Thesis (M.P.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Delaware, 2007. / Principal faculty advisor: Marian L. Palley, Dept. of Political Science & International Relations. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (MTech (Information Technology))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2013. / This study explores information sharing in government departments from a developing country's perspective. Efforts to understand the relationship between information sharing as a concept and the e-government(s) phenomenon are made and discussed. Literature reviewed in this study indicates that information sharing is a core component of the eadministration part of e-government. E-government initiatives are intended to enable information sharing between and within government departments. ICT initiatives under the egovernment umbrella facilitate information sharing within government departments. However, such initiatives fail to or do not achieve their intended objectives due to technological, organisational, environmental and people related limitations. The process to overcome such barriers can begin by analysing activities focusing on information sharing processes as a means of identifying needs for improvement. There is a need to discuss work activities, actors, aims of activities and the role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in government departments, in order to identify information sharing needs and make possible recommendations for effective information sharing processes. A conceptual model is recommended to improve information sharing in government departments, and it has shown promise when applied to a selected work activity in this study. The results of the work activity case study show that technology, organization, environmental and people related factors indeed exist in the government's department and can have both a positive and a negative influence on information sharing between the three governing levels of the Namibian government. A pair of recommendations is given in this study. Firstly, a technology-organisationalenvironmental- people framework is recommended to government departments for effective information sharing. Secondly, recommendations are given to facilitate the information sharing needs of the Child Allowance (CA) department in the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare (MGECW). Limitations of the study and opportunities for further research that have been identified are stated at the end of this study.

This thesis focuses on investigating the relationship between improvements in information quality and the benefits and performance of e-Government organisations. As information quality is a multidimensional measure, it is very crucial to determine what aspects of it are critical to organisations to help them to devise effective information quality improvement strategies. These strategies are potentially capable of changing government organisational structures and business processes. To develop effective information quality improvement strategies, it is important to explore the relationships between information quality (‘cause’) and organisational benefits and performance (‘effect’). The limited research on information quality and organisations performance focuses on private sectors and pays little attention to governments and public organisations. To the best of the author’s knowledge, there is no single study which covers the relationships between information quality and organisations performance in Kuwait. E-Government success literature has rarely investigated information quality as a contributor to the success of e-Government initiatives. This thesis makes a step forward and contributes to the body of knowledge by examining the nature, direction and strength of the connections between information quality and the success of e-Government initiatives as it proposes and discusses a conceptual model (Figure 3.6) and contextual framework by means of which organisations performance and information quality research can be viewed. This thesis adopts a hypothetic-deductive and inductive approach with mixed methods, to conduct the present study. Quantitative and qualitative methods were then utilised to empirically validate the conceptual framework. The author claims that the relationships between information quality and strategic benefits along with institutional value were in upright agreement. Similarly, both qualitative and quantitative analyses highlighted that improvement in different aspects of information quality can lead to a better organisational image. Usability and usefulness attributes of information quality came on the top of the key influencers on both strategic benefits and institutional value. Furthermore, analyses highlighted some differences among information sharing participants’ views regarding the relationship between constructs investigated in this research. Figure 6.5 presents a revised research model including the new constructs, such as, cost savings, improved decision-making, and increased citizen satisfaction, which have been found to be affected by information quality and affect organisational performance.

A research dissertation submitted for the Degree of Master of Commerce (Information Systems) by Research / One of the aims of the development of Smart City initiatives is to provide electronic services that address residents’ information needs. Local governments in South Africa have realised that e-government can improve service delivery. There are currently government e-services that are designed to meet residents’ information needs and transform Johannesburg into a Smart City. However, local governments face the challenge of deficiencies in the use of government e-services. In order to ensure that all residents benefit from Smart City services there is a need to understand the use and non-use of these services. This research has been conducted in Johannesburg to understand what makes people use or not use the provided Smart City services. In this context, Smart City services refer to government e-service websites and government city Wi-Fi. The research was addressed from an interpretive perspective employing qualitative methods. The theoretical framework of government websites utilisation developed by Wang (2014) was used as a theoretical grounding. Data was Data was collected through in- depth semi -structured face-to -face interviews with open-ended questions. Twelve interviews were concluded. The results confirm Wang's (2014) theoretical framework in that all the major concepts: value, user needs, effectiveness of government websites, and alternative information sources were reflected as influencing the use and non-use of Smart City services. In addition the results extend Wang's (2014) framework with additional important core concepts: awareness, access, and trust. These concepts are particularly important to residents' participation in a developing country context and can be used to create a deeper understanding of how different types of residents engage or don't engage with Smart City services. In the pursuit of Smart Cities, local governments can use the results of the study to establish measures that can increase the use of free Wi-Fi around the city and government websites. A paper from this research report has been peer reviewed and was accepted for the Community Informatics Research Network (CIRN) conference which was held at Monash University in Italy, Prato. The title of the paper is: Explaining the Use and Non-Use of Smart Cities Services in Johannesburg: Residents’ Perspectives. On the 9th, 10th, and 11th November 2015, I attended the CIRN conference in Italy and presented the paper. The paper will be part of the conference proceedings. / MT2017

A research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Commerce (Information Systems), in the School of Economic and Business Sciences at the University of Witwatersrand, March 2017 / In spite of the challenges arising from poverty, illiteracy, corruption and inefficient government processes, cities around the world are resolute in their quest to deliver key information and services to citizens by adopting and developing online government applications. For these applications to be successful, it is imperative that they offer services that adequately address the needs of citizens. The present study aimed at exploring the extent an e-government application is being effectively used, in a context of an African Smart city. Initially, the study reviewed a handful of relevant literature to support the aims of this study and to underpin the results on evidence-based theoretical foundations. The study moved beyond the commonly studied behavioural concepts of adoption and use, towards value-driven Information Systems diffusion. While adoption and use of Information Systems are two widely recognised concepts throughout academia and extensively supported by literature, the effective use of Information Systems is generally neglected in theory and fails in practice. This gap presented in literature, an opportunity for this study to understand the value derived by citizens in using an e-government application and by governments in implementing it. The study has applied the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use Theory (UTAUT) frameworks to explain the determinants of use and subsequently, effective use. From the conceptual definition of the use of e-governance, this study has identified the motivating or selfregulating factors of effective use. The study then empirically measured a handful of them in order to infer and argue a case for effective use of such applications. The initial findings suggest that an inferential discipline was applied and that Actual Usage infers Effective Use as intended by this study. The results also suggest that diffusion and effective use of an e-government application still requires some improvements. The user experience, lack or out-dated information and general lack of awareness of the application are among the more pertinent findings on effective use of an e-government application. The findings highlighted that effective use is inferable when use of IS has been established. The empirical findings of this study demonstrate a need for a ‗one-stop shop‘ model and citizen-focused service delivery agenda for e-government applications. More specifically, the results of this study highlighted an inferential relationship between actual usage and effective use. This means that factors that affect Actual Usage, based on UTAUT are positively related to SDT factors of Effective Use. For instance, Performance Expectancy has been found to have a positive effect on Actual Usage, implying that citizens with high Performance Expectancy are more likely to use an e-government. Social Influences were also found to significantly affect the citizens‘ motivation and intentions to engage with an e-government application. A large number of users have indicated that their inclination to use the application was influenced by social connections. The Facilitating Conditions construct has been found to significantly influence the citizens‘ behavioural intention to use an e-government application. Predictably, the study also found Self-efficacy to be a weak predictor and moderator of a relationship between a dependent and an independent variable. The immediate relevance and application of this study lies in the expected return on investment derived from an effective use of an e-government application, which is particularly beneficial for a budding African Smart City. The need to effectively and affordably deliver needed government information and services to citizen across the spectrum is even more pronounced in Africa. This study makes specific contributions to the formulation of a model and suggestions for future research. The theoretical contribution is in bridging the literature gap by providing a model for effective use of e-government application in the context of an African Smart City. The current study is one of the first to demonstrate the influence SDT has on actual usage and effective use. This is useful to studies in the IS Domain, particularly for the new concepts of e-government and Smart City. / XL2018

Tam Ka Wing Matthew. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-89). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Acknowledgement --- p.i / Abstract --- p.i / Table of Contents --- p.iii / Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 2 --- eGovernment Requirements --- p.5 / Chapter 2.1 --- Efficient Operation --- p.5 / Chapter 2.2 --- Citizen-centric Government --- p.7 / Chapter 2.3 --- Security --- p.10 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- Confidentiality --- p.10 / Chapter 2.3.2 --- Integrity --- p.12 / Chapter 2.3.3 --- Availability --- p.12 / Chapter 2.4 --- Support of eBusiness --- p.13 / Chapter 3 --- Webservices for e-Government - A Marriage for Interoperability --- p.15 / Chapter 4 --- A Webservices Based eGovernment Framework --- p.17 / Chapter 4.1 --- System Component Model --- p.17 / Chapter 4.2 --- System Access Model --- p.18 / Chapter 4.3 --- Security Model --- p.20 / Chapter 4.3.1 --- Access Right Model --- p.20 / Chapter 4.3.2 --- Authentication Model --- p.22 / Chapter 4.4 --- Transaction Model --- p.23 / Chapter 5 --- eGovernment WebServices Access Control --- p.25 / Chapter 5.1 --- eGovernment WebService --- p.25 / Chapter 5.2 --- Request of Access --- p.27 / Chapter 5.3 --- eGovernment Access Policy --- p.30 / Chapter 5.3.1 --- Administration Based Policy --- p.32 / Chapter 5.3.2 --- Legislation Based Policy --- p.33 / Chapter 6 --- Research in Access Control --- p.38 / Chapter 6.1 --- Traditional Model --- p.38 / Chapter 6.2 --- More Advanced Models --- p.39 / Chapter 6.2.1 --- Role-Based Access Control Model --- p.39 / Chapter 6.2.2 --- Task-Based Authorisation Control Models --- p.41 / Chapter 6.2.3 --- Digital Library Authorisation Model --- p.42 / Chapter 6.3 --- Recent Works --- p.44 / Chapter 6.4 --- Limitations of the Models --- p.45 / Chapter 7 --- Proposed Approach --- p.47 / Chapter 7.1 --- WebService Specific Access Control --- p.48 / Chapter 7.1.1 --- WebService Access Rules --- p.48 / Chapter 7.1.2 --- Authorisation Conflict Resolution --- p.50 / Chapter 7.2 --- Subject Based Access Control --- p.52 / Chapter 7.2.1 --- Subject Category --- p.52 / Chapter 7.2.2 --- Subject Access Rules --- p.53 / Chapter 7.2.3 --- WebService Registration --- p.55 / Chapter 7.2.4 --- Authorisation Conflict Resolution --- p.56 / Chapter 7.3 --- The WebServices --- p.57 / Chapter 7.4 --- Combining Two Level Access Control --- p.57 / Chapter 7.5 --- Application to Chained WebService Request --- p.58 / Chapter 7.6 --- Comparison with the Existing Access Control Models --- p.59 / Chapter 8 --- An Implementation Reference Model --- p.60 / Chapter 8.1 --- Some Practical Issues --- p.60 / Chapter 8.1.1 --- Citizen Privacy --- p.60 / Chapter 8.1.2 --- Trust between eGovernment Systems --- p.61 / Chapter 8.1.3 --- Authentication --- p.62 / Chapter 8.2 --- System Architecture --- p.64 / Chapter 8.2.1 --- eGovernment WebServices Gateway --- p.65 / Chapter 8.2.2 --- Authentication Engine --- p.66 / Chapter 8.2.3 --- Access Control Database --- p.66 / Chapter 8.2.4 --- Access Control Decision Engine --- p.67 / Chapter 8.2.5 --- A Working Scenario --- p.67 / Chapter 8.3 --- Implementation --- p.69 / Chapter 9 --- Evaluation of the Proposed Mechanism --- p.74 / Chapter 9.1 --- Application Scenarios --- p.75 / Chapter 9.1.1 --- Citizen Level Access Right --- p.75 / Chapter 9.1.2 --- Access Means Based Authorisation --- p.76 / Chapter 9.1.3 --- Access Right Based on Combination of User and Consumer Identity --- p.77 / Chapter 9.1.4 --- Legislation Based Access Right --- p.78 / Chapter 9.1.5 --- Joined-up Government --- p.79 / Chapter 10 --- Conclusion and Future Directions --- p.81 / References --- p.84

Univ., Diss.--Tilburg, 2007.

Thesis (M. P. A.)--Texas State University-San Marcos, 2009. / "Fall 2009." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 72-75).

This thesis assesses and explains the effectiveness of the legal regime for government transparency in China, with a focus on the legislative and judicial protection of citizens’ right of access to information (ATI), through a combination of normative doctrinal analysis and empirical investigation. In 2007, China promulgated the Regulation on Open Government Information (ROGI),which implicitly created a general and legally enforceable ATI right, thereby establishing a regime akin to the freedom of information (FOI) regimes that prevail in many countries worldwide. However, this nascent regime appears to have had mixed, and rather confusing, effects. Existent assessments of the regime’s effectiveness have concentrated either on the ROGI text or on data concerning bureaucratic performance and the extra-legal factors affecting that performance, but have failed to consider sufficiently the perplexities and peculiarities of the Chinese legal system that bear heavily on the ROGI’s operation. This thesis constitutes an attempt to make both substantive and methodological contributions to research in this field. The thesis is organized into three main areas. First, it analyses the relation between the ruling Communist Party’s policies and the making of local and national transparency legislation. It finds that the legislative endorsement of an ATI right resulted from several of the Party’s reform goals, which include not only the facilitation of economic prosperity and social progress but also the fostering of government accountability and public participation. These goals, although with respective limitations, overlap with the values underlying FOI law. Second, it examines the labyrinth of Chinese laws, regulations and other legal norms that regulate the disclosure of government information, particularly the ROGI and Law on Guarding State Secrets, and evaluates them against international best practice standards on FOI law. It finds that the overall legislative framework lags behind international standards, largely because it fails to stipulate a presumption of disclosure and contains multi-layered restrictions on access, thereby leaving administrative organs with an enormous degree of discretion. Third, it reviews 169 judicial decisions collected through methods specially designed to ensure their representativeness. It distils the major trends in the interpretations made and rules set by the courts and finds that, by placing restrictions on access to court, imposing a need test, failing to scrutinize state secret claims, deferring to administrative discretion in applying exemptions and avoiding injunctive relief, the courts have further reduced the normative scope of the ATI right. It argues that this inadequate judicial protection is caused not by limitations on judicial power with respect to that right, but primarily by the abandonment of duty on the part of most courts, which have either misapplied the law or deviated from the guiding cases and legal doctrine that maintain the coherence of laws and judicial autonomy. Owing to the combined effect of a weak legislative framework and largely impotent judicial protection, the ATI right has been virtually deprived of its function to enable the citizenry to monitor and check the government. It has also failed to fulfil its potential in protecting citizens’ personal and property rights. In this regard, China’s ATI right falls far short of a genuine right to freedom of information. These findings provide a necessary basis for a more accurate assessment of China’s open government information regime and a more perceptive comparison of this peculiarly Chinese regime with the FOI regimes of other countries. They also shed new light on the operation of judicial review in China. Furthermore, they indicate the barriers that must be overcome in future reforms to achieve a genuine FOI environment and highlight the interconnectedness of any such reform measures. / published_or_final_version / Law / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy