knowledge. Our results show that exposure to attitude-consistent media decreased attitudinal ambivalence. This exposure to attitude-consistent media results in a positive indirect effect on structural knowledge through this decrease in ambivalence. We find the reverse effect for use of attitude-inconsistent media.     

Does site architecture matter? The political implications of public- versus private-oriented social network sites in China

Political communication researchers have shown that social network site (SNS) use and online network characteristics can impinge on people’s political attitudes and behavior. Nevertheless, individual SNSs have varying site architecture, basic design features, and functionalities, which may influence usage and online network characteristics. This study thus examines whether site architecture matters for understanding the political implications of SNSs. Specifically, this article conceptualizes the distinction between public-oriented and private-oriented SNSs. It contends that the two types of SNSs would have varying impact on political behavior through the kinds of online networks that they tend to sustain. Analysis of a survey of university students in Guangzhou, China (N?=?897), shows that respondents using public-oriented SNSs tended to have a relatively more ‘public’ online network – larger, involving more strangers, and with more connections to public actors. Some of these network characteristics in turn affected political discussion behavior. The analysis thus demonstrates how SNS architecture can indirectly impinge on individual-level political outcomes.     

重大突发公共卫生事件冲击下的政府数据开放共生模式研究:界定、演进与重构

[目的/意义]从共生理念出发,结合重大突发公共卫生事件——新冠疫情探讨政府数据开放的理想模式,以期加快政府数据开放的发展进程,早日实现"人类卫生健康共同体"。[方法/过程]首先界定了政府数据开放的组成要素——数据、人、机构和平台;其次,划分了政府数据开放共生模式的基本类型,并探讨了政府数据开放共生模式的演进路径;进而,从组织维度与行为维度,探讨了在疫情潜伏期、爆发期、控制期,政府数据开放共生模式的演进历程;最后,重构了两个维度下的政府数据开放共生模式。[结果/结论]从组织维度而言,政府数据开放是一个数据驱动型的新型政府开放行动和过程;从行为维度而言,政府数据开放是人、机构和平台三个要素整合形成的一个以数据为纽带的"命运共同体"。     

澳大利亚大学开放获取政策调研与分析

[目的/意义]澳大利亚是开放获取（OA）运动的引领者和积极践行者,研究澳大利亚大学开放获取政策的现状和特点,对国内开放获取运动的顺利推进有积极借鉴意义。[方法/过程]搜集澳大利亚38所大学和2个官方资助机构的共计40份开放获取政策原文,以此为基础对原文进行统计分析和文本解读,从澳大利亚开放获取政策的发布时间、产生机制、实现途径、政策目的、实施范围、概念定义、存缴类型、开放要求、各方职责、版权声明这10个方面,较为全面地揭示澳大利亚大学开放获取政策的现状和特点。[结果/结论]澳大利亚大学开放获取政策有以下特点：澳大利亚的大部分大学都发布了开放获取政策,占比88.6%的高普及率归功于政府科研资助机构的政策示范和经费推动;各大学对开放获取政策持积极态度,自上而下推进政策发布与实施;各大学偏向于支持和鼓励绿色OA的发展之路,对科研成果的OA自存储规定偏强制性;对OA政策的相关概念给出了明确定义,内容完整规范清晰,可操作性强。以此为基础提出了推动我国开放获取运动的建议。     

The Effects of News and Entertainment on Interpersonal Trust: Political TalkRadio,Newspapers, and Television

In a now-famous article, Robert Putnam traced changes in interpersonal (IP) trust, civic engagement, and political trust in the United States during the past 3 decades. Although trust in government has declined, so have IP trust and civic engagement. Putnam places the blame for the loss of the various components of so-called civic or social capital squarely on television as a medium. We analyze 4 data sets to explain IP trust. Education, newspaper readership, and age are consistent and strong associates of trusting attitudes and behaviors. Reported political talk radio listening and elite electronic news use also are linked to trust. Those high in social trust, however, are not consistently heavier or lighter consumers of television. Putnam's hypothesis, in other words, is not confirmed in these data. Implications, as well as some reasons to continue to entertain the hypothesis, are explored.