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The first official order of business carried out by President Obama in 2008 was the presentation of a memorandum entitled Transparency and Open Government. Three pillars for Open Government are outlined in the document and consist of transparency, participation and collaboration which form the foundation for the initiative. Here we report on a case study, where the use of social media by the United States Department of Agriculture was assessed in relation to the agencies implementation of goals set by the Open Government Initiative. In the Open Government Initiative, the use of social media features strongly as a means to connect with the public and to promote the three pillars. We question whether use of social actually results in realization of the three pillars, but with a particular focus on dialogue between the USDA and the public. We apply a mixed-methods approach based in grounded theory, social network analysis, content analysis and discourse analysis. Early findings suggest that although the USDA is mentioned there is no clear evidence of discourse, in the sense of exchange of tweets between the USDA and other posters. This is assuming that anyone who may post from the USDA would do so under the auspices of the organization and not as an individual with a unique user name. Our research indicates that traditional definitions of these terms (transparency, collaboration and participation) may need to be expanded to account for the types of interactions occurring via social media. In this paper, we report on our research plan and initial observations.

Field Force Automation (FFA) has been introduced as the summary term for the redesign of workflows and business processes in the field by means of fully mobile wirelessly connected technologies and applications. In practice, governments around the world have increasingly begun to explore the potential of FFA by equipping field crews with mobile technologies and applications. FFA in government promises substantial gains in crew productivity and information quality in on-site decision making. However, as in the case of other far-reaching technologyenabled changes in the past, FFA requires numerous technical, organizational, and social adjustments to reach the targeted potential. We have studied the case of a US city government that introduced FFA in its public utilities service units a while ago. While FFA lives up to promise in some areas, it does not so in others. Based on the analyses of the work context and the FFA uses, we have developed a set of recommendations for improving both the technical and organizational sides of the FFA approach. While some recommendations might be case-specific, others appear to apply to e-Government FFA in general. In this paper, we detail and discuss the choices that governments may face in FFA projects. The contribution of this paper is that it helps guide other FFA projects. The paper also adds to the academic understanding of the challenges and choices in e-Government FFA.

Virtual playgrounds designed for children 4-12 years-old are among the fastest growing segments of the Internet. These spaces offer the promise of new social, educational, and creative opportunities for young people. These opportunities, however, are associated with new risks due to the nature of online interactions. This article presents a socio-technical investigation of two virtual worlds for children. Informed by Value Sensitive Design, the work highlights the tensions between supporting age appropriate, developmental play and constraining inappropriate behavior to ensure “safety.” This article concludes with implications for the design of virtual spaces for young people. We note in particular that the features of children’s worlds are affected by their framing, specifically by the language and practices that are encouraged by the interaction design. We challenge designers to consider how children may interpret >technical feature in practice, and the long-term implications of features intended to keep children safe.

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