JeDEM - eJournal of eDemocracy and Open Government
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To Be or Not to Be ‘Rousseauian’. The Rise and Fall of ‘Digital Utopianism’ in the Five Star Movement
No full textA growing dissatisfaction with the political class has emerged in Italy. Inspired by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the original strategy adopted by the Five Star Movement (FSM) was to connect citizens and institutions directly, thanks to ICTs. A participation platform called “Rousseau” was created to this end in 2016. However, after the Movement’s great success in the 2018 national elections, digital utopianism was gradually abandoned. In 2021, the statute was reformed, creating new roles and organs making the FSM more akin to a traditional party, and the ‘Rousseau’ platform was replaced by another one with limited functions. This evolution leads to three theses: first, the reference to Jean-Jacques Rousseau had a mainly symbolic value for FSM; second, as recent facts show, this ideal reference weakened with the action of governing and the ‘normalisation’ of the party; third, this evolution confirms that the Rousseauian ideal is difficult to realise in a complex society
The Liquid Proposal Facing Democratic Challenges
No full textThe objective is to show how Liquid Democracy intends to assume the sine qua non conditions of a true democracy and undertake the democratic challenges to achieve a good democratic quality. The conceptual analysis methodology reviews the origin and modalities of Liquid Democracy to evaluate it against the requirements indicated by Morlino and examine its possibilities through the challenges described by Linz and the dangers exposed by Levitsky and Ziblatt. The results present the level of quality attainable by liquid modalities. In contemporary conditions, the analysis also detects the confusion of Liquid Democracy with Electronic Democracy and the risks that both have acquiring technocracy seeking technopolitics. The originality of the analysis includes links to patterns of algorithmic democracy and artificial intelligence. In conclusion the article shows the value of the liquid model and elements of its political and communicative quality. The conclusions also point to some opportunities to improve democracy
A Translation Service for Open Data Portals
No full textThere exists a huge variety of Open Data portals, some of them providing just a handful, and others tens of thousands of datasets. The datasets they provide are expected to be supplied with metadata describing them. However, this metadata is typically available in one or two languages only, and, if translations exist, they are usually added manually. To build an inclusive data infrastructure, metadata should be available in as many languages as possible. The paper presents an approach for automatic translation of metadata within Open Data portals, based on Semantic Web technologies and using the metadata standard DCAT-AP. Based on this approach, new functionalities are possible, such as enabling users to search for datasets in their native language. The approach was implemented for and tested within a practical application in a production environment
Towards a Positioning Model for Evaluating the Use and Design of Anti-Disinformation Tools
No full textWith the increasing amounts of mis- and disinformation circulating online, the demand for tools to combat and contain the phenomenon has also increased. The multifaceted nature of the phenomenon requires a set of tools that can respond effectively, and can deal with the different ways in which disinformation can present itself, In this paper, after consulting independent fact-checkers to create a list, we map the landscape of tools available to combat different typologies of mis and disinformation on the basis of three levels of analysis: the employment of policy-regulated strategies, the use of co-creation, and the preference for manual or automated processes of detection. We then create a model in which we position the different tools across three axes of analysis, and show how the tools distribute across different market positions
Data Processing and Maintenance in Different Jurisdictions When Using a SaaS Solution in a Public Sector Organisation
No full textMany public sector organisations (PSO) use SaaS solutions from dominant global providers. Implementation of these solutions may raise issues concerning both lawful data processing, and the obligations that those PSOs have to maintain their digital assets. One example is a large Swedish PSO which addressed these issues as part of the adoption and implementation of Microsoft 365. The study identifies challenges and presents an analysis of the organisational implementation of that SaaS solution, exposing legal issues that arose in that context. Findings show an absence of a documented risk analysis related to the PSO's use of that SaaS solution, covering data processing and maintenance of its digital assets. Recommendations are presented to facilitate a PSO's procurement and implementation of such a SaaS solution to address issues around data processing and the processing of digital assets
Towards Identifying Factors Influencing Mobile Government Adoption: An Exploratory Literature Review
No full textMobile government enhances public sector activities by using mobile technologies, such as handheld devices, smartphones, and laptops that promise anytime, anywhere services. Mobile government solutions are successful if many users adopt them. For this reason, the determinant factors of adoption are extremely important. Despite many studies conducted by various researchers in the field of mobile government adoption, most have focused on technology or e-government adoption models as their basis. To fill this gap, the paper collects possible driving factors, grouped into key factors, for mobile government adoption. The systematic literature review, which included 54 journal articles, led to the identification of 12 key factors affecting mobile government adoption, comprising 87 components. Some of these replicate previously identified factors in technology and e-government adoption models, yet the literature presented us with new specifics in mobile and government, such as the benefits that mobility brings and the influence of trust on adoption
A Review of E-Government Assessment Frameworks: E-Readiness, Adoption, Citizen Engagement and Quality : E-Readiness, Adoption, Citizen Engagement and Quality
No full textThe rapid development of digitalization has impelled countries to adopt electronic government (e-government) to improve quality and efficiency, reduce costs and establish transparency in their transactions with the citizens, thereby, strengthening the government-citizens relationship. As e-government has become pivotal for development, it is essential to understand various frameworks available in the literature for evaluating a country’s e-government at different phases, from e-readiness to the realization of end benefits. Hence, this paper briefly reviews the e-government literature focusing on e-readiness, adoption, citizen engagement and performance and quality assessment frameworks. Further, a thematic analysis of the selected studies is carried out using NVivo and QDA Miner to map the main themes and subthemes and the associations among the selected studies. This paper contributes to the e-government literature with clear academic insights into different variables and dimensions in association with the evaluation of e-government and by setting a future research agenda for developing a holistic evaluation framework
Why Do Innovations Fail? Lessons Learned from a Digital Democratic Innovation
No full textDemocratic innovations are brought forward by political scientists as a response to worrying democratic deficits. This paper aims to evaluate the design, process, and outcome of digital democratic innovations. We study a mobile application for following local politics. Data is collected using three online surveys with different groups, and a workshop with young citizens. The results show that the app did not fully meet the democratic ideal of inclusiveness at the process stage, especially in reaching young people. However, the user groups that had used the app reported positive democratic effects
Towards Identifying Social Factors behind (In)Efficiency of Voting Security Measures
No full textAbstract: In this paper, we take a look at some standard requirements set to voting, and measures to achieve them. We argue that while the measures themselves are typically technical or organizational, their (in)efficiency is often determined by social factors. As the requirements set to voting are contradictory, every society will have to make trade-offs between them. Our analysis shows that one reason why some potential vulnerabilities are perceived as acceptable residual risks in some societies may be that, there simply is no tradition of abusing these vulnerabilities in this particular society. We identify a number of societal parameters, categorize them and study their effect on the (perceived) security of the respective measures
Research Trends in E-Government Interoperability: Mapping Themes and Concepts Based on The Scopus Database
No full textAdvances in information and communication technology, in the provision of public services, have affected all aspects of electronic governance. This widespread use has resulted in vast amounts of data, which governments and other entities can collect and analyse to measure, assess and improve service interoperability. Interoperability is the ability of software to collaborate. Currently, studies on the interoperability of e-government applications are the focus of research by previous researchers to develop information and communication technology to realize the smooth exchange of information in all elements of government. This study aims to determine the development of research on interoperability in e-government by conducting an in-depth analysis of research trends and dominant themes in e-government interoperability. This research is a systematic review using VosViewer and Nvivo Qualitative Software Analysis, and both are used to uncover trending issues and research themes on e-government interoperability. This research data was obtained through the Scopus database using a search strategy to find relevant documents. The results show that research trends related to e-government interoperability issues have declined recently. In addition, this study also presents the highest citations, funding sponsors, and research connectivity between countries. Furthermore, this study also produces six dominant themes related to e-government interoperability, namely Interoperability, E-government, Systems, Technology, Data, and Services. Some of the findings produced in this study are expected to provide a comprehensive picture of research trends in e-government interoperability for researchers in the future