Whitney's Weblog

Assignment

wlstockwell — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:10:20 +0000

What is a government website?The simple answer is that it is a website set up, maintained, and updated by a government-related entity. It may serve information and/or communication functions. It is the public face of the government.

What is e-government?E-government occurs when government services go on-line. Examples of this are filing taxes on-line or seeking housing assistance on-line. The point is to increase effectiveness, efficiency, and quality of government services

What is e-governance?E-governance involves more of an interactive element than e-government. E-governance allows citizens to respond and shape policies through feed-back mechanisms. It enhances the ability of governments to adequately respond to citizen demands. E-governance facilitates, broadens, and deepens citizen involvement in government.

What are the promises of e-government?E-government promises to revitalize democracies and enhance democratic elements in other types of government. It promotes the reduction in space and time between government and citizens, thus increasing the efficiency of governments. Because it is virtual, there is also the promise of e-government being truly non-discriminatory.

What are the benefits of e-government?E-government has a number of benefits. It is available 24 hours a day, increasing a government’s accessibility to people. It may also reduce the repetitive tasks that government workers have to do, thus making government bureaucracies more efficient. It also promises to reduce corruptness. Several more benefits will be recognized when e-governments take on larger existences.

What are the stages of e-government?Infodev provides three stages of growth of e-government. The first is information, specifically pertaining to information about government services. The second stage is the increase in interactive information, where citizens play a larger role in shaping government services and attitudes through the citizens’ on-line activity. The third stage is transactions, in which citizens are able to access services with relative comfort and ease, thus making e-government effective.

What are the objectives of the UN e-government Readiness Report?This report makes three recommendations. The first is for governments to rethink the state-citizen partnership and apply a more balanced relationship to e-government. The second comment is that every state is learning about e-government by trial and error; the point being to not be afraid to experiment, adapt strategies of other countries, and to modify policies. The third recommendation recommends combining e-service elements of e-government with e-participation in order to create a more citizen-focused e-government approach.

How can we improve e-governance/e-participation in the Arab world?There are three suggestions. The one is to encourage youth to utilize e-government more. Another strategy is to better organize—better organize on-line information to increase accessibility, better organize youth to take advantage of e-government services, better organize government to provide more e-government services. The final suggestion is to increase the management of e-government so as to present a coherent site that is more easily accessible.

Preaching to the Converted?

wlstockwell — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 13:23:17 +0000

I. Introduction

a. Party and candidate websites strengthen representative democracy via pluralism

b. Rather than direct democracy via participation

i. Internet provides more competitive playing field for minority parties than traditional media

II. Political market, Electors and Information

a. Availability of information = critical for modern and post-modern societies

b. Electors need information to judge candidates and select alternatives

i. Otherwise:

1. Poorly informed, lack practical knowledge

2. Cast ballot not reflecting real interest

c. Policymakers need information to meet citizen demands

d. Political information from 2 sources

i. Personal interaction

ii. Mass media

1. Post-modern societies get info from electronic broadcasts, Internet bundle technologies, websites

III. Theoretical Framework

a. 2 debates on Political impact of Internet

i. Optimists

1. Negroponte-virtual democracyànew opportunities, empowerment in digital world

2. Rheingold-bulletin board= democratizing technologyàstrengthen social capital

3. Grossman-shrink distance between government and governed

4. Broaden pluralistic voices in public sphere

5. Facilitate deliberation

ii. Skeptics

1. Engage those already active

a. Strengthen existing inequities in political participation

2. Politics as usual

b. 3 propositions

i. Party competition online—competition for minor/fringe parties

ii. Function of party websites—top-down vs. bottom-up communication

iii. Who uses party website—engage disenfranchised?

c. 3 types of parties in EU countries

i. Major

ii. Minor

iii. Fringe

iv. 33 parties in Morocco

1. Balkanization

2. Government subsidies political parties, encourages fragmentation

IV. Content of Party Websites

a. Information transparency (19 categories) + Communication interactivity (13) categories

b. Internet in 2007 Moroccan elections

i. Citizens need sufficient information to estimate risks and benefits of their electoral decisions

ii. Connect preferences with voting choices

c. 2 types of electoral knowledge

i. Retrospective policy record on government and issues of the day

ii. Prospective policy proposals for major political parties on issues

V. Voter Typology

a. Type of media to type of user (marketing)

i. Social background, skills, political predisposition, education, age, ethnicity (?)

b. 2 dimensions

i. Strength of partisanship

ii. Prior participation/engagement/knowledge

1. Ability to argue, debate, critical thinking capabilities

c. Types of voters

i. Deliberators

1. Educated, no party loyalty

ii. Cognitive Partisans

1. Educated, sympathize with one party

iii. Ritual Partisans

1. Party loyalists, don’t use critical thinking skills to analyze

iv. Apoliticals

1. Lack ties, least informed, care-nothings

VI. Media Malaise

a. Intense, negative political coverage

i. Promotes conflict, anti-institutional themes

ii. Political disaffection, frustration, cynicism, self-doubt

b. Most impact on inadvertent viewers—Apoliticals

c. Results

i. Decreased news consumption

ii. Decreased quality of journalism

iii. Increased soft news and infotainment

iv. Lack serious coverage of local political events

Online Parliments

wlstockwell — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 13:22:00 +0000

I. Introduction

a. Post-industrialization

i. Cultural shiftà”cultural turn” within scholarship

ii. Paradigm=approach

1. Kuhn uses cultural shift paradigm

b. Have elected bodies adapted to Internet to increase citizen linkage?

c. 3 Questions

i. Which national parliaments are online?

ii. Political function of parliament website

1. Comprehensive and interactive communication?

iii. How far do democracy, technology diffusion, and socioeconomics drive variations in parliamentary websites’ quality?

d. Tracking legislation, watch debates, email representatives, virtual tour, more info on international bodies, parliamentary structure

e. Issues of illiteracy, lack of computer training

II. Which Parliaments Online

a. Internet can affect internal communication

i. How info flow in organization

b. Databases for more effective and targeted research

c. Email

i. Problems in knowing how to respond to floods of constituent emails

ii. Information overload/smog

iii. US reps respond with standard response to stance on issues

1. Not just “important” messages

d. Website

i. Face of parliamentary

ii. External impact in citizen perception of parliament

III. Functions of Websites

a. Outdated official information with little current activity

b. Others highly developed

i. Rich and various information

ii. Daily schedule of business

iii. Text of pending legislation and government proposal

iv. Press-releases, tours of institutions

c. Function (motives in democratic system

i. Top-down provision of information

ii. Bottom-up communication

iii. Role of parliament in democracy

iv. Comprehensive and accurate information essential for accountability

v. Freely distribute different types of information

d. Inter-Parliamentary Union

i. Parliamentary website provide:

1. Contact information, information, education, access to drafts

IV. Information Index vs. Communication Index

Outline for Theoretical Approaches to Digital Democracy

wlstockwell — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 10:14:57 +0000

I. Introduction

a. Internet has become alternative communication channel

i. Connects the connected more than the periphery

b. Virtual democracy = process of adapting information technology and structure of political opportunities for active citizenship and civic engagement

i. Done by government and civil society

c. What movements are on-line

i. Functions of website for maximizing transparency and interactivity

d. How socioeconomic, technological, and political development drive rise of digital politics

e. Overall impact of information society on governments and civil societies.

II. Internet and Democracy

a. Western public distrust of traditional governanceàdetachment

b. Putnam—US generational change eroded mass membership of voluntary associationsàdecreased social capitalàdecreased community strength

c. Political parties represent core institutions linking citizens and states

i. Partisan politics disfavored

d. Cyber-optimists

i. Internet creates social capital

ii. Internet= 2 way communication

1. Strengthen and enrich connections between citizens and intermediaries

a. Media, political parties, social movements, public officials

2. Erode barriers to media, political process

e. Cyber-skeptics

i. Internetà a failure of transformation

III. Internet and Democratization

a. Democracy

i. Internet has become a revitalization process

b. Transitional democracy (Eastern Europe)

i. Waves of Democratization1992, S. Huntigton

1. France, UK, US

2. Post WWII in Axis Powers

3. 1974—Portugal, Spain, Greece, Latin America

4. 1989—Fall of Berlin Wallàformer communist states

5. Now?

c. Authoritarian

i. The World is Watching 1981

ii. Burma

1. Media controlled by state

a. Broadcast dissent=easy to find, high entry costs

2. Dissidents try to attract international attention

a. Political isolation, sanctions, international incident (embarrass into reform)

3. Internet redefining protest, can’t totally suppress

iii. Morocco

1. Limited flow of information

2. With reforms, now money matters of king discussed in magazines

3. Still can’t really talk about: Sahara, Monarchy, Religion

a. Write around, not deep= tabloidization

b. Freedom House declares as partly free

c. Station broadcast highlights of King’s speech, told to broadcast whole speech

iv. Cultivation Theory: passive consumption of violence, become actively violent

IV. Informal contact networks still important

a. Small Media, Big Revolution1994, Suerbermy

i. Iranian Ayatollah disseminated info from France to Iran via cassettes

ii. Internet, blogs new form of underground media

b. Islamists distribute Internet information after a worship service

i. Moroccan government monitoring

c. Inde-media

V. Public spaceà virtual (public) space

a. Citizen journalists, social media

b. 3,500 Cyber cafes in Morocco

c. Inter-connects citizens, intermediates, government

i. Result is policy and policy change

Summary of BBC on-line article “Burma’s Cyber-Dissidents”

wlstockwell — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 10:10:13 +0000

The Internet is revolutionizing the political protest in Burma. It is engaging the computer –literate, mostly young people, in the dissent process. The government’s attempts to hinder access to the Internet for those who wish to become citizen journalists are inadequate. Informal contact networks allow citizen journalists to share information and tricks on how to bypass these control measures. These personal networks also remain important for the “feeding of information” to international sites. Thus, more information is available to the international community than just that information provided by the Burmese state. At the same time, these international sites illustrate the international perspective on Burmese politics.

5th Estate

wlstockwell — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 10:35:20 +0000

I. Introduction

a. Fourth Estate

i. Media, watchdogàcontrol the government

ii. Printing was tied to rise of press

iii. Additional mediaàFourth Estate

1. Central to pluralistic democratic process

a. Public sphereàpublic opinion

2. 20^th centuryàmedia conglomerates

a. Feudalization of the public sphere

b. Tabloidization of mass media

i. Politics doesn’t sell as well as tabloid news

c. infotainment

II. Fifth Estate

a. Enabled by Internet, and related technologies, growth

i. Enabling networking

ii. Promote greater accountability

1. Helps democracy work

a. Does it create hyper-accountability?

b. Is the Internet the same as other media

i. Part of the 4^th Estate really?

c. Internet bloggers and citizen journalistsà 5^th Estate

d. Internet’s broad social role in government and politics

i. Many similarities with that of traditional media

ii. Differs from traditional media too

III. Politics of Internet in Society

a. The Internet Is:

i. Technological Novelty

1. Passing fad

2. Slow pick-up, critical mass rate

3. Dot com bubble burst

4. Becoming less credible of a theory

ii. Technological determinist debate

1. Freedom vs. control

2. Gate-keeping media of past

3. With the Internet, become own gatekeeper

iii. Network of Networks

Chapter 2 Outline

wlstockwell — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 10:34:39 +0000

I. The Political Nature of Technologies

a. Technological Determinism

b. Social Determinism

c. Having it Both Ways: Political Technologies in Political Contexts

d. Code as Law

II. Eight Key Themes

a. Decentralization

b. Participation

c. Community

d. Globalization

e. Post-industrialization

f. Rationalization

g. Governance

h. Libertarianism

III. Conclusion

Final Chapter 1 Outline

wlstockwell — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 10:33:58 +0000

Chapter 1: Introduction

“The Emerging Internet Era”

· Critical Mass—50% of population has access to media source

· Domestication of media

o 80% of Moroccans have mobile phones

o 15% have access to Internet

§ Illiteracy limits access

o 80% have access to satellite television

· “Information is the oxygen of the modern age.” Ronald Reagan

o Informed decision making

· “Conversation is more important than information.”

o Tons of information

o Conversation àconsensus in democracies

o Info exchange, cultural interpretation, debate, processing, anaylyzing

o Public sphere

· Information Load

o Information poor

§ Lack skills vs. censorship

o Information rich

· Free flow of information

o No restrictions by government and/or corporations

o Pipe-line of information

§ Corporate selectiveness/censorship

o Information highways

Introduction

· Radio golden Age in Us in 1920s

· Television in ‘50’s and ‘60’s

o Used by political groups to sway

o Satellite being used to mobilize Arab opinion

§ Al Jezeera

· Internet reworking relationship between older news media, political campaigns and civic society

o Communication technology used to frame content/issues

o Little information on who surfing outside of US

o Is the Internet really reconfiguring relations between states, and citizens by shifting governance patterns?

§ 2000-Moroccan media privatized

· Due to: globalization, rise of Arab broadcasting, competition from other programs

· Mobilization Theory of the Internet

o “The explosion of Internet use in post-industrial societies has led to a potential transformation in the major sources of political news, with rise in online newspapers (delivery modes), broadband television and radio, and new forms of political interaction like online political discussion/conversation groups.”

o Virtual democracy promises an endless empowerment in a digital world.

o Rheingold—Bulletin board systems are democratizing technology, to exchange ideas, mobilize public, and strengthen social capital

o L. Grossman—shrinking distance between governed and government

o I. Budge—facilitate direct democracy; net activism= political participation

o Lower barriers to civic engagement, leveling financial hurdles, widening opportunities for political debate, dissemination of information, equalize social inequities in public life

o New forms of horizontal and vertical communication

§ Facilitate and enrich deliberation in public sphere

· Reinforcement Theory of the Internet

o Use of the Internet will strengthen, not radically transform, existing patterns of social inequality and political participation

o New sources of information for policially interested

§ Uneven levels of access=good grounds for skepticism about transformative political communication

o Familiar socioeconomic biases seem unlikely to disappear even if access widens

I. Why Internet Politics?

A. Growing, politicization

B. Video

a. Control vs. Freedom

i. Institutions adapt Internet to reinforce institutional arrangements

b. Network of all Networks

i. Network of public sphere

C. E-democracy vs. e-government

II. What is the Internet? Two Preliminary Answer

A. Technical

· Network of all networks

· Common standards and protocolsàin public realm so no entity can overthrow

· Rise of network society by Casktts

o Internet is changing our society

B. Comparative

· Convergence

o Of media

§ Internet phones are epitome

o Of culture

§ Access to information cultures ideas

· Cultural homogeneity vs. cultural preservation/fractionation

Glocalization—by R. Roberston 1992 in Globalization and Social Theory

Jamming—of technology, cultures

Relatively open standards and protocols with low barriers to entry

Diffusion of Technology

· At early stage only leaders, then early adapters,

o 30 years for radio to reach critical mass in US, 20? Years for TV

C. Pull/push media

a. Internet

i. Info not pushed at consumers

ii. Digital agents pull/help create the info they need—interactive

b. “Compunications” by Oettinger—computer +communications

c. The untied state of media

D. Control vs. Freedom

a. Al Jeezra

i. Gives voice to political opposites

ii. Algerian debate aired, electricity cut àcensorship

b. Freedom

i. Internetàdemocratization of information and undermine hierarchies

ii. Ithiel de Sola Pool—computer-based communication networks like the Internet are inherently democratic “technologies of freedom”

iii. Individuals can network, information, services, and technology in ways that follow and reinforce their personal self-interest

c. Control

i. Inherently individualistic

ii. Institutions will use the Internet to maintain control

Amea— psychological safety of being in a society

III. The Size and Scope of the Internet

IV. Outline of the Book

Reaction Statement

wlstockwell — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 10:24:12 +0000

“The Internet is inherently democratic.” However, this statement ignores important issues of not only lack of access, but lack of true utilization, of the Internet by minority and other isolated populations as an extension of political life. The realities of disenfranchised populations have not, and will not, automatically alter as a result of the existence of the Internet. Access and utilization must be addressed.

Slightly Elaborated Chapter 1 Outline

wlstockwell — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 10:23:31 +0000

Chapter 1: Introduction

“The Emerging Internet Era”

· Critical Mass—50% of population has access to media source

· Domestication of media

o 80% of Moroccans have mobile phones

o 15% have access to Internet

§ Illiteracy limits access

o 80% have access to satellite television

· “Information is the oxygen of the modern age.” Ronald Reagan

o Informed decision making

· “Conversation is more important than information.”

o Tons of information

o Conversation àconsensus in democracies

o Info exchange, cultural interpretation, debate, processing, anaylyzing

o Public sphere

· Information Load

o Information poor

§ Lack skills vs. censorship

o Information rich

· Free flow of information

o No restrictions by government and/or corporations

o Pipe-line of information

§ Corporate selectiveness/censorship

o Information highways

Introduction

· Radio golden Age in Us in 1920s

· Television in ‘50’s and ‘60’s

o Used by political groups to sway

o Satellite being used to mobilize Arab opinion

§ Al Jezeera

· Internet reworking relationship between older news media, political campaigns and civic society

o Communication technology used to frame content/issues

o Little information on who surfing outside of US

o Is the Internet really reconfiguring relations between states, and citizens by shifting governance patterns?

§ 2000-Moroccan media privatized

· Due to: globalization, rise of Arab broadcasting, competition from other programs

· Mobilization Theory of the Internet

o Virtual democracy promises an endless empowerment in a digital world.

o Rheingold—Bulletin board systems are democratizing technology, to exchange ideas, mobilize public, and strengthen social capital

o L. Grossman—shrinking distance between governed and government

o I. Budge—facilitate direct democracy; net activism= political participation

o Lower barriers to civic engagement, leveling financial hurdles, widening opportunities for political debate, dissemination of information, equalize social inequities in public life

o New forms of horizontal and vertical communication

§ Facilitate and enrich deliberation in public sphere

· Reinforcement Theory of the Internet

o Use of the Internet will strengthen, not radically transform, existing patterns of social inequality and political participation

o New sources of information for policially interested

§ Uneven levels of access=good grounds for skepticism about transformative political communication

o Familiar socioeconomic biases seem unlikely to disappear even if access widens

I. Why Internet Politics?

A. Growing, politicization

B. Video

a. Control vs. Freedom

i. Institutions adapt Internet to reinforce institutional arrangements

b. Network of all Networks

i. Network of public sphere

II. What is the Internet? Two Preliminary Answer

A. Technical

B. Comparative

III. The Size and Scope of the Internet

IV. Outline of the Book