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2006 Information Polity
In the Information Society an individual may take on an identity for each electronic service with which he or she engages. As a consequence, an individual may accumulate a vast array of personal identifiers for such 'services' and is also likely to accrue a range of physical representations of such multiple identification: credit card, debit card, driving licence, passport, library card, parking permit etc. Hence, multiple identity management is a significant issue for individuals and organisations. In this paper we unpack this issue in terms of a semiotic framework consisting of three interrelated processes - authentication, identification and enrolment. These processes serve to locate the three elements of the person, identifiers and identity that help define the socio-technical network which comprises the issue of personal identity in the Information Age. We test the explanatory utility of this framework against a contemporary and prominent case from the UK - an attempt by the government to introduce a national identity card. Such an identity token offers numerous potential benefits for individuals and organisations but raises major challenges to data protection, data privacy and public trust in the information governance of the UK.
2006 Information Polity
This article considers the implications that the use of free and open-source software in government might have for democracy and public participation. From a constructionist perspective, the democratic 'effects' of non-proprietary software are contingent on how the practice of free and open-source software is discursively represented and constituted as it is translated into new e-government systems. On these premises, an analysis of official discourse and government policy for non-proprietary software suggests that its introduction into government will bring more 'politics as usual' rather than democratisation. Nevertheless, on the basis of an alternative discourse of ethics and freedom evident in the Free Software and Open Source communities, the authors of this paper envisage circumstances in which the discourse and practice of non-proprietary software contribute to opening-up and democratising e-government, by protecting and extending transparency and accountability in e-governments and by offering scope for technology to be shaped by citizens and associations as well as by administrators and private interests.
2006 Information Polity
While numerous studies have examined the impact of the Internet on civic engagement in politics, inconclusive results have been revealed that optimistic and pessimistic accounts compete with each other. This study contends that the political effects of the medium depend upon the way it is used, and examines how different patterns of Internet use yield different political consequences in the case of South Korea, a country where political influence of the Internet is crucial. The primary modes of Internet use in focus are e-deliberation and e-social capital. By analyzing an online survey, we find that the former is a significant predictor of citizens' political engagement whereas the latter has only limited impacts. The study concludes that the proliferation of virtual communities over the net, in and of itself, is not an indicator of political revitalization, but deliberative practices of citizens could be an integral element to regenerate civic political life.
2006 Information Polity
This study looks at the satisfaction with their contact experience of citizens using the internet to contact government. Due to the internet, the volume of citizen contacts with government has increased. Presumably the ease and convenience compared to traditional contact modes has stimulated government contacting via the internet. Analysis of the July 2003 Pew E-Government Survey finds that Americans who use the internet to contact government express higher satisfaction levels with their contact experience when controlling for demographics, level of government contacted, reason for the contact, and assessments of the contact process and outcome. However, many internet users also complain of problems in using the internet for contacting government. These problems may outweigh the ease and convenience of internet contacting and may imperil the internet as a way of connecting citizens and government. Suggestions for improving the internet as a medium through which citizens contact government are discussed.
2006 Information Polity
Academics and researchers face a challenge of making sense of the role e-democracy plays in the democratic process and with what implications. This requires a deeper understanding of the objectives and assumptions that underpin e-democracy innovations, as well as institutional and technology structures that condition their role in democratic engagement. This paper interprets case study data collected from three UK local authorities in light of Giddens Structuration theory to make sense of the role e-democracy plays in the democratic process. From the data, it elicits and identifies categories of social structures as perceived by different actors surrounding e-democracy. The insights gained suggest that social structures influence actors in prioritising, shaping and appropriating e-democracy and thus, in moderating its role in local democracy. Using these insights the paper offers some useful suggestions for enhancing democratic engagement through e-democracy projects.
2006 Information Polity
This study investigates the processes involved in the development of broadband public information infrastructure in Northeast of US. Using an evaluative framework provided from the Social Construction of Technology perspective, this paper examines the political economy of such infrastructure by focusing on the direction, the nature, and the results of these infrastructure developments. Finally, this study suggests the effective approach in developing public information infrastructure to capture, clarify, and manage the complex practice and processes of future infrastructure systems.
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