Masters of Commerce / This study aims at determining the m-Readiness of a Province for m-Government from a context of its Provincial Government (PG), the underprivileged citizens of the region and the mobile fluency thereof. In answering the research question, i.e., “What is the extent of readiness of the government and that of the underprivileged citizens for introduction of m-Government within the region under study”, literature was reviewed and existing models synthesised, and from that, a conceptual model was presented which acted as a reference point. The research process used a quantitative method and utilised a stratified random sampling method in determining and adequately representing the populations under study, namely, underprivileged citizens and IT managers and specialists from the PG’s office. Descriptive statistics were adopted in analysing the collected data used in answering the research questions and findings presented. The findings show that the Province is m-Ready for m-Government services, from the studied contexts of the PG, underprivileged citizens and mobile fluency. The reference model, that is, the Provincial Mobile Readiness Measurement Model (PMRMM), was developed from a perspective of the Province under study, therefore, its theoretical generalizability to other Provinces has to be first studied before being implemented. Secondly, the study only looked at three segments of the government service delivery value chain, which are the Government-to-Citizen (G2C), Government-to-Employee (G2E) and Governmentto- Government (G2G). The contributions of the study are twofold, firstly as a practical decision-making guide regarding introduction of m-Government and secondly, it adds to the conceptual understanding of government readiness for introduction of government services via ICT mobile platforms.

Mobile government (M-Government) is an evolving delivery channel for governments to provide timely information and services ubiquitously to residents, businesses and other government departments through mobile devices. Developing countries have a higher mobile penetration rate than the fixed-line Internet rates, which opens doors of opportunities for these countries to bridge the digital gap and gain a better reach through M-Government. Jordan has realised the potential of M-Government and launched the E-Government Mobile Portal on the 18th of April, 2011. This thesis uses a mixed-method approach comprising surveys, interviews, meta-analysis and focus groups. The findings show that the critical success factors for M-government from the users’ perspective are the following: user acceptance, security, privacy, trust, cost, mobile device limitations, usability, availability of services, broadband and content. The findings also show that there are ’high effect’ success factors in addition to the critical ones which are the following : mobile payment system, accessibility, awareness, education, reliability, legal issues and mobile penetration. Additionally, this thesis also proposes a success framework for M-Government that provides practical strategies to tackle each success factor. Furthermore, it recommends an M-Government user-centric road map with implementation stages aiming to assist the Jordanian Government and other governments in tackling each success factor in order to ensure a successful implementation of M-Government.

In recent years emphasis has been placed on opening up governments and empowering and engaging citizens in governmental activities: this view of e-government is referred to as government 2.0. Government 2.0 focuses on governments becoming more transparent, accessible, and responsive, and on governments promoting increased collaboration and participation.  There is also an increasing demand from citizens to interact and gain access to government services through mobile devices. Adopting mobile and wireless technology within the public sector is referred to as mobile government (m-government) and this new phenomenon is expected to become an important part of the development of e-government. By combining government 2.0 and m-government, The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the research community envisages benefits and calls for action within this field. This research answers this call, and addresses the research problem of how to design an m-government solution for complaint and problem management that enables government 2.0. Challenges that inhibit Swedish municipalities from adopting and utilizing such a solution are also identified in this research. Citizens in Sweden can submit complaints and problems concerning a community, such as broken streetlights, to municipalities. By enabling complaints and problems to be reported through mobile devices it facilitates reporting at the point and time of discovery of the issue. Complaint and problem reporting is therefore a suitable m-government service. The m-government solution for complaint and problem management was designed and evaluated within a research project. This compilation thesis builds on and communicates research performed within the research project. By following a design science research methodology, the complaint and problem management solution is designed and evaluated. The solution (Munizapp) comprises a mobile application (app) and an integration platform (ePlatform). The app is the front-end that enables citizens to report complaints and problems to municipalities. The ePlatform facilitates seamless two-way communication between the app and back-end case management system in municipalities. A theoretical evaluation shows that the solution has functionalities that enable all aspects of government 2.0. Additional evaluations indicate evidence of citizens finding the solution valuable and easy to use. There is willingness among municipalities to adopt and utilize the designed m-government solution, but there are challenges that inhibit them from realizing the full potential of the solution. The challenges identified in this research are described and related to business process management and to government 2.0. Future research should investigate how to overcome these challenges.

Yes / Mobile applications are becoming a preferred delivery method for the government sector and contributing to more convenient and timely services to citizens. This study examines the intention to use mobile applications for the government services (mG-App) in Oman. This study extended the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model by including two constructs namely trust and information quality. Data were collected from 513 mobile application users across Oman. The research model was analysed in two stages. First, structural equation modelling (SEM) was employed to determine significant determinants affecting users’ acceptance of mG-App. In the second stage, a neural network model was used to validate SEM results and determine the relative importance of determinants of acceptance of mG-App. The findings revealed that trust and performance expectancy are the strongest determinants influencing the acceptance of mG-App. The findings of this research have provided theoretical contributions to the existing research on mG-App and practical implications to decision-makers involved in the development and implementation of mG-App in in Oman.

El trabajo de investigación aborda una perspectiva multidisciplinaria que se enfoca en generar una herramienta de comunicación, abordando temas importantes como son el gobierno móvil, la tecnología y el Estado. Gobierno móvil es un concepto que ha tomado fuerza en muchos países en desarrollo, muchos de estos descritos en casos de éxito en países donde el uso de este tipo de plataformas aportó en el desarrollo de políticas de Estado, siendo una herramienta versátil y útil en diversos campos. Luego de un análisis de la situación actual de los Pueblos Indígenas y el proceso de Consulta Previa en el Perú, nuestro trabajo de investigación propone el uso de aplicaciones móviles que colaboren con las políticas del Estado, lo que está alineado al Plan Bicentenario de nuestro país. Así, de esta manera contribuir con un aporte al Estado en la implementación de Gobierno Móvil como una herramienta que refuerza la inclusión, posibilitando el acceso del ciudadano de todas partes del Perú a los programas y planes de apoyo social a cargo del Estado. / The research work addresses a multidisciplinary perspective that focuses on generating a communication tool, addressing important issues such as mobile government, technology and the State. Mobile government is a concept that has taken hold in many developing countries, many of these described in successful cases in countries where the use of this type of platforms contributed to the development of State policies, being a versatile and useful tool in various fields After an analysis of the current situation of Indigenous Peoples and the process of Prior Consultation in Peru, our research work proposes the use of mobile applications that collaborate with State policies, which is aligned with the Bicentennial Plan of our country . Thus, in this way contribute with a contribution to the State in the implementation of Mobile Government as a tool that reinforces the inclusion, making possible the access of the citizen of all parts of Peru to the programs and social support plans in charge of the State. / Trabajo de investigación

This thesis analysed the challenges and opportunities associated with the implementation of mobile government services in Saudi Arabia using a mixed method approach combining surveys and semi-structured interviews with Saudi citizens and employees of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. Three studies were conducted for the purpose of achieving the aims and objectives of the thesis. The first study shows that the high level of mobile penetration in the country suggests that there is already a demand of a greater range of m-government services despite the fact that still a large proportion of the Saudi population who do not have access to mobile technologies. Nevertheless, the results suggest that there is still a strong desire among users for the provision of mobile government services and the majority of respondents were willing to use such services and understand the benefits of using m-government. This thesis also shows a strong consensus among both government employees and citizens that m-government implementation would contribute to the technological development of the country. The findings of the second study suggest that the high level of mobile penetration offers an opportunity for the Saudi government to offer mobile government services. However, a number of barriers to mobile government exist, including poor quality and speed of internet, lack of customisation of services and data security and privacy issues as well as infrastructural challenges and bureaucratic attitude of the government departments. The third study focussed on the practicality of a mobile phone application, and for this purpose a mobile application for utility bills was developed and evaluated in terms of its usability, reliability and validity of the service. The thesis revealed that the majority of respondents were satisfied with the service usage, as application was easy to use without complications. However, participants were not comfortable to leave their details pertaining to credit card or any personal information. Misuse of information was major threat to participants, which further added reluctance to usage of the application. Respondents were willing to provide financial details if the service was authorised by government agencies. By exploring the opportunities of, and challenges facing m-government in Saudi Arabia, this thesis contributes to the m-government literature on developing countries in particular. This thesis offers important lessons for the m-government policy makers in Saudi Arabia and around the developing world.

The number of mobile phone users in Turkey has already exceeded the number of households with the internet access. The presence of technologies which allowed more bandwidth and access from almost everywhere such as UMTS, Wi-Fi, or Wi-Max is putting a pressure on governments to enter into a new direction: m-government. As mobile phone penetration increases, its presence in the public sector is increasingly being viewed as inevitable. In this thesis, a strategic action plan model for the developing countries to achieve success in the development of m-government will be constructed. Meanwhile, critical success factors for Turkey are to be identified by a comparison of selected country cases. Moreoever, drivers and barriers for mobile government in Turkey and the affects of the demographic factors are examined by using the One-Way ANOVA and Pearson Chi-Square tests.

Thesis (MPA (School of Public Management and Planning))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / m-Government or mobile-Government is seen as part of e-Government and an additional channel for the delivery of public services and information to the citizen. This study critically examines and evaluates the extent to which the Provincial Government Western Cape has adopted m-Government and implemented related services. A survey conducted by Kirsten (2006) on the adoption and readiness of mobile technology by businesses in South Africa was used as the foundation of this study to determine the level of readiness in the Provincial Government Western Cape. Managers and technical staff within the Province’s information and communication technology component, the Centre for e-Innovation, were interviewed and asked to complete the survey. The study found that, although there is a relatively high degree of adoption with regard to various aspects of mobile and wireless technology, there are many obstacles and barriers that need to be overcome in order to achieve a higher level of m-Government maturity or readiness. The study makes various suggestions on how to overcome these barriers. The most important suggestion is to develop a holistic approach to the adoption of m-Government. Plans for adoption should be incremental to ensure that small victories that can be built on are achieved; the involvement of key stakeholders is also essential.

<p>Denna studie ses som ett försök att bryta ny mark inom kriskommunikationsforskningen;</p><p>vilken kan anses fokuserad på stora samhälleliga katastrofer, potentialen hos avancerade</p><p>tekniska larm- och varningssystem samt massmediernas roll som meningsskapare. Mot</p><p>bakgrund av detta, samt det faktum att vi lever i ett allt mer mobilt kommunikationsklimat,</p><p>undersöker denna uppsats människors inställning till samhälleliga larmfunktioner; idag och</p><p>imorgon. Empirin har genererats genom en rad fokuserade gruppintervjuer. Det teoretiska</p><p>ramverket utgörs av Beck och Baumans tankar om ett senmodernt samhälle karaktäriserat av</p><p>ökad institutionaliserad individualism. Castells och Frändeberg & Thulin får illustrera tidigare</p><p>forskning och teorier kring människors användning av och inställning till nya</p><p>kommunikationstekniker. Resultaten belyser en stor komplexitet i dessa frågor. Generellt sett</p><p>kan dock sägas att medborgarna har ett högt men samtidigt diffust förtroende för larmnummer</p><p>112. I samband med detta kan ny mobil kommunikationsteknik tänkas ge allt fler</p><p>kontaktmöjligheter, men samtidigt göra relationen mellan individ och larmfunktion allt mer</p><p>komplex.</p>

Submitted by Maurício Arantes de Andrade (mauricioarantesdeandrade@gmail.com) on 2015-10-26T14:07:26Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao MGovernment Estado de São Paulo Final.pdf: 1168214 bytes, checksum: 46cdec6e82071002436c86c6d6d6bf2e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Fabiana da Silva Segura (fabiana.segura@fgv.br) on 2015-10-26T14:32:03Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao MGovernment Estado de São Paulo Final.pdf: 1168214 bytes, checksum: 46cdec6e82071002436c86c6d6d6bf2e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-10-26T15:02:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao MGovernment Estado de São Paulo Final.pdf: 1168214 bytes, checksum: 46cdec6e82071002436c86c6d6d6bf2e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-09-24 / This research has the goal of exploring how the São Paulo State government can use technology to get the State closer to citizens by means of mobile applications. The increase in use of mobile applications by Brazilian people and recent broadening in use of m-government as an effort in search of better services to São Paulo State citizens in last two decades have set the scenario in which was created the Request for Proposal of Citizens’ Technology and Services Agency of Government Department of São Paulo State. In this work, there was integration of different research methods: literature review, semi-structured interviews with important players for policy formulation, assessment of São Paulo State mobile application policy and assessment of its applications, benchmarking of international experience and analytic diagnostic of current situation. It was found as strengths the existence of an Agency close to Governor, the creation of a central application which references the other applications from government and the existence of a government technology company with the skills to develop services and applications. As challenges, it was identified applications communication and promotion strategy, lack of legislation about m-government and lack of public policy and consistent strategic plan to guide improvements and reaching of results with speed and efficiency. It is recommended that: 1) Citizens’ Technology and Service Agency act as central body to generate guidelines to m-government, beyond e-government issues, 2) that government focuses on aiming services toward citizens and not mainly to applications development, and 3) that a clear policy to m-government diffusion be formulated and implemented in a way it can be understood and replicated by all government players and pervade all direct and indirect administration bodies, not restricting to IT departments. The conclusion is that m-government approach in Brazil is still incipient, requiring additional academic research to consolidate critical mass about the subject. We consider that this subject will have attention and investment from government in the next years. São Paulo State is in a good direction, but to advance effectively state managers will have to incorporate best practices from international experience in m-government, having a long way to effectively provide a better relationship between the State and citizens by the use of mobile applications, with approach of unique government to unique citizen. / Esta dissertação tem como objetivo explorar como o governo do Estado de São Paulo pode utilizar a tecnologia para aproximar o Estado dos cidadãos por meio de aplicativos móveis. A intensificação do uso dos dispositivos móveis pela população brasileira e a recente ampliação do uso de m-government como esforço na busca da melhoria da prestação de serviços ao cidadão pelo Estado de São Paulo nas duas últimas décadas configuram o cenário em que foi estabelecido o Termo de Referência da Subsecretaria de Tecnologia e Serviços ao Cidadão, da Secretaria de Governo do Estado de São Paulo. Neste trabalho, houve a integração de métodos de pesquisa de diferentes naturezas: revisão da literatura, entrevistas semi-estruturadas com atores influentes na formulação das políticas públicas, avaliação da política de aplicativos móveis do Governo do Estado de São Paulo e dos próprios aplicativos, benchmarking de experiências internacionais e diagnóstico analítico da situação atual. Foram identificados como pontos fortes a importância da existência de uma subsecretaria próxima ao Governador, a criação de um aplicativo central que facilita o conhecimento dos aplicativos do governo existentes e a existência de uma empresa pública de processamento de dados com competência para desenvolver serviços e aplicativos. Como desafios foram identificados a estratégia de comunicação e divulgação dos aplicativos, ausência de legislação sobre m-government e a falta de uma política pública e planejamento estratégico consistente para orientar melhorias e alcance de resultados com rapidez e eficiência. Recomenda-se, principalmente: 1) que a Subsecretaria de Tecnologia e Serviços ao Cidadão atue como órgão central para além de emitir as diretrizes de e-goverment, também emanar as de m-government, 2) que o foco governamental seja na orientação do serviço ao cidadão e não primordialmente ao desenvolvimento de aplicativos e 3) a formulação e implementação de uma política clara para a difusão de m-government que seja passível de ser entendida e replicada por todos os atores governamentais e permeie todos os órgãos da administração direta e indireta, não se restringindo às áreas de TI. A abordagem de m-government ainda é incipiente no Brasil, necessitando de novos estudos acadêmicos complementares para consolidação de massa crítica sobre o tema. Este assunto receberá atenção e investimentos governamentais nos próximos anos. Conclui-se que o Estado de São Paulo está em uma boa direção, mas para avançar com efetividade os gestores estaduais devem se apropriar das melhores práticas da experiência internacional em m-government, havendo um longo caminho para melhorar o relacionamento entre o Estado e os cidadãos com o uso de aplicativos móveis, com a abordagem de um governo único para um cidadão único.