bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Courts on the Web in Russia
Authors: Trochev A.
Published: May 2011

When the Internet reached Russia in the mid-1990s, Russian judicial chiefs actively embraced the idea of having a solid presence of national judiciary on the Web. To judges, having court Web sites would improve public awareness about Russian courts and relieve overloaded court clerks from answering mundane questions about the location of courthouses, hours of work, schedule of hearings, court forms, and so on. However, the chronic underfinancing of Russian courts in the 1990s and the decentralized nature of the Russian judiciary made the creation and the maintenance of the lower courts’ Web sites much more sporadic. Improving public awareness about Russian courts is a priority for Russian judges, who increasingly issue impartial decisions yet at the same time face growing public skepticism about judicial performance (Solomon, 2003, 2004; Trochev, 2006). As the growing number of studies of the information and communication technologies (ICT) in courthouses around the world show, computerized courts can both speed up the administration of justice and strengthen public trust in the judicial system (Bueno, Ribeiro, & Hoeschl, 2003; Dalal, 2005; Fabri & Contini, 2001; Fabri & Langbroek, 2000; Fabri, Jean, Langbroek, & Pauliat, 2005; Langbroek & Fabri, 2004; Oskamp, Lodder, & Apistola, 2004; Valentini, 2003; Malik, 2002). Indeed, as the recent research demonstrates, those who know something about the courts: either about court procedures or about court-ordered public policies, tend to trust the judiciary and to comply with court decisions (Baird, 2001; Gibson, Caldeira., & Baird, 1998; Kritzer & Voelker, 1998; Tyler & Mitchell, 1994; Tyler, Boeckmann, Smith, & Huo, 1997). This article focuses on the Web sites of Russian courts as the virtual gateways in the world of judicial administration (Trochev, 2002) and discusses challenges of adapting Russian court Web sites to the needs of various users of judicial system: judges themselves, law-enforcement agencies, actual litigants, general public and scholars (Toharia, 2003).
Current Approaches to Federal E-Government
Authors: Chen M. E. , Davis C. K.
Published: May 2011

The U.S. government is making strides to provide electronic access to government agencies and services. A variety of issues are involved when implementing e-government programs such as electronic tax filing, access to drug information, and so forth. Financial, technical, personnel, and legal issues are common. Privacy issues in the creation of e-government are also of interest to both the e-government implementer and citizen. There are a variety of issues in planning and implementing projects of the scope and magnitude of e-government. Issues such as user requirements, organizational change, government regulations, and politics, as well as descriptions of planning and implementation frameworks, are important. Experience in developed countries shows that it is not difficult for people to imagine a situation where all interaction can be done 24 hours each day, 7 days each week. Many countries, including the United States, France, Australia, Greece, Canada, Singapore, and Italy have been offering government services online (West, 2004). According to Sharma and Gupta (2003), Canada, Singapore, and the United States are categorized as “innovative leaders” (p. 34) whose continued leadership in the creation of e-government and more mature online services sets them apart from other countries. Canada leads the way in e-government innovation while Singapore, the United States, Australia, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Finland, Germany, and Ireland are countries in the top-10 list. Several Asian countries such as China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh, and Burma have initiated the concept of e-government as well (Dodgson, 2001). An article in Federal Computer Week (Perera, 2004) reported findings of a recent poll indicating that 77% of Internet users (or some 97 million people) in the United States have gone online for government information. E-government is rapidly becoming a key priority of the government of the United States.
Data Mining and Homeland Security
Authors: Seifert J. W.
Published: May 2011

A significant amount of attention appears to be focusing on how to better collect, analyze, and disseminate information. In doing so, technology is commonly and increasingly looked upon as both a tool, and, in some cases, a substitute, for human resources. One such technology that is playing a prominent role in homeland security initiatives is data mining. Similar to the concept of homeland security, while data mining is widely mentioned in a growing number of bills, laws, reports, and other policy documents, an agreed upon definition or conceptualization of data mining appears to be generally lacking within the policy community (Relyea, 2002). While data mining initiatives are usually purported to provide insightful, carefully constructed analysis, at various times data mining itself is alternatively described as a technology, a process, and/or a productivity tool. In other words, data mining, or factual data analysis, or predictive analytics, as it also is sometimes referred to, means different things to different people. Regardless of which definition one prefers, a common theme is the ability to collect and combine, virtually if not physically, multiple data sources, for the purposes of analyzing the actions of individuals. In other words, there is an implicit belief in the power of information, suggesting a continuing trend in the growth of “dataveillance,” or the monitoring and collection of the data trails left by a person’s activities (Clarke, 1988). More importantly, it is clear that there are high expectations for data mining, or factual data analysis, being an effective tool. Data mining is not a new technology but its use is growing significantly in both the private and public sectors. Industries such as banking, insurance, medicine, and retailing commonly use data mining to reduce costs, enhance research, and increase sales. In the public sector, data mining applications initially were used as a means to detect fraud and waste, but have grown to also be used for purposes such as measuring and improving program performance. While not completely without controversy, these types of data mining applications have gained greater acceptance. However, some national defense/homeland security data mining applications represent a significant expansion in the quantity and scope of data to be analyzed. Moreover, due to their security-related nature, the details of these initiatives (e.g., data sources, analytical techniques, access and retention practices, etc.) are usually less transparent.
The Digitalization of the West European Party Systems
Authors: Cunha C. , Voerman G.
Published: May 2011

American politics has been at the forefront of World Wide Web use. In the early 1990s political parties and candidates started to employ Web sites to spread their message. President Bill Clinton’s second-term campaign for the 1996 election was the first time the Internet appeared as a pervasive presence in American Politics, and in which all presidential candidates had Web sites (Rash, 1997). After some time, European parties and politicians followed the lead. In this article, we intend to describe the emergence of Web sites of political parties in West European nations. Reaching out to the Web required allocating limited resources. What advantages did parties hope to reap by creating a Web site, and what disadvantages might they have encountered once the sites were in place? Ideally, a comprehensive analysis would include all political parties in every West European nation. Given the complications regarding collection of data from multiple nations, however, we focused on the parties which were represented in parliament. At the same time, not all nations are currently included in this assessment. The data set consists of information provided by country experts that kindly responded to an expert survey, which included categorizing their national parties by party family (ideologically).1 To facilitate comparative analysis, we have organized the existing data into four chronological lists (tables) and two figures such as the level of Internet penetration in countries, as well as party family, size, and ideological characteristics: 1. “Complete Chronology” provides the data according to party Web site inauguration for all parties and all nations. The calendar year is divided into three-month quadrants. Is there a correlation between the spread of party Web sites in national party systems and the emergence and development of Internet connections within individual countries? 2. “Party Family Chronology” categorizes site emergence regardless of nationality by ideological divisions ranging from “Nationalist/extreme-right” toward the left ending with “Other” (mainly regional parties). Did ideology influence parties’ decisions to initiate Web sites? 3. “National Chronology” arranges Web site emergence by individual nation. Did party size (small, medium, or large) influence the Web site creation decision? 4. “National Initiator Chronology” lists only the first political party in each nation to initiate a Web site. We also include figures that consolidate the data from the lists to portray potential patterns behind party Web emergence. Our content analysis of the digitalization of Western European parties is limited only to their decisions and motivations for initiating a Web presence. We do not intend to systematically look at other facets of digital activity such as internal uses of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) by political parties for data management (archiving or membership lists) or communication (newslists).
E-Democracy Policy in Queensland
Authors: Henderson M. , Hogarth F.
Published: May 2011

The term e-democracy has tended to be used interchangeably in the literature with e-governance or e-government, and these terms have been described as “being in a constant state of definition, redefinition, and evolution” (Riley, 2002). For the purpose of this article, e-democracy is seen as one facet of a wider use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the business of government, where the focus is on increasing citizen participation in the public decision-making process rather than using ICTs to deliver government information, programs and services, to make financial transactions electronically, or to enhance government internal administrative practices such as record-keeping. E-democracy has been variously defined, described in one report as “easier to recognise than define” (Kellner, 2004). New terms have also been coined, such as m-democracy—“m” for mobile, addressing mobile communication technologies separate from electronic processes such as the Internet that are more commonly used for e-democracy (Brucher & Baumberg, 2002). The case study that follows proposes a simple definition: “E-democracy refers to the use of information and communication technologies in democratic processes.” E-democracy covers a wide range of activities that support public participation in democratic processes, including electronic voting, online consultation, Web-based discussion forums, electronic petitions to parliament, using the Internet to Webcast parliamentary debates, and digital polling and surveys. Clift (2002a) lists the leading e-democracy practices as e-mail notification as an active information dissemination tool; online public hearings and consultations; ICT use by members of parliament for electoral engagement; digital recording and availability of public hearing recordings and materials; and ICT-enabled local civic deliberations and global networking.
E-Government Issues in Switzerland
Authors: Chappelet J.
Published: May 2011

This short article gives an overview of e-government in Switzerland about 10 years after its introduction at the municipal, cantonal and federal levels. It outlines the technical and political difficulties recently encountered for the further development of online services at all levels and presents some good examples of what has been achieved so far. Opportunities for e-participation are also presented as a growing trend based on a few e-voting experiments at cantonal level. Since Switzerland is a multicultural country with four national languages, some of its e-government experiences and “lessons learned” can be useful in neighbouring countries with the same cultural background (i.e., Austria, France, Germany, and Italy).
E-Government Program of the Belgian Social Security
Authors: Robben F.
Published: May 2011

The Belgian social security consists on the one hand of three insurance systems (workers, self-employed workers, and civil servants), that cover a maximum of seven social risks (incapacity for work, industrial accident, occupational disease, unemployment, old age, child care and holiday pay—the so-called branches of social security), and on the other hand of four assistance systems (subsidies for the handicapped, guaranteed family allowance, minimum income, and income guarantee for the elderly), that grant people specific minimum services after checking their subsistence resources. In addition, a lot of public institutions at the national, regional or local level, or private companies entrusted with missions of general interest (e.g., energy, water, or public transport companies) grant benefits (e.g. tax or price reductions, free passes for public transport, etc.) to citizens based on their social security status. In total, about 2,000 actors are responsible for the provision of social security and social protection in Belgium. More than 10 million citizens and 230,000 employers have very frequent contacts with those actors to claim their entitlements, pr
E-Learning as Social Inclusion
Authors: Casacuberta D.
Published: May 2011

When talking about excluded people and how to develop programs towards digital and social inclusion, there has been little research to individuate targets. So far, there seems to be only two main subdivisions: • People with either sensorial or motor disabilities who may benefit from specific technologies in order to assure accessibility to digital content. • People that are digitally illiterate and therefore have to be taught the basics on using the computer and basic applications. Nevertheless, it is quite clear that the digital divide is a multidimensional phenomenon, and therefore, that digital inclusion strategies will benefit a lot if more specific strategies are developed, individuating problems and solutions related more closely to individual experiences. The aim of this article is to show how e-learning can be used as an e-inclusion tool to help excluded people improve their lives and be socially included.
Electronic Government
Authors: Gronlund A.
Published: May 2011

Digital government, electronic government, online government, wired government, virtual government—there are many terms used to refer to the contemporary strong focus, in practice as in research, on increasing the amount and sophistication of information and communication technologies (ICT) use in government and governance processes. While the terms are largely used as synonyms, there is no unambiguous definition of the field. Some use the terms to refer specifically to government services to citizens (G2C), but definitions by influential actors typically define electronic government in governance terms. The former definitions typically focus on efficiency issues, often directly concerning the ICT components, while the latter ones concern effectiveness and focus on systems aspects, organizations, and social systems in general, rather than individual components. While reduced cost per delivered form is a typical measurement emanating from research following from the first kind of definition, reduced corruption is one from the latter. This article investigates the content of the electronic government (e-gov) field briefly by exhibiting (1) definitions, theoretically anchored ones as well as definitions-in-use emerging from practice, (2) examples of work, including steps in the development over time, (3) models for evaluation, and (4) considerations about the future of the phenomenon based on the development so far. Altogether this gives a view of a vast field, not unequivocally defined but in practice framed by a number of similar practices, strategies, critical issues, and technologies. It is also regularly monitored globally by methods commonly used. While these are not uncontested and subject to different technical, social, and business-oriented viewpoints, they do contribute to the framing of the field as a practice.
Electronic Voting Machine
Authors: Santhias P. R. , Cabral R.
Published: May 2011

Electronic voting, as well as Internet voting, is in the process of being incorporated into most democracies in the world. The literature on the topic is abundant as well as the technologies offered. Most of the work, nevertheless, seems to bypass the actual origins of the modern (and current) electronic voting systems (Oudenhove et al., 2001).
E-Participation and Canadian Parliamentarians
Authors: Francoli M.
Published: May 2011

During the last decade, the public policies of many countries have emphasized the need for greater citizen participation in decision-making, and governments have been adopting e-government strategies as a means of not only improving service delivery, but also engaging society and revitalizing democracy. Indeed, many political leaders have been advancing the democratic potential of information and communication technologies (ICTs). British Prime Minister Tony Blair, for example, has stated: “I believe that the information society can revitalize our democracy...innovative electronic media is pioneering new ways of involving people of all ages and backgrounds in citizenship through new Internet and digital technology ... that can only strengthen democracy” (Hansard Society, 2004). Similarly, former United States President Bill Clinton stated that ICTs would “give the American people the Information Age that they deserve—to cut red tape, improve the responsiveness of government toward citizens, and expand opportunities for democratic participation” (Prins, 2001, p. 79). In Canada, former Prime Minister Paul Martin also argued, along the same vein, that people need to be brought into the decision-making process if the country is to have the kind of future that it needs, indicating that ICTs are a useful means of achieving this goal (Speech to the 2003 Crossing Boundaries Conference, Ottawa Canada).
From E-Government to E-Governance
Authors: Costake N.
Published: May 2011

The purpose of the present article is twofold: (a) to support the definitions of e-government (eGvt) and e-governance (eG) based on content (and not on technology only); (b) to analyze the relationship between eGvt and eG.
General Requirements for Digital Government
Authors: Costake N.
Published: May 2011

“Digital government” (DG), “online government,” “e-government (eGvt),” and “e-governance (eG)” are widely used terms. They suggest the use of modern information and communications technology (ICT) in the governance of socio-economic systems (SES). It is widely accepted that the goal consists in increasing the performance of the governance. This can be considered in the sense of improving the services provided to citizens and organizations and also of improving the socio-economic development. There are still various points of view concerning the scope and strategy. The purpose of the present article, based on existing results and trends, is to propose a set of general requirements for the informatized governance of socio-economic systems.
Global Governance as a Complex Adaptive System
Authors: Geiselhart K.
Published: May 2011

The recent advent of Internet technologies has greatly intensified existing globalization processes. The development of full multimedia international communications has the potential to democratize information flows. Citizens can communicate with each other and with governments to create and document public and private accountabilities beyond jurisdictional borders. Ironically, it is also now possible to achieve intensive and intrusive surveillance of individuals and organisations, virtually untraceable criminal exchanges of data, and even forms of cyberwarfare. These possibilities are all part of the global information commons. Like physical common spaces, beneficial and nefarious elements coexist. A working definition of the global information commons is the set of all information systems critical to managing global resources and governance, and the set of protocols for their exchange. While both cumbersome and broad, this definition of the global information commons helps to ground it as a concept that can be modelled and managed. It responds to Dahl’s query about the possibility of a third transformation of democracy beyond the nation-state. This article considers key issues for the emerging global information commons. These relate to the role of new technologies in possible forms of global governance. Global governance is here considered to be the emerging mechanisms for managing trans-national issues and resources. These can be particular to a specific issue or resource, such as the fisheries, or may be more formal, such as the European Union. Governance can be seen as a management function, much as the “governors” on early steam trains. First, the author presents an overview of technology as socially determined, followed by a sketch of how global governance may be seen as a complex adaptive system. This includes an analysis of how models might embed democratic structures. Finally, examples of sub-systems of the global information commons demonstrate the range of actors and rules such a system would need to consider. This theoretical perspective builds on empirical work in the physical, biological, and social sciences and emphasizes the value of modelling governance at all scales. This approach is seen as fruitful for identifying and monitoring dynamic patterns. It provides useful insights for managing the global information commons. In human systems, the rules of interaction and information exchange are determined by the values of the actors (Theys, 1998). Modelling can help to articulate these values. In complex human systems, the direction of change can be as important as absolute measures.
Governance and Design Issues of Shared Service Centers
Authors: Janssen M.
Published: May 2011

In the current economic climate, public administrations are looking for ways to improve their service provision and to increase their efficiency. A great long-term public sector concern is the need for restructuring structures and processes to improve efficiency and effectiveness (Beynon-Davies & Williams, 2003). Shared service centers (SSCs) are gaining importance in public administration as a means to innovate, reduce costs, and increase service levels (Janssen & Joha, 2004b). The SSC is a business model in which selected functions are concentrated into a semi-autonomous business unit with management structures that promote efficiency, value generation, and cost savings in a manner akin to companies competing in an open market (Bergeron, 2002). By unbundling and centralizing activities, the basic premise for a SSC seems to be that services provided by one department or agency can be provided to others with relatively few efforts. Within public agencies there is a debate about which kind of services are suitable to share, how to obtain the expected benefits and how to organize SSCs. Currently, SSC implementations include several, relatively easy-to-standardize, functions like the concentration of administrative processes for handling human resources and procurement for all ministries, and the maintenance and control of information systems of several local agencies in a SSC (e.g., http://www.sharedservicesbijdeoverheid.nl/). Clearly, there is no one-size-fits-all business model that incorporates all benefits and has no negative aspects. The goal of this research is to explore the concept of shared service centers and to present an overview of critical research issues with respect to its governance and design. The structure of the article is as follows. In the following section, we discuss the theoretical background. Thereafter we present the main drivers for shared service centers. Section four provides an overview of the critical research issues and in section five we present future trends. Finally in section six, conclusions are drawn.
Hot-Spot Geoinformatics for Digital Governance
Authors: Patil G. P. , Modarres R.
Published: May 2011

Geoinformatic surveillance for spatial and temporal hot-spot detection and prioritization is crucial in the 21st century. A hot spot may be any unusual phenomenon, anomaly, aberration, outbreak, elevated cluster, or critical area. Government agencies require hot-spot delineation and prioritization for monitoring, etiology, management, or early warning. Responsible factors may be natural, accidental, or intentional, with relevance to both infrastructure and security. This article describes multidisciplinary research based on novel methods for hot-spot detection and prioritization, driven by a diverse variety of case studies of interest to agencies, academia, and the private sector. These case studies concern critical societal issues, such as public health, ecosystem health, biodiversity and threats to biodiversity, emerging infectious disease, water management and conservation, carbon sources and sinks, persistent poverty, environmental justices, crop pathogens, invasive-species management, biosurveillance, biosecurity, disease biogeoinformatics, social networks, sensor networks, hospital networks and syndrome surveillance, video mining, early warning, tsunami inundation, remote sensing, and disaster management. Our approach has involved an innovation of the popular circle-based spatial scan statistic. In particular, it employs the notion of an upper level set (ULS) and is accordingly called the upper level set scan statistic system, pointing to the next generation of sophisticated analytical and computational systems, effective for the detection of arbitrarily shaped hot spots along spatiotemporal dimensions. It also involves a novel prioritization scheme based on multiple indicators and stakeholder criteria without having to reduce indicators to a single index using Hasse diagrams and partially ordered sets. It is accordingly called the poset prioritization and ranking system (see Patil & Taillie, 2004a, 2004b). The following Web sites have additional information. 1. http://www.stat.psu.edu/hotspots/ 2. http://www.stat.psu.edu/~gpp/ 3. http://www.digitalgovernment.org/news/stories/2004/1104/1104_hotspots_heyman.jsp
Information and Communication Technology and Good Governance in Africa
Authors: Onu G.
Published: May 2011

The 20th and 21st centuries have witnessed major paradigm shifts in the conceptualization of development and governance. These phenomena are aided and propelled by a new “network intelligence” consummated in the introduction of information and communication technology (ICT). The world has also witnessed a reinvention of the whole process of governance that has impacted society in various ways. Through the Internet and digital connectivity, today’s world has come to be closer than ever before. Efficiency and processes of governance have been improved through faster information flow in the governance chain. Bottlenecks and cost of labor have been reduced across the world. Furthermore, ICT has opened new possibilities, improved transparency and access to information as well as partnership and collaboration, leading to improved relationships between the citizen and state. While Europe and North America, as well as some countries of Asia and the pacific, have taken advantage of this development to improve their economies and governance process, Ningo (1999) observes that sub-Saharan Africa has remained either passive or in the periphery, often reduced to a consumer for reasons related to its history or its system of governance—or lack of one. This has led to a yawning digital divide (especially between Africa and developed states of the world. What led to this divide and how can Africa, then, benefit from this revolution? What are the obstacles?
Information Security Management in Digital Government
Authors: Shih H. , Li C.
Published: May 2011

Ensuring security for its information systems, including computers and networks, is a fundamental prerequisite for a digital government to function to the expectation of its people. The security problem can be “visualized” by projecting it onto a three-level hierarchy: management level, system level, and application and data level. The key elements of information security include integrity, confidentiality, availability, authentication and non-repudiation, which have to be taken into account at different levels within the hierarchy. Since there are specific articles in this encyclopedia to address the security issues at the lowest two levels, this article will focus on the management level at the top level of the hierarchy. At the management level, the main emphases are to prevent security breaches from happening and to minimize the impact when security events happen. The decision of security investment and deployment requires clear identification of risks posed to the information systems and feasible cost analyses. In addition, to ensure that the investment and deployment are worthwhile, information security policies and procedures have to be thoughtfully devised and effectively enforced. Therefore, at the management level, risk assessment, cost analysis, policymaking, procedure definition, and policy and procedure enforcement have to be looked into.
Non-Technical Risks of Remote Electronic Voting
Authors: Oostveen A. , Besselaar P. V.D.
Published: May 2011

A few years ago, remote electronic voting seemed like a good idea for the near future. Globally, voting turnout figures are dropping dramatically (Electoral Commission, 2002) and politicians are therefore trying to find ways to increase civic participation. One solution is to make the voting process more convenient by giving voters the opportunity to submit their governmental election ballots over the Internet from home or work, or through their mobile phones using SMS. In this way, people will not have to leave the comfort of their homes or their work routines to have their voices heard. What a great boost this would be for our Western democracy! Citizens who live overseas, housebound people, or business travellers, everybody could use a computer to cast a ballot online. However, we will argue in this article that for several reasons remote electronic voting does pose a real challenge for e-government and might not necessarily be the best way forward.
Online Citizen Consultation and Engagement in Canada
Authors: Longford G. , Hurrell C.
Published: May 2011

Like other western liberal democracies, Canada has witnessed the erosion of political participation and civic engagement on the part of its citizens. Recent studies of Canadian democracy have revealed numerous symptoms of malaise, including declines in voter turnout, participation in traditional political institutions, civic literacy, and trust in government (Gidengil, Blais, Nevitte, & Nadeau, 2004; Nevitte, 1996). Governments at the federal, provincial, and municipal levels have launched numerous democratic reform initiatives in response. Along with proposals for electoral and parliamentary system reform, governments in Canada have responded with new citizen consultation initiatives designed to increase public participation in the policymaking process. Incorporating the use of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) into these initiatives, such as online citizen consultation tools, has become a common method used to engage Canadians in the policymaking process. A gradual shift in the language and practice of citizen involvement in the policymaking process has also been taking place, one in which citizen consultation is being complemented by richer and more sustained forms of citizen engagement. This chapter examines the political context and conceptual underpinnings of online citizen consultation and engagement in federal policymaking in Canada, reviews a number of recent examples, and assesses their outcomes in light of their potential to overcome the democratic malaise currently ailing Canada’s political system.
Radio Frequency Identification as a Challenge to Informaiotn Security and Privacy
Authors: Kajava J. , Anttila J.
Published: May 2011

New technology has continuously changed the face of computing, and each change has involved an improvement in computer architecture and information processing. There are strong indications that the next paradigm shift in information technology will be kicked off by tiny radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. These lowly devices are being ushered in by corporations like Wal-Mart to facilitate business logistics, but other uses are waiting in the wings. As usual with any technology, criminally-minded individuals have been quick to exploit smart tags for their own purposes. Thus, it is in place to take a look at the dark side of RFID technology to see how it may affect the security and privacy of citizens.
Radio Frequency IdentificationTechnology in Digital Government
Authors: Pang L.
Published: May 2011

Following technical strides in radio and radar in the 1930s and 1940s, the 1950s were a period of exploration for radio frequency identity (RFID) technology as shown by the landmark development of the long-range transponder systems for the “identification, friend or foe” for aircraft. Commercial use of RFID appeared in the 1960s, such as electronic article surveillance systems in retail stores to prevent theft. The 1970s were characterized by developmental work resulting in applications for animal tracking, vehicle tracking, and factory automation. RFID technology exploded during the 1980s in the areas of transportation and, to a lesser extent, personnel access and animals. Wider deployment of RFID tags for automated toll collection happened in the 1990s. Also, there was growing interest of RFID for logistics and having it work along side with bar codes. In the beginning of the 21st century, the application of RFID technology has been ubiquitous and now it is practically part of everyday life (Landt, 2001).
Virtual Policy Networks
Authors: McNutt K.
Published: May 2011

As information cascades across the Internet and human communication patterns are transposed into computer-mediated environments, governments around the globe race to garner the benefits of ICTs and Web-based communications (Bannister & Walsh, 2002; Chadwick & May, 2002; Falch & Henten, 2000; Heeks, 2002; Ma, Chung, & Thorsona, 2005). Increasingly sophisticated user-citizens can now access numerous electronic services, collect policy-relevant information, and communicate with governments through electronic channels (Dahlberg, 2001; Lenk, 2003). Contemporary e-government, while variable across states, has evolved significantly in the last decade, pursing increasing transparency and accountability through the implementation of various e-government measures (Jaeger & Thompson, 2003; Reddick, 2005). While theoretical contentions concerning the authenticity of e-democracy have yet to abate, collections of policy actors that seek entrance and participation in the public policy process have also emerged online (Chadwick & May, 2002; Della Porta & Mosca, 2005; Klein, 2002). This article considers these online policy communities.
E-Survey Methodology
Authors: Jamsen J. , Corley K.
Published: May 2011

With computer network access nearly ubiquitous in much of the world, alternative means of data col-lection are being made available to researchers. Recent studies have explored various computer-based techniques (e.g., electronic mail and Internet surveys). However, exploitation of these techniques requires careful consideration of conceptual and methodological issues associated with their use. We identify and explore these issues by defining and developing a typology of “e-survey” techniques in organiza-tional research. We examine the strengths, weaknesses, and threats to reliability, validity, sampling, and generalizability of these approaches. We conclude with a consideration of emerging issues of security, privacy, and ethics associated with the design and implications of e-survey methodology.
Web Survey Design
Authors: McCord M.
Published: May 2011

The Web survey design chapter covers the process of creating a Web (online) survey system. Along with technical requirements, the chapter gives instruction and examples for four stages of Web survey design: determine survey requirements, design initial survey system, pilot test, and system modification. In the determine survey requirements section, the authors direct the reader through steps that design a ques-tionnaire form with data types that will meet the survey requirements. The chapter includes examples of design and coding procedures to be used for Web surveys. In the design initial survey system stage, issues such as user interface design, database design, and application interface design are covered, and recommendations are given. After the survey system is built, the chapter outlines procedures for a pilot test, giving solutions for debugging the system, and how to increase response rate. The chapter ends with methods to revise the system before its final use.
Overcoming Challenges to Conducting Online Surveys
Authors: Ye J.
Published: May 2011

The widespread use of personal computers in the work place and at home has created a new opportunity of conducting research. With the increasing accessibility of the Internet and e-mail, using the new medium to distribute surveys is gaining popularity among researchers. The online survey, however, is a “double-edged sword” with the ability to access a large number of respondents at low costs but the risk of increasing difficulties to evaluate the quality of the research (Couper, 2000). Concerns over response rates, sampling, and controlling the data collection environment have posed serious challenges to online survey researchers. The purpose of the present paper is to offer suggestions for addressing these concerns. After a brief discussion on the formats of online surveys, the author will outline the challenges of conducting online surveys and provide some strategies to overcome these challenges.
The Ethics of Online Surveys
Authors: Gurau C.
Published: May 2011

Facilitated by the technological advancements in Internet applications, online surveys have become a powerful tool to collect primary data on a variety of topics. The ease with which the cyberspace medium facilitates these types of studies also raises issues about the ethical and legal dimensions of such research. The present paper attempts to investigate and present the main ethical issues related with online surveys and the solutions implemented by various organisations for solving these ethical problems.
Measuring Internet Dependency
Authors: Melton J. , Reynolds L.
Published: May 2011

Internet dependency measures need to be refined from the previous measurements with regard to media dependency in order to more fully understand relations with the Internet and how the population uses the Internet to facilitate adaptation into a constantly changing culture. The bases for this study will be media system dependency theory, however, there are new concepts that need to be refined in order to build a greater understanding of how dependencies vary with types of media. The application included in this chapter tries to identify how users of the Internet learn information about culture and, therefore, facilitate their adaptation into the information age. With regard to Internet dependency, findings show that Internet goals, unlike those posited in the media system dependency literature (namely, understanding, orientation, and play) were better identified as goals related to Information, Communication, Entertainment, and News.
Measuring Disagreement
Authors: Whitworth B.
Published: May 2011

Agreement is an important goal of computer-mediated and face-to-face groups. This paper suggests a measure disagreement in groups facing limited choices, as in a multi-choice questionnaire. It defines a disagreement score between two people, then takes one person’s disagreement as the average of their pair-wise scores with the rest of the group, and finally defines the group disagreement as the average of its member’s disagreement. This gives a standard disagreement scale (from 0 to 1) for any group response pattern, for any size group, facing any number of choices. It can be inverted to give agreement, though this does not necessarily predict group coalescence. It is encouraging that when the method is extended to ranked, interval or ratio scale data, it is equivalent to the score variance, and that it also matches an ecological diversity measure. Unlike variance, this measure can be used with categories, and gives both individual and group values. Being standard, it offers a single score in cases where the group size and number of choices faced is unknown, e.g., online computer-based group feedback. Examples are given of how the measure can be used.
Mixed-Mode Surveys with Netservey
Authors: Papagiannidis S.
Published: May 2011

Mixed-mode approaches are often used to boost response rates and reduce costs. Still, they can increase the complexity of designing, deploying and managing a survey, especially when combining online and offline methods and when the number of modes and recipients increases. This article presents a prototype of a mixed-mode solution which can handle both online and offline modes, freeing the researcher from the survey’s practicalities, especially deploying the survey and collecting the responses. The solution can handle web, email and postal surveys, using advanced digital printing technology, although in principle any channel can be utilised.
Open Source Surveys with Asset
Authors: Wachsmuth B.
Published: May 2011

At Seton Hall University we developed Asset, a web-based Academic Survey System and Evaluation Tool to design, administer, and analyze surveys. This free, Open-Source project is widely used at our institution and has even been approved for electronic voting. Other universities have also successfully deployed the project. In this article we will introduce the Asset system, describe its design principles and capabilities, and compare it to similar tools. We will include a discussion of sample surveys using Asset and briefly describe the requirements for installing the system.
Open Source Survey Software
Authors: Baker J.
Published: May 2011

One of the significant advances in software design afforded by the internet has been the open source movement, an effort to collaboratively create software and make it widely and freely available to the online community. Although the open source movement started with Unix-like computer operating systems, it has expanded to include a wide variety of software programs, including tools to publish and analyze online surveys. This article introduces the open source movement and then profiles three leading open source survey programs: php Easy Survey Package (phpESP), PHP Surveyor, and the Moodle course management system.
Web Credibility Measurment
Authors: Reynolds R.
Published: May 2011

Several researchers (e.g., Carter & Greenberg, 1965; Flanagin, & Metzger, 2000; Fogg, 2002; Johnson & Kaye, 2004; Newhagen & Nass, 1989) discuss or mention the concept of media or web credibility. The classic concept of credibility (typically attributed to Aristotle’s Rhetoric) identifies credibility as a multidimensional perception on the part of the receiver that the source of a message has a moral character, practical wisdom, and a concern for the common good. Warnick (2004) points out that the “authorless” nature of the online environment complicates the use of traditional analyses of credibility. The most common set of web credibility scales cited in the research are the Flanagin and Metzger (2000) items. The five Flanagin and Metzger scale items address the believability, accuracy, trustworthiness, bias, and completeness of the information on the web site. Other researchers have added other items such as fairness or depth of information. Flanagin and Metzger used a 7-point response format with anchors for each term (e.g., “Not At All Believable” to “Extremely Believable”). Other researchers have used a 5-point response format.
Constructivist Online Learning Environment Survey
Authors: Baker J.
Published: May 2011

Understanding the psychosocial classroom environment has been important in both traditional face-to-face courses and online education. Trickett and Moos (1974) pioneered the use of post-course self-report instruments to measure the classroom environment through the Classroom Environment Scale. More recently, Taylor and Maor (2000) developed the Constructivist On-Line Learning Environment Survey (COLLES) to examine the students’ perceptions of online learning environment in light of social constructivist pedagogical principles. The 24-item, Likert-type COLLES instrument is a popular measure for examining online learning environments for a least two reasons. First, it measures the online learning environment along constructivist categories, which makes it in line with the dominant pedagogical philosophy for online instruction. Second, the COLLES instrument is freely included in the Survey Module of Moodle, the most popular open source course management system available. This makes it particularly convenient for online instructors to use COLLES in their teaching and research.
Self-Report Measures of Discrete Emotions
Authors: Dillard J. , Shen L.
Published: May 2011

According to appraisal theories of emotion, negative emotions arise from the perception that the environment is in an incongruent relationship with the individual’s goals (Dillard, 1997; Frijda, 1986; Lazarus, 1991). In contrast, when an individual judges that the current environment is likely to facilitate his or her goals, positive emotions follow (Frijda, 1986; Lazarus, 1991). However, both within and across these broad categories, individual emotions can be discriminated along several lines (Frijda, 1986; Lazarus, 1991; Oatley, 1992; Roseman, Weist, & Swartz, 1994; Scherer, 1984). First, emotions vary in terms of their signal value (Table 1, column 2). That is, emotions are a source of information regarding the state of the person-environment relationship. For example, surprise follows from the perception of novelty in the environment and registers that perception in conscious awareness (Frijda, 1986; Lazarus, 1991; Oatley, 1992; Roseman et al., 1994; Scherer, 1984). Emotions also signal the mobilization of psychological and physiological resources correspondent to that person-environment relationship. The subjective experience of an emotion also relays this information to consciousness. In this sense, an emotion may be viewed as a summary readout of the changes taking place in the body (Buck, 1997).