Regina Connolly

The Trouble with Transparency: A Critical Review of Openness in e‐Government

Transparency in public administration is generally held to be desirable, something to be fostered and enabled. This long standing idea has gained considerable further momentum with the emergence of e-government and the affordances of computing in general and the Internet in particular. This paper examines the argument that transparency may, in certain and not uncommon circumstances, be inimical to good government and good governance and suggests that the importance of understanding why this is so has increased as information and communications technology permeates government and society. It suggests that in an electronic age, the scope and nature of transparency needs to be carefully managed, and that expectations of the benefits of ICT enabled transparency may be too high.

Trust and transformational government: A proposed framework for research

Abstract This paper examines the concepts of trust and transformational government, both of which have been the subject of increasing attention in recent times. It explores what trust and transformation mean, or could mean, for government, governance and public administration and whether transformational government is just a feel-good phrase or a genuinely new departure. As part of this, the question of what precisely is being, or could be, transformed is examined. The results of this examination suggest that the expectation that technology-enabled change has the ability to increase citizen trust, thereby transforming government may be too high, but that more research is needed. A framework for such research is proposed.

ICT, public values and transformative government: A framework and programme for research

Abstract Many adjectives are used in the context of transforming government including making it more open, transparent, participative, agile, responsive and so forth. Most, if not all, of these adjectives are either in themselves public values or reflect one or more underlying public values. This paper examines the relationship between information and communications technology (ICT), transformative government and such public values and proposes a framework for further research. A study of the literature on public values is used to develop a typology of public sector values likely to be affected by ICT. This impact is examined for a number of these values. For others hypotheses about the impact of ICT on other values are then posited. It is argued that ICTs can and do have transformational impacts on public values, though not always for the better, concludes that values are a potential powerful lens for considering such impacts and sets out a programme of research into these relationships.

The digital divide and t-government in the United States: using the technology acceptance model to understand usage

This paper applies the technology acceptance model to explore the digital divide and transformational government (t-government) in the United States. Successful t-government is predicated on citizen adoption and usage of e-government services. The contribution of this research is to enhance our understanding of the factors associated with the usage of e-government services among members of a community on the unfortunate side of the divide. A questionnaire was administered to members, of a techno-disadvantaged public housing community and neighboring households, who partook in training or used the community computer lab. The results indicate that perceived access barriers and perceived ease of use (PEOU) are significantly associated with usage, while perceived usefulness (PU) is not. Among the demographic characteristics, educational level, employment status, and household income all have a significant impact on access barriers and employment is significantly associated with PEOU. Finally, PEOU is significantly related to PU. Overall, the results emphasize that t-government cannot cross the digital divide without accompanying employment programs and programs that enhance citizens’ ease in using such services.

Government website service quality: a study of the Irish revenue online service

Online taxation systems have been among the most successful of e-government applications both in terms of citizen take-up and savings to the taxpayer. Understanding the factors that lead to high take-up is of potential interest to other public sector online service providers. This paper examines the quality of the online service provided by the Irish Revenue Commissioners’ tax filing and collection system, Revenue Online Service (ROS). A modified version of the recently operationalized E-S-QUAL instrument is used to examine online service quality from the point of view of the citizens and tax practitioners who use this eGovernment system. The findings show that efficiency and ease of completion are the dimensions of website service quality that most influence ROS users’ perceptions of value and convenience as well as their intentions to use and recommend the website to their peers. The practical implications of these findings include the fact that providers of public sector e-services should concentrate on communicating the functionality of their e-services. In addition, they should focus on reducing citizen concerns regarding misuse or mismanagement of personal data.

The great theory hunt: Does e-government really have a problem?

Abstract A persistent leitmotif of the e-government literature in the last decade has been a degree of angst about the absence of theory in the field. Some scholars have argued that until such time as this deficiency is remedied, e-government will never be recognized as a proper discipline. In addition to being under-theorized, it is has also been contended that the e-government literature is overdependent on the descriptive case study or case history. This paper examines the validity of the claim that e-government is under-theorized and explores the counter-argument that, far from being short of theory, a great deal of good and valuable theory can be found in the e-government literature. The meaning of theory and problems with defining it are discussed and the implications of these problems for assessing the state of theory in e-government are explored in this light. The parallels between this discussion and problems associated with theory in the wider fields of public administration and information systems are briefly considered. From this it is conjectured that concerns regarding the absence of a coherent body of theoretical knowledge in the field of e-government may be overstated.

Forward to the past: Lessons for the future of e-government from the story so far

While the development of e-government since the early 1990s has been characterized by many successful applications and systems, it has also been notable for a number of failures to fully realise visions and for several stalled ideas. Governments, professionals and indeed scholars have a tendency to embrace the latest technological developments before older ones have been fully exploited or in some cases even fully understood and this can leave a trail of uncompleted projects in its wake. The future success of e-government depends in part on understanding this phenomenon, addressing it and developing the ability to discern when a technology or concept is no longer of value and therefore should be abandoned and when a task needs to be finished properly, no matter how unglamorous that task may be.

Connection Overload? A Cross Cultural Study of the Consequences of Social Media Connection

Both positive and negative impacts of specific social media channels have been identified, but their cumulative impacts across media and across cultures have not been examined. A connection overload path model was developed from data gathered in Ireland, the United States, and Korea. The magnitude of connection demands reduced negative affect, while connection habits reduced negative outcomes and negative affect. Difficulties controlling connection habits were related to negative impacts on important life activities, stress, and affect. Cultural differences were interpreted through the individualism-collectivism framework. Collectivists may be buffered from mechanisms that can adversely impact psychological well-being.

A risk assessment framework for electronic voting

E-voting is one of the most basic uses of technology in e-democracy. It offers considerable scope for faster, more efficient and more accurate elections and referenda, not to mention the possibility of more frequent public consultation. However, it is also deeply controversial and has been subject to criticism on a number of fronts, not least from people in the computer industry and citizens concerned about the potential for widespread electoral error or fraud. In Ireland, these factors contributed to the government having to abandon plans to introduce electronic voting for the European and local elections in June 2004. This paper looks at the analysis of risks that was one of the factors that led to this decision and proposes a framework for future risk analysis of e-voting.

An Empirical Evaluation of E-Government Inclusion Among the Digitally Disadvantaged in the United States

The authors undertake an exploratory study, in the context of a digitally disadvantaged community in the United States, to determine what factors are associated with e-government website visitation. Following a community-based initiative, designed to stimulate computer literacy and access to information and communication technologies for residents and neighbors of an underserved public housing community, a survey of e-government website visitation was undertaken. The results indicate that over half of the respondents are aware of or have visited e-government websites, with nearly a third indicating they intend to use e-government websites in the future. Awareness of e-government websites was found to be significantly related to e-government website visitation. Internet experience and perceived access barriers were found not to be significantly related to e-government website visitation. This research enhances the understanding of visitation of e-government services among techno-disadvantaged citizens to encourage greater inclusion. The authors conclude by emphasizing the importance of a community organizing strategy to sustain e-government participation among the digitally disadvantaged.