Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Parisian region tend to be the most advanced, while many poorer and rural ones lag
considerably.
In Spain, Portugal, and Italy, where e-government lags behind France, it has
been used to reduce the size of public bureaucracies. Often with the assistance of
European Union funds, governments in Southern Europe have sought to overcome
the digital divide in their respective countries, facilitating access in rural and low
income regions, encouraging telemedicine for those who live far from hospitals or
doctors, emergency communications services, targeted information assistance for
disabled persons and the elderly, and promoting ''distance learning'' in secondary
schools and universities. In Greece, the nation's first ''digital city,'' Trikala, was
launched in 2006, giving 70% of its residents internet access and giving them an
ability to participate in telework, on-line library and school programs, emergency
response systems, environmental and transportation information, and demographic
data that can be utilized through publicly available geographical information
systems. Spain's complex political geography, with multiple, overlapping regional
administrative bodies and autonomous areas and the resulting Byzantine legal
environment they generate, played no small role in the slow onset of e-government
there (Muñoz-Cañavate and Hípola
2011
), including the number and quality of
local government websites that serve local citizens (Muñoz-Cañavate and Chain-
Navarro
2004
).
5.3.3 East Asia
South Korea possesses an e-government system often rated the world's most
comprehensive and sophisticated (Shin
2007
; Taubman Center of Brown Uni-
versity
2007
). Largely due to a series of government initiatives stretching back to
the 1980s and culminating in the Electronic Government Act of 2001, the country
developed a world-class telecommunications infrastructure (including the highest
rate of broadband penetration in the world). It gradually implemented e-govern-
ment in a series of stages by forcefully overcoming bureaucratic inertia and
resistance through the erection of a well-coordinated network of agencies involved
in the effort (Song
2002
; Im and Seo
2005
). Highlights of the Korean system
include electronic delivery of social insurance payments, tax collections, and
widespread electronic education services. Struggles over privacy were a significant
aspect of the adoption of these processes (Jho
2005
). The presidential Blue
House's shinmoongo system allows citizens to appeal judicial decisions and report
corruption directly with the president's offices. An important lesson from the
Korean experience is the need for attention to stakeholders' trust and commitment
and an understanding of the dynamics of organizational learning for e-government
to be successful (Kim et al.
2007
). The government's E-jiwon electronic records
management system, for example, including vast digital archives, succeeded
because of the institutional changes that accompanied it, not simply the techno-
logical advantages it offers (Lee and Lee
2009
).
