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New Zealand

E-government

Ahmed Hassan Al-Ghanimi

Ola Ali Abead

By:- مردوخي فرهاد

In this paper a return to core systems principles of structure, control, communication and emergence (Checkland, 1984) provides the basis for the development of a new systems model: Sustainability to Liveability model (STLM). In order to address issues for marginalised people as the New Zealand government moves to meet its digital strategy goals four additional characteristics of whole system, socioeconomic status, ICT access and personal coping mechanisms are also considered. Checkland describes structure as ‘those elements in a problem situation which are either permanent or change only slowly or occasionally’ (p. 317). Control is described ‘as the process by means of which a whole entity retains its identity’ (p. 313). Communication is described as ‘the transfer of information’ (p. 313) and emergence as ‘properties of a whole entity that are only meaningful when attributed to the whole’ (p. 314). STML has been applied to four hypothetical cases: psychological disability, impaired intellectual ability, homelessness and the elderly to consider both sociological and information communication technology (ICT) issues that arise for marginalised people as the government moves towards its goal of 24/7 internet delivered services. The structure of the paper is as follows: first, a sample of literature exploring (a) how ICT affects the lives of people is explored, particularly with respect to e-government services; (b) the New Zealand government’s digital strategy is presented (Table 1); (c) the composition of New Zealand’s marginalised population is described; and finally, (d) what the digital divide means in this context. Next, the STML model is presented. This is followed by a description of the method utilised for the hypothetical case studies presented. Findings from the application of STML to these hypothetical cases are discussed. The paper concludes by suggesting that there needs to be further consideration for the diverse ways the lives of marginalised people will be affected by a move to internet delivered government information services and democratic processes. As much as interoperability is about agencies working together to improve delivery of services, it also impacts the vendor community, in that they need to understand and provide services based on inter-

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Introduction

agency business needs. Contribution by the vendor community in the formative stages of the New Zealand e-GIF is an important factor to ensuring the validity of the framework.

Fortunately, for many New Zealanders, the Internet has meant the end of queues altogether. While many government departments now provide their services electronically (e-services), today’s challenge is to take an “outside – in” view. Agencies must look at the complete service New Zealanders seek – from their perspective. We in Government must work together, electronically, in a spirit of collaboration, to best deliver it Results that people value are the goals.

As agencies put the e-GIF into practice, back-office integration drives front-end services that are integrated, customer-centric, and efficient. And this brings us closer to the June 2010 target – government operations transformed through the use of the Internet.

The e-GIF is a fundamental tool for integrating agency services. It also helps the whole of New Zealand government stay in line with internationally agreed standards and protocols. By adopting the e-GIF, agencies will keep the Internet and related technologies working for New Zealanders today and in the future.

Note:- One note of caution: to be of value, the e-GIF must be used; and to be useful, it must stay relevant. I encourage all to supplement the e-GIF: submit new standards relevant to your sector – and to others, including the public sector. By working together, we can continue to enhance the e-GIF as a central repository of agreed e-government standards. And that is an all-of-government asset of considerable value.

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CHAPTER (2) E-GOVERNMENT IN DIGITAL ERA: CONCEPT, PRACTICE, AND DEVELOPMENT

1.Definition of E-Government1.1 Definition of E-Government in Broad Sense and Narrow Sense1.2. E-Government and E-Commerce1.3 E-Government and E-Governance1.4 A Triangle Relationship Model among Government, Business and Citizens2. E-Government’s Types and Characteristics2.1 Types of E-Government Partnerships2.2 Characteristics of E-Government Types:2.3 A Broad Schematic System for E-Government Type Models3. Best Practices of E-Government Worldwide3.2 Enlightenment from E-Government Examples3.1 Development of E-Government

Chapter (2) DIGITAL STRATEGY, SOCIAL INCLUSION AND LIVEABILITY2.1. New Zealand Government Digital2.2. Marginalized New Zealanders2.3. Internet access2.4. Digital Divide2.5. E-government and user issues for marginalized New Zealanders2.5. E-government and user issues for marginalized New Zealanders2.6. Local Government2.7. SUSTAINABILITY TO LIVEABILITY MODEL2.8 METHOD2.9 Research Questions2.10. Contributing to Government structure2.11. Communication – processes, feedback and relationships2.12 . Control – power differentials 2.13. Emergence, order, strange attractors and the edge of chaos 2.14. Roles2.15. Flexibility, evolving systems and creativity

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Table of contents

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Chapter (1)

E-Government in Digital Era: Concept, Practice, and Development

To understand E-government, it must understand administrative development and reform on government in general. During two decades, Administrative reform and development have experienced TQM in1980s, and Reengineering and Reinventing Government in 1990s. Government reinvention make us realized that.

What is exactly E-Government? E-Government can be defined in narrow sense. In State of Texas’ s Electronic Government Strategic Plan, (Department of Information Resources, State of Texas, January 2001), Electronic government is defined as: Government activities that take place over electronic communications among all levels of government, citizens, and the business community, including: acquiring and providing products and services; placing and receiving orders; providing and obtaining information; and completing financial transactions.Broadly defined by Gartner (2000): "E-government is the continuous optimization of service delivery, constituency participation and governance by transforming internal and external relationships through technology, the Internet and new media." This includes Government to Citizen, Government to Employee, Government to Business, and Government to Government.Recognize the implication of e-government, it can be defined as - the ability to obtain government services through nontraditional electronic means, enabling access to government information and to completion of government transaction on ananywhere, any time basis and in conformance with equal access requirement. - offers potential to reshape the public sector and build relationships between citizens and the government. Theresa A. Pardo outlined its functions as follows:

- Citizen access to government information. Providing access to government information is the most common digital government initiative.

- Facilitating general compliance. E-government can also mean providing electronic access to services that facilitate compliance with a set of rules or regulations.

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1. Definition of E-Government

1.1 Definition of E-Government in Broad Sense and Narrow Sense

- Citizen access to personal benefits. Electronic benefits transfer and online application for public assistance and worker’s compensation are examples of services that provide the citizen with electronic access to personal benefits.

- Procurement including bidding, purchasing, and payment. Procurement applications allow government agencies to reap the benefits being realized in the private sector through electronic commerce applications. Electronic vendor cataloging, bid submissions and tabulations, electronic purchasing, and payment are government-to government and government-to-business transactions that serve both the needs of government agencies as well as their private trading partners.

- Government-to-government information and service integration. Integrating service delivery programs across government agencies and between levels of government requires electronic information sharing and integration.

- Citizen participation. Online democracy includes access to elected officials, discussion forums, “town meetings,” voter registration, and ultimately online voting. These services are intended to serve the community at large. (Theresa A. Pardo, 2000)

- Viewed from technical terms, E-Government is an integrated tool comprising three enabling sets of new technology: (infrastructure, solutions and the exploitation) of public portals. An e-government infrastructure enabling the implementation of specific applications to address specific problems and issues of government management. So when providing Internet access and email services in public portals, the most positive impact will come from the solutions and services that can be accessed from the exploitation of public portals with these communication tools. Based on internal and external governmental telecommunication and internet infrastructure, through the exploitation of public portals of governments, provide the solutions for public service delivery.

- Concluded in our comprehensive view, E-government can be defined as a way for governments to use the most innovative information and communication technologies, particularly web-based Internet applications, to provide citizens and businesses with more convenient access to government information and services, to improve the quality of the services and to provide greater opportunities to participate in democratic institutions and processes.

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Analogous to e-commerce, which allows businesses to transact with each other more efficiently (B2B) and brings customers closer to businesses (B2C), e-government aims to make the interaction between government and citizens (G2C), government and business enterprises (G2B), and interagency relationships (G2G) more friendly It is conceivable, on the basis of the above, that the benefits of E-Government will continue to depend on the realization of technical advances in Electronic Business (E-Business) in the broadest sense. Electronic Business (E-Business) refers to a broader definition of Electronic Commerce (E-Commerce), not just buying and selling but also servicing customers and collaborating with business partners, and conducting electronic transactions within an organizational entity.

In technology, E-government and ecommerce all represent the introduction of technological innovations. However, Unlike E-Commerce, E-government is usually defined as the use of technology to enhance information sharing, service delivery, constituency and client participation, and governance by transforming internal and external relationships. This includes transactions between government and business, government and citizen, government and employee, and among different units and levels of government. In another sense, E-business and e-commerce are subsets of e-government.

E-governance is beyond the scope of e-government. While e-government is defined as a mere delivery of government services and information to the public using electronic means, e-governance allows citizen direct participation of constituents in political activities going beyond government and includes E-democracy, E-voting, and participating political activity online. So, most broadly, concept of E-governance will cover government, citizens participation, political parties and organizations, Parliament and Judiciary functions.

Blake Harris (2000) summarizes the e-governance as the following: E-governance is not just about government web site and e-mail. It is not just about service delivery over the Internet. It is not just about digital access to government information or electronic payments. It will change

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1.2. E-Government and E-Commerce

1.3 E-Government and E-Governance

how citizens relate to governments as much as it changes how citizens relate to each other. It will bring forth new concepts of citizenship, both in terms of needs and responsibilities. E-governance will allow citizens to communicate with government, participate in the governments' policy-making and citizens to communicate each other and to participate in the democratic political process. Therefore, in broadest sense, E-governance has more implications than E-Government.

Understanding definition of E-Government that encapsulates a broader agenda of renewal may be more helpful to distinguish from these two different concepts but related to each other. E-Government refers to the use by government agencies of information technologies, such as web-based Networks, the Internet, and mobile computing, that have the ability to transform relations with citizens, businesses, and other arms of government. These technologies can serve a variety of different ends: better delivery of government services to citizens, improved interactions with business and industry, citizen empowerment through access to information, or more efficient government management. The resulting benefits can be less corruption, increased transparency, greater convenience, revenue growth, and/or cost reductions.

View from the definitions of E-Government, we can get a triangle relationship model among government,

1- E-Government focus aspect in E-Government partnership

The processes and structures that define the relationship between central government and local governments; the processes and structures that define the relationship between organizations and departments or agencies; the processes and structures that define the relationship between government and the employees; the processes and structures that define the relationship between Legislature and the Executive.

2- E-Business focus aspect in E-Government partnership

The processes and structures that define the relationship between governments and the markets; the processes and structures that define the relationship between governments and the private sector.

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1.4 A Triangle Relationship Model among Government, Business and Citizens

3- E-Citizens focus aspect in E-Government partnership

The processes and structures that define the relationship between governments and citizens; The processes and structures that define the relationship between Government service delivery and citizens’ needs; and The processes and structures that define the relationship between countries and International institutions.

The following diagram illustrates the relationship among E-Government, E-Business, and E-Citizens in the context of the emergence of the so called “knowledge society”, globalization, and sovereignty:

Given the scale, scope, multi-portfolio nature, and transformational potential of e-government, it has been advocated that it should be treated as a holistic system adjunct to the area of e-commerce in the E-society.

Figure 1.1 A Triangle Relationship Model among E-Government, Business and Citizens

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Deducted from our definition of E-Government, we can further find out the types of E-Government and their features in practices of government online world wide

Summarized from our research on E-Government, normally, government identifies and drives implementation of eight types of E-government which can bring significant benefits to the Government, citizens, business, employees and other nonprofit organizations and political and social organizations. Types of E-Government can be classified into 8 categories, are as follows:

1- Government-to-Citizen (G2C) Provide the momentum to put public services online, in particular through the electronic service delivery for offering information and communications;

2- Citizen-to-Government (C2G) Provide the momentum to put public services online, in particular through the electronic service delivery for exchange of information and communication;

3- Government-to-Business (G2B) Actively drive E-transactions initiatives such as e-procurement and the development of an electronic marketplace for government purchases; and carry out Government procurement tenders through electronic means for exchange of information and commodities;

4- Business -to-Government (B2G) Actively drive E-transactions initiatives such as e-procurement and the development of an electronic marketplace for government purchases; and carry out government procurement tenders through electronic means for sale of goods and services.

5- Government-to-Employee (G2E) Embark on initiatives that will facilitate the management of the civil service and internal communication with governmental employees in order to make e-career applications and processing system paperless in E-office.

6- Government-to-Government (G2G) Provide the Government's departments or agencies cooperation and communication online base on mega database of government to have an impact on efficiency and effectiveness. It also includes internal exchange of information and commodities.

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2. E-Government’s Types and Characteristics

2.1 Types of E-Government Partnerships:

7- Government-to-Nonprofit (G2N) Government provides information and communication to nonprofit organizations, political parties and social organizations, Legislature, etc.

8- Nonprofit-to-Government (N2G) Exchange of information and communication between government and nonprofit organizations, political parties and social organizations, Legislature, etc.

From the above categories of E-government, we can sum up that E-Government initiatives should focus on five consumer-to-government relationships: Citizen-to-Government, Business-to-Government, Government-to-Nonprofit, Government-to-Government and Government-to employee. First, Citizen-to-Government refers to the direct consumption of public services by the individual consumer for personal use. These services include licensing and permitting for hunting, fishing, and driving privileges. This will not only include the payment of taxes, fines, and fees to state and local governments, but also the payment of refunds to taxpayers. Second, the Business-to-Government relationship model refers to those services consumed by entrepreneurs, businesses, and corporations, for a commercial purpose (profit or nonprofit). These include filing statements of incorporation, obtaining business licenses, assistance with site locations, and obtaining workforce information. Finally, Government-to-Nonprofit, Government-to Government and Government-to-Employee refer to the coordination of both inter- and intra- agency cooperation and employees to improve services inside or outside

With comparison and analysis of E-government types, we can concluded some characteristics as follows:

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2.2 Characteristics of E-Government Types:

Table 2.1 Characteristics of Types of E-Government

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Electronic Government (E-Government) refers to the processes and structures pertinent to the electronic delivery of government services to the public.

Electronic Government is functionally dependent on the assertion that E-Government “internal partnership”, namely, comprising Administration, Political, Civil Service, Parliament and Judiciary functions; E-Government “external partnership”, namely, comprising Central, Provincial/State/County or Local functionality; and information sharing as a service can be effectuated within and between Governments and between Governments, the Public Sector and the Private Sector; Government is amenable to a public service deliver model of varied complexity, which takes cognizance of both the two characteristics of E-Government “internal partnership” and E-Government “external partnership” (See Figure 2.1).

E-government refers to the delivery of information and services online through the Internet or other digital means. Many government organizations have embrace the digital revolution and are putting a wide range of materials from publications and databases to actual government services online for citizen use. Here, we review the current condition and development of e-government.

Similar to the dramatic changes in e-commerce and e-trading, the e-government revolution offers the potential to reshape the public sector and remake the relationship between citizens and government. The wide variability in the extent to which web government is taking hold creates an opportunity to study how the e-government revolution affects public sector performance and democratic responsiveness. In the UN/ASPA global survey (2000), five categories of measuring a global survey, five categories of measuring a country’s e-

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2.3 A Broad Schematic System for E-Government Type Models

3. Best Practices of E-Government Worldwide

3.1 Development of E-Government

government progress have been identified. A country’s e-government progress should be identified as follows:

- Emerging web presence: A country may have a single or a few official national government websites that offer static information to the user and serve as public affairs tools.

- Enhanced web presence: The number of government webpages increases as information becomes more dynamic with users having more options for accessing information.

Figure 2.1 A Broad Schematic System for E-Government Models

- Interactive web presence: A more formal exchange between user and a government service provider takes place, i.e. forms can be downloaded; applications submitted online.

- Transactional web presence: Users easily access services prioritized by their needs; conduct formal transactions online, like paying taxes; registration fees.

- Fully integrated web presence: The complete integration of all online government services through a one-stopshop portal. (UN/ASPA, 2000).

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Government can begin with developing an e-government strategy which would set out plans of how government can deliver the targets set for it in the context of the national strategic framework. To examine this process and how e-government plans and strategies is success, we may need to make more understand the take-up of the strategy across the authority as a whole.

An example of E-government of New Zealand is showed as follows:

Figure 3.1 E-government Scheme of New Zealand in 2001

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3.2 Enlightenment from E-Government Examples

The following features characterize countries that are successfully implementing e-government projects all over the world. E-Government should be implemented with:

1- Comprehensive. To the greatest extent possible, citizens should be able to do everything they have to do or want to do with their government through one e-government portal.

2- Integrated. All e-government applications should be integrated with each other, so citizens can avoid the need to provide the same data over and over and governments can save time and money by not needing to re-enter data.

3- Ubiquitous. Access to a jurisdiction's e-government portal and its connected sites and applications should be available to users/citizens from any Internet-capable connection, Internet appliances.

4- Transparent/Easy to Use. Egovernment sites should be designed and operated so that the most novice of computer users can readily find the information they need, provide the information requested by the government agencies with which they are dealing, and otherwise perform all e-government transactions.

5- Accessible. The design and operation of e-government systems should, from the ground up, take into account the special needs of the disabled, and make it possible for them to use these systems as easily as the non-disabled.

6- Secure. E-government systems need to protect the confidentiality of data provided by citizens, the records created and stored by government, and the content and existence of citizen-government transactions performed over the Internet.

7- Private. Data about citizengovernment transactions, and the content of those transactions, needs to be fiercely protected by the government.

8- Re-engineered. It is not enough to replicate electronically the administrative processes and procedures currently in place. It is necessary to thoroughly re-evaluate the overall mission of the jurisdiction and then design a digital structure that creates a government-citizen interface that simplifies and streamlines each transaction individually and the entire process of government administration generally.

9- Interoperable. An excellent egovernment site is one that provides appropriate and up-to-date links to other e-government sites, at its own and other levels in the government hierarchy. All e-government sites need to work together seamlessly.

10- Be Developed to E-governance Systems. Developed from e-government, E-governance systems can just as easily implement democratic process, e-making of or policy, building up e-community. E-government serves not only as a means of administration, but also as a primary tool of collective and democratic decision-making, and participation for society.

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Chapter (2)

DIGITAL STRATEGY, SOCIAL INCLUSION AND

LIVEABILITY

Table 1. New Zealand Government Digital Strategy Targets (State Services Commission,

(2003)

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For the New Zealand government’s digital strategy (Table 1, State Services Commission, (2003)) there are three outcomes: (i) 24/7 effective service provision in which the internet becomes the main delivery platform; (ii) integrated customer-centric efficient services and (iii) citizen participation in government. It is the first outcome – the internet as the main service provider that is central to issues discussed in this paper. The second and third outcomes are more about the way in which government services will be delivered from a government centric point of view.

It was estimated that in 2001 (Statistics New Zealand, 2003) that approximately 1% of New Zealand’s total population was reported as having intellectual disability. In the same report approximately 4% (104,500) of the adult population had a psychiatric or psychological disability. The results from the 2001 statistics New Zealand survey on disability showed that: one in five New Zealanders had a disability; disability increases with age; the majority of disabled people have more

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2.1. New Zealand Government Digial trategy

2.2. Marginalised New Zealanders

than one disability; and the number of people with disabilities living in intellectual disability units and mental health facilities has decreased.

Leggatt-Clark (2007) suggests that it is very difficult to estimate how many people are homeless in New Zealand. He also suggests that government policies do not address the complete picture of the homeless. For instance, in his report he suggests that in 2004 it was estimated that there were of the order of 1000 homeless people in Auckland. Leggatt-Cook has developed a framework that considers three classes of homeless people. These are: primary (rough sleepers), secondary (temporary or emergency accommodation) and tertiary (boarding house residents). In hypothetical case 3, an example of secondary homelessness is discussed.

In 2004, (Statistics New Zealand, 2004) New Zealand Census figures suggest that 12% of New Zealand’s total population was 65 years of age or older.

It is difficult to estimate the total number of marginalised people in New Zealand, as many of these people have multiple disabilities, and may belong to more than one category. However, it can be seen that this marginalised minority is a significant number.

In 2006, 98% of New Zealand residents (Statistics New Zealand, 2006) lived in households with telephones. It is estimated therefore that in the order of 80,000 people do not have the basic requirement for an internet connection in their home.

Crang, Crosbie and Graham (2006) believe that ICT unevenly affects the pace of life for people in urban life. There is an urban digital divide: – the affluent, professional where ICT is ubiquitous; and uneven patterns of access for the underprivileged

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3.3. Internet access

2.4. Digital Divide

where electronic access is episodic. In the four hypothetical cases considered in this paper, there is a further class of digital divide: those who never use the internet which could be either for lack of money, preference or life priority.

Asgarkhani (2007) in exploring social inclusion and digital government considers citizens’ views for digital government in enhancing public access to information at the local government level. However, Asgarkhani did not differentiate marginalized groups in this sample. Whilst Dahlberg (2007) suggests that there are strongly structured power differentials in e-society that further exclude marginalized people, both Asgarkhani and Dahlberg assume that the population is the majority who have access to the internet.

Cushman and McLean (2008) suggest that e-government initiatives ignore the costs placed on users in moving to the internet as the main government service delivery platform. Cushman and Mclean also suggest that there has been no recognition of the impact or cost in attempting to include marginalised users. They also maintain that digital engagement brings both a cost and a responsibility shift to citizens of the e-society who do not necessarily have the resources or skills with which to engage with government on the internet. Letch and Carroll (2008) also suggest that online government service provision will increase social exclusion for people in the margins.

Much of the research on egovernment and older users has focussed on accessibility issues for older users (Arch, (2008); Rubaii-Barrett & Wise, (2008); Hill, Beynon-Davies, & Williams, (2008)).

In a large internet usage report (Bell, Crothers, Kripalani, Sherman, & Smith, July, 2008) on the internet in New Zealand (1120 participants) found that in this sample: 47% of users access information about government – both national and local; 33%

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2.5. E-government and user issues for marginalised New Zealanders

obtain information on government policy online; 15% looked for information about politics; 21% paid online and13% knew about the government digital strategy. This was a sample of residents or ratepayers drawn from the majority of New Zealanders in which older respondents are far less likely to be broadband users and tend to rate their ability to use the Internet far lower. Bell et al did not consider the other marginalised groups: intellectual disability; mental illness; and the homeless.

Studies to date suggest that local government websites have a way to go in complying with the New Zealand national government digital strategy ((Dawson, 2008); (Local Government New Zealand, 2008b)). Other factors affecting the delivery of e-government services are: patchy broad brand coverage especially to rural areas; lack of local government digital strategy and vision; lack of resources to upgrade existing websites (especially for local governments in rural areas with a small population base). Larger councils are significantly more likely to have a competency framework in place for training ICT staff and to provide support for formal training at tertiary level. These reports suggest that e-government is not main stream. While there is widespread agreement that technology is important, very few local governments have formal strategies to build e-government services and ICT functionality is limited.

As can be seen from Table 1 the move from government focused to citizen centric strategy requires major mind shifts even for the majority of citizens. The citizen-centric perspective is mentioned only once in Table 1 (under integrated customer service). This appears to be from the point of view of providing an e-government portal that is focussed on service delivery, rather than eliciting citizen’s views. In Table 2, each of the eight characteristics is further defined from both a government

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2.6. Local Government

2.7. SUSTAINABILITY TO LIVEABILITY MODEL

focused and a citizen-centric view. No differentiation is made at the model level for marginalized people, but rather a general citizen-centric view is presented

Table 2: Government centric (Sustainable) to Citizen centric (Live able) e-Government services model (STLM)

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For this study, a model based on Checkland’s (1984) core systems properties has been developed as shown above in Table 2 (STML). This model also considers the role that people play within the system being considered. From complexity theory (Benbya & McKelvey, 2006; McCarthy, 2003; Stacey, 1996) comes consideration of initial conditions and the importance of small changes. This systemic study adopts a flexible and adaptable whole systems approach in looking for ways to move forward for marginalised people in New Zealand when considering their position in an ever-increasing digital divide.

The questions addressed in this paper are: (i) What issues arise for those people who live in the margins of society when considering New Zealand Government’s national digital strategy; and (ii) How does the New Zealand Government’s national digital strategy address issues that arise for those people who live in the margins of society. These issues will be explored by considering four hypothetical cases:

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2.8 METHOD

2.9 Research Questions

1. Psychological disability. In this case subject A, who has bipolar disorder but has the intellectual capacity, the knowledge and skills to access the internet is considered. This particular psychological disorder places A in a lower socioeconomic status as A can only work during the small personal windows of opportunity between mood swings.

2. Impaired intellectual ability. In this case subject B has family support, but learning disabilities, lack of life skills, and lives in the family home with financial support.

3. Homelessness. Subject C is considered to belong to the invisible homeless population – moving between temporary accommodation and living – but not sleeping on the street.

4. The elderly. Subject D has never even used an ATM, owned a cell phone, or operated a computer and lives on a pension.

These four hypothetical cases have been analysed systemically using STLM (Table 2, Table 3) that incorporates core systems properties: communication, control, emergence and structure (Checkland, 1984); and four other properties: whole system, socioeconomic status, ICT access and personal coping mechanisms.

Case 1 Psychological disability

Subject A is a person with multiple disabilities. She has bipolar disorder, which means that she is subject to emotional mood swings that make it difficult for her to maintain a healthy work life balance. Her mood swings tend to alienate others. Subject A also has a physical disability that affects her mobility. Her mental disorder has meant that it is difficult for her to work full time which in turn places her in a lower socio-economic bracket. Subject A is very intelligent and in the times when her moods are stable, she has the ability, the motivation and the skills to work, study and access the internet. Her lower socioeconomic status means that she does not always have the financial to support internet access. Her mood swings mean

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that there are times in her life when she is not able to communicate with others by whatever means.

Case 2 Intellectual impairment

Subject B lives at home and has the support of his elderly parents. B has a wide cross section of learning disabilities and does not have the ability to remember details from one learning session to the next. B has limited living skills and requires his parents’ help for daily living requirements. B is supported financially by a government pension and his parents’ carers-allowance.

Case 3 Homelessness

Subject C is considered to belong to the invisible homeless population of New Zealand, moving between temporary accommodation and living but not sleeping on the street. Subject C has little or no access to the internet. If he wanted, he could pay for online access at an internet café. Because C is not a resident or a ratepayer, taking an interest in local politics is not a priority for him. He can and does use the public telephone system. In New Zealand, there are about 4000 public telephones and there were 12 million public phone calls made in 2008. The busiest payphones are outside prisons, in city central business districts, and at Auckland airport. Public phone users pay a surcharge on each call.

For New Zealand’s homeless, the main priority each day is finding the necessities for living. Homelessness is often accompanied by other problems, such as mental and intellectual impairment, and substance abuse.

Subject C has been homeless for five years since being discharged from prison. He has been unable to find work, and so has existed through his prison contacts, making the most of living opportunities as they present themselves.

Case 4 The Elderly

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Subject D lives in her own home in an Auckland suburb. She has never used a bank automatic teller machine, has never owned a computer nor has she used or owned a cell phone. She has a landline phone at home, uses local public transport and pays all her bills in cash which she withdraws from her government pension at the bank counter with a savings pass book. Notably, the main technological aid she has is a St Johns medical alarm linked directly to the St John Ambulance Communications Centre.

D only uses the local library to pay her local government rates bill. She does not have a council library card. If she did have a library card she would have free access to the internet. Her preferred means of communicating with government agencies is to talk faceto-face. If she can’t do that she phones. She has seen many changes to government services, both local and national and has a wealth of knowledge to share.

Case 1

In analyzing the position of someone with such disabilities, it can be seen from Table 3 that in this case, it is possible for subject A to provide input into government processes via the internet – only when she is a stable mental state, and when she has the money to do so. These may only be small personal windows in her life when access is possible.

Case 2

Neither B nor his parents interact with government online. B’s father emails family and friends and uses online auction sites to trade in second hand sporting goods. In the family unit that revolves around caring for B, interacting with government is not a priority.

Case 3

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2.10. Contributing to Government structure

For subject 3 accessing information about government processes, relationships and structures is not a priority. If subject C was willing to contribute to government processes, the only way that would be possible online is via free public access. For the homeless, many of them have diverse alternate views on government processes and structures.

Case 4

It would seem that the best way to move forward to include the elderly in the national digital strategy would be for government agencies to approach older people and invite them to participate directly. The push to have the internet as the main delivery platform for information processes and services is further marginalising the elderly.

Case 1

Subject A would definitely benefit from double feedback loops for communicating to and contributing to government processes, receive feedback and form relationships. The main risk factor for subject A is that if she interacts with government agencies during a mentally unstable phase of her disorder, she is likely to offend government employees. It is difficult for people who have never experienced mental illness to understand such emotional and psychological states. In many cases, it is these people who are most in need of government processes, services and information.

Case 2

Feedback between the family and government agencies does not occur online.

Case 3

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2.11. Communication – processes, feedback and relationships

For subject 3 accessing information about government processes, relationships and structures is not a priority. He rarely accesses the internet and has other priorities if he has any money. With no free public access, nor a mindset in which such activities are a priority, this is not likely to happen.

Case 4

For subject D accessing information about government processes, relationships and structures is not a priority. If D wishes to contact a government agency, she has her own traditional ways of doing this.

Case 1

For the four cases considered it is subject A who is most likely to be aware of the power differentials that exist between government agencies and those who exist in the margins of society. In her case, subject A has the intelligence, small personal windows of opportunity, but not always the money required to access the internet, to addresses issues relating to power differentials.

Case 2

B’s father is aware of the power differentials between the family unit and government agencies and the directions that the government’s digital strategy is taking (Table 1), but he feels that he is powerless to provide and input into the process. B’s father is frustrated by the government’s lack of hands-on assistance in caring for his son.

Case 3

Subject C is aware of the power differentials between government agencies and his homeless state, and in the main avoids any contact with officialdom. The only

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2.12 . Control – power differentials

exception is the Auckland City Mission where he queues for night shelter when he can find nowhere else to sleep.

Case 4

Subject D is aware of power differentials and has long accepted the case that this is the ways things are. She is not likely to voice an opinion about this.

Case 1

The most important issue that emerges for subject A is the need for her to be able to utilise her small windows of opportunity when she is in a stable mental state. During these times, she is capable of providing valuable insights to government agencies via the internet. Because of her physical disability that restricts her mobility, this is her preferred means of interaction. The main benefit for her is to have sufficient funds to have a continuous effective internet subscription.

Case 2

B’s father would benefit from government assistance, training in the use of e-government portals and how to access the necessary information and services required for caring for someone with intellectual and learning disabilities.

Case 3

The service that would benefit him most would be to have free internet access at the night shelters in the central business district.

Case 4

For subject D, a social outing, a contribution to her wellbeing that enhances her liveability, is the daily outing to the local shopping centre where she conducts her

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2.13. Emergence, order, strange attractors and the edge of chaos

day-to-day activities – shopping, socialising, visiting the local bowls clubs and interacting with local government counter staff. An emergent property of online government services would mean that she was further socially isolated.

Case 1 Subject A is very aware of her role in society, and is frustrated in having an intellect trapped in a body that is both physically and mentally impaired, knowing that she should only interact with government agencies in her stable times. Government agencies have their own agendas and timetables that do not always coincide with her personal windows of opportunity.Case 2 It is evident that this family has taken on the primary caring role for their intellectually handicapped son, and that access, training and support via the internet would be beneficial.Case 3 Subject C has ‘opted out’ of main stream society and at present does not feel the need to re-enter main stream society. C does not pay rent or rates, does not have access to public library services and spends each day making the most of the opportunity that can be found on the street and wherever temporary accommodation appears.Case 4 Subject D lives in a world that is much smaller than most. She has redefined her world so that she can live comfortably in the bounds that have been in place for many years. She does not feel the need to go online, receive government services at home, or pay bills at home.

Whole System

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2.14. Roles

For all four cases it is important to consult widely and to explicitly elicit the views of those who are both socially and digitally excluded. It is not sufficient to expect marginalised people to consult with government in the traditional manner.

Initial conditions and small changesThe setting of flexible and marginal-group specific initial conditions for involvement in e-government is very important. With the present direction taken for New Zealand’s digital strategy, this is not taking place. A solely government-focussed approach has been adopted.Table 3. Hypothetical case positioning on STML Citizen-centric

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Case 1

It is evident in considering Case 1 that more flexibility in using the internet for 24/7 access for processes, services and information would mean that she would be able to access egovernment portals when she was able – with the proviso that she could afford to do this. This would allow A to capture the creativity available in small personal windows of opportunity.

Case 2

In the case of the intellectually disabled, families and carers are often the ones for whom flexible delivery of services would be of benefit. Training, ICT infrastructure provision and greater access possibilities would all be of benefit.

Case 3

When the homeless are viewed by government as an integral part of society, and not just a housing problem, they are more likely to be included in a national digital strategy. At present, marginalised people do not appeared to be considered. While the homeless are focussed on the necessities of daily living, they are not likely to contribute to or have need of e-government services.

Case 4

The elderly often have their own well-developed means of interacting with government. With the collective wisdom in this group, it is important to keep as many communication channels open as possible.

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2.15. Flexibility, evolving systems and creativity

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Statistics New Zealand. (2006). Access to telecommunications systems Retrieved 22/5/08 from http://www.stats.govt.nz/census/2006-censusdata/classification-counts/about-households-families-dwellings/access-totelecommunication-systems.htm.

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