Where do e-Government strategies take the Nordic nations?

An effective strategy is critical for the successful development of e-Government. The leading nations in the e-Government rankings include Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. Their leading role makes them interesting to study when looking for reasons to successful e-Government. The purpose of this research paper is to describe the e-Government development strategies of Nordic countries, which rank highly on the international stage. In particular it aims to study the foci of these strategies. The approach is a document study of the e-Government development strategies of Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland was carried out using a qualitative content analysis inductive method. The results show that the major focus of Nordic e-Government strategies is on public sector reforms. Other focus areas include economic reforms and, to a lesser extent, e-Democracy efforts. Sweden, Finland and Norway have set ambitious policy goals in order to achieve global leadership in e-Government development. In response to the question posed by this paper’s title, we can say that Nordic e-Government strategies, except for Norway, focus more on reforming public sector services than on economic reforms.  E-Democracy reforms are hardly focused on at all. Practical implications: Public sector policy makers can relate their policy foci to some of the more successful e-Government countries in the world. Research implications/originality is that this paper can apart from the findings also provide a means on how to identify the actual foci of a country’s e-Government policy.

Balancing the digital democratic deficit? E-government

This article responds to Thomas’s (2004) call for investigation into how the internet and World Wide Web are changing government in Australia. It first discusses e-government principles and policies at the federal level, and then investigates initiatives and events in one of Australia’s most populous municipalities, the City of Casey in Melbourne’s southeast. The objective of this approach is to understand the broader context of e-government policy formulation in Australia, and connect this to the level of local government in order to understand the features and dynamics of existing e-government mechanisms. The evidence generated from this approach reveals an imbalance between service delivery and civic engagement in e-government strategies, with the emphasis on consumer-oriented service delivery far outweighing civic participation and political dialogue. The analysis that follows outlines actual and potential political problems flowing from this imbalance — or ‘digital democratic deficit’ — and offers suggestions on how equilibrium might be restored.

Indigenous voices and mediatized policy-making in the digital age

This article explores the potential of emerging digital cultures for Indigenous participation in policy debates in the rapidly changing Australian media landscape. From the Zapatista's ‘netwar’ to the ‘hashtag activism’ of IdleNoMore, Indigenous people have pioneered innovative uses of digital media for global connectivity and contestation. Digital and social media open up unprecedented opportunities for voice, and, in theory, participation in decision-making. But there is limited understanding about how Indigenous voices are heard at times of major policy reform, and whether increased participation in digital media necessarily leads to increased democratic participation. Leading Indigenous commentators in Australia suggest an inability of governments and other influential players to listen sits at the heart of the failure of Indigenous policy. This article presents two contemporary Australian case studies that showcase Indigenous participatory media response to government policy initiatives: first, the diverse reaction in social media to the government-sponsored campaign for constitutional reform to acknowledge Australia's First Peoples, branded as Recognise and second, the social media-driven movement #sosblakaustralia, protesting against the forced closure of remote Aboriginal communities. This article brings together theories of political participation, media change and listening to ask whether key democratic institutions, including the mainstream news media and political decision-makers, can engage with the proliferation of Indigenous voices enabled by participatory media. We argue that while the digital media environment allows diverse Indigenous voices to be represented, recent scholarship on participation and listening extends the analysis to ask which voices are heard as politics is increasingly mediatized.

Balancing the digital democratic deficit? E-Government

This article responds to Thomas's (2004) call for investigation into how the internet and World Wide Web are changing government in Australia. It first discusses e-government principles and policies at the federal level, and then investigates initiatives and events in one of Australia's most populous municipalities, the City of Casey in Melbourne's southeast. The objective of this approach is to understand the broader context of e-government policy formulation in Australia, and connect this to the level of local government in order to understand the features and dynamics of existing e-government mechanisms. The evidence generated from this approach reveals an imbalance between service delivery and civic engagement in e-government strategies, with the emphasis on consumer-oriented service delivery far outweighing civic participation and political dialogue. The analysis that follows outlines actual and potential political problems flowing from this imbalance - or 'digital democratic deficit' - and offers suggestions on how equilibrium might be restored.

A review of methods and tools to assess the implementation of government policies to create healthy food environments for preventing obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases

BACKGROUND: Policies to create healthy food environments are recognized as critical components of efforts to prevent obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases. There has not been a systematic review of existing methods and tools used to assess the implementation of these government policies. The purpose of this study was to review methods and tools used for assessing the implementation of government policies to create healthy food environments. The study conducted a systematic literature search. Multiple databases as well as the grey literature were searched. All study designs and review papers on assessing the implementation of government policies to create healthy food environments were included. A quality assessment of the methods and tools identified from relevant studies was carried out using the following four criteria: comprehensiveness, relevance, generalizability and feasibility. This quality assessment was completed by two independent reviewers. RESULTS: The review identified 52 studies across different policy areas, levels and settings. Self-administered questionnaires and policy checklists were most commonly applied to assess the extent of policy implementation, whereas semi-structured interviews were most commonly used to evaluate the implementation process. Measures varied widely, with the existence of policy implementation the aspect most commonly assessed. The most frequently identified barriers and facilitators for policy implementation were infrastructure support, resources and stakeholder engagement. The assessment of policy implementation on food environments was usually undertaken in combination with other policy areas, particularly nutrition education and physical activity. Three tools/methods were rated 'high' quality and 13 tools/methods received 'medium' quality ratings. CONCLUSIONS: Harmonization of the available high-quality methods and tools is needed to ensure that assessment of government policy implementation can be compared across different countries and settings and over time. This will contribute to efforts to increase government accountability for their actions to improve the healthiness of food environments.

Annual report on the implementation of the State Government Energy Conservation

The South Carolina General Assembly passed legislation in early June 2008 requiring all state agencies to develop energy conservation plans to reduce their energy consumption by one percent per year during fiscal years 2009-2013 and by a total of a 20 percent reduction in energy use by 2020. This legislation requires that each of these entities develop an energy conservation plan that addresses how it will meet energy use reduction goals and submit it to SCEO. This annual report reports the statewide progress in meeting the energy use reduction goals.

Universities, SMEs and innovation frameworks : think global, act local?

Universities are increasingly encouraged to take a leading role in economic development, particularly through innovation. Simultaneously, economic development policy itself is increasingly focused on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), creating overlapping interactions in the roles of government policy, universities and SMEs and the processes of innovation creation and dissemination. This paper examines issues arising from these developments and relating to the key stakeholders (industry, government and universities in particular), the enabling mechanisms (network governance, relevant education, training and learning, and suitable structures), and local and cross-local links. The authors then use quantitative analysis of 450 SMEs in the UK to begin to evaluate the roles of universities and highlight areas for further theoretical development.

Rethinking copyrights for the library through Creative Commons licensing

Two recent and related social developments of note for libraries are an upsurge in cultural participation enabled by Web 2.0 media and calls in government policy for enhanced innovation through education. Ironically, these have occurred at the same time that increasingly stringent copyright laws have restricted access to cultural content. Concepts of governmentality are used here to examine these tensions and contradictions. In particular, Foucault’s critique of the author figure and of freedom as part of the will to govern within liberal democratic societies is used to argue for better quality copyright education programs in school libraries and library information science education programs. For purposes of teaching and research, copyrights are defined as agglomerations of legal, economic, and educational discourses that enable and constrain what can and cannot be done with text in homes, schools, and library media centers. The article presents some possibilities for renewal of school libraries around copyright education and Creative Commons licensing.

Conceptualising value creation for social change management

Australian and international governments are increasingly adopting social marketing as a social change management tool to deal with complex social problems. Government decision makers typically need to balance the use of business models and management theories whilst maintaining the integrity of government policy. In taking this approach, decision makers experience management tensions between a social mission to equitably deliver social services and the accountability and affordability of providing quality social and health services to citizens. This is a significant challenge as the nature of the ‘social product’ in government is often more service-oriented than goods-based. In this paper the authors examine value creation in government social marketing services. The contribution of this paper is a value creation process model, which considers the nature of governments to create social good. This is particularly important for governments where consumers still expect value and quality in the service delivered, despite that offering being ‘free’.

Comparative assessment of characteristics influencing the industrial property markets in Sydney and Hong Kong

Industrial property is commonly located in a designated ‘industrial’ precinct. An industrial property has a specific design and a number of services to support industrial activities including manufacture, distribution and transportation. Although it has a unique characteristic, certain industrial factor might operate differently in different countries. The aim of this paper is to provide a comparison between the Sydney and Hong Kong industrial property characteristics and to highlight their similarities and differences. This exploratory research used secondary data to provide background information of government policy and market conditions. Two case studies were use to illustrate similarities, trends, differences and to explore town planning, specific property characteristics including location, design and layout. Then, analyse whether these factors influence the performance and value of an industrial asset. The location of industrial properties varies between each country and depends heavily on infrastructure. It was noted that the town planning restrictions not only vary between markets and cities but also between property lots. The market conditions of both industrial markets were investigated and the supply and demand and rental levels in both cities were distinctly opposite.

Learning to be literate : issues of pedagogy for recently arrived refugee youth in Australia

This paper focuses on issues of access to productive literacy learning as part of socially just schooling for recently arrived refugee youth within Australia. It argues that a sole reliance on traditional ESL pedagogy is failing this vulnerable group of students, who differ significantly from past refugees who have settled in Australia. Many have been ‘placeless’ for some time, are likely to have received at best an interrupted education before arriving in Australia, and may have experienced signification trauma (Christie & Sidhu, 2006; Cottone, 2004; Miller, Mitchell, & Brown, 2005). Australian Government policy has resulted in spacialized settlement, leaving particular schools dealing with a large influx of refugee students who may be attending school for the first time (Centre for Multicultural Youth Issues, 2004; Sidhu & Christie, 2002). While this has implications generally, it has particular consequences for secondary school students attempting to learn English literacy in short periods of time, without basic foundations in either English or print-based literacy in any first language (Centre for Multicultural Youth Issues, 2006). Many of these students leave schools without the most basic early literacy practices, having endured several years of pedagogy pitched well beyond their needs. This paper suggests that schools must take up three key roles: to educate, to provide a site for the development of civic responsibility, and to act as a site for welfare with responsibility. As a system, our department needs to work out what can we do for 17-18 year olds that are coming into our school system in year 10 without more than 1-2 years of education. I don't think there is a policy about what to do. – (T2-ESL teacher)

Empowerment for lifelong learning : embedding information literacy into the business curriculum

Success in modern business demands effective information literacy to address the ever-changing business context. This context includes changes in Government policy reflected through legislation and regulations, developments in case law and expectations of professional associations and the public. Students require the skills to continue their own learning beyond the completion of their degree, since learning the subject content of a course alone sufficient. This paper considers the methods utilised to embed information literacy, in the context of generic skills and graduate attributes, into a Business degree’s curriculum. The paper describes how information literacy has been embedded in two sequential third-year Taxation Law courses, allowing for the explicit development of information literacy. Through the development of legal reasoning and research skills, students are empowered to continue their lifelong learning, which successful professional practice demands. The study will draw upon the experience of the course convener in designing, teaching and evaluating the courses, and on students’ experiences as illustrated through evaluation questionnaire responses and interviews. The findings of this study could be relevant to other business courses, especially company law and auditing.

The development and validation of Australian indices of child development - Part II : validity support

The two outcome indices described in a companion paper (Sanson et al., Child Indicators Research, 2009) were developed using data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). These indices, one for infants and the other for 4 year to 5 year old children, were designed to fill the need for parsimonious measures of children’s developmental status to be used in analyses by a broad range of data users and to guide government policy and interventions to support young children’s optimal development. This paper presents evidence from Wave 1data from LSAC to support the validity of these indices and their three domain scores of Physical, Social/Emotional, and Learning. Relationships between the indices and child, maternal, family, and neighborhood factors which are known to relate concurrently to child outcomes were examined. Meaningful associations were found with the selected variables, thereby demonstrating the usefulness of the outcome indices as tools for understanding children’s development in their family and socio-cultural contexts. It is concluded that the outcome indices are valuable tools for increasing understanding of influences on children’s development, and for guiding policy and practice to optimize children’s life chances.

The development and validation of Australian Indices of Child Development — Part I: conceptualisation and development

The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) is a major national study examining the lives of Australian children, using a cross-sequential cohort design and data from parents, children, and teachers for 5,107 infants (3–19 months) and 4,983 children (4–5 years). Its data are publicly accessible and are used by researchers from many disciplinary backgrounds. It contains multiple measures of children’s developmental outcomes as well as a broad range of information on the contexts of their lives. This paper reports on the development of summary outcome indices of child development using the LSAC data. The indices were developed to fill the need for indicators suitable for use by diverse data users in order to guide government policy and interventions which support young children’s optimal development. The concepts underpinning the indices and the methods of their development are presented. Two outcome indices (infant and child) were developed, each consisting of three domains—health and physical development, social and emotional functioning, and learning competency. A total of 16 measures are used to make up these three domains in the Outcome Index for the Child Cohort and six measures for the Infant Cohort. These measures are described and evidence supporting the structure of the domains and their underlying latent constructs is provided for both cohorts. The factorial structure of the Outcome Index is adequate for both cohorts, but was stronger for the child than infant cohort. It is concluded that the LSAC Outcome Index is a parsimonious measure representing the major components of development which is suitable for non-specialist data users. A companion paper (Sanson et al. 2010) presents evidence of the validity of the Index.

ePortfolio use by university students in Australia: A review of the Australian ePortfolio Project

In October 2008, the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) released the final report for the commissioned project ePortfolio use by university students in Australia: Informing excellence in policy and practice. The Australian ePortfolio Project represented the first attempt to examine the breadth and depth of ePortfolio practice in the Australian higher education sector. The research activities included surveys of stakeholder groups in learning and teaching, academic management and human resource management, with respondents representing all Australian universities; a series of focus groups and semi-structured interviews which sought to explore key issues in greater depth; and surveys designed to capture students’ pre-course expectations and their post-course experiences of ePortfolio learning. Further qualitative data was collected through interviews with ‘mature users’ of ePortfolios. Project findings revealed that, while there was a high level of interest in the use of ePortfolios in terms of the potential to help students become reflective learners who were conscious of their personal and professional strengths and weaknesses, the state of play in Australian universities was very fragmented. The project investigation identified four individual, yet interrelated, contexts where strategies may be employed to support and foster effective ePortfolio practice in higher education: government policy, technical standards, academic policy, and learning and teaching. Four scenarios for the future were also presented with the goal of stimulating discussion about opportunities for stakeholder engagement. It is argued that the effective use of ePortfolios requires open dialogue and collaboration between the different stakeholders across this range of contexts.