The provision of accessible websites is a legal requirement under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, which applies throughout Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Equality (disability, etc.) (Northern Ireland) Order 2000. A survey of local e-government websites indicated that few local councils in the devolved administration of Northern Ireland offered websites which were adequately usable by people with a disability, yet most citizen-government transactions occur at the local level. Design for all has obvious commercial benefits, but it has also become a legal obligation, and application of accessible design principles should improve the online experience of all users.

Efforts to develop standards for learning technologies have developed along two distinct strands: standards for data and information models; and standards for components, interfaces and architectures. Standards relating to architectural frameworks are less well developed, and responsibility for decisions concerning system architecture has been left largely in the hands of developers of proprietary software such as Learning Management Systems. There is growing interest in the development of standards for open architectural frameworks, based on layering, a decomposition technique which is in widespread use in software development. As interoperability and reusability are key concerns for developers of e-learning systems, the choice of an appropriate layering strategy is crucial, and this paper illustrates how a reuse-based layering strategy (as opposed to a more typical responsibility-based strategy) might be applied to e-learning systems in order to enhance reuse and interoperability.

E-learning simulation authoring tools are the next generation of e-learning products: they enable tutors to create interactive multimedia course content. Users can walk through applications online and practise as they progress through course material. Much online course content is still based on paper models, but new media need new methods, and the growing availability of elearning simulation tools will enable both tutors and learners fully to exploit the multimedia possibilities that online learning offers. A case study illustrates the potential of simulations to enhance the delivery of instructional material in an academic context.

No abstract

There are billions of annual transactions between citizens and government; most of these are between citizens and local government. Both central and local government share the same target for electronic service delivery: 100% of key services online by 2005. In Northern Ireland, however, district councils are being left behind on the e-government agenda. The Northern Ireland Assembly, currently suspended, has no provisions or recommendations for local e-government, although many transactional services of interest to ordinary citizens are provided by local councils. The absence of a strategy for local e-government means that district councils are left to their own devices, and this contrasts with the rest of the UK. A snapshot of local councils is used to assess the extent of provision of electronic service delivery, highlighting examples of innovation, and indicating significant challenges for Northern Ireland local egovernment during a period of suspended devolution. The European Commission defines e-government as 'bringing administrations closer to citizens and businesses' (Information Society, 2002), while the UK government emphasises 'better services for citizens and businesses and more effective use of the Government's resources' (Office of the e-Envoy, 1999a). UK E-government is essentially concerned with electronic service delivery, it is focused on the citizen, and it is organised around four guiding principles: building services around citizens' choices, improving accessibility to government and services, promoting social inclusion, and making better use of information (Performance and Innovation Unit, 1999). So it is the citizen who lies at the heart of the e-government agenda. This study examines the nature of transactions between citizens and government, with a particular focus on local authorities, tracing the development of local e-government strategies in the UK, and drawing comparisons with initiatives in the devolved administration of Northern