Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Technology

172 e-governmentlenges face education in the computer field today. The numberof undergraduate computer science degrees awarded inPh.D.-granting universities in the United States has steadilydeclined since 2000. In part this may be a delayed reactionto the decline in employment of programmers early in thedecade (due to the bursting of the “dot-com bubble”) that hassince leveled off but has not significantly grown (see employmentin the computer field). This, together with the outsourcingof many jobs (see globalism and the computerindustry) may have in turn discouraged young people fromentering the field.At the same time, many observers insist that prospectsare good for educators and students who can target emerginghigh-demand skills. These include areas such as computersecurity, data mining, bioinformatics, Web contentmanagement, and even aspects of business management.Educators will be challenged to strike a balance between acomprehensive treatment of concepts that have many potentialapplications and the need to provide specific skills thatare in demand in the market.Further ReadingACM-IEEE Joint Task Force on Computing Curricula. “ComputerScience. 2001.” Available online. URL: http://acm.org/education/curric_vols/cc2001.pdf. Accessed July 22, 2007.———. “Information Systems.” 2001 Available online. URL:http://www.acm.org/education/is2002.pdf. Accessed July 22,2007.Anthes, Gary. “Computer Science Looks for a Remake.” Computerworld.May 1, 2006. Available online. URL: http://www.computerworld.com/careers/story/0,10801,110959,00.html.Accessed July 22, 2007.Computer Science Directory. Available online. URL: http://csdir.org/. Accessed July 22, 2007.Denning, Peter J. “Great Principles in Computing Curricula.”ACM SIGCSE Bulletin, vol. 36, March 2004. Available online.URL: http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1028174.971303.Accessed July 22, 2007.Greening, Tony, ed. Computer Science Education in the 21st Century.New York: Springer-Verlag, 2000.Open Directory Project. “Computer Science.” Available online. URL:http://dmoz.org/Computers/Computer_Science/. Accessed July22, 2007.e-governmentJust as the way business is organized and conducted hasbeen profoundly changed by information and communicationstechnology, the operation of government at all levelshas been similarly affected. The term e-government (or electronicgovernment) is a way of looking at these changes asa whole and of considering how government uses (or mightuse) various computer applications.The use of information technology in government caninvolve changes in the organization and internal communicationsof government departments, changes in how servicesare delivered to the public, and providing new waysfor the public to interact with the agency.Internally, government agencies have many of the sameinformation management and sharing needs as privateenterprises (see data mining, database administration,e-mail, groupware, personal information manager,and project management software). However, governmentagencies are likely to have to adapt their informationsystems to account for complex, specialized regulations(both those the agency administers and others it is subjectto). The standards of openness and accountability are generallydifferent from and stricter than those that apply toprivate organizations.A major focus of e-government is in expanding agencies’presence on the Web and making government sites moreuseful. This can include providing summaries of regulationsor other complicated information, offering online assistance,allowing filing of tax or other forms electronically,and helping with applications such as for Social Security orMedicare. Where applicants must physically visit the office,a computerized system can make it easy to make appointmentsto reduce time waiting in line (a welcome option nowoffered by many state departments of motor vehicles).ImplementationObtaining employees with the necessary skills for maintainingsophisticated information systems and modern dynamicWeb sites is not easy. The government hiring process tendsto be cumbersome and slow to respond to changing needs.Government must often compete with a private sector thatis willing to pay high prices for top talent.In many cases, adopting comprehensive e-governmentwould require a rethinking of an agency’s purpose and priorities.There is also a tension between the Web culture,which focuses on linking information across conventionalboundaries, and the tendency of bureaucracies to compartmentalizeand centrally control information. Nevertheless,even without fundamentally restructuring how agenciesoperate, there has been considerable success with bringinginformation to the public through a central portal (USA.gov, formerly FirstGov).Once a service is offered, it has to be promoted. Whilesome services (such as “e-filing” of tax returns) can be readilypromoted for their convenience, other services are moreobscure or may be of interest only to a narrow constituency.Social and Political ImpactA survey by the Hart-Teeter poll found that respondentsconsidered the most important potential benefit of e-governmentto be greater government accountability; thesecond was greater access to information; and, perhaps surprisingly,convenience came third.One criticism of e-government initiatives is that theyoften lack central coordination and may be implementedwithout keeping in mind the need of an agency to provideuniform, consistent, and impartial treatment to all citizens.For example, if an agency focuses its resources on developingits Web site, people who lack online access may cometo feel that they are receiving “second class” service (seedigital divide). This is particularly unfortunate becausethe unconnected people are likely to be in poor and isolatedcommunities that are most likely to be in need of governmentservices.