Catálogo de publicaciones - libros

The connectivity generated by the Internet is opening new opportunities in service delivery since administrations are forming online alliances in order to deliver integrated value-adding services. However, due to lack of a step-by-step method for identification and further processing of services, the development of such composite e-Government services is usually ad-hoc. In this paper, we demonstrate how a systematic service composition can be accomplished: with the help of the proposed Service Description Worksheet, the e-Government Services can now be classified, searched for and composed into larger groups. This goal-driven approach can be used to understand the needs of different organizations and to depict the various functional characteristics of the cooperative processes in a declarative manner, suitable for prototyping projects in the public sector. Applying this method in the context of the Greek e-Government Services Framework, various services have been analysed, populating the worksheet database and leading to corresponding process models.

With the growing pervasiveness and maturity of fully mobile and wirelessly connected technologies (FMWC), many organizations have begun to equip their field workforce with such information and communication technologies (ICT). The aim of these projects is to automate fieldwork operations, that is, to make them more effective, to improve field force responsiveness, and to speed up the field processes, while using resources and assets more efficiently. In both private and public sectors, such projects have been pursued, yet the specific promises and challenges are not deeply understood. We share early but already robust results from a multi-year research project, which studies the nature and interaction of organizational, social, technological, and human-actor related variables in local government field workforce automation, or short, field force automation (FFA). According to our findings, the ICT-based automation of fieldwork and field workforce appears as a far more demanding undertaking than other successful automation projects. However, the high potential for significant gains in productivity and fieldwork efficacy seem to justify a sumptuous and at times arduous adaptation process.

Although the electronic government is under heavy development, a clear vision doesn’t seem to exist. In this study 20 interviews among leaders in the field of e-government in the Netherlands resulted in different perspectives on the future of electronic public service delivery. The interviews revealed different objectives and interpretations of the presuppositions regarding citizens’ desires. Opinions about channel approaches and ‘trigger services’ appeared to vary. Furthermore, the respondents didn’t agree on the number of contact moments between citizen and government, had different opinions about digital skills, pled for various designs of the electronic government and placed the responsibility for electronic service delivery in different hands. Conclusion is that there is a lack of concepts on how to do things. Everybody talks about eGovernment, but all have different interpretations.

In most countries, the maturity of eService delivery is measured by the supply of electronic service delivery. However, in many countries there is a gap between the supply and demand of eServices. We studied the actual use of eServices and the potential use of eServices in the Netherlands. We found a gap between the actual and potential use of eServices. Main explanations for this gap are the lack of knowledge about the availability of eServices, the media use characteristics and the social characteristics of the (non)users. Conclusions of our study are that the potential usage is high and second, simply putting services online is not enough. People have to get to know the services and need the skills to use them. Implications for future research are that we need a deeper understanding of factors that underlie the use of eServices, since supply alone will not lead to use of eServices.

This paper assesses an e-government project in Bangladesh using design-reality gap analysis and stakeholder theory. The project under study is an Agricultural Market Information System intended to provide timely and accurate market information to farmers, wholesalers, and retailers, for the purpose of making actors more informed and markets more effective. The research questions are; why did the system fail, and what, if anything, can be done to improve it. The analysis shows deficiencies in both adaptation to stakeholder preferences, needs and capabilities, as well as in project resources such as staff supply and qualifications. Yet the project has been technically up-to-date and has over time exhibited some learning as failures have resulted in adaptation to new findings. This research suggests use of mobile technologies in combination with call centres and locally available human resources as the most important factors for success.

This paper focuses deficient understanding of citizens’ needs regarding public e-services. In Sweden e-government efforts are motivated by dual goals of citizen benefit and agencies’ internal efficiency. Rhetorical, this is a persuasive ambition, but in practice it seems to be easier to focus agency efficiency and redesign of business processes and information systems than to find out what citizens really want. Citizens, i.e. the future users of the e-service, are in best case represented in the project by citizen organizations. More seldom do individual citizens take part in the project. User needs are, thus, sometimes “guessed” instead of analyzed. We report from an e-government project which started with little understanding of the future users. To overcome this we introduced focus groups as a method to meet and talk to citizens and find out their needs regarding the e-service. The paper discusses how focus groups can be used in e-government projects.

Not only in e-business but also in e-government, the success of online services liable for costs often depends on the convenience of the payment process. To find out the most suitable payment methods for a given e-government service, the authors develop a methodical approach for e-government decision makers. The multi-dimensional decision model takes into account various requirements such as security, economic efficiency, and specific requirements for the e-government service in question. The following paper illustrates the decision model with the case of the statistics shop of the German federal statistical office. A sample of payment methods is analysed and evaluated according to different criteria. Then, the most suitable payment methods for the online statistics shop are selected in accordance to the decision model.

Web portals are emerging as significant tools for eGovernment Portals are the “gateways” between citizens and Public Administrations. Although a number of them have been already developed, shortcomings related to interoperability and usability limit their usage and potential. To improve their performance, we propose a semantic approach based on the so-called “Life Events”. This approach provides several advantages related to service automation and enhanced searching. Also, the usability offered to the end users is improved. To validate our techniques, the proposed approach has been applied to a real case study: the Tecut Portal.

This paper investigates potential changes in requirements for “adminis-trative literacy” – knowledge and skills required from citizens – when manual services are replaced by electronic ones. Do requirements increase, decrease or change qualitatively? We compare manual and electronic versions of ten commonly used services. The needs for knowledge and skills, content and procedures were considerably less for the e-services in eight out of ten cases; however, in complicated services there may rather be a change of skills, e.g. replacing verbal skills with skill in searching for information online.

E-services relieve the user of some requirements; hence one obstacle for inclusion is reduced. However, we also found problems with the e-services implying that design of e-services should be informed by the kind of measure we have used as it is of great importance for inclusion in the e-society.

This paper will examine how legal considerations arising from the aggregation of data impact upon technical access control mechanisms. Research findings are based on a multi-disciplinary investigation of security issues regarding the aggregation of data in a governmental federated database system. The researchers conclude that the development of a federated architecture must consider technical security concerns within the context of legal risk management issues. As such, a holistic approach to the investigation of information security is required that incorporates the disciplines of information technology and law.