Understanding the environmental impact of communication systems

source: Ofcom
"The purpose of this study was to improve our understanding of the type and degree of environmental impact that communication systems can have. The work aimed to provide a reference point in terms of relevant environmental background material, data examples, analyses, and key source references. A second aim was to help understanding of the scale and type of impacts communication systems can have. The study was not intended to be a definitive impact assessment of UK communication systems, but was intended to inform on a range of relevant issues and provide insight into environmental impacts for communication systems relevant to the UK."

Open recommendations for the use of web measurement tools on federal government web sites

source: Center for Democracy and Technology
"The Internet is an ideal medium for citizen engagement in government, and US Federal agency web sites will have a key role to play in making government more transparent, accountable and participatory. To succeed, the operation and improvement of Federal agency web sites must be done through the lens of protecting citizen privacy. As governments pursue new 'open government strategies', the benefits and risks of each strategy will need to be examined. This paper focuses on the practice of 'web measurement': the collection and analysis of Internet data that is reported in the aggregate and used for the purposes of understanding and optimizing web usage."

Web 2.0 and the next generation of public service

Source: Accenture
"Web 2.0 technologies and services have spread around the world at an amazing pace and are used by millions of people every day. Many public service organizations are also adopting Web 2.0 applications as a means of improving their ability to collaborate and serve citizens more effectively. But governments have an obligation to be good stewards of citizens' tax money--to implement new technologies responsibly and in a way that does not compromise privacy and security. The Accenture Public Service Value Governance Framework helps public service organizations deliver high performance by providing an important model for public service executives to use in evaluating Web 2.0 technologies in terms of their ability to generate positive social outcomes, to serve the common good, to engage the public as co-producers of public value and to improve accountability and transparency."

Interacting with Government: Australians' use and satisfaction with e-government

Source: Dept. of Finance and Deregulation
"Interacting with Government explores Australians’ use and satisfaction with e‑government services provided through the internet and telephone. It investigates:

how people contact government by internet, telephone, in-person or mail; satisfaction with these means of contacting government, including reasons for satisfaction and dissatisfaction; reasons why people choose to use or not use e‑government services; preferences for future delivery of government services."

Improving access to government through better use of the web

Source: World Wide Web Consortium
"Recognizing that governments throughout the World need assistance and guidance in achieving the promises of electronic government through technology and the Web, this document seeks to define and call forth, but not yet solve, the variety of issues and challenges faced by governments. The use cases, documentation, and explanation are focused on the available or needed technical standards but additionally provide context to note and describe the additional challenges and issues which exist before success can be realized. eGovernment refers to the use of the Web or other information technologies by governing bodies (local, state, federal, multi-national) to interact with their citizenry, between departments and divisions, and between governments themselves."

The carbon footprint of email spam report

Source: McAfee/ ICF
"This report commissioned by McAfee and carried out by climate change consultants ICF was able to quantify the carbon footprint of a single piece of SPAM. The simple act of deleting SPAM and searching for legitimate e-mails falsely labeled as junk creates the same annual energy consumption of 2.4 million American homes. The average greenhouse gas emission associated with one single SPAM message is .3 grams of CO2 which is the same as driving your car 3 feet. When you take into account that there are 62 trillion, (yes that says trillion and not million or billion), SPAM messages sent globally each year, it is like driving your car around the Earth 1.6 million times."

The carbon footprint of email spam

Source: McAfee
"Until now, spam’s impact has been measured in time, money, and aggravation. It turns out there is a massive environmental impact as well. After McAfee commissioned climate-change consultant ICF International and spam expert Richi Jennings to calculate the environmental impact of spam, the results that came back were startling. Together they found that the energy consumed in transmitting and deleting spam is equivalent to the electricity used in 2.4 million American homes, with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions equivalent to 3.1 million passenger cars."

Twitter, blogs and other web 2.0 tools revolutionise government business

Source: Federal Computer Week, March 2009
"If you cut through all the hype about Web 2.0 tools, you’ll find government managers and elected officials who use the technology to communicate, share information and network. Web 2.0 technologies for social networking and online collaboration let people connect quickly and with a larger audience than was ever available before."

Harnessing the power of digital data for science and society

Source:U.S. Networking and Information Technology Research and Development
"This report provides a strategy to ensure that digital scientific data can be reliably preserved for maximum use in catalyzing progress in science and society. Empowered by an array of new digital technologies, science in the 21st century will be conducted in a fully digital world. In this world, the power of digital information to catalyze progress is limited only by the power of the human mind. Data are not consumed by the ideas and innovations they spark but are an endless fuel for creativity. A few bits, well found, can drive a giant leap of creativity. The power of a data set is amplified by ingenuity through applications unimagined by the authors and distant from the original field."

Critically classifying: UK e-government website benchmarking and recasting the citizen as customer

Source:Information Systems Journal, Mar 2009
"In recent years, discussion of the provision of government services has paid particular attention to notions of customer choice and improved service delivery. However, there appears to be marked shift in the relationship between the citizen and the state moving from government being responsive to the needs of citizens to viewing citizens explicitly as customers. This paper argues that this change is being accelerated by government use of techniques like benchmarking, which have been widely used in the private sector. To illustrate this point, the paper focuses on the adoption of website benchmarking techniques by the public sector."

The role of service level agreements in relational management of information technology outsourcing: an empirical study

Source:MIS quarterly, Mar.2009
"This study extends the view that formal contracts and relational governance function as complements rather than as substitutes. We investigate how specific characteristics of service level agreements (SLAs) impact relational governance in information technology outsourcing relationships. Eleven contractual elements (categorized into three SLA characteristics: foundation, change, and governance characteristics) are hypothesized to act as complements of three relational governance attributes: relational norms, harmonious conflict resolution, and mutual dependence."

The future of the internet III

Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project
"A survey of internet leaders, activists and analysts shows they expect major tech advances as the phone becomes a primary device for online access, voice-recognition improves, artificial and virtual reality become more embedded in everyday life, and the architecture of the internet itself improves."

Review of the Australian Government's use of information and communication technology

Source: Dept. of Finance and Deregulation
"Sir Peter Gershon's report provides a comprehensive and detailed analysis of a wide range of issues affecting the Government’s use and management of ICT, and also outlines a staged plan for the implementation of recommendations. The Government is currently considering the findings and recommendations."

Electronic waste: EPA needs to better control harmful U.S. exports through stronger enforcement and more comprehensive regulation

Source: GAO
"In a harsh review of U.S. hazardous waste laws, independent government investigators highlighted the need for improved regulation of electronic waste in a new report. A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released last week said a `substantial quantity` of discarded electronics, such as computers, televisions, and cell phones, are sent to the developing world where they are dismantled in conditions unsafe to workers and dangerous to the environment."

Chemical contamination at e-waste recycling and disposal sites in Accra and Korforidua, Ghana

Source: Greenpeace
"The global market for electrical and electronic equipment continues to expand, while the lifespan of many products becomes shorter. Consequently, the waste stream of obsolete electrical and electronic products, commonly called “e-waste”, is also vast and growing, with estimates of 20-50 million tonnes per year being generated worldwide. Many of the products contain numerous hazardous chemicals and materials, and therefore the recycling and disposal of e-waste poses a threat to the environment and to human health."

The internet in Australia

source: CCi Digital Futures
"This report presents findings from the first survey undertaken by the Australian component of the World Internet Project. This survey is a major piece of research undertaken by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Innovation at Swinburne University’s Institute for Social Research. The internet is more highly valued by those with broadband connections and they use the internet for longer and for a greater variety of purposes according to this major survey of internet usage in Australia."

Extending Australia's digital divide policy: an examination of the value of social inclusion and social capital policy frameworks

Source: Dept. of Family, Housing, Community Services & Indigenous Affairs
"Digital divide policies have been historically rooted within the information society / knowledge economy credo and as such they have been largely motivated by the anticipated value of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) diffusion. In Australia, a range of government policies have attempted to address inequalities in ICT access and use since the late 1990s. Despite these attempts, key determinants of internet access such as age, income, educational attainment and Indigenous status are proving to be persistent, while more complicated and nuanced factors are likely to be determining the way people use the internet. In order to examine how the social benefits of internet access and use can be understood and harnessed in Australia, this paper explores the implications of adding two concepts to policy deliberations: social inclusion and social capital."

Green Computing: Using IT Automation to Achieve Energy Efficiency

"The concern over the environmental impact of the increased usage of computing technology has far reaching ramifications on the sustainability of business IT operations. Already increasing energy costs and expanding power utilization needs are having a direct impact on business profitability...Enterprise Management Associates recommends businesses implement a green computing solution not only to contribute to the global environmental movement, but also to decrease operating expenses and boost profitability."

Advancing global sustainability through technology

"In a world beset with overconsumption, environmental degradation, global warming, growing resource scarcity, and social change, humanity is facing its greatest challenges ever. The microprocessor and the ICT revolution it has spawned provide ideal tools for helping us scope the extent of the problems we're facing, develop solutions for reducing our consumption, improve our productivity in sustainable ways, and measure our progress."

Electronic engagement: a guide for public sector managers

"Examines the wide range of ICTs that might be employed to enable citizen engagement and participation in policy-making and program implementation." - cover.