From: Dan Jellinek [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 07 February 2003 19:36
To: egb-html
Subject: E-Government Bulletin- 07 February 2003
E-Government Bulletin is attached in HTML format.
We also append it below as plain text.
To receive in plain text only, please follow the instructions in the
newsletter.
+++E-GOVERNMENT BULLETIN
- ISSUE 130, FRIDAY 07 FEBRUARY 2003.
The email newsletter on electronic government,
UK and worldwide.
Please forward this free service to colleagues
so they can subscribe by sending a blank email to
[log in to unmask]
for our text plus HTML version, or
[log in to unmask]
for the plain text version - full details at the end.
We never pass on email addresses.
For further information see:
http://www.headstar.com/egb
NOTE: This newsletter now conforms to the new accessible Text
Email Newsletter (TEN) Standard, developed by our sister newsletter
E-Access Bulletin. For example, all items are numbered in the contents
and throughout. For details see:
http://www.headstar.com/ten
++CONTENTS.
01: New transparency for software supply chain
- but savings from Oracle deal hard to assess.
02: Welwyn Hatfield sees it right
- council receives accessibility kitemark.
03: All aboard the Worktrain
- jobs information for touch-screen network.
04: Electronic village halls combat exclusion
- Countryside Agency report backs informal training.
05: Online tax returns quadruple
- 320,000 people take up service.
News in brief: 06: Secure location - US homeland site; 07: Mandatory
compliance - 'eGIF' technical standards; 08: Safety code - UK signs
Microsoft deal.
Section two: Focus - mobile services.
- 09: Tuning up your Wi-Fi: The new buzzword is 'm-government',
from voting on your mobile phone to traffic alerts via text messages
and wireless network hot-spots. Derek Parkinson reports.
Section three: Research - social exclusion.
- 10: Virtual healthcare, real results: Susan Kenyon examines the link
between transport and social deprivation and explains how the internet
could fill a gap in access to healthcare information.
[Contents ends.]
++SPONSORED NOTICE: END-TO-END CRM SOLUTIONS
FROM BT.
BT's experience and expertise in Customer Relationship Management
(CRM) can help you provide high quality service to your customers, by
responding to their needs, in the way they want. The wide range of our
products and services means you can choose precisely the right
solutions to suit the nature of your business.
If you're looking for tangible results, CRM is designed to both help
improve your productivity and give you a solid return on investment.
To find out how BT helped Hewden Stuart reduce call handling errors
by 71 per cent see:
http://fastlink.headstar.com/bt
[Sponsored notice ends].
++SECTION ONE: NEWS.
+01:NEW TRANSPARENCY FOR SOFTWARE SUPPLY CHAIN.
A move to introduce greater transparency into transactions between
public sector bodies, software suppliers and systems integrators was
announced yesterday by the government's central procurement agency
the Office of Government Commerce (OGC - http://www.ogc.gov.uk).
Under the agreement the database solutions giant Oracle agreed to say
how much systems integrators and software developers pay to use its
software; to offer an 11 per cent discount on direct sales to central and
local government bodies; and to work on common standards for
adaptation of its software to reduce duplication of effort.
By the OGC's own admission savings generated by the 11 per cent
direct discount are likely to be small, as only a few public sector bodies
implement Oracle solutions themselves. In total the annual amount
spent directly with the company is 35 million pounds, indicating an
annual saving of around 3.5 million.
The impact of the new fee transparency could be greater, though it is
hard to assess given the lack of transparency in the past. One employee
with one of the largest technology consultancies said: "There could be
people sitting around now saying 'Oh my God - there go our fees'.
However the better consultancies will no doubt be able to justify their
onward charges due to the sophistication of the actual integration
work."
Nigel Brooks, a director at consultancy Hedra
(http://www.hedra.co.uk), suspects that like direct discount savings,
transparency savings will be small because the price of underlying
software is often only a small component of the sum charged for most
e-government projects.
But what could deliver more significant savings, Brooks said, is the
agreement to work on common standards. The OGC said these would
be developed on the basis of feedback received as part of the
centralised 'gateway' technology procurement process it runs.
+02: WELWYN HATFIELD SEES IT RIGHT.
Welwyn Hatfield has become the second UK local authority to receive
'See it Right' accreditation from the Royal National Institute of the
Blind (http://www.rnib.org.uk/seeitright), for the accessibility of its
web site to people with visual impairment, it was announced this week.
The council's site (http://www.welhat.gov.uk) provides information on
all local services, including paying council tax and rent online, booking
cinema tickets and viewing weekly planning lists for the area. It was
adjudged easier than most to use for people with sight loss because of
an appropriate font size; simple layout; the option of using a text only
version; the use of descriptive tags to explain the content of pictures;
easy-to-use navigation and little or no use of complex graphics.
The first UK council to receive See it Right accreditation was
Wrexham in Wales, in July last year (http://www.wrexham.gov.uk).
Other accredited public sector and bodies or associations include the
portal site UK Online (http://www.ukonline.gov.uk); the local
government Improvement and Development Agency
(http://www.idea.gov.uk) the Criminal Justice System site
(http://www.cjsonline.org); and Greater Manchester Police
(http://www.gmp.police.uk).
The See it Right scheme - which uses test reviewers to visit and check
sites rather than simply using checker software - is funded by the
finance group Standard Life. Organisations from all sectors are
selected for free audit by the project team, though the system is now
fully booked to the end of the year. For more coverage of the scheme
see our sister publication E-Access Bulletin, issues 26, 29 and 31 -
February, May and July 2002.
+03: ALL ABOARD THE WORKTRAIN.
A new initiative to add jobs, learning and careers information to an
existing national network of touch-screen kiosks launched this week by
the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP -
http://www.dwp.gov.uk) with technology provider Cityspace
(http://www.cityspace.com).
The agreement adds content from Worktrain
(http://www.worktrain.gov.uk), a national jobs site run by the DWP, to
Cityspace's network of 'i-plus' community service and information
kiosks. Kiosks are currently provided in partnership with local
authorities at 115 locations in 11 cities: Bath, Blackpool, Bristol,
Knowsley, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Reading, Suffolk, Sutton
and Swindon.
The initiative aims to improve accessibility to jobs information for
people without internet access. The kiosks also provide free email,
information on council services, transport, and online entertainment
booking facilities.
The Worktrain site is already used by around 10,000 people a day with
an 80 per cent rate of return to the site.
+04: ELECTRONIC VILLAGE HALLS COMBAT EXCLUSION.
Village technology centres play a crucial role in countering the
exclusion of rural areas, according to a new report from the
government's rural affairs body the Countryside Agency.
'Electronic village halls', which provide free access to the internet, are
important because they deliver informal technology familiarisation and
training, according to the report, 'ICT and rural exclusion'
(http://fastlink.headstar.com/village). Such courses are preferable to
more formal technology courses with clearly defined learning
outcomes as these "may well put off the very target groups which
community gateways wish to support", the report says.
+05: ONLINE TAX RETURNS QUADRUPLE.
Four times as many self-assessment forms were submitted to the Inland
Revenue this year, according to official figures released this week.
More than 320,000 people filed online this year, with some 80 per cent
of these using the government tax agency's own web-based service.
The remainder used complementary, accredited services provided by
the private sector, with the most popular of these being offered by tax
software specialist Digita (http://www.digita.com).
According to Digita founder Jerry Rihll, the take-up of his company's
service - which was also licensed to a few other major web sites such
as the Yahoo! Directory - benefited this year from advertising
promoting the benefits of the Inland Revenue web service. But the
advertising did not specifically promote alternative sites such as
Digita's, and Rihll said he is now lobbying for government advertising
to promote all online services equally next year.
++NEWS IN BRIEF:
+06: SECURE LOCATION: The new US government department for
homeland security was launched last week with a web site carrying
public security information by theme including 'travel and
transportation', 'immigration and borders' and 'threats and protection':
http://www.dhs.gov
+07: MANDATORY COMPLIANCE: The Office of the e-Envoy and
the national computing centre (NCC), an independent research
organisation, this week launched a web-based 'compliance assessment
service' to ensure public sector organisations and suppliers comply
with e-GIF: the mandatory 'e-government interoperability framework'
setting out national technology standards. Subscription costs 295
pounds a year and covers all staff in an organisation:
http://www.egifcompliance.org
+08: SAFETY CODE: Last week the UK government joined NATO
and the Russian government in signing up to a new no-fee agreement
with Microsoft that will allow the government access to 97 per cent of
Microsoft source codes, to help it strengthen the security of software
systems:
http://fastlink.headstar.com/source
[Section one ends.]
++SPONSORED CASE STUDIES: SHARING EXPERIENCE IN E-
GOVERNMENT.
Welcome to our sponsored case study listing, where companies can
highlight e-government partnerships of which they are most proud.
Readers interested in exploring issues raised here are also invited to
participate in the forthcoming Electronic Government Forum in
London on 20 May. Each study will be the subject of a discussion
group and the sponsors are offering guest places for public sector
readers. For details follow the case study links.
+MODERNISING SERVICES AT THE HOUSING
CORPORATION.
A case study describing how Forvus helped this government agency
move into the electronic age and provided much needed relief to
housing associations by reducing the bureaucratic burden:
http://www.electronic-government.com/forvus
+CONTACT CENTRE FOR EPSOM AND EWELL.
Like all local authorities, Epsom and Ewell has a real interest in
improving the way it communicates with its citizens. This ITNET case
study outlines a project to create a cost-neutral contact centre handling
125,000 calls a year:
http://www.electronic-government.com/itnet/epsom&ewell.htm
+ELECTRONIC FORMS AT NEWCASTLE CITY COUNCIL.
Software supplied by Mandoforms, the intelligent online forms
specialist, is enabling Newcastle City Council to take their services
online cost-effectively, in line with e-government regulations:
http://www.electronic-government.com/mandoforms
+HAVE YOU GOT A CASE STUDY TO SHARE?
Readers from the private sector are invited to contact us for more
details and insertion costs. Those from the public sector are encouraged
to nominate private sector partners who may be interested in gaining
exposure. Please email John Webster: [log in to unmask]
[Sponsored case studies end.]
++SECTION TWO: FOCUS
- MOBILE SERVICES.
+09: TUNING UP YOUR WI-FI.
by Derek Parkinson [log in to unmask]
Whether at work, home or in a public building, accessing the internet
currently tends to mean you have to be sitting in one place, typically in
front of a PC. Wireless internet services have the power to change this,
however, providing access to people on the move, through mobile
phones, laptops and handheld devices.
The two main wireless technologies currently in use in the UK are
'Wireless Application Protocol' (WAP) and its derivatives for mobile
phone access, and 'Wi-Fi', fixed wireless network technology which
uses high frequency radio waves to broadcast data signals over a small
local area (typically 100 metres or so).
Although the UK government has yet to develop detailed official
policy on the development of wireless services by the public sector, its
broad approach was laid down in September last year in the Office of
the e-Envoy's 'channels framework'
(http://fastlink.headstar.com/channels). According to the framework,
delivering public services to devices such as mobile phones and
palmtop computers will form a key part of developing user-centred
services.
Then in December, e-Envoy Andrew Pinder pinpointed wireless
services as a key new challenge for e-government in an address to the
Cisco public services summit in Stockholm. "The ideas and drivers of
e-government are now better understood, but m-government will hit us
soon. People expect no less of government than of providers in other
sectors," he said (http://fastlink.headstar.com/cisco - note this is a
Powerpoint file).
So what is happening in other sectors? In the private sector, the most
popular mobile internet services are messaging, gaming, sports
information and news. Yet even with this fairly narrow profile, there is
a significant level of interest. In October 2002, the Mobile Data
Association (http://www.mda-mobiledata.org) released the first set of
mobile internet use statistics for the UK, revealing there are more than
25 million mobile internet-enabled handsets in the UK, and some 340
million internet pages were downloaded to handsets in September
alone (http://fastlink.headstar.com/mobile).
In the public sector, early mobile services have largely consisted of
pilot projects for mobile phone e-voting technologies in local elections.
But more recently one or two councils have started to innovate further,
with Rushmoor Borough Council running a successful experiment last
year to use text messaging to publicise targeted leisure service
information; Harrow allowing residents to use messaging to report
service problems to the council; and Derbyshire, Erewash and Test
Valley set to follow suit with similar projects (see E-Government
Bulletin, issue 127, 10 December 2002).
One particularly promising area for new developments is the
dissemination of traffic and transport information. For example
Maidstone District Council has launched a WAP service that delivers
constant updates on local parking spaces; Bracknell Forest is looking at
delivering customised alerts warning of roadworks or exceptional
congestion; and Dublin trials of an text message system for buying
parking tickets has received a positive public response and is likely to
be taken up by other cities in Ireland and the UK (see E-Government
Bulletin, issue 129, 28 January 2003).
However, beyond the transmission of brief messages, the richness of
data needed for many more complex or transactional e-government
services means that access by mobile phones is simply not practical
because of their small screen size. It is here that 'Wi-Fi' could come
into its own.
Until now, Wi-Fi has typically been used as a way for companies or
other large organisations to set up internal data networks without the
inconvenience of dragging large quantities of cable through office
spaces. However, it has also given rise to the concept of a public 'hot-
spot', a location such as a hotel or airport where people have
broadband access to services via laptops or handheld devices.
In the UK, BT plans to build the first national public Wi-Fi programme
beginning with around 400 hot-spots by June 2003 and rising to some
4,000 sites by June 2005. The company anticipates that most will be
located in motorway service stations, airports, rail stations, conference
centres, hotels and cafes (see http://fastlink.headstar.com/wifi).
A small market town on the edge of Dartmoor may not seem an
obvious place to look for a government experiment with wireless
networks, but poor infrastructure means that delivering broadband
content is not a practical option for many areas of rural counties such
as Devon. Accordingly, the Buckfastleigh Broadband Community
Network (BBCN - http://www.buckfastleigh.net) was set up to
examine the potential local impact of high speed radio networks, its
infrastructure operational since last November.
The project is receiving 500,000 pounds over two years from the
Department of Trade and Industry and the South West of England
Regional Development Agency. It will focus on how to overcome
digital exclusion in rural areas where the communications
infrastructure is poor, but where online resources could deliver
substantial benefits to scattered communities.
"It's a way to bring broadband to areas where there has been market
failure," says BBCN managing director Kathryn Hughes. "We'll be
driven by what the community say they want. Different people have
different motivators and drivers, and we want to encourage people to
form local groups and express those different interests."
Particular interest has come from the local primary school, which is
encouraging pupils to publish their own content on the web, and plans
to forge links with other schools. The project's partners also include
Devon County Council and Teinbridge District Council.
According to Hughes, although the core network has only been
operating for two months, there have been no problems with radio
reception. "Something we're very proud of is the fact that you can sit
in a pub in Holne, a village about three miles away, and access the
network even though there's no direct line of sight," she says.
[Section two ends.]
++SPONSORED NOTICE: KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT FOR
HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE.
Effective knowledge management can bring huge benefits to health
and social care.
Ark Group is delighted to announce its three-day conference,
Knowledge Management for Health and Social Care, from 21 to 23
May 2003 in London. It will examine ways of mobilising knowledge to
improve efficiency, lower costs and facilitate communication within
health and social services.
Speakers include Margaret Haines, Acting Director of Knowledge
Management, NHS Modernisation Agency; Linda Wishart,
Department of Health; Jackie Lord, Head of Library and Information
Services, Royal College of Nursing; and Ben Toth, Head of
Knowledge Management, NHS Information Authority.
To register please contact Jacquie Bran at [log in to unmask],
telephone 0208 785 2700 or see:
http://www.ark-group.com/downloads/412egov.pdf
[Sponsored notice ends.]
++SECTION THREE: RESEARCH
- SOCIAL EXCLUSION.
+10: VIRTUAL HEALTHCARE, REAL RESULTS.
by Susan Kenyon [log in to unmask]
Lack of adequate access to transport has been shown to be intimately
related to the experience of social exclusion. If people are socially
excluded, they often have reduced access to physical mobility. For
example, travel may be unaffordable, or take a long time, or the
transport infrastructure may be physically inaccessible. Conversely, if
people do not have adequate access to physical mobility, it is highly
likely that they will experience social exclusion as they will be unable
to access services, social networks, and opportunities for employment
or education.
Access to healthcare is also a major problem. UK government
initiatives to centralise hospital facilities, including mental health care
facilities, have increased the mobility burden for patients, their visitors
and care workers. The increase in care in the community has similarly
increased the mobility burden for service users and their carers, who
can be required to travel many miles to access professional assistance
or to reach those for whom they care. Basic health care facilities,
including GP surgeries, can often be situated many miles from
inhabitants of rural areas; and there is an acute shortage of GPs in
deprived urban areas.
Lack of mobility also affects health in less direct ways: reducing access
to healthy, nutritious food; reducing access to health information, from
formal sources, including libraries and healthy living centres and
informal sources, including friends, family and organised peer groups,
such as parent-toddler groups and illness-specific support groups. The
isolation that can occur as a result of a lack of mobility can exacerbate
or contribute to the development of mental illness.
The majority of studies into the relationships between transport and
social exclusion, including those published by the government, suggest
that to combat exclusion we should increase mobility. However,
increasing mobility is contrary to the government's environmental and
transport policies; will be very expensive; and is likely to take a long
time to implement.
There is also evidence to suggest that traveling everywhere in cars is
damaging to peoples' health. The increasing numbers of children with
asthma and obesity, which can lead to heart disease and diabetes, has
been linked to an increase in car use; and resources must be spent to
treat road accident victims, or victims of street crime who may be more
vulnerable in today's car-oriented, deserted streets.
In the internet age, however, we may not need to increase physical
mobility to tackle the consequences of mobility-related exclusion,
particularly in relation to healthcare. Research being undertaken at the
Unit for Transport and Society at the University of the West of
England is examining ways of increasing access using internet-based
'virtual mobility'. A recently completed one-year exploratory study
found a high level of use of internet services to access health care
information by people in groups vulnerable to social exclusion, and a
new, three-year study is just underway.
Almost all internet-using participants in the study had sought medical
advice online, either through medical information web sites or more
productively (in the majority view) through informal support groups,
where participants can talk with medical professionals, fellow sufferers
and people close to sufferers. The information was not only used for
extreme illnesses, but also for information about how to treat colds, or
cuts and bruises. Participants discussed how online medical
information allows lay diagnosis of some illnesses, particularly those
involving children, reducing anxiety; and how they have received
diagnoses from professionals online.
Many participants felt that there were advantages in seeking medical
help online. They did not need to travel to access information and
services, and many find that healthcare is more accessible at a 'softer'
level, where the fear, intimidation and confusion that some feel from
the medical profession. Using virtual mobility, participants can ask
questions that they would not feel comfortable asking their doctor, and
they can access information that is written in a language that is easy to
understand. They can also gain alternative opinions, or find out about
alternative treatment options, often from people who have been
through similar illnesses; and, importantly, they can feel emotionally
supported by the people that they meet online.
Of course, there are issues of trust, privacy and accuracy of
information or diagnosis associated with the online delivery of
healthcare. But if these can be overcome to the satisfaction of both the
public and relevant medical bodies, virtual mobility could be allowed
to play an important role in delivering healthcare, overcoming barriers
to access and increasing the likelihood that the health service will be
used by greater numbers of the population.
NOTE: Susan Kenyon is research fellow at the unit for transport and
society, University of the West of England
(http://www.transport.uwe.ac.uk).
[Section three ends.]
++END NOTES.
+HOW TO RECEIVE E-GOVERNMENT BULLETIN.
To subscribe to this free fortnightly bulletin as an HTML attachment
email:
[log in to unmask]
or for the plain text version email:
[log in to unmask] .
To unsubscribe from the HTML version email:
[log in to unmask]
and to unsubscribe from the text version email:
[log in to unmask] .
For further information on subscription, including how to
subscribe or unsubscribe from an alternative email
address and how to find out if an
particular address is subscribed, see:
http://www.headstar.com/egb/subs.html .
+COPYRIGHT NOTICE.
- Copyright 2003 Headstar Ltd.
Regular circulation or reproduction of the bulletin by third parties is
forbidden. Properly accredited articles (always including source
details, bulletin subscription details and web address) or entire single
issues of the bulletin (including this notice) may be forwarded to
individuals or groups of people as long as it is made clear that to
receive a regular copy, people must subscribe individually. For queries
about article reproduction, syndication or other copyright issues please
email
[log in to unmask] .
ISSN 1476-6310
+PERSONNEL
- EDITORIAL.
Editor - Dan Jellinek [log in to unmask]
Deputy editor - Phil Cain [log in to unmask]
Features editor - Derek Parkinson [log in to unmask]
Reporter - Mel Poluck [log in to unmask] .
- ADVERTISING.
[log in to unmask] .
A searchable archive of our back-issues can be found on our web site:
http://www.headstar.com/egb .
[Issue ends.]
************************************************************************************
Distributed through Cyber-Society-Live [CSL]: CSL is a moderated discussion
list made up of people who are interested in the interdisciplinary academic
study of Cyber Society in all its manifestations.To join the list please visit:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/cyber-society-live.html
*************************************************************************************
|
