bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An Indoor Obstacle Detection System Using Depth Information and Region Growth
Authors: Huang Hsieh-Chang , Hsieh Ching-Tang , Yeh Cheng-Hsiang
Published: October 2015

This study proposes an obstacle detection method that uses depth information to allow the visually impaired to avoid obstacles when they move in an unfamiliar environment. The system is composed of three parts: scene detection, obstacle detection and a vocal announcement. This study proposes a new method to remove the ground plane that overcomes the over-segmentation problem. This system addresses the over-segmentation problem by removing the edge and the initial seed position problem for the region growth method using the Connected Component Method (CCM). This system can detect static and dynamic obstacles. The system is simple, robust and efficient. The experimental results show that the proposed system is both robust and convenient.
Team Organization Method Using Salary Auction Game for Sustainable Motivation
Authors: Kim Sangkyun
Published: October 2015

In performing team-based projects in engineering class, students usually face many problems, such as free-riding, lack of responsibility, boredom, and insufficient initiative. This papers proposes a new method for performing team-based projects in engineering class—specifically, a gamified method for team organization using a salary auction game. On the description of the design and use of a salary auction game in engineering class, a case study conducted using a survey method is reported to validate the practical value of the proposed auction game. The salary auction game proposed in this paper demonstrates that a gamified team organization method in engineering class could be used as an effective tool to enhance motivation and to improve learning outcomes of engineering students.
Les premiers pas d’une vie nouvelle Baptême ou bizutage ? Rites bénéfiques ou traumatisants ?
Authors: De Visscher Pierre
Published: October 2015

Il s’agit d’apporter une relative contribution à l’examen de ce phénomène récurrent d’actualité sociétale. On lira ci-après : une esquisse de l’évolution historique des « baptêmes étudiants » en Belgique ; une tentative de différencier baptême et bizutage ; une confrontation de points de vue motivés et significatifs divergents ; la réactualisation d’une recherche effectuée sur les baptêmes « traditionnels » ; un questionnement quant à la coexistence d’une fraternité et solidarité groupale du baptême avec des soumissions et humiliations du bizutage et leur déni ; l’évocation de l’expérience de Zimbardo à Stanford et de ses conséquences ; l’exemplification de cas de déshumanisation extrême qui se vivent aujourd’hui.
Les appropriations de la main courante informatisée par les personnels de police
Authors: Ocqueteau Frédéric
Published: October 2015

Dépassant la vue ancestrale de la main courante comme registre de consignation quotidienne des incidents de la vie urbaine sans vocation pénale, l’article éclaire des facettes plus insoupçonnées d’un outil devenu un authentique instrument de la sécurité publique. Depuis son informatisation en 1995 et sa généralisation dans les services de police, l’alimentation et l’usage de la main courante informatisée (MCI) se sont enracinés au point d’avoir fait naître un outil de gestion et d’information ressoudant les policiers les uns aux autres, alors que les identités professionnelles sont en crise. L’article montre le rapport ambivalent de différents policiers à la MCI comme outil de gestion des ressources humaines, distributeur des rapports de pouvoirs en police administrative et judiciaire ou monnaie d’échanges avec la gendarmerie. Il explique pourquoi la MCI n’a pas réussi à accéder au statut d’instrument de mise en œuvre de solutions de prévention aux risques et aux désordres urbains par les statistiques de son produit local.
Associations of CYP1A1 gene polymorphisms and risk of breast cancer in Indian women: a meta-analysis
Authors: Pabalan Noel , Singh Neetu , Singian Eloisa , Barbosa Caio Parente , Bianco Bianca , Jarjanazi Hamdi
Published: October 2015

Reported associations of CYP1A1 polymorphisms with breast cancer have been inconsistent. In this meta-analysis examining breast cancer associations of three CYP1A1 polymorphisms (M1, M2 and M4) among Indian women may yield information that may be of clinical and epidemiological use for this particular demography. We searched MEDLINE using PubMed and Embase for association studies. From seven published case-control studies, we estimated overall associations and applied subgroup analysis to explore differential effects. All three polymorphisms exhibited overall increased risk, significant in M1 (OR 1.61–1.65, p = 0.04) and M4 (OR 2.02–3.92, p = 0.02–0.04). Differential effects were observed only in the M1 polymorphism where M1 effects were significant in South Indians (OR 2.20–4.34, p < 0.0001) but not the North population, who were at reduced risk (OR 0.64–0.77, p = 0.03–0.55). These populations were not materially different in regard to M2 and M4 as did the women stratified by menopausal status. In this meta-analysis, M1 and M4 effects may render Indian women susceptible, but may be limited by heterogeneity of the studies. Differential effects of the M1 polymorphism in breast cancer render South Indians susceptible compared to those in the North.
The Gamut of E-Government Research, Design, and Implementation
Authors: Bwalya Kelvin Joseph , Mutula Stephen M.
Published: October 2015

E-Government research and practice has changed over the years to incorporate recent and contemporary technology developments and unique in evolving contextual environments. Further, the emerging conceptualization of service and applications interactions is slowly defining the gamut of e-Government research and practice. On another front, there has been a dynamic transition of e-Government being implemented on Web3.0 from the original Web2.0 platforms and advanced e-Government applications accessible on mobile devices i.e. ubiquitous or mobile government. Web3.0 presents a semantic platform allowing responsive man-machine interfaces and applications integration facilitating advanced information management possibilities. The chapter explores the contemporary issues in e-Government and articulates the pertinent factors that need to be interrogated for successful and sustainable e-Government development. Key questions of e-Government and the design principles that need to be taken into consideration in any e-Government project are explored.
G2C Marketing
Authors: Sohrabi Babak , Khanlari Amir
Published: October 2015

Public administration has been challenged by “new public management” and “government redesign” paradigms. In addition, the relationship between government and citizen has been changed dramatically based on the mentioned paradigm shift. Customer orientation in the public sector is one of the changes originated from the private sector's principles and paradigms. Nowadays, scholars emphasize applying concepts and techniques of customer orientation in e-government. In this text, firstly, customer orientation and its importance in government activities, especially e-government, is described. Then, principles, applications, and experiences of citizen relationship management as a technique of customer-oriented governments are described.
Globalizing Migration Dialogue
Authors: Talamante Laura , Mackenzie Caroline
Published: October 2015

In this chapter, the authors examine how working with diverse international communities to explore migration history and experiences using oral history and community-service learning pedagogy as well as research practices creates a model for transformational dialogue and understanding regarding difference and diversity. The Empowerment and Migration project focused on two activities: a two-city exhibition on “Citizenship and Migration,” involving migrants from Los Angeles and Marseilles, and the E&M Website, which offers migrants, educators, researchers, associations, and NGOs a global forum for education, dialogue, and research regarding immigrant experiences. The project included student work from California State University Dominguez Hill in Los Angeles and from the Lycée Jean-Baptiste Brochier in Marseilles and immigrant contributions from the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles. The authors qualitatively examine the project's goals of reducing defensiveness by promoting reflective practice, collaborative multicultural skill mastery, and practices for building and sustaining positive cross-cultural rapport.
Designing E-Government Platforms using Systems Thinking Perspectives and Performance Measurement Frameworks
Authors: Utulu Samuel C. Avemaria , Sewchurran Kosheek
Published: October 2015

This chapter intends to present information systems philosophies on design of affluent e-Government platform design. The chapter looks at e-Government platform design in two ways. First, it looks at it as a prevailing concept and philosophy that emanate through the combination of literature in the academic disciplines of government and governance, ICT and information society, and e-Business. Hence, the chapter argues that these fields of study provided the theoretical basis influencing e-Government platform design. Second, the chapter proposes that if the philosophies embedded in the literature dealing with systems thinking and performance measurement are included as part of the theories for e-Government conceptualization, this may culminate into developing a new philosophy. This philosophy may be based on asking relevant and appropriate socio-cultural questions that may facilitate the design of better e-Government platforms. The chapter proposes a model for incorporating the said philosophical standpoints into actual e-Government design. The anticipation is that such a platform may culminate into e-Government platforms that may meet social requirements necessary for requisite e-Government platforms.
The Strategic Planning Process of Social Media Advertising in the Context of Integrated Marketing Communication
Authors: Topsümer Füsun , Yarkin Dincer
Published: October 2015

With the rising number of Internet users and social media platforms, advertising found new source for flourishing. However, social media advertising contains different characteristics compared with conventional or mass media advertising. Social media advertising can provide peer-to-peer communication (instead of one-way communication as in mass media advertising). In the definition of advertising, we see that it is required to pay something for taking place in mass media, but in social media advertising, commonly there is no need for payment, if the right social networks are chosen. This chapter aims to evaluate the process of advertising planning in social media in the context of integrated marketing communication. This chapter contains detailed steps of advertising planning process in social media and comparison between planning process of mass media advertising.
Towards a Successful E-Government Implementation
Authors: Sagheb-Tehrani Mehdi
Published: October 2015

There are many different benefits that a government can obtain from encouraging the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in its public sector delivery frameworks. Utilization of ICTs as a socio-economic stimulant has long been recognized by governments the world over. Electronic government utilizes ICTs to provide all the access to a wide range of public services. Today, different government departments and/or units at all levels of the governance hierarchy respond to millions of citizen demands electronically. The rising interest of many stakeholders in e-Government calls for a conceptual model that will guide implementation regardless of context. This chapter argues that several key success factors are appropriate and need to be considered for successful e-Government implementation. About one hundred e-Government Websites were examined upon those key success factors. Sixty-one university students took part in this investigation. Using t-test, the chapter investigates the appropriateness of the proposed model.
An Overview of E-Government Technological Divide in Developing Countries
Authors: Oyekunle Rafiat A. , Akanbi-Ademolake H. B.
Published: October 2015

This chapter presents an overview of e-Government technological divide in developing countries. Technological divide here does not consist simply of telecommunications and computer equipment (i.e. ICTs), but it is also e-Readiness (i.e. the available capacity as indicated by workforce capacity to build, deploy, and maintain ICT infrastructure), ICT literacy (using digital technology, communication tools, and/or networks appropriately to access, manage, integrate, evaluate, and create information), e-Inclusion and/or e-Exclusion (i.e. no one is left behind in enjoying the benefits of ICT), etc., which are factors also necessary in order for people to be able to use and benefit from e-Government applications. Most of the currently published works on e-Government strategies are based on successful experiences from developed countries, which may not be directly applicable to developing countries. Based on a literature review, this chapter reveals the status of e-Government technological divide in developing countries and also underscores the challenges associated with e-Government in developing countries, thus bringing to the limelight the factors that influence the growth of the technological divide and different approaches that have been put in place to overcome the divide. In conclusion, this chapter advocates education and training, local content development, enhancing network infrastructure, and capacity building, among others, as ways of bridging the divide.
Citizen Education and Technology
Authors: Farmer Lesley S. J.
Published: October 2015

Technology plays a central role in current citizen education. Technology also impacts the underlying concept of citizenship since it now has to consider the digital society. This chapter examines the elements of citizen education and the factors needed to be in place for technology to facilitate citizen education. While technology affords access to information more efficiently than ever before, it also requires additional skills. For technology to play out its role effectively, educators need to design instruction for citizen curriculum that offers technology-enhanced interactive learning and socially rich learning environments. Several examples of good practice of incorporating technology into citizen education conclude the chapter.
ICTs
Authors: Dunne Kerill
Published: October 2015

Within Western democracies there has been a growing demand to use ICT to enable citizens to get more involved with local political issues. Western local governments have claimed that ICT can empower citizens and strengthen local democracy. This paper will focus on one aspect of this and examine the provision of online direct democracy and whether citizens do indeed have the opportunity to vote more in local policy decision making. Using Michel Foucault's concepts of power and domination this research will explore if local governments and their citizens, through strategies of power, use one type of ICT, online forums, to change local representative democracy. In order to examine whether online forums can increase direct democracy for citizens, a quantitative data collection method was implemented in this study which produced a data set of 138 online forums. This article argues that online forums do not increase direct democracy, because citizens along with local governments use ICT to maintain the political status quo online?
Evaluating E-Government
Authors: Patsioura Fotini
Published: October 2015

Over the past few years, e-government growth has resulted in the development of many state and local e-government initiatives in both developing and industrialised countries. In most cases, e-government programs incorporate the implementation and operation of Web portals and Websites, putting information online, transforming processes to Web-based transactions, interacting with citizens and companies. While e-government Websites are evolving, evaluation and effectiveness assessments are emerging processes in order to optimise digital services and enhance the engagement of citizens and companies to government administrative processes for their own benefit. So far, many different measures of governmental Website effectiveness have been developed to address strategic, marketing, and design issues. This chapter aims to provide an insight on the theory and application of evaluation and effectiveness approaches with regards to Web portals and Websites implemented to operate under central or local government authorities. Both quantitative and qualitative aspects are analysed, addressing operational and functional tactics.
Exploring the Development of M-Government
Authors: Kim Yejoo
Published: October 2015

The focus of this chapter is on exploring the possibilities available to African countries that wish to construct and enable m-government. The mobile banking sectors in Korea and Kenya are explored in order to find out the driving forces behind the success and failure of m-government projects. Using Actor-Network Theory (ANT), it is possible to observe how the networks come into being, which actors exist, how these actors are enrolled into a network, and how these networks achieve stability. ANT enables us to extract some elements that African countries must concentrate on if they wish to push forward with m-government initiatives and follow the example set by these two countries.
Construction and Initial Validation of a Dictionary for Global Citizen Linguistic Markers
Authors: Reysen Stephen , Pierce Lindsey , Mazambani Gideon , Mohebpour Ida , Puryear Curtis , Snider Jamie S. , Gibson Shonda , Blake Marion E.
Published: October 2015

The four studies constructed and examined the validity of a text-based dictionary for assessing the values related to global citizenship. In Study 1, an initial list of words related to global citizens was obtained by conducting an analysis of participant definitions of the construct. In Study 2, the list obtained in Study 1 was further explored through a reaction time based categorization task. Words most quickly and reliably associated with global citizens were combined with synonyms to comprise the final global citizen dictionary. In Study 3, a greater number of global citizen related words were used to describe a global citizen (vs. entrepreneur). In Study 4, the use of global citizen related words when describing one's core values was shown to predict antecedents, identification, and outcomes of global citizenship. Together, the results provide initial validation of a linguistic measure of values related to global citizenship.
Religious Social Movements and Economic Welfare in Modern Turkey
Authors: Köroğlu Cemile Zehra , Köroğlu Muhammet Ali
Published: October 2015

In all societies, there have been some movements that point out social, political, economic, ideological, or moral problems or aim at partial or complete change. This chapter discusses the new meanings attributed to the concept of social movements in the postmodern era. A theoretical framework is proposed to understand the nature of social movements since the 1960s and to demonstrate their differences from classical movements. Turkey provides a particularly rich context with high potential for social movements, both with secular and religious aspirations. Religious social movements have shown quite a tense relationship with the state throughout the history of the republic; yet, they have gained power and prosperity through evolving liberal economic policies since the 1980s. Therefore, resource mobilization and new social movement paradigms are used in this chapter to explain Turkey's religious social movements today.
Collaborative Governance Matters to E-Government Interoperability
Authors: Chatfield Akemi Takeoka , AlAnazi Jazem
Published: October 2015

E-government policy initiatives for implementing citizen-centric integrated interoperable (CII) e-government services have gained international validity by governments worldwide. Despite extensive deliberations in e-government literature, however, successfully implementing strategic, institutional, and technological changes required by citizen-centric (vis-à-vis government-centric) e-government remains an unresolved theoretical and pragmatic conundrum. CII e-government systems are characterized by greater diversity in stakeholders, processes, technologies, applications, and big data, requiring greater cross-agency collaboration and process integration/standardization. Drawing from e-government interoperability and governance literatures, the authors examined the governance role in facilitating CII e-government implementation. The authors performed website and policy analyses of a successful implementation of Saudi Ministry portal, which exemplifies CII e-services. Results showed that government's earlier disconnected websites had not facilitated cross-agency information sharing required for citizen-centric e-government development. However, the authors found evidence that both e-government interoperability policy framework and collaborative governance had contributed to overcoming the implementation challenges and delivering CII e-government services to its diverse stakeholders.
The Relationship between Trust and Citizens' Adoption of E-Government
Authors: Alazzam Ameen
Published: October 2015

The rapid growth of e-government in the world has raised the question of how government can increase the citizen's adoption and usage of e-government services. Trusting an e-government Website is a crucial step towards the adoption of such paradigm. Building trust in e-government facilitates and encourages the interaction between government and their customers. This chapter explores the relationship between trust and adoption of e-government and its general concepts including e-government and trust in e-government. It also reviews several models of trust. Conclusions and further future studies are discussed at the end of this chapter.
Citizenship @ the Edge of Two Worlds
Authors: McGray Robert , Thomas Tieja
Published: October 2015

This chapter explores the possibilities for understanding participation in niche online communities through the theories and concepts found in the field of citizenship education. The authors note that there are a number of themes found in theories of citizenship education that help one understand the nature of participation in niche online communities. At the same time, there are a number of contrasting goals—such as the role of virtues in online contexts and who as a right to participate—that demonstrate tensions between the two fields. The authors argue, however, that these tensions are not insurmountable: they suggest that the fruitfulness of the connection between the two fields is the way in which theories of citizenship education highlight the informally learned roles of participating in online communities.
Identity, Citizenship, and Moral Constructs from the Virtual Self
Authors: Martin Stewart
Published: October 2015

Many young people now access digital networks that include individuals very unlike them who promote different cultural, religious and ethical value systems and behaviour. Such value systems can create conflicts of expectation for young people seeking to resolve their relationship to a national citizenship in a pluralistic society, especially if they are experiencing adolescent uncertainties or a growing awareness of social inequalities. The emergence of trans-national political structures and their differing value systems, together with the rise of international tensions, have increased uncertainty about the nature of identity and entitlement to a national citizenship. This paper describes the ongoing Citizens project study of identity development in young people, using real-world scenarios to discover the values that underpin their engagement with this wider range of religious and cultural value systems and to explore personal identity, political issues and citizenship.
Frienemies
Authors: Anderson Leigh R.
Published: October 2015

The working relationships between Native American tribes, the states, and the federal government have been strained for centuries. These intergovernmental interactions have led to a fragmented system whose attempt to deliver public service is consistently met with opposition. One area where this has become increasingly evident is within homeland security and emergency management policy. Guided by Agranoff (2012), this study used a cross sectional survey to gather information about the beliefs tribes held about the various aspects of their working relationships with states and the federal government within the context of homeland security and emergency management.
Niche and Community Online
Authors: Pente Patti
Published: October 2015

This chapter addresses ethical aspects of digital life by analyzing the idea of niche community from two approaches: through the lens of the inoperable community as theorized by Jean-Luc Nancy (1991, 2000) and through artistic interventionist practices that dig deeply into normative assumptions of neoliberalism, which have been carried online. It considers the nature of digital citizenship by examining creative activities facilitated by DIY (Do-It-Yourself) culture and tactical media intervention. These activities disrupt standard social conventions, and as forms of pedagogy, educators might engage with students about constructive social change within the global potential of digital communication. While stronger connections between formal learning environments and social networking activities are appropriate, the author critiques some of the underlying economic influences on the user/member so that the educational, psychological, and behavioral nature of niche online communities can be considered in light of disruptive artistic activities and subjectivity supported by Nancy's philosophy.
The Impact of Perceived Organizational Politics on Work Attitudes
Authors: Chhetri Prerna , Afshan Nikhat , Chatterjee Srabasti
Published: October 2015

An understanding of politics at workplace is of utmost importance as it is an inherent part of workplace activities. It is evident in processes such as decision making, allocation of resources. This study investigated the effect of perceived organizational politics (POP) on workplace attitudes such as job satisfaction, organizational commitment and turnover intentions. Further, the paper investigated the role of Leader-Member-Exchange (LMX) on the relationship between perceived organizational politics and workplace attitude. The hypothesized relationship was tested on a sample of 228 employees from Indian IT sector. Factor Analysis on POP suggested that variables can be summarized by two factors; Perceived Politics in organizational management (POP1) and Perceived Politics in co-workers (POP2). The findings suggest that there exists a negative relation between POP and workplace attitude. The results show that incase of the relationship between POP and workplace attitude, the part of organizational politics related to management has shown a significant negative impact on organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and a positive relation to turnover intention. With regard to the role of LMX in the relation between POP and workplace attitudes, results of LMX as a moderator have confirmed to the hypothesis.
Towards an Interactive E-Government System in Sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Conteh Charles , Smith Greg
Published: October 2015

Governments worldwide, including those in Africa, are embracing the promises and prospects of electronic service delivery (or e-government). In particular, countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are moving towards adopting system-wide Integrated Communication Technology (ICT) and Enterprise Content Management (ECM) systems to support Electronic Government (EG) services. There are reasons to believe that Africa stands at the threshold of a new experience in this century, but there are also considerable challenges ahead. This chapter examines some of the prospects and challenges of the continent's adoption of Electronic Government. The discussion focuses on the rationale and characteristics of e-government in Africa, as well as its strengths and weaknesses, with particular reference to two countries in the region – Ghana and Kenya. The chapter concludes with a synopsis of some of the key issues as well as salient lessons to highlight the broader future challenges and prospects of e-government in Africa.
Feral Government?
Authors: Maddison Annie
Published: October 2015

Using workflow technologies as a metaphor for Critical Success Factors (CSFs), this chapter considers their use to improve the performance of major government IT projects, asking whether context can be ignored without repercussion or whether it is highly significant. Focusing on the UK, this exploration begins by defining “context,” then considering what it means in terms of government. A case study demonstrates that context limits the value of CSFs to a major government IT project. Whilst claiming to submit to the imposed workflow technology, the project team developed feral behaviour, manipulating the CSFs to match previous ways of working with no action being taken to ensure compliance. However, increased governance is not the answer. It would simply force these generic solutions on to unique problems; more contingent solutions should be sought to the problem of IT project failure in order to take these highly specific contexts into account.
Are Greek High School Students Environmental Citizens?
Authors: Sdrali Despina , Galanis Nikolaos , Goussia-Rizou Maria , Abeliotis Konstadinos
Published: October 2015

Environmental citizenship is specifically concerned with understanding the nature of global issues and taking an active role in addressing them. The aim of the present paper is the identification of the characteristics that constitute the environmental citizen among high school students in Greece. Literature review revealed the characteristics that an environmental citizen should possess. Thus, a research was conducted via a closed-type questionnaire in order to identify those characteristics in the students' responses. The results suggest that the knowledge of the students on certain environmental issues is sufficient. Also, the major motive for participation in environmental activities is the high level of awareness of the students about the global environment. Finally, a classification of high school students in five clusters, describing the relevance of their responses to the environmental citizenship characteristics, is presented.
The Opportunities and Challenges of using Email for Political Communication in Authoritarian States
Authors: Takavarasha, Jr. Sam , Masunungure Eldred V.
Published: October 2015

This chapter uses Illich's (1973) concept of conviviality for analysing the challenges and opportunities of using email for political communication in authoritarian states. Based on evidence from a case study of Zimbabwe's Media Monitoring Project (MMPZ), it contends that while conviviality allows the use of ICTs for political mobilisation, it also enables a counterproductive “big brother” effect. In addition to constant censorship and overt operations, covert strategies are often used for disrupting communication platforms. This calls for a framework for harnessing ICTs for political mobilisation. This chapter is a case study on how perceived state surveillance disrupted a vibrant communicative space in Zimbabwe. Based on evidence from the volumes of email traffic transacted over two weeks of panic, anger, and heroism, the chapter discusses the challenges and opportunities of using email for political mobilisation and warns against uncritical celebration of the role of ICTs in political mobilisation. It concludes by suggesting how the adaption of e-strategies from email marketing to political communication is among the skills that could break the tie between political opponents armed with the same convivial tools for political communication in the information age.
Government 2.0
Authors: Pankowska Malgorzata
Published: October 2015

E-Government and e-Democracy system development is enabled by Internet technology. The implementation of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) accelerates the transformation of government institutions and their methods of operations. The use of ICTs at municipality institutions not only opens up possibilities for improving services to citizens and businesses, but also increases their involvement in local community governance. The general objective of this chapter is to reveal, at the municipality level, the opportunity for local community development and stronger citizen involvement in governing processes (e-Democracy). The chapter aims to present the new sources of knowledge, particularly through the involvement of individuals in local government development. The chapter aims to understand challenges in developing open information infrastructures that support municipality innovation and development. The chapter utilizes extensive literature reviews and the analysis of the content of selected e-Government portals to inform its positions.
Realigning Governance
Authors: Ngwenya Bongani
Published: October 2015

This chapter posits that Governance realignment from e-Government to e-Democracy constitutes a critical context for social and economic development in both developed and developing countries. E-Government and e-Democracy are not new phenomena in most developed countries and some developing countries in Asia and Africa. However, the degrees of political and economic variations between developed and developing countries poses a serious challenge to the efforts towards realignment of governance for social and economic development attainment. The findings in this chapter are that social and economic development lie at the intersection of e-Government and e-Democracy processes of governance realignment. Asymmetry in institutionalisation, and diffusion of e-Democracy amongst countries is widely attributed to economic and political variations in these countries. Unless these differences are skillfully identified and accommodated as such into the development and use models, e-Democracy efforts will not help achieve social and economic development goals, particularly those of developing countries.
Foresights and Practice in Technology Development for E-Government Applications
Authors: Bwalya Kelvin Joseph
Published: October 2015

Although a lot has been achieved with regards to technology development for e-Government applications, there are still no global technological conceptual frameworks and models that define e-Government platform design and implementation the world over. This has partly been attributed to the differing local contexts and organisational cultures in the public services departments (even within the same government). Because of this scenario, there is need to review the different technology design endeavours geared towards achieving process automation and application integration in the different government departments to achieve meaningful and robust e-Government development. This lead chapter intends to review the different approaches that have been done on the technology front of e-Government (especially design of interoperability frameworks and ontology platforms) in different parts of the world and outlines the future works that e-Government researchers and practitioners need to concentrate on. This chapter sets the tone for the remaining chapters of this book, which discuss various aspects of e-Government implementation from the technological front (deployment, design, and customization of e-Government solutions). The chapter posits that with the current pace of technological advancements and efforts by the OASIS forum and other interested parties, it is not difficult to notice that global technological models of e-Government are to be realized in the foreseeable future.
Critical Perspectives of E-Government in Developing World
Authors: Afolayan Gbenga Emmanuel
Published: October 2015

This chapter utilizes extensive literature reviews to assess the different perspectives of e-Government development in developing world contexts. In order to do that, the chapter presents a case study from Jordan assessing the design and reality gaps of e-Government interventions using the ITPOSMO model. The chapter posits that e-Government for development is likely to grow only if there is deliberate cognisance of culture, real work practices, and of the broader technical and socio-political environment with which the e-Government projects are introduced and applied in the developing world.
Impact and Potential of Emerging Technologies for Fostering Democracy
Authors: Manzoor Amir
Published: October 2015

In recent years, several case studies have appeared on how emerging technologies had an impact in bringing grass root political changes. It has been widely argued that emerging technologies are influencing democracy all over the world. This chapter explores how emerging technologies support various pillars of democracy (freedom of expression and freedom of press, rule of law, human rights, and individual liberty) to strengthen and foster the democratic processes. While there exist substantial evidence that technology provides strong support to democracy, significant issues still exist and need to be addressed for emerging technology to contribute to democracy. The chapter discusses these issues and offer recommendations for better use of emerging technologies for democracy.
Constructing Multicultural Society on Web
Authors: Mahmutoğlu Vildan
Published: October 2015

As a public sphere traditional media have some blockages for the disadvantaged groups to participate in the cultural and social life. New media help these groups for being visible in a majority and provides a base for multicultural societies. This article tries to find out the conditions of constructing the multicultural society through new media. For that purpose, a content analyse of the art and culture pages of the website and an interview have been realized with one of the founders of www.suryaniler.com. It is trying to find out that how new media helps to the minorities for the participation in the cultural life and being visible in a majority. The paper also examines how a webpage can promote the relation of people who have been spread all over the World.
Consulting the British Public in the Digital Age
Authors: Virkar Shefali
Published: October 2015

Over the last two decades, public confidence and trust in Government has declined visibly in several liberal democracies; giving way instead to disillusionment with current political institutions, actors, and practices, and rendering obsolete or inappropriate much of traditional democratic politics. Simultaneously, digital technologies have opened up huge opportunities and raised new challenges for public institutions and agencies. Through an analysis of the No. 10 Downing Street ePetitions Initiative based in the United Kingdom, this chapter will engage with issues related to the innovative use of digital network technology by Government to involve citizens in policy processes within existing democratic frameworks. The work examines whether the application of new digital platforms to participatory democracy in the Government 2.0 era leads eventually to radical transformations in government functioning and the body politic, or merely to modest, unspectacular political reform and to the emergence of technology-based pathologies and addictive behaviours amongst individuals in society.
Currency Crisis in Developing Countries
Authors: Boachie Christopher
Published: October 2015

Currency crises have been the subject of an extensive economic literature, both theoretically and empirically. The purpose of this chapter is to examine and investigate the causes of currency and associated crises, evaluates the accuracy of empirical models in predicting crises, and review works on measuring the consequences of crises on the real economy. It is a cross sectional survey study and used of secondary data on the causes of currency and associated crises, and challenges in avoiding these crises. The study reveals that reduce output, financial liberalization, capital and current accounts, the real economy and macroeconomic conditions are some of the indicators of currency crisis. A key cost of currency crisis is forgone output. EWS models estimate probabilities of crises to occur. The implications are that currency crisis negatively affects the economy needs to be predicted and managed appropriately.
Measuring the Impact of Financial Crisis
Authors: Yıldırım İsmail
Published: October 2015

Crisis in 2001 and global financial crisis in 2008 effect Turk economy in a lot of ways. Financial crisis creates destructive effect especially on increasing market economies. It is not so easy to watch occurring of this financial crisis and determining of its expanding. First of all determining of crisis terms are needed to predict of financial crisis. In this part, a financial stress index is composed by using TL interest rate and monthly data of global gross reserves belongs to $/TL exchange rate between 1997:01-2014:12 terms for Turkey. Months when financial stress index raised to top level for Turkey and financial crisis are observed on, are found as February(2001) and November (2008).
Understanding Chaos as an Indicator of Economic Stability
Authors: Sanderson Rohnn B
Published: October 2015

With what appears to be the increasing sensitivity of economic/financial systems to various events, whether they be natural disaster, changing financial products or government policy, the need to understand how volatility has changed in modern economic systems and how to recognize when volatility will occur is a topic that is extremely important. This topic has been categorized under various topics such as: business cycles, chaos, dynamic systems, fractals, Brownian motion and super cycles just to name a few. The author believes that all of these areas need to be considered at once when analyzing dynamic phenomena which may have varying degrees of the aforementioned. This chapter will implement a Hicksian Accelerator to develop a framework for stylized facts of general dynamic macroeconomic behavior. The chapter will then implement the model and begin the process of estimating the degree of and sensitivity to volatility in a macro economy.
Asset Pricing Bubbles
Authors: Prosad Jaya Mamta , Kapoor Sujata , Sengupta Jhumur
Published: October 2015

The chapter focuses on the significance of asset pricing bubbles in recent times. It explores the nature of this anomaly and its role in influencing financial and economic scenario of a country. It attempts to develop an understanding on identifying the pricing bubbles, how they may appear and what are the factors behind them. Further, the chapter presents a series of past encounters with this anomaly, which helps the realizing the severity of its after-effects. Their consequences are critically examined with the help of relevant literature which provides the background for probable policy implications. These implications could be categorized into public policy, monetary policy and regulatory actions. The chapter concludes on the note that a proactive approach and timely policy interventions can help curb the instances of pricing bubble episodes.
Assessing the Financial Vulnerability of Emerging Markets
Authors: Pasha Fahad Mansoor , Yilmaz Neslihan
Published: October 2015

The consequences of the recent financial crises during the last two decades showed how important it is to monitor financial performance and try to predict a coming crisis. In an effort to predict a coming crisis, the authors calculate a vulnerability index based on a number of financial and economic indicators. This chapter analyzes the financial vulnerability of sixteen emerging countries as these countries are more vulnerable to financial fluctuations. The findings show that Peru, Russia, Indonesia, and Thailand are less vulnerable to a crisis, whereas, South Africa, Turkey, India, Egypt, and Hungary are more vulnerable to a crisis.
IgM-Dependent Phagocytosis in Microglia Is Mediated by Complement Receptor 3, Not Fcα/μ Receptor
Authors: Weinstein Jonathan R. , Quan Yi , Hanson Josiah F. , Colonna Lucrezia , Iorga Michael , Honda Shin-ichiro , Shibuya Kazuko , Shibuya Akira , Elkon Keith B. , Möller Thomas
Published: October 2015

Microglia play an important role in receptor-mediated phagocytosis in the CNS. In brain abscess and other CNS infections, invading bacteria undergo opsonization with Igs or complement. Microglia recognize these opsonized pathogens by Fc or complement receptors triggering phagocytosis. In this study, we investigated the role of Fcα/μR, the less-studied receptor for IgM and IgA, in microglial phagocytosis. We showed that primary microglia, as well as N9 microglial cells, express Fcα/μR. We also showed that anti-Staphylococcus aureus IgM markedly increased the rate of microglial S. aureus phagocytosis. To unequivocally test the role of Fcα/μR in IgM-mediated phagocytosis, we performed experiments in microglia from Fcα/μR−/− mice. Surprisingly, we found that IgM-dependent phagocytosis of S. aureus was similar in microglia derived from wild-type or Fcα/μR−/− mice. We hypothesized that IgM-dependent activation of complement receptors might contribute to the IgM-mediated increase in phagocytosis. To test this, we used immunologic and genetic inactivation of complement receptor 3 components (CD11b and CD18) as well as C3. IgM-, but not IgG-mediated phagocytosis of S. aureus was reduced in wild-type microglia and macrophages following preincubation with an anti-CD11b blocking Ab. IgM-dependent phagocytosis of S. aureus was also reduced in microglia derived from CD18−/− and C3−/− mice. Taken together, our findings implicate complement receptor 3 and C3, but not Fcα/μR, in IgM-mediated phagocytosis of S. aureus by microglia.
Costimulation of IL-2 Production through CD28 Is Dependent on the Size of Its Ligand
Authors: Lim Hong-Sheng , Cordoba Shaun-Paul , Dushek Omer , Goyette Jesse , Taylor Alison , Rudd Christopher E. , van der Merwe P. Anton
Published: October 2015

Optimal T cell activation typically requires engagement of both the TCR and costimulatory receptors, such as CD28. Engagement of CD28 leads to tyrosine phosphorylation of its cytoplasmic region and recruitment of cytoplasmic signaling proteins. Although the exact mechanism of CD28 signal transduction is unknown, CD28 triggering has similarities to the TCR, which was proposed to use the kinetic-segregation (KS) mechanism. The KS model postulates that, when small receptors engage their ligands within areas of close (∼15 nm) contact in the T cell/APC interface, this facilitates phosphorylation by segregating the engaged receptor/ligand complex from receptor protein tyrosine phosphatases with large ectodomains, such as CD45. To test this hypothesis, we examined the effect of elongating the extracellular region of the CD28 ligand, CD80, on its ability to costimulate IL-2 production by primary T cells. CD80 elongation reduced its costimulatory effect without abrogating CD28 binding. Confocal microscopy revealed that elongated CD80 molecules were less well segregated from CD45 at the T cell/APC interface. T cells expressing CD28 harboring a key tyrosine-170 mutation were less sensitive to CD80 elongation. In summary, the effectiveness of CD28 costimulation is inversely proportional to the dimensions of the CD28-CD80 complex. Small CD28-CD80 complex dimensions are required for optimal costimulation by segregation from large inhibitory tyrosine phosphatases. These results demonstrate the importance of ligand dimensions for optimal costimulation of IL-2 production by T cells and suggest that the KS mechanism contributes to CD28 signaling.