Philip Seltsikas

Expectations and outcomes in electronic identity management: the role of trust and public value

This paper is concerned with the issues facing stakeholders attempting to develop, implement and maintain electronic identity management (IdM) systems in government. It argues that perceptions of electronic IdM vary, and thus a single conceptualisation of the concept is difficult. Using data collected from stakeholders in 17 European countries, Canada, New Zealand and the U.S.A. from 2003 through 2007, a qualitative analysis identifies 10 dominant stakeholder areas of concern which we term ‘themes’. These are then mapped onto a framework of public value due to Grimsley and Meehan which relates services to outcomes and the development of trust. We conclude by questioning the conceptualisation of trust within the context of IdM, and suggesting that considering trust as the mitigation of relational risk is more appropriate. We also consider the usefulness of public value as a notion for informing IdM and highlight the lack of national differences in our diverse data set.

The action research vs design science debate: reflections from an intervention in eGovernment

As Design Science (DS) establishes itself as an acceptable approach to Information Systems research, many have commented on the similarity, or otherwise, between DS and Action Research (AR). Most of the writing on this topic has been conceptual, and not grounded in practice. In this paper, we present a piece of completed research that was perceived and executed as AR, but also reflected upon as DS. The research produced a new method for diagramming electronic workflows and creating the associated digital signatures, within the domain of eGovernment. Our conclusion is that AR that produces an artefact can be quite easily, and perhaps superficially, presented as DS. Epistemologically, there is little to separate the two methodologies. However, there are some subtle differences in practice, especially with regard to the role of the artefact, the structuring of the process, the focus of evaluation of the intervention and research, and the emphasis on learning and knowledge. We provide guidance to researchers contemplating either approach, and also consider the role of pluralist attempts to combine the approaches.

Crisis management and social media: Assuring effective information governance for long term social sustainability

When managing a crisis, governments and their agencies have to balance their responsibility to the societies they serve and the groups and individuals within them, all within a legislative framework. They must effectively use information that is available to them to make critical decisions to prevent, prepare, respond and recover from a crisis in the context of social sustainability [1]. While governments and agencies have their own command and control systems that assist them to manage crises, how do they assure the value, authenticity, accuracy, reliability and legality of information that is generated by individuals and groups during a crisis, on Social Media platforms? How does this impact social sustainability? This paper analyses the case of the University of Canterbury Student Volunteer Army (SVA) that was formed through the use of Social Media in the wake of the Christchurch earthquakes (September 2010 to June 2011) through a lens of self producing/structuring systems (autopoiesis). It then argues that the ideas of autopoiesis may assist us to better understand the appropriate blending of open Social Media and closed commercial systems for social sustainability during a crisis.

A Taxonomy of Government Approaches Towards Online Identity Management

A governments approach towards establishing the online identity of its citizens is often subject to heated debate. This debate is sometimes obscured by the lack of clarity regarding the specific approach that a government adopts towards identity management. We propose a taxonomy for the type of identity management that a government can pursue. Our taxonomy identifies three essential approaches: a decentralized, a federal, and a centralized type. We illustrate our taxonomy using three countries that have approaches characteristic of each type: Australia, the United States, and the Netherlands respectively.

Secure government in cyberspace

This panel will focus on the critical current issues facing governments with respect to the management of digital identities in cyberspace. Billions of dollars of government funds continue to be spent on implementing identity management solutions, developing associated policy and legislation and on encouraging the use of online services. The panel of Identity and Access Management experts will consider what the current challenges facing governments are, in relation to cybersecurity, cloud computing and the US governments National Strategy [1].

Developing User Requirements for Trans-National Government Information Systems

This paper presents our participant-performer case-based experience in eliciting user requirements for the development of a pan-European, trans-national government information system (TN-GIS). It is widely recognized that a significant challenge for Information Systems (IS) developers is the creation of systems specifications that align with user requirements. Many IS failures have been attributed to the mismatch between user requirements and what is actually produced. Specifying Information Systems (IS) through user requirements elicitation has always been challenging. In this paper we focus on Trans-national Government Information Systems which have their own ‘special complications’. Our findings to date show that the development TN-GISs, which can involve hundreds or even thousands of ‘stakeholders’, require a blend of traditional user requirements elicitation methods, as well as several additional efforts which include rapid prototyping, political consultation, consensus building

Towards a Holistic Understanding of Security Process: Formal Controls and Informal Relationships

Despite a variety of existing approaches and techniques for securing corporate information assets, information security threats continue to present an ongoing challenge to business and governments. Existing research suggests that improving the effectiveness of information security depends on the customization of existing security models to specific businesses requirements. A greater socio-technical focus is also cited as necessary. We have used a relational processes lens to examine interactions between the key actors relevant to information security management in a large Australian financial institution from which we present the results of an in-depth case study. By examining organizational information security practices we identify how organizational actors engage in cognitive, social and political processes to achieve various security-related objectives. We suggest that a focus on social and political processes, such as networking and negotiation, complements formal policy and governance structures in achieving organizational security objectives and can assist information security stakeholders in working together more effectively.