E-GOVERNMENT
E-Government for All Conference Kicks Off with Bruce James Keynote
Commentary: Sexing Up E-Government
BBC Offers Power to the People
DEMOCRACY
Scholar Richard Neustadt Dead at 84
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E-GOVERNMENT
E-GOVERNMENT FOR ALL CONFERENCE KICKS OFF WITH BRUCE JAMES KEYNOTE
Bruce James, Public Printer of the United States and CEO of the US
Government Printing Office (GPO), kicked off the E-government For All online
conference (www.egov4all.org) with a virtual keynote. "Printing, the
predominant means for information exchange for centuries, has been
superceded by electronic information technologies, which now are the
preferred mechanism for producing and accessing government information,"
James explained. He said the GPO must adapt if it is to continue carrying
out the core mission to keep America informed. Within five years, James
expects that 95 percent of GPO-published titles will be online. The GPO has
worked to address disability access, he said, especially to ensure that the
GPO's online portal complies with section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. The
GPO is collaborating with the library and information sciences community,
the private sector, other government agencies and Congress about developing
a plan to address these issues. This Wednesday, November 5 at 2pm EST (7pm
GMT), James will participate in a live bulletin board chat for the
conference. Participants may pre-submit questions for him by emailing
egovinfo( at )groupjazz.com with the subject line "Bruce James question."
SOURCE: Benton Foundation
http://www.egov4all.org/
SEXING UP E-GOVERNMENT
[Commentary] The UK may be able to learn from successful e-government
efforts in countries such as the United States and Singapore, writes Alfred
Hermida of the BBC. Santa Clara County, California, revamped its website and
now receives more than a million page views per day. The new site seamlessly
offers services from 50 different county departments in a one-stop shop. "We
looked at what people needed when something happened in their lives," said
Satish Ajmani, the county's chief information officer, "like getting married
or being involved in a car accident." "You absolutely have to think about
the customer and what the customer wants," added Liz Gorgue, the county's
self-declared e-government evangelist. In Singapore, the government hired
marketing experts to sell the benefits of e-government to the public. "That
is so far ahead from what we've seen here [in the UK]," said Coenraad van
der Poel of EzGov Europe. The Santa Clara experience suggests the need for a
culture change in government. "You need a strategy for e-democracy," said
Mr. Ajmani. "You need to get the public involved in decision-making. This
takes a very long time for elected people to be comfortable with."
SOURCE: BBC News; AUTHOR: Alfred Hermida
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3228703.stm
BBC OFFERS POWER TO THE PEOPLE
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has launched iCan, an activism
website that incorporates social networking, content publishing and
campaign-organization tools to encourage civic involvement. The BBC said its
main goal for the site is to fight voter apathy, though at 75 percent voter
turnout, the UK far surpasses US election turnouts. So far, not much is
happening on the site, which is focused on local politics, with starter
issues such as maternity rights, street cleaning and bicycle lanes. But some
Brits categorize those concerns under "minutiae." Within a week of iCan's
launch, links to a spoof page called iCan't began popping up in blogs.
Richard Kirkcaldy, creator of the iCan't page, doubts the BBC's ability, as
a government-owned entity, to objectively manage the site's issues. Some
citizens wonder what will happen when national campaigns get started and how
the BBC will handle potentially divisive campaigns, such as those against
the war in Iraq.
SOURCE: Wired AUTHOR: Kari L. Dean
http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,60994,00.html
iCan website:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/ican/
DEMOCRACY
SCHOLAR RICHARD NEUSTADT DEAD AT 84
Richard E. Neustadt, the noted presidential adviser, scholar, historian and
founder of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, died this Saturday at age
84. The historian injured himself in a fall about a week ago and his health
rapidly declined, according to Neustadt's wife. "He was a very vigorous man,
intellectually sharp as a tack and obviously one of America's pre-eminent
presidential historians and adviser to presidents," says former Labor
Secretary Robert Reich. "He leaves behind not only a significant body of
work, but a generation of students who learned about politics and presidency
and the excitement of political involvement." Neustadt was one of the first
scholars to understand the nature of presidential power, Reich continues. He
viewed presidential power as not mere authority, but authority that has to
be utilized. "Professor Neustadt spent a lifetime advancing the public
understanding of the American presidency," former President Bill Clinton
said in a statement. "I am grateful for the friendship and wise counsel he
gave to me."
SOURCE: CNN; AUTHOR: Associated Press
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/Northeast/11/02/obit.neustadt.ap/index.html
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