Design and implementation of IT services as part of the “Smart City” concept

© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Design and implementation of IT services as part of the “Smart City” concept

Aleksandr Lepekhin1,*,

Abstract.

The concept of “Smart City” is evolving and increasingly becoming important for modern urban society. The state structures, business and institutions increasingly rely on information technology (IT) in its architectural representation. Such transformation of cities is connected with the growing use of software, server infrastructure and client devices in all the most important municipal services. The construction of infrastructure for these municipal services is a complex task, being solved both at the level of the whole city and at the level of individual directions. “Smart healthcare” is an important part of the “Smart City” concept. It is built on scalable storage systems and a communications platform. With this type of IT support, patient records are stored electronically and distributed where they are needed. Construction of “Smart health” ecosystem has to be addressed steadily and on different levels in order to design an infrastructure integrated in the whole-city concept. This research paper discusses the IT services that underlie the concept of “Smart Healthcare”, and describes a project for developing software and designing a technology infrastructure for the implementation of these services by major medical centers within the framework of the general concept of “Smart City”. The research represents a step-wise analysis of society needs and development of IT-services and application, which are designed to connect the urban infrastructure with inner ecosystem of hospitals. The results of the work can be used as a basis for the design of IT services for e-health and the construction of the “Smart Healthcare” system.

1 Introduction

The concept of “Smart City” is an emerging paradigm nowadays. Based on the previous studies, the Smart cities are defined by strong foundation on information and communication technologies (ICT) that invest in human and social capital to improve the quality of life of their citizens [1]. A major challenge of “Smart City” concept realization is implementation of e-health system and “Smart healthcare” as a whole on many different levels of urban life of citizens to build a system of healthcare services, influencing the overall wealth level and quality of life. *

A major challenge in healthcare is the lack of availability from patient/physician for frequently health monitoring [2]. This includes indoor and outdoor monitoring of vital signs of any patient in order to react rapidly or even prevent different health problems and their outcomes. Wireless and mobile networks offer an adequate and powerful solution to overcome a variety of barriers and provide qualified monitoring and treatments services for citizens. A vast variety of applications are developed in attempts to evolve the paradigm of e-health, m-health and Smart healthcare in big cities [3]. One of those examples is the StepUp application. This is a step counter application, which uses sensor-enabled mobile phones to automatically count the number of steps the user walked. The application returns to the user the measured quantity of his/her daily activities and create a healthy competition. The key goal of this solution is to increase awareness and understanding the importance of physical activities and facilitate the integration of regular exercise into their daily life [4]. Another example of an application, which fits the Smart Healthcare concept, could be A Mobile Personal Trainer (MOPET). MOPET is a wearable system that supervises physical activity alternating jogging and fitness exercises in outdoor environments. The main goal of this software is to motivate the user to do sports. It also provides safety and health advices, adapted to the user and his/her context [5]. Another application is iWander. Its main goal is an attempt to partially alleviate stress, financial burden, and offer easier remote monitoring to caregivers by using the user’s social network as a monitoring service. The application runs in the background and collects data from the device’s sensors such as GPS, time of day, weather condition, stage of dementia, and user feedback. This data is then analyzed to determine the probability the person is wandering. The application then automatically takes actions that help navigate the patient to a safe location, notify caregivers, provide the current location of the patient and call 911 [6]. The solution, which is presented in current research, is WorldWideCare complex system. It gathered contributions from the above described applications and also from number of personal healthcare solutions from different vendors and was developed by Design Thinking approach, targeting citizens and large medical centers. The core concept of WorldWideCare is building the bridge between hospitals infrastructure and urban area by means of ICT in order to increase the quality of life of citizens. This is approach, which has not been discussed yet in current researches and practices, because its main focus is considerably wider than inner healthcare services of medical centers. The solutions aims to provide healthcare services continuously and ubiquitously in “Smart City”.

2 Materials and methods

The common problems that involve both issues related with the monitoring of personal health and organizational processes in providing healthcare assistance are addressed by means of the current research. These problems were gathered by means of interviewing, shadowing, storyboarding and other Design Thinking techniques. All these techniques were applied in one of the largest Medical Centers of the city [7]. Finally, the diagram, which shows how potentially could the application react on different cases faced by user, was developed and presented in the figure 1.3

Fig. 1. Application concept.

This Solution is aiming to overcome several problems, which were gathered and analyzed: • Languages barriers: One of the main difficulties concerns the communication between doctor/nurse and patient. Often happens that the language differences lead to a huge time loss and even to an erroneous diagnosis. • Mistakes at the reception desk: A very important factor to prevent the loss of valuable time is addressing the patient at the right hospital sector and room. • Double data storage system: Hospitals are facing the problem of a dual storage system, both in paper and electronic form. • Faster reaction to critical emergency: When someone suddenly has health issues and is in need of immediate help very often suffers from the slow process of recovery. The concept of potential solution was adapted from [2] and addresses the M-Health paradigm, which allows to provide a set of services, required to solve the designed problem. Moreover, the peculiarities of telecommunications projects were taken into account [8]. The concept is presented in the figure 2.

Fig. 2. M-Health services framework.

3 Results

3.1 User interface and Hardware

The WorldWideCare application was designed with use of NinjaMock tool based on the design problem, analyzed above. The application in total has the following modes:  Basic mode – the mode, which ensures Smart Healthcare concept integration in the social life of citizens, providing continues healthcare services and insurance;  Hospital mode (upgraded version) – the mode, which can be activated inside the hospital or any other healthcare organization to provide higher quality treatment. The first interface of the application is presented in the figure 3.

Fig. 3. First screen of application.

The following functionality is embedded in the application in the basic mode: • Registration / login / logout – providing personal account in WorldWideCare system. • Change language – the application is integrated with Google Translate API in order to be able to set communication without any barriers [9]. • Check actual health parameters – checking and updating the latest health indicators. • Edit profile – updating person’s information. • Send a SOS (emergency) signal o Call ambulance (Share data with ambulance/hospital) – ability to be integrated with ambulance system, send location to be picked up, send data to the hospital, so that the personnel can already be prepared. o Call emergency contacts (including Set up and customize emergency contacts) – ability to reach people from emergency contacts list automatically in critical case. • Make a self-diagnosis and choose the hospital (doctor) nearby – ability to track and analyze personal healthcare indicators and search for hospitals nearby to make an appointment. In the Hospital mode the following functions are embedded:

• Ask for help – provides assistance with asking for help, includes translation functions, helps avoiding problems with misunderstanding between patient and personnel. • Check timetable of procedures – tracks person’s own procedures, which are appointed in scopes of the treatment process. When the prototype was analyzed critically, it was decided that the Smart bracelet should also become a part of solution. This would help to overcome different problems and improve the overall quality of WorldWideCare system: • Precise and continuous data collection and analysis; • An affordable and user-friendly solution for a wide audience; • Easily customizable size of wearable. The bracelet design is presented in the figure

4. Fig. 4. Wearable prototype.

3.2 Market analysis

In order to assess the value of the Solution on the modern IT market, a comparative analysis of competitors was made. Since the proposed Solution is a complex system consisting of an application, a portable device and their integration with the hospital information system, the comparison was made with various applications and wearables. The analysis is presented on the table 1.5

 Table 1. Competitors’ analysis. Solution Multilanguage Actual health parameters SOS button Connection with ambulances Self-diagnosis Arrange an appointment with doctor Work without Smartphone WorldWideCare solution ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ SOS button (iOS application) ✘ ✘ ✔ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ iCare (iOS application) ✔ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✔ ✘ ✘ iWander (Android application) ✘ ✔ ✔ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ Xiaomi Mi Band 2 (wearable) ✔ ✔ ✔ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✔ Apple Watch Series 3 (wearable) ✔ ✔ ✔ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✔ Quardio (iOS application) ✔ ✔ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ Analyzing the obtained data, it can be concluded that WorldWideCare possesses a set of unique functionality that is not represented in other solutions.

3.3 Implementation opportunities

The solution was analyzed and mapped within 2 key dimensions in scopes of implementation opportunities – target market and functions. For the target market it was decided to analyze the patients with heart diseases, who were divided into 3 categories: elderly people, patients of hospitals (or those, who are monitored) and people with first symptoms. According to the category of patient, different functionalities, solution’s variations and data transmission channels are available. The analysis is presented in the figure 5, where building represents a hospital, car – ambulance, “+” indicates the availability of function, “–” signifies the absence of the function. Elements on the right represent the primary device (wearable or Smartphone).

Fig. 5. Implementation opportunities analysis.

Thus the first group of patients – the elderly people – will have the following functions: • Continuous data collection and analysis;

 •Emergency alert for person in conscious and unconscious state (button press or automatic signal); • Location and data sharing in case of emergency. The patients of the medical organizations will have access to the above functions, and the following: • Social network for the communication among the people with the same disease; • Channel for direct doctor-patient communication. For those users, who have only first symptoms of serious diseases and who will actively use application the following functions will be available: • Self-evaluation in application, where they will be able to describe their problem, by clicking the model; • Arranging visits to the doctor according to users' location.

4 Conclusions

To be able to work properly, the following assumptions has to be taken into account when the application is implemented in the urban area: the application has more use-cases with bracelet but also together with any kind of wearable able to get healthcare data and hospitals and ambulances, as well as citizens (users) are registered in the application. These assumptions have to be overcome, so that the application implementation would be able to address social understanding and correction of real problems, targeting strong demand and big healthcare-technology market. Social responsibility is a core objective of Smart Healthcare projects, but another issue is security and privacy. The proposed application is safety-critical solution, the failure would influence person's health. The design of this application (in terms of its backend structure, critical use-cases and other aspects) can be addressed on future researches. The described system allows creating a network connecting people, medical organizations and ambulances. Such solution increases the efficiency of organizations and improves the quality of provided services. This system is the step towards the digitalization of medicine, what is the basis for improving various spheres of human life and developing the concept of “Smart City”.

References

1. Solanas et al., IEEE Commun. Mag. 52(8), 74–81 (2014)

2. B.M. Silva, I.M. Lopes, J.J. Rodrigues, P. Ray, e-Health Networking Applications and Services (Healthcom), 2011 13th IEEE International Conference on, 375–380 (2011) A. Bril, O. Kalinina, I. Ilin, MATEC Web of Conferences 106, 8010 (2017 )

3. Khalil, S. Glal, Current Trends in Information Technology (CTIT), 1–5 (2009)

4. F. Buttussi, L. Chittaro, Artif. Intell. Med., 42 (2), 153–163 (2008).

5. F. Sposaro, J. Danielson, G. Tyson, Annual international conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC), 3875–3878 (2010)

6. I.V. Ilin, O.V. Kalinina, A.I. Levina, O.Y. Iliashenko, MATEC Web of Conferences 86, 5028 (2016)

7. V.V. Gluhov, I.V. Ilin, International Conference on Next Generation Wired/Wireless Networking, 509–518 (2014)

8. https://cloud.google.com/translate/docs/

Digitalisation, e-tourism, Smart city

Digitalisation, which means the use of modern information technologies, also occurs in tourism.

The term ’smart’ is increasingly used for technological, economic and social development which is generated by sensors, big data, open data, new connectivity, and information exchange. The adjective ’smart’ can also be found in the operation of cities (intelligent city, smart city), where the term refers to activities aimed at using innovative technologies at resource optimization, efficient and fair management, sustainability and better quality of life (Gretzel et al., 2015). We can also use the term in the context of tourism. Smart tourism consists of three main components, based on information communicational tools: smart destinations, smart experiences and smart business

system (Lopez de Avila, 2015).

The essence of e-tourism is that the use of info-communication tools appears in all sectors of tourism. According to Buhalis (2003), e-tourism is the digitization of all the processes and value chains in the tourism, travel, hospitality and catering industries that enable organisations to maximise their efficiency and effectiveness (Buhalis, 2003 in:Buhalis, 2011:6). E-tourism, as one type of ecommerce, is also an industry, which deals with sales and marketing of products and services
through an electronic system.

The extent of the use of digital solutions in tourism differs from one country to another. (http://turizmusonline.hu/kulfold/cikk/bemutattak_a z_osztrak_digitalis_turizmus_strategiat) In September 2017, the Digital Tourism Strategy was presented in Austria, which set the goals and tools in the digitalisation agenda, in line with global digital challenges.

(http://turizmusonline.hu/kulfold/cikk/bemutattak_a z_osztrak_digitalis_turizmus_strategiat) The Digital Tourism Strategy presents the tasks, along three strategic objectives, that are required to realize digital tourism in eight areas.

(https://www.bmdw.gv.at/Tourismus/Documents/DI GITALISIERUNGSSTRATEGIE_barrierefrei.pdf) Overall, we can say that most countries' tourism strategy already includes digitization-based activities.

Methodology
Today, the city is undergoing a global transformation. Development requires the creation of
an infrastructure based on intelligent networks. Technologies should serve as a basis for the
development of new cities and be integrated into existing ones. These tasks can be solved
through the introduction of BDT technology based on the concept of an integrated approach
Smart city.

The concept of Smart city is intended to use intellectual and information communication
technologies for the management of urban property. The main objective of the considered
concept – to meet the needs of residents of the city. Volynskov points out that Smart City
technology is able to cover almost all areas of urban planning and management, including
the architectural component, public administration, transport and communal systems, public
safety, financial structures, Commerce, production, as well as the creation of a residential
environment [4].

An important element of the concept is intellectual innovation, which is based on
information technology and data analysis. Their spread has an impact on the economic
landscape, creating new fast-growing areas or making radical changes to existing ones. At
the same time, the data of the innovation generation process can come through two
channels: from automated accounting systems fixing various parameters of urban systems
to residents creating formalized requests for changes.

Today, the concept of Smart City is actively developing in the United States, developed
countries in Europe and Southeast Asia. The experience of these countries allows us to
identify two main approaches to the implementation of the concept.

The first approach is based on the introduction of Smart city technologies through the
design and creation of new cities. Thanks to the use of this technology, the infrastructure of
future cities is carefully thought out. In addition, maximum integration of all urban systems
is ensured. Examples of this approach include planned or ongoing projects of cities in
countries such as South Korea, UAE, China [4].

Most often, the technology is implemented on the territory of small, compact
settlements, where the infrastructure is initially created in accordance with pre-developed,
often quite stringent standards [5]. Usually the development of such a city, according to
Volynskov [4], is considered as a single mega-project, detailed into individual projects and
sub-projects, and the evaluation of its effectiveness is carried out from the standpoint of
economic effects.

The second, more common approach is the implementation of the "smart city" concept
in already existing cities where local or complex projects are implemented on the basis of
the existing infrastructure in the framework of the introduction of intelligent technologies,
then integrated into systems. This approach is highly relevant when implementing it on the
territory of ancient cities, as it is intended, along with the modernization of the city, to preserve the monuments of architecture and the appearance of old cities. Through the use of
information - communication infrastructure and technology, it is possible to adapt urban
systems to existing needs and pressures, thereby reducing costs by reducing resource
consumption, improving the quality of services and creating new points of economic
growth.

Smart City technologies are increasingly included in the daily life of citizens, as these technologies are provided to improve the efficiency of urban services. These technologies also act as a centralized means of obtaining services on energy and water supply, urban infrastructure, transport, etc.

The following components are included in the unified integration platform for Smart city concept implementation: 1. Transport: the possibility of photo and video fixation (FVF), weight control (VGK), parking space, electronic ticket, automated traffic management system (ASUDD. 2. Housing and communal services: implementation of the "Bright City" system; use of IT systems for utilities. 3. Security: introduction of video surveillance systems, threat monitoring, coordination and interaction systems, eco-monitoring. 4. Tourism: development of a tourist map, introduction of public Wi-Fi [12].

The government, business, society, and most importantly the professional community of architects and urban planners today has a unique opportunity to influence the life and structure of cities, using such a tool as BDT, and implementing it with the help of Smart city technologies [15]. But for the full realization of this possibility, it is necessary to solve a number of problems. First, changes in the regulatory framework are needed: a standard is needed that regulates the use and application of BDT by the professional community. Secondly, there is a problem of the need to organize joint activities of planners, urban planners, urbanists in the process of data collection and processing. Third, you need to learn how to work with BDT and use them correctly. It is necessary to develop methods for the use of BDT in urban planning. They should be based on different types of data and methods of data processing and be used for different urban development tasks: zoning, security, improvement of transport and pedestrian traffic. Big Data technologies should play an important role in urban planning, as they have considerable potential to bridge the gap between the conceptual understanding of cities and urban real data collected by various technical means.

E-government

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E-government (short for electronic government) is the use of electronic communications devices, computers and the Internet to provide public services to citizens and other persons in a country or region. According to Jeong, 2007 the term consists of the digital interactions between a citizen and their government (C2G), between governments and other government agencies (G2G), between government and citizens (G2C), between government and employees (G2E), and between government and businesses/commerces (G2B). E-government delivery models can be broken down into the following categories:^[1] This interaction consists of citizens communicating with all levels of government (city, state/province, national, and international), facilitating citizen involvement in governance using information and communication technology (ICT) (such as computers and websites) and business process re-engineering (BPR). Brabham and Guth (2017) interviewed the third party designers of e-government tools in North America about the ideals of user interaction that they build into their technologies, which include progressive values, ubiquitous participation, geolocation, and education of the public.^[2]
Other definitions are more away from technology as an object, to see them simply as facilitators or instruments and focus on specific changes in Public Administration issues, and in the internal transformation of a Government, is the case of the definition that established the specialist technologist Mauro D. Ríos in the paper "In search of a definition of Electronic Government", he says: "Digital Government is a new way of organization and management of public affairs, introducing positive transformational processes in management and the structure itself of the organization chart, adding value to the procedures and services provided, all through the introduction and continued appropriation of information and communication technologies as a facilitator of these transformations."^[3]

Contents

• 1Terminology
• 2Definition
• 3UN e-Government Development Index
• 4Comparison with e-governance
• 5Delivery models and activities of e-government
• 6Non-internet e-government
• 7Controversies
  • 7.1Disadvantages
  • 7.2Trust
  • 7.3Development
    • 7.3.1Hyper-surveillance
    • 7.3.2Cost
    • 7.3.3Inaccessibility
    • 7.3.4False sense of transparency and accountability
  • 7.4Advantages
    • 7.4.1Democratization
    • 7.4.2Environmental bonuses
    • 7.4.3Speed, efficiency, and convenience
    • 7.4.4Public approval
• 8Technology-specific e-government
• 9Government 2.0
• 10By country
  • 10.1Africa
    • 10.1.1Kenya
  • 10.2Asia
    • 10.2.1Bangladesh
    • 10.2.2India
    • 10.2.3Indonesia
    • 10.2.4Iran
    • 10.2.5Malaysia
    • 10.2.6Myanmar
    • 10.2.7Yangon
    • 10.2.8Mandalay
    • 10.2.9Nepal
    • 10.2.10Pakistan
    • 10.2.11Sri Lanka
    • 10.2.12Jordan
    • 10.2.13Saudi Arabia
    • 10.2.14United Arab Emirates
  • 10.3Europe
    • 10.3.1Armenia
      • 10.3.1.1E-License
        • 10.3.1.1.1System of reports on licensed activities
      • 10.3.1.2E-Payments
      • 10.3.1.3E-Cadastre
      • 10.3.1.4E-Draft
      • 10.3.1.5E-Register
      • 10.3.1.6Datalex
      • 10.3.1.7E-Announcement
      • 10.3.1.8E-Tax
      • 10.3.1.9E-IP
      • 10.3.1.10E-Visa
      • 10.3.1.11E-Signature
    • 10.3.2Estonia
    • 10.3.3Azerbaijan
    • 10.3.4Kazakhstan
    • 10.3.5Russia
  • 10.4North America
    • 10.4.1Canada
    • 10.4.2United States
• 11See also
• 12References
  • 12.1Further reading
• 13External links

Terminology[edit]

E-government is also known as e-gov, electronic government, Internet governance, digital government, online government, connected government. As of 2014 the OECD still uses the term digital government, and distinguishes it from e-government in the recommendation produced there for the Network on E-Government of the Public Governance Committee.^[4] Several governments have started to use the term digital government to a wide range of services involving contemporary technology, such as big data, automation or predictive analytics.^[5]

Definition[edit]

E-gov strategies (or digital government) is defined as "The employment of the Internet and the world-wide-web for delivering government information and services to the citizens." (United Nations, 2006; AOEMA, 2005).^[6] Electronic government (or e-government) essentially refers to "utilization of Information Technology (IT), Information and Communication Technologies (ICT s), and other web-based telecommunication technologies to improve and/or enhance on the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery in the public sector.".^[1] E-government promotes and improves broad stakeholders contribution to national and community development, as well as deepen the governance process.^[7]
In electronic government systems, government operations are supported by web-based services. It involves the use of information technology, specifically the Internet, to facilitate the communication between the government and its citizens.^[8]

UN e-Government Development Index[edit]

The Division of a Public Administration and Development Management (DPAPM) of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA) conducts a bi-annual e-government survey which includes a section titled e-Government Development Index (EGDI). It is a comparative ranking of 193 countries of the world according to three primary indicators: i) the OSI - Online Service Index that measures the online presence of the government in terms of service delivery; ii) the TII - Telecommunication Infrastructure Index iii) HCI -Human Capital Index . Constructing a model for the measurement of digitized services, the Survey assesses the 193 member states of the UN according to a quantitative composite index of e-government readiness based on website assessment; telecommunication infrastructure and human resource endowment.^[9]
A diverse group of 100 researchers online volunteers from across the globe engaged with the United Nations Department of Economic Affairs (UN DESA) to process 386 research surveys carried out across 193 UN Member States for the 2016 UN E-Government Survey.^[10] The diversity of nationalities and languages of the online volunteers^[11]—more than 65 languages, 15 nationalities, of which half are from developing countries—mirrors perfectly the mission of the survey.

Comparison with e-governance[edit]

Main article: e-governance

E-government should enable anyone visiting a city website to communicate and interact with city employees via the Internet with graphical user interfaces (GUI), instant-messaging (IM), learn about government issues through audio/video presentations, and in any way more sophisticated than a simple email letter to the address provided at the site”^[12]
The essence of e-governance is "The enhanced value for stakeholders through transformation"^[13] and “the use of technology to enhance the access to and delivery of government services to benefit citizens, business partners and employees”.^[14] The focus should be on:

• The use of information and communication technologies, and particularly the Internet, as a tool to achieve better government.^[15]
• The use of information and communication technologies in all facets of the operations of a government organization.^[16][17]
• The continuous optimization of service delivery, constituency participation, and governance by transforming internal and external relationships through technology, the Internet and new media.^[18]

Whilst e-government has traditionally been understood as being centered around the operations of government, e-governance is understood to extend the scope by including citizen engagement and participation in governance. As such, following in line with the OECD definition of e-government, e-governance can be defined as the use of ICTs as a tool to achieve better governance.

Delivery models and activities of e-government[edit]

The primary delivery models of e-government can be divided into:

• Government-to-citizen or government-to-consumer (G2C) approaches such as setting up websites where citizens can download forms, government information, etc.
  • In this model, the G2C model applies the strategy of customer relationship management (CRM) with business concept.
  • By managing their "customer" (citizen) relationship, the business (government) can provide the needed products and services fulfill the needs of the customer (citizen).
  • In United States, the NPR (National Partnership for Reinventing Government) has been implemented from 1993.^[19]
• Government-to-business (G2B)
• Government-to-government (G2G)
• Government-to-employees (G2E)

Within each of these interaction domains, four kinds of activities take place:^[20][21]

• pushing information over the Internet, e.g.: regulatory services, general holidays, public hearing schedules, issue briefs, notifications, etc.
• two-way communications between the agency and the citizen, a business, or another government agency. In this model, users can engage in dialogue with agencies and post problems, comments, or requests to the agency.
• conducting transactions, e.g.: lodging tax returns, applying for services and grants.
• governance, e.g.: To enable the citizen transition from passive information access to active citizen participation by:

1. Informing the citizen
2. Representing the citizen
3. Encouraging the citizen to vote
4. Consulting the citizen
5. Involving the citizen

Non-internet e-government[edit]

While e-government is often thought of as "online government" or "Internet-based government," many non-Internet "electronic government" technologies can be used in this context. Some non-Internet forms include telephone, fax, PDA, SMS text messaging, MMS, wireless networks and services, Bluetooth, CCTV, tracking systems, RFID, biometric identification, road traffic management and regulatory enforcement, identity cards, smart cards and other near field communication applications; polling station technology (where non-online e-voting is being considered), TV and radio-based delivery of government services (e.g., CSMW), email, online community facilities, newsgroups and electronic mailing lists, online chat, and instant messaging technologies.

Controversies[edit]

Disadvantages[edit]

The main disadvantages concerning e-government is the lack of equality in public access to computers and the internet (the "digital divide", a reference to the fact that people who have low incomes, who are homeless and/or who live in remote regions may have little or no access to the Internet), reliability of information on the web, and issues that could influence and bias public opinions. There are many considerations and potential implications of implementing and designing e-government, including disintermediation of the government and its citizens, impacts on economic, social, and political factors, vulnerability to cyber attacks, and disturbances to the status quo in these areas.^[22] See also Electronic leviathan.
The political nature of public sector forms are also cited as disadvantages to e-government systems.^[23]

Trust[edit]

Trust in e-governance is very highly dependent on its performance and execution, which can be measured through the effectiveness of current actions. This is much riskier and prone to fluctuation than a system of trust that is based on reputation because performance does not consider past actions.^[24]

Development[edit]

Because E-government is in the early stages of development in many countries and jurisdictions, it is hard to be applied to forms of government that have been institutionalized. Age-old bureaucratic practices being delivered in new mediums or using new technologies can lead to problems of miscommunication^[25]

Hyper-surveillance[edit]

Increased electronic contact and data exchange between government and its citizens goes both ways. Once e-government technologies become more sophisticated, citizens will be likely be encouraged to interact electronically with the government for more transactions, as e-services are much less costly than bricks and mortar service offices (physical buildings) staffed by civil servants. This could potentially lead to a decrease in privacy for civilians as the government obtains more and more information about their activities. Without safeguards, government agencies might share information on citizens. In a worst-case scenario, with so much information being passed electronically between government and civilians, a totalitarian-like system could develop. When the government has easy access to countless information on its citizens, personal privacy is lost.^[26][27]

Cost[edit]

Although "a prodigious amount of money has been spent"^[28] on the development and implementation of e-government, some say^[who?] it has yielded only a mediocre result. The outcomes and effects of trial Internet-based government services are often difficult to gauge or users seem them unsatisfactory.^[29] According to Gartner, Worldwide IT spending is estimated to total $3.6 trillion in 2011 which is 5.1% increase from the year 2010 ($3.4 trillion).^[30]

Inaccessibility[edit]

Main article: Digital divide

An e-government website that provides government services often does not offer the "potential to reach many users including those who live in remote areas [without Internet access], are homebound, have low literacy levels, exist on poverty line incomes."^[31] Homeless people, people in poverty and elderly people may not have access.

False sense of transparency and accountability[edit]

Opponents of e-government argue that online governmental transparency is dubious because it is maintained by the governments themselves. Information can be added or removed from the public eye. To this day, very few organizations monitor and provide accountability for these modifications. Those that do so, like the United States’ OMBWatch^[32] and Government Accountability Project, are often nonprofit volunteers. Even the governments themselves do not always keep track of the information they insert and delete.^[33]

Advantages[edit]

The ultimate goal of the e-government is to be able to offer an increased portfolio of public services to citizens in an efficient and cost effective manner. E-government allows for government transparency. Government transparency is important because it allows the public to be informed about what the government is working on as well as the policies they are trying to implement. Simple tasks may be easier to perform through electronic government access. Many changes, such as marital status or address changes can be a long process and take a lot of paper work for citizens. E-government allows these tasks to be performed efficiently with more convenience to individuals. E-government is an easy way for the public to be more involved in political campaigns. It could increase voter awareness, which could lead to an increase in citizen participation in elections. It is convenient and cost-effective for businesses, and the public benefits by getting easy access to the most current information available without having to spend time, energy and money to get it.
E-government helps simplify processes and makes government information more easily accessible for public sector agencies and citizens. For example, the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles simplified the process of certifying driver records to be admitted in county court proceedings.^[34] Indiana became the first state to allow government records to be digitally signed, legally certified and delivered electronically by using Electronic Postmark technology. In addition to its simplicity, e-democracy services can reduce costs. Alabama Department of Conservation & Natural Resources, Wal-Mart and NIC^[35] developed an online hunting and fishing license service utilizing an existing computer to automate the licensing process. More than 140,000 licenses were purchased at Wal-Mart stores during the first hunting season and the agency estimates it will save $200,000 annually from service.^[36]
The anticipated benefits of e-government include efficiency, improved services, better accessibility of public services, sustainable community development and more transparency and accountability.^[22]

Democratization[edit]

Main article: E-democracy

One goal of some e-government initiatives is greater citizen participation. Through the Internet's Web 2.0 interactive features, people from all over the country can provide input to politicians or public servants and make their voices heard. Blogging and interactive surveys allow politicians or public servants to see the views of the people on any issue. Chat rooms can place citizens in real-time contact with elected officials or their office staff or provide them with the means to interact directly with public servants, allowing voters to have a direct impact and influence in their government. These technologies can create a more transparent government, allowing voters to immediately see how and why their representatives in the capital are voting the way they are. This helps voters decide whom to vote for in the future or how to help the public servants become more productive.
A government could theoretically move more towards a true democracy with the proper application of e-government. Government transparency will give insight to the public on how decisions are made and hold elected officials or public servants accountable for their actions. The public could become a direct and prominent influence in government legislature to some degree.^{[37][38][39][40]}

Environmental bonuses[edit]

Main article: Paperless office

Proponents of e-government argue that online government services would lessen the need for hard copy paper forms.^[41] Due to recent pressures from environmentalist groups, the media, and the public, some governments and organizations have turned to the Internet to reduce paper use. The United States government utilizes the website http://www.forms.gov to provide “internal government forms for federal employees” and thus “produce significant savings in paper.^[42] As well, if citizens can apply for government services or permits online, they may not need to drive into a government office, which could lead to less air pollution from gas and diesel-fuelled vehicles.

Speed, efficiency, and convenience[edit]

E-government allows citizens to interact with computers to achieve objectives at any time and any location and eliminates the necessity for physical travel to government agents sitting behind desks and windows. Many e-government services are available to citizens with computers and Internet access 24 hours a day and seven days a week, in contrast to bricks and mortar government offices, which tend to be only open during business hours (notable exceptions are police stations and hospitals, which are usually open 24 hours a day so that staff can deal with emergencies).
Improved accounting and record keeping can be noted through computerization, and information and forms can be easily accessed by citizens with computers and Internet access, which may enable quicker processing time for applications and find information. On the administrative side, access to help find or retrieve files and linked information can now be stored in electronic databases versus hard copies (paper copies) stored in various locations. Individuals with disabilities or conditions that affect their mobility no longer have to be mobile to be active in government and can access public services in the comfort of their own homes^[43][44] (as long as they have a computer and Internet and any accessibility equipment they may need).

Public approval[edit]

Main article: e-participation

Recent trials of e-government have been met with acceptance and eagerness from the public.^[45][46] Citizens participate in online discussions of political issues with increasing frequency, and young people, who traditionally display minimal interest in government affairs, are drawn to electronic voting procedures.
Although Internet-based governmental programs have been criticized for lack of reliable privacy policies, studies have shown that people value prosecution of offenders over personal confidentiality. Ninety percent of United States adults approve of Internet tracking systems of criminals, and 57% are willing to forgo some of their personal internet privacy if it leads to the prosecution of criminals or terrorists.^[47]

Technology-specific e-government[edit]

There are also some technology-specific sub-categories of e-government, such as m-government (mobile government), ubiquitous government), and g-government (GIS/GPS applications for e-government).
The previous concern about developments in E-government concerning technology are due to the limited use of online platforms for political reasons by citizens in local political participations.^[48]
The primary delivery models of e-government are classified depending on who benefits. In the development of public sector or private sector portals and platforms, a system is created that benefits all constituents. Citizens needing to renew their vehicle registration have a convenient way to accomplish it while already engaged in meeting the regulatory inspection requirement. On behalf of a government partner, the business provides what has traditionally, and solely, managed by government and can use this service to generate profit or attract new customers. Government agencies are relieved of the cost and complexity of having to process the transactions.^[49]
To develop these public sector portals or platforms, governments have the choice to internally develop and manage, outsource, or sign a self-funding contract. The self-funding model creates portals that pay for themselves through convenience fees for certain e-government transactions, known as self-funding portals.
Social networking services and websites are an emerging area for e-democracy. The social networking entry point is within the citizens’ environment and the engagement is on the citizens’ terms. Proponents of e-government perceive government use of social networking as a medium to help government act more like the public it serves. Examples can be found at almost every state government portal through Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube widgets.
Government and its agents also have the opportunity to follow citizens to monitor satisfaction with services they receive. Through ListServs, RSS feeds, mobile messaging, micro-blogging services and blogs, government and its agencies can share information to citizens who share common interests and concerns. Government is also beginning to Twitter. In the state of Rhode Island, Treasurer Frank T. Caprio is offering daily tweets of the state’s cash flow.^[50] For a full list of state agencies with Twitter feeds, visit NIC.^[51] For more information, visit transparent-gov.com.^[52]

Government 2.0[edit]

Government 2.0 or Gov 2.0 refers to government policies that aim to harness collaborative technologies and interactive Internet tools to create an open-source computing platform in which government, citizens, and innovative companies can improve transparency and efficiency.^[53] Put simply, Gov 2.0 is about "putting government in the hands of citizens".^[54] Gov 2.0 combines interactive Web 2.0 fundamentals with e-government and increases citizen participation by using open-source platforms, which allow development of innovative apps, websites, and widgets. The government’s role is to provide open data, web services, and platforms as an infrastructure.^[55]