Orientador: Maria Teresa Miceli Kerbauy / Banca: Caroline Kraus Luvizotto / Banca: Thales Haddad Novaes de Andrade / Resumo: A informação é fundamental para a tomade de decisões, proporciona subsídios para a participação nos processos democráticos, e para pleito de direitos e benefícios. Quando denominada pública, diz respeito à informação em poder do Estado ou que seja de interesse público. O governo eletrônico como forma de utilizar a tecnologia para melhorar o funcionamento do setor público, pode contribuir para o cumprimento do dever do Estado de dar acesso à informação pública. Os serviços eletrônicos de governo dever ser acessíveis, no sentido de que possam ser utilizados independentemente das condições físicas, meios técnicos ou dispositivos utilizados pelo requerente, além de proporcionar uma experiência satisfatória ao cidadão que se utiliza dele. Nosso objetivo é verificar se os serviços eletrônicos para solicitação de informação pública permitem o acesso efetivo de todo e qualquer cidadão. A metodologia envolve a triangulação entre revisão bibliográfica e documental de diretrizes e legislações, uma perspectiva quantitativa relacionada aos erros de acessibilidade encontrados através de avaliadores automáticos, e uma perspectiva qualitativa resultante da análise de uma lista de verificação de usabilidade. Para coleta dos dados foi desenvolvida uma planilha eletrônica composta por 50 variáveis divididas em três áreas: acessibilidade, usabilidade e outros ítens - aqueles específicos de serviços de solicitação de informação pública. Entre os 19 países da América Latina com leis de acesso a informação em vigor analisamos os 8 que t~em sites de serviços eletrônicos para solicitação de informação pública. A análise destes serviços demonstrou que nenhum deles cumpre os quesitos propostos para que sejam considerados universais, mas serviu para propor características e práticas para os serviços eletrônicos de informação ao cidadão / Abstract: The public information is basic to the decisons-making processes and provides allowances to participation in the democratic processes, and the plea for rights and benefits. When it is called public, refers to the information in power of the State or that it is from public interest. The use of technologies as the electronic government can be a way to improve the acting of the public sector in the duty of the State in provides access to the public information. The public electronic services must be accessible, what means that must remains accessible independntly of the physical conditions, or technical ways, or used devices by the requester, in addition to provide a satisfactory experience to citizen that uses it. THe aim of this study is verify if the electronic services or request of public information allow the effective access for all and any citizen. The methodology involves the triangulation between literature and documents review guidelines and laws, a quantitative perspective related to accessibility errors found through automatic evaluators, and a resulting qualitative perspective tha analysis of a usability checklist. For the data collection was developed a spreadsheet consisting of 50 variable divided into three areas: accessibility, usability and other items - those specific public information request services. Among the 19 countries in Latin America that have laws in effect access to public information, were analyzed 8 that have electronic services websites to request public information. The analyses of these services show that none of them complies the suggest subjects to be considered universal, although they have allowed to propose characteristics and practices to electronic services of public information to citizens / Mestre

Not all documents are records. One of the central concerns of contemporary governance is the reduced or complete lack of accountability among public officials when rendering public services. In the absence of accountability and records, corruption thrives. This research examines the relationship that exists between transparency, accountability and record keeping in order to find the effect that records has; in terms of producing positive audit outcomes and in eliminating corrupt activities by public official/s. Since the transition to democracy in South Africa, the new constitution demands transparency and accountability on matters of governance supported with available information (records). Various pieces of legislation in South Africa are available in support of timely, accessible and accurate information in pursuit of official duties. The difficulty in ensuring an effective record keeping creates an opportunity for governance, transparency and accountability to fail. The essence of this research undertaking was motivated by the fact that, absence of records (which has a negative effect in achieving clean audits) renders governance chaotic and infringes on the democratic principles enshrined in the Constitution such as accountability and transparency. The purpose of the study was to investigate the practice of record keeping in the Eastern Cape Provincial Department of Basic Education (ECDoE) in ensuring accountability and transparency. This research undertaking was guided by the following three research questions: (1) what is the legal/normative framework that governs record keeping in South African public service? (2) How does ECDoE practice record-keeping in ensuring accountability and transparency? And (3) how does the practice of ECDoE’s record-keeping compare with the requirements of the legal/normative framework? After all the gathering of information from different sources, it is therefore recommended that the ECDoE send its employees for records management courses and there must be strict adherence to legislation and recommendations made by the Auditor General in his last audit report for the department. During the conduct of this research undertaking, these are the findings that emerged from the study: at the ECDoE (1) There is no adequate training provided to employees in record keeping. (2) There are ineffective internal control systems. (3) There is no risk management contingency plan. (4) There is no proper record keeping. (5) There is non-compliance with legislation by officials. (6) There is no strong or effective leadership. (7) There is shortage of staff and qualified personnel. (8) Lack of commitment to excel. (9) No significant corrective action undertaken to eliminate past inaccuracies. (10) There is absence of following up on recommendations made by the external audit. Lastly, the researcher accepts the arguments raised by the different authors about record keeping, transparency and accountability in that: there can be no accountable and transparent government without an effective record-keeping in place. Records are vital sources of evidence admissible to any institution be it a court of law or standing committees should clarity be required.

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

The main purpose of this research is to investigate the Information Architecture (IA) of government web sites in Southern Africa. The government web sites of Mozambique and South Africa were selected for the purpose of this research. A further aim of this research was to derive a model for the IA of government web sites. The model was based on IA components and guidelines as well as on web site components and E-government requirements. The IA guidelines in the model were derived from general design guidelines and guidelines for government web sites. The IA guidelines in the proposed model were used to conduct an analytical and empirical evaluation of the selected sites. The selection of the sites was based on similarities in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) strategies and policies, the annual Internet growth rates, the Internet user profiles and the Egovernment initiatives in both countries. Differences between the sites also contributed to their selection. Mozambique is one of the least developed countries in the world, while South Africa is one of the most developed countries in Africa. Heuristic evaluation was used for the analytical evaluation while questionnaires and user testing were used for the empirical evaluation. Some of the usability problems identified in the heuristic evaluation, such as incorrect organisation of information and navigation issues, were also identified in the empirical evaluation, confirming to the existence of these usability problems. The results of this research show that the IA of government web sites has an impact on user performance and satisfaction and that the proposed model can be used to design and evaluate the IA of government web sites in Southern Africa.

Globally, mobile technology use, particularly the use of mobile phones, is becoming increasingly widespread. One consequence of this growth is mounting interest in using mobile technologies in the public sector, particularly in developing countries, because it is seen as enabling better access to information and services for citizens. Mobile government (m-government), defined as the use of mobile technologies and applications for public sector services, promises to extend access to public services to marginalised sectors of the population and is emerging as a new focus in the ongoing challenge to provide efficient, effective and accessible public services. Though interest in m-government is emerging in the provincial Western Cape Government (WCG) of South Africa, few guidelines exist in the WCG to inform the development of public sector mobile services. This absence impacts on service delivery and the primary objective of this study was to propose a set of guidelines that could guide the prioritisation of citizen facing public sector services for mobile implementation in the Western Cape. The study considered two areas namely, government and user needs. The primary research question was to determine what public sector services citizens need and how these services should be prioritised for mobile delivery in the Western Cape. To address this, three research sub-questions were formulated. The first question aimed to examine conceptions of mobile government. To achieve this a literature study and documentation review was conducted, from which factors influencing service prioritisation emerged. The second research question aimed to identify citizen needs that could inform mobile public sector services in the Western Cape. Thus a survey and interviews were conducted with citizens using the WCG community ICT centres (e-Centres). The third research question aimed to identify factors that impact on the prioritisation of citizen facing public sectors for mobile delivery in the Western Cape. The findings from the literature study, survey and interviews conducted were used to address this research question. The results from the three research sub-questions were triangulated to address the main objective of the study and from this a set of guidelines for prioritising mobile public sector services in the Western Cape was proposed.

In the twentieth century, a dynamic expansion of its activities and powers has made government a major supplier of information on an enormous range of topics of concern to citizens. Unfortunately, the information which it provides is not always completely reliable: sometimes it is inaccurate, and government is powerless to protect the citizen from the consequences; at others, it proves misleading because government chooses later to disown it. The purpose of this thesis is to analyse the legal remedies available to citizens misled by government information. The analysis has two principal areas of investigation. First, consideration is given to the means whereby the citizen may be able to hold government bound by information which it has provided to him. Separate treatment is given to the situations in which the misleading information deprives the citizen of a benefit or inflicts on him a loss, and in which it subjects him to the risk of criminal liability. Secondly, consideration is given to the possibility of holding government responsible in damages for the consequences of its information being misleading. Of central importance in this wide-ranging analysis is the issue of the proper role of the courts. This stems from the fact that complaints about misleading government information frequently involve challenges to government decisions. Thus the majority of attempts by citizens to hold government bound by its information are generated by the making by government itself of a decision inconsistent with that information. Again, attempts to hold government responsible in damages for the consequences of providing misleading information commonly involve an allegation that a particular government decision relating to the provision of that information was negligent. It is emphasized throughout this thesis that the courts should refuse assistance to a citizen whose complaint of misleading government information is directed essentially towards a government decision, where that decision involves a determination of the priority of competing interests and values represented in society. The provision of a remedy in such a case would enable the courts effectively to review the choices embodied in value-laden government decisions, and as such would facilitate an unwarranted extension of their constitutional role. / Law, Peter A. Allard School of / Graduate

Ph.D. / Electronic government (e-Government), implemented towards transformation of public service delivery, aims to contribute to effective information management practices between the government and citizens and/or businesses. E-Government is not a panacea to problems associated with government service delivery and issues such as corruption, but it may go a long way in mitigating its existence in the public service delivery value chains. Many studies have documented the benefits associated with successful implementation of e-Government initiatives: it facilitates interactive, vertical, collaborative and participatory engagement of citizens, businesses and other governments, reducing the cost of service delivery; encourages global participation of citizens in the decision-making processes; provides an opportunity for governments to rethink and reformulate their administrative praxis and provides a framework where governments continuously re-engineer their business processes to retain currency and relevance to best practice. E-Government may further be utilised to mitigate corruption levels in the public sector. For example, the introduction of e-Procurement and e-Tendering can greatly reduce corruption in tendering processes. Zambia has started putting in place initiatives to aid e-Government implementation in the public delivery frameworks. Despite this being the case, there are no strategic initiatives to propagate e-Government. The motivation for this study stems from the fact that, apart from the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) global e- Government assessments (at macro or global levels), little has been done to assess e- Government interventions and development in Zambia at the community, household, and individual level (that is, at micro levels). This being the case, factors to embed into the development of strategic initiatives for e-Government development in Zambia may not come from the present state of affairs on the ground. The UNDESA and other generic e- Government assessment models mostly assess e-Government readiness considering global metrics; in general, assessment is approached at a national level rather than at the micro level (such as a public organisation, community or individual level). With such generic e- Government assessment frameworks, the role of the private sector and other potential consumers of e-Government (such as citizens) is sometimes overlooked.

Orientador: Sérgio Luiz Cruz Aguilar / Co-orientadora: Heloisa Pait / Resumo: A demanda pela abertura dos centros de poder ao escrutínio público tem se expandido rapidamente e em escala global desde a segunda metade do século XX. No Brasil, o termo transparência passou a ser invocado com notável frequência nos últimos anos como solução para muitos dos problemas da nação. Em 2011, foi aprovada a Lei de Acesso à Informação, que regulamenta a abertura dos órgãos públicos ao cidadão e no mesmo ano o país se tornou líder da iniciativa internacional Parceria para o Governo Aberto (OGP). Trata-se, porém, de um avanço tardio. Enquanto a observância normativa do princípio da publicidade só se deu com a Constituição de 1988, muitos decretos, ordens executivas e leis trataram da proteção aos segredos oficiais desde a Independência. Tendo isto em vista, o presente trabalho se dedica a explorar aspectos da história do país que permitam traçar a gênese e a evolução da dinâmica entre segredo e transparência no Brasil, com o objetivo de analisar os limites e as possibilidades para a abertura e a democratização de nossa política externa. / Abstract: The demand for the opening of the centers of power to public scrutiny has been rapidly and globally expanded since the second half of the twentieth century. In Brazil, the term transparency has come to be invoked with remarkable frequency in recent years as a solution to many of the nation's problems. In 2011, the Access to Information Act (Lei de Acesso à Informação), which regulates the opening of public body to citizens, was approved and in the same year, Brazil became the leader of the international initiative called Open Government Partnership (Parceria para o Governo Aberto - OGP). This is, however, a late advance. While the prescriptive compliance with the principle of publicity only appears in the Constitution of 1988, many enactments, executive orders and laws had addressed to the protection of official secrecy since the Independence of Brazil. With that in mind, this work is dedicated to exploring aspects of the history of the country that allow tracing the genesis and the evolution of the dynamics between secrecy and transparency in Brazil, in order to analyze the limits and possibilities to the opening and democratization of our foreign policy. / Mestre

My master’s thesis deals with control of e-government town Kuřim. The aim of the thesis is to provide necessary information on the matter, propose improvements to the existing state and ensure effective communication office.

No description available.