The Impact of Administrator Willingness on Website E-Participation: Some Evidence from Municipalities

Abstract

Methodology for the evaluation of e-Participation software toolsThis master thesis presents the research conducted to obtain the Methodology for the Evaluation of e-Participation Software -MESeP, designed to apply to any e-Participation software tool if access to information is available.This research emerges as a response to some lacks identified. On the one hand, there is a lack of rigorousness in the definition of evaluation stages for e-participation software tools. Another is a lack of precise identification of information systems functionalities for citizen participation. On the other hand, there are no methodologies for evaluating eparticipation software tools, leading to two guiding questions translated into two systematic literature reviews SLR. The first SLR identified characteristics and factors associated with e-Participation software tools. The second one identified variables and indicators. Then, the factors were associated with the determined variables and the indicators. An expert judgement analyzed the first version of the methodology. After the expert judgement, a refinement process was carried out, resulting in the final version of the MESeP, which has four phases and eight activities and the nine factors, 23 variables, and 64 indicators identified.

A Conceptual Model of the Challenges of Social Media Big Data for Citizen e-Participation: A Systematic Review

“…e-Participation often empowers citizens through social media to act in bottom-up decision-making processes. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has led to the rise of e-participation, whereby governments adopt digital tools to promote citizen involvement in what is referred to as "CzRM" [4]. Recently, [5] argued that the potential of Big Data for digital tools is often not met since it presents a data set that is so large or complex that it is difficult to process and manage this data using traditional data processing and management applications.…”

Do State Boards of Education Offer an Avenue for Public Voice?

“…Rapid development of information and communication technologies offers unprecedented opportunities for increased governmental participation by average citizens. In the past two decades, in fact, federal, state, and local governments from across the globe have extended their use of digital technologies to share information, engage citizens, and deliver services (Zheng & Schachter, 2018). This development—known as e-government or e-participation —involves the use of digital technologies (e.g., email, listservs, social media, online chat, and discussion boards) to promote citizen participation (Kim & Lee, 2012) and to provide a way for citizens to give feedback, raise issues, and discuss policies with others.…”

“…Robbins et al (2008) found that e-participation provided a means for inserting public opinion into policy discussions in a timely and comprehensive way. When scholars compared e-participation to traditional political involvement, they found e-participation to be far more interactive (Barnes & Williams, 2012), efficient (Zheng & Liao, 2014), and transparent (Zheng & Schachter, 2018). Given the concern that the majority of state governments underrepresent urban citizenry and, as a result, fail to understand and sufficiently address the needs and interests of urban areas (Gamm & Kousser, 2010), e-participation could provide a greater opportunity for urban leaders, educators, and citizens to raise issues, challenge misconceptions, and foster policy solutions that are better suited to urban contexts.…”

“…Disparities, however, exist among countries, states, and cities with regard to the opportunities they provide for citizens for e-participation. Some governments offer extensive opportunities while others do not (Zheng & Schachter, 2018). The United Nations (U.N.) Department of Economic and Social Affairs (2018) E-Participation Index measures the quality and usefulness of the information and services a country’s e-government programs provide to engage citizens in the work of government.…”

“…Departments of Commerce, Homeland Security, and Education. U.S. state and local governments received no such directive, and, as a result, there is great disparity in how various jurisdictions and individual governmental bodies involve citizens electronically (Zheng & Schachter, 2018).…”