This study examines citizens awareness and usage of government e-services. Governments use Web-based Internet applications to enhance their citizens access to government services. However, in a case study in Brunei Darussalam, it was found that the government s initiative in providing e-services in last few years has not been as successful as it could have been as the services have not been citizen-centric. This was due to the availability of e-services being unknown amongst the citizens and that a silo-based approach existed for each government ministry. One notable finding was that although the ICT literacy of Brunei citizens has rapidly improved, this has not been reflected in the citizens interaction with government. There are several challenges for citizens awareness and use of government e-services that occur on e-government initiatives. Failure in managing such problems, results in a high probability of these services becoming a white elephant , with inefficiency, wastefulness and cost overruns on e-government projects. E-government management agencies still do not have an organized citizens awareness strategy approach to managing knowledge in e-government initiatives. The proposed Government e Services Citizens Awareness Strategy (GeS-CAS) framework, incorporating communication, management and education strategies, can effectively be used to enable e-government agencies to deal with e-government projects problems and risks in an organised and efficient way. It is concluded that e-government initiatives management can be improved if the knowledge dimensions of the problems are well understood and are conveyed to the right people, at the right time and the right place, and are appropriately managed. This research has developed an integrated citizens awareness strategy Knowledge Management framework that provides a structured approach to achieving this which is easy to understand and put in to practice by e-government agencies, and can be used to solve citizen awareness problems, explore opportunities and make decisions.

There is a recent emergence of open government initiatives for citizen participation in policy making in China. Open government initiatives seek to increase the level of participation, deliberation and transparency in government affairs, sometimes by use of Internet fora. In contemporary political science the introduction of these initiatives in authoritarian contexts has been described as a paradox of authoritarian deliberation. This thesis uses cybernetic theory, perspectives of information steering in all systems, to resolve the paradox and present a new view on authoritarianism and autocracy. A cybernetic definition of autocracy allows for an analysis of different types of autocracy in different models of governance. The theoretical tools developed are used to define and assess the potential for democratic autocracy, representative autocracy, deliberative autocracy and collaborative autocracy in online open government initiatives in China.   The argument of the thesis is that these initiatives must be understood within the environment in which they are introduced. In the case of the Chinese online environment, individuals often have limited possibilities of acting anonymously. To explore how online identity registration affects citizens, a lab-in-the-field experiment was set up. Chinese university students were invited to engage with a government sponsored online forum under conditions of both anonymity and identity registration. Previous research suggests that anonymity would lead users of online fora to be more active and produce more content. This hypothesis was partly proven false by the experiment. This study shows that users who have their identities registered, sometimes even produce more content. The study also shows that registered users tend to act against their own preferences and participate more in nationalistic debates. The concluding discussion is focused on the wider implications of these effects. If citizens are incentivized to channel their dissatisfaction as loyalty, rather than voice or exit, they might become complicit in sustaining authoritarianism. Interviews with experiment participants show that open government initiatives primarily enable deliberative and collaborative autocracy when introduced in the Chinese online environment. This has the potential of increasing the amount of dissatisfaction that citizens channel as loyalty via mechanisms of authoritarian collaboration.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Orientador: Marco Aurélio Gumieri Valério / Resumo: A discussão acerca dos fatores geradores da exclusão social e as desigualdades de oportunidades de acesso ao trabalho, emprego e renda é um tema relevante para a análise das condições necessárias. Sendo assim, pessoas excluídas terão condições de adquirir um olhar crítico sobre a sociedade e bem como desenvolvam a capacidade de buscar seu reconhecimento, atuando como agentes sociais, com o direito a participar do desenvolvimento do país, que devem ser para todos no Brasil. A problemática da exclusão social de mulheres nas relações de trabalho remontam a história da organização social, que na sua formação, teve como base a exploração, a desigualdade, a discriminação e a imposição de um papel submisso a população feminina. Dessa forma, torna-se relevante a discussão sobre as desigualdades nas relações de trabalho, tendo em vista, a preponderância da discriminação entre homens e mulheres em remunerações desiguais, as discriminações nas admissões, promoções ou qualificações. Nesse contexto é que se inserem as políticas públicas de promoção da igualdade de gênero nas relações de trabalho, as quais surgiram a partir de propostas e reivindicações emanadas dos movimentos sociais, com o objetivo de transformar valores, ideias, comportamentos e atitudes, a fim de estabelecerem o princípio da isonomia de gênero, expresso na lei brasileira. Ademais, a questão relativa à isonomia entre mulheres e homens não é apenas uma questão de direitos humanos, mas também uma condição de justiça socia... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The discussion about the factors that generate social exclusion and the inequalities of access to work, employment and income is a relevant topic for analyzing the conditions necessary for excluded people to be able to acquire a critical eye on society as well as as they develop the capacity to seek their recognition and to act as social agents, with the right to participate in the development of the country, which should belong to everyone. In Brazil, the problem of the social exclusion of women in labor relations goes back to the history of the country's social organization, which in its formation was based on exploitation, inequality, discrimination and the imposition of a submissive role for the female population . In this way, the discussion on gender inequalities in labor relations becomes relevant, considering the prevalence of discrimination between men and women, regarding unequal remuneration in occupations of the same category, discrimination in admission, promotion or qualification . In this context, public policies for the promotion of gender equality in labor relations are inserted, which have emerged from proposals and claims emanating from social movements, with the aim of transforming values, ideas, behaviors and attitudes, in order to establish the principle of gender equality as expressed in Brazilian law. In addition, the issue of equality between women and men is not only a question of human rights, but also a condition of social justice, as well as a nec... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

In 2012, the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Board of Scientific Advisors (BSA) conducted a review of the Center for Biomedical Informatics and Information Technology's (CBIIT) bioinformatics program. The BSA suggested that the lack of a formal project selection process made it difficult to determine the alignment of projects with the mission of the organization. The problem addressed by this study was that CBIIT did not have an in-depth understanding of the project selection process and the factors influencing the process. The purpose of this study was to understand the project selection process at CBIIT. The research methodology was an exploratory case study. The data collection process included a phenomenological interview of 25 managers from program management, engineering, scientific computing, informatics program, and health sciences. The data analysis consisted of coding for themes, sensitizing, and heuristic coding, supported by a theoretical framework that included the technology acceptance model, the program evaluation theory, and decision theory. The analysis revealed the need for formal project portfolio governance, the lack of a predefined project selection process, and that the decision-making process was circumstantial. The study also revealed six major themes that affected the decision-making process: the CBIIT mission, the organizational culture, leadership, governance, funding, and organizational change. Finally, the study fills the gap in the literature regarding the project selection process for government-funded initiatives in information technologies. This study may contribute to positive social change by improving the project selection process at CBIIT, allowing for the effective use of public funds for cancer informatics researchers.

This thesis investigates the factors that affect the take-up of statutory digital reporting of statutory accounts and returns to the tax authority (HM Revenue and Customs) and voluntary digital reporting to the company registry (Companies House) by small private companies in the UK. In doing so, it identifies the costs and benefits of this innovation from the perspectives of the filers and those using the digital information. The first stage of the study comprised 16 semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders: HMRC, Companies House, the external iXBRL consultant at HMRC, filing software suppliers, and accountants in business and practice. The interview data was analysed thematically, aided by NVivo. The second stage involved an online survey of 343 ACCA members working in small companies or in practices with small company clients. The survey data were analysed using the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method. As hypothesised, the results show a significant positive association between digital reporting and the company having the technological competence and between digital reporting and support for this from top management. As predicted, there is evidence of a significant negative association between digital reporting and the complexity of the process, and between digital reporting and the cost of technology. However, the study finds no evidence of a significant association between digital reporting and compatibility of digital reporting with the company’s accounting system, statutory requirements with government, or network effects. The results provide evidence of a significant positive association between digital reporting and benefits to filers, and between digital reporting and benefits to those using the digital corporate data. The latter association is mediated by the digital search and data services provided by Companies House. To the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to investigate digital reporting to HMRC after it became mandatory for small companies in the UK. The study contributes to the emerging literature by extending our knowledge of the costs and benefits of digital reporting by small companies. It contributes to theory by developing and validating a theoretical model of the factors affecting the take-up of digital reporting and by extending the model to provide further understanding of this technology. The results should be of interest to the directors of small companies and their accountants. They will also be of interest to policy makers seeking to reduce the administrative burdens on smaller entities in the UK and to regulators in other jurisdictions planning for digital reporting initiatives.