world
news
e-services
Facility for ID cards via Internet Thrown Open to Azerbaijani Citizens People in Azerbaijan will be able to obtain an identity card and passport through Internet shortly. Works are under way to provide electronic services under the decree signed by President Ilham Aliyev. A special system, to be created soon, will enable the Azerbaijani citizens to obtain an identity
card, national passport, various certificates, special permits and licenses via the internet. In total, the list of services will include 25 types of e-services, the minister added. A total of 35 workers of the Interior Ministry have been dismissed in 43 corruption cases over nine month of 2011.
telecare
Telecare Service in Birmingham City Council to Secure Older, Vulnerable Residents Deploying city-wide telecare service, which is believed to be the first of its kind in the UK, Birmingham City Council expects to beef-up safety and support for older and vulnerable residents whilst maximising their independence. The telecare service is planned to benefit up to 25,000 people in Birmingham, a city in central England, over 3 years and at a cost of £14 million (€16 million, approximately). It combines a response service with a range of telecare solutions from a healthcare provider, including motion detectors and temperature sensors to support older people and those with long-term needs. By making the strategic decision to extend the telecare service provision to more people, the Council expects to create
a systemic shift towards early intervention and preventative services, to meet growing demand for increasingly personalised care packages. The telecare service will be delivered across chosen care pathways, which include the reablement of service users, prevention services and assessment. The Birmingham Telehealthcare Delivery Centre will be set up to ensure services are available locally and developed in conjunction with the voluntary sector and an independent Quality Review Board, which will oversee outcomes, quality assurance and milestones.
“Your time is limited” – Steve Jobs “Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life” - this was the statement by Steve Jobs, the late cofounder and chairman of Apple who died on 5th October after a long battle with cancer. The world has lost an innovator who was in fact a great visionary and legend, although his lessons and ideas would always be eternal and everlasting. His innovations and revolution in the electronic world will always make us feel his spirit and enduring bliss. Steve Jobs will be remembered as one of the most important pioneers of the modern computing age. His vision - for seeing the future so clearly, and turning it into technology that improves our lives, making computers personal and putting the Internet in our pockets, making the information revolution not only accessible, but intuitive and fun - will always be appreciated to the highest. He was a phenomenon who emerged from the sub-culture of the hippie and turned himself into a yuppie who therefore helped shape the modern electronic age. While not an iron horse of business or government computing, the Mac and Apple’s products are at the forefront of citizen-centric computing. “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice,” famous words of Jobs.
cheapest laptop
Bangladesh claims to Uncover World’s Cheapest Laptop Laptop costing $130 is the cheapest one across the world, claim officials in Bangladesh during the launch of the capital at a ceremony in the capital Dhaka on October 9, 2011. The most basic model of the Laptop (named as Deol) is priced at 10,000 taka ($130/£83). The state-owned telecom company Telephone Shilpa Sangstha (TSS) is producing four models of the laptop. Initially, the laptop will be distributed to various government departments. But later on they will be made available to the public and to tens of millions of students. Ismail said that at the moment Bangladesh is producing 10 percent of the components for the laptop and the rest are imported. However, the country’s internet connectivity remains poor and critics have raised doubts whether the distribution of laptops alone will help the country to connect digitally. The government has launched an ambitious plan, known as Digital Bangladesh, with the aim of digitally connecting the country by 2021.
November 2011 / www.egovonline.net / egov
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world
e-Governance
e-Governance Should be Horizontal, Not Vertical: US Professors Implying that the development of e-Governance should be horizontal, US Professors say that vertical concentration of the web based governance may create digital divide among classes. Addressing the ICEGOV conference in Tallinn, Thad E. Hall and Jennifer Owens from the University of Utah warned that progress in the field may cause a counter effect, with wealthier and tech-savvy citizens gaining faster and more hassle-free access to public services, but the underprivileged and less educated classes - who actually might depend more
on those services - becoming even more cut off because they lack internet access. The overall shift of focus to e-services must be accompanied by reasoned policies to reach out to the underprivileged members of society, the researchers said. The International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance (ICEGOV), jointly organized by the Estonian e-Governance Academy Foundation, the United Nations University, and the University of Albany will continue in Tallinn through September 28.
e-Governance
Nigeria Looks at ICT to Bring Transparency in Governance Nigeria is soon to begin work with Federal Government to facilitate the effective use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in creating transparency and accountability in government businesses. The minister of Communication Technology, Mobola Johnson reiterated the commitment of the new ministry to work closely with the Federal Government to facilitate efficient and effective use of ICT to create transparency and accountability in Nigeria. The minister who disclosed this in Lagos
while unveiling the ministry road-map to stakeholders at a round table on “Creation of a Digital Economy and Information Society in Nigeria”, said government is the big procurer and utilizer of ICT. Omobola Johnson disclosed that the mandate of the new ministry amongst others include policy development, policy articulation that will ensure a robust ICT industry growth
particularly in terms of social and economy development. According to the minister, the policy direction intervention of the ministry in the next four years will focus on the areas such as software development, rising awareness and strengthening implementation of intellectual property laws, setting up ICT parked digital havens (equipped with physical serve infrastructure; proximity and access to skill human capital, promoting local software investment in skills to drive ICT forward.
South Korean Officials Head to UAE for e-Governance Classes A team of 17 members left South Korea has left to UAE to learn tips on e-governance. The visitors comprised of officials who hold key positions in the South Korean government, according to WAM. Mohamed Ismaeel, director of operations and production of the e-governance department of the emirate of Abu Dhabi, said: ‘We are happy to share our knowledge in developing the e-government in the UAE. We hope our association brings out the best in e-government for both countries.’
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e-Police
Illinois Pilots e-Ticketing for Traffic Violations
In an effort to make e-ticketing the common practice of the future for traffic citations, Cook County, Ill., is launching an integrated e-ticketing system for traffic violations. Four of the county’s villages are piloting an integrated e-ticketing system for traffic violations in an attempt to steer away from traditional paper-based ticketing. Dorothy Brown, clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, announced the pilot last week. The four villages are Bellwood, Crestwood, Matteson and South Barrington. Another 18 communities are slated to join the project before the end of the year. The clerk’s office hopes the system will eventually be rolled out to every municipality in Illinois — perhaps even Chicago someday. When a police officer issues a traffic citation through the system, instead of writing out a paper ticket the ticket details are inputted into a Web application on a computer in the officer’s squad car, Brown said. A
printer that’s installed in the car then prints out a receipt for the driver. After the officer inputs and submits the data into e-ticketing platform, the information is sent to that corresponding police agency, said Bridget Dancy, the clerk office’s CIO. Within one business day, the ticket information as well as the image of the ticket are sent to Brown’s office — where it’s accessible through a Web application and then kept on record, Dancy said. Prior to the launch, the county only used paper tickets, which took anywhere from five to 10 days to process. Filling out the paper tickets could take more than 10 minutes, whereas the electronic system only takes a few minutes to complete. Once the system is fully implemented the clerk’s office is projected to save nearly $200,000 each year in printing costs and $438,000 in data entry costs. The system cost $900,000 and the clerk’s office expects to see a return on investment after 18 months.