University of Macau / Faculty of Science and Technology / Department of Computer and Information Science

Thesis (M.P.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 107-112).

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

In the past, raw information was frequently destroyed because it could not be stored, thereby precluding effective scholarly use of the materials. Today's computer technology allows preservation and compact storage of enormous quantities of highly detailed information. Maintenance of information in conventional paper format often required severe access restrictions to protect anonymity of particular cases, a problem which can be alleviated by utilizing the computer to delete or mask the identity of the individuals involved. The value of any archival record is enhanced by the existence of other sources, which when used in tandem more completely describe the social, administrative, or economic process. This is especially true of the machine readable record, where source materials from one file can be more easily linked with other files to provide more complete documentation of particular events and transactions, thus augmenting the potential value and increasing the analytic or explanatory potential of the original records.

“What does the global research environment look like?” This paper presents a summary look at the results of efforts to address this question using available indicators on global research production. It was surprising how little information is available, how difficult some of it is to access and how flawed the data are. The three most useful data sources were UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) Research and Development data (1996-2002), the Institute of Scientific Information publications listings for January 1998 through March 2003, and the World of Learning 2002 reference volume. The data showed that it is difficult to easily get a good overview of the global research situation from existing sources. Furthermore, inequalities between countries in research capacity are marked and challenging. Information science offers strategies for responding to both of these challenges. In both cases improvements are likely if access to information can be facilitated and the process of integrating information from different sources can be simplified, allowing transformation into effective action. The global research environment thus serves as a case study for the focus of this paper – the exploration of information science responses to challenges in the management, exchange and implementation of knowledge globally.

This paper revises David Ellis's information-seeking behavior model of social scientists, which includes six generic features: starting, chaining, browsing, differentiating, monitoring, and extracting. The paper uses social science faculty researching stateless nations as the study population. The description and analysis of the information-seeking behavior of this group of scholars is based on data collected through structured and semistructured electronic mail interviews. Sixty faculty members from 14 different countries were interviewed by e-mail. For reality check purposes, face-to-face interviews with five faculty members were also conducted. Although the study confirmed Ellis's model, it found that a fuller description of the information-seeking process of social scientists studying stateless nations should include four additional features besides those identified by Ellis. These new features are: accessing, networking, verifying, and information managing. In view of that, the study develops a new model, which, unlike Ellis's, groups all the features into four interrelated stages: searching, accessing, processing, and ending. This new model is fully described and its implications on research and practice are discussed. How and why scholars studied here are different than other academic social scientists is also discussed.

This is a submission to the "Interrogating the social realities of information and communications systems pre-conference workshop, ASIST AM 2006.

This research assesses the challenges involved in the implementation of an e-Government website in Guinea-Bissau. Special attention is given to Government ministries and their role in implementing the e-Government website. The goal has been to establish the extent to which the Government of Guinea-Bissau has responded to the challenges involved in establishing e-Government and the progress that has been made with regard to the priority initiatives pertaining to e-Government in the country. The study has made use of the survey research strategy. The study’s population consisted of twenty-three Government ministries. The study examines the challenges and prospects connected with the implementation of e-Government in GB and it also investigates the reasons for the failure of the country’s first IT implementation attempt. This study argues that e-Government in Guinea-Bissau (GB) has the potential to change the Government administration’s processes and also facilitate the delivery of Government information to the public. Realising this potential may be assisted if the ICT recommendations are taken into account by the relevant stakeholders. The development of an e-Government policy, an e-Government strategy and an e-Government programme were identified by respondents as matters of priority, as is the need to attend to GB’s broadband issues. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

E-government services are rapidly becoming a permanent part of the governing process the world over. These services involve the use of the latest information and communication technologies to facilitate and enhance access to government information and services. E-government represents an entirely new mode of service delivery that promises some of the most important advances in the area of government accessibility since the advent of the modern welfare state. These resources have a number of unexplored social service applications that are examined in this study. E-government principles and practices are reviewed at the local and international levels, with particular attention paid to the Government of Canada's e-government initiative, known as Government On-Line (GOL). Seven specific e-government applications that can benefit social workers and clients are identified and discussed. The results of eight interviews with directors of local agencies regarding the future of e-government in social services are reported and examined. Specific recommendations and directions for future research are provided.

In this study, the current situation of e-government system in Turkey was analyzed, the positive and negative aspects were stated through PEST (Political, Economical, Sociocultural, Technological Factors) Analysis, Critical Success Factors (CSFs) Method and SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) Analysis, e-government indicators of different countries were compared and finally a roadmap was suggested for a successful e-Turkey implementation.