While the majority of people without broadband home access still connect to the Internet with their smartphones or public computers, their use is limited.
Widespread use of smartphones has made it easier for Chicagoans to hop onto the Internet, but research shows there still exists a sizable gap in the number of people with access to broadband at home — particularly on the South and West sides.
In 2013, broadband adoption on home computers and devices was lowest in neighborhoods such as West Garfield Park, Burnside and Brighton Park, as well as other African-American and Latino neighborhoods where poverty rates are high, according to a study released Friday by the MacArthur Foundation and Partnership for a Connected Illinois.
Weiterlesen: US: Illinois: Sizable Gap Exists in Chicagoans' Access to Broadband, Study Shows
An executive order will breathe new life into the commonwealth's civic tech push.
Pennsylvania is renewing its commitment to transparency.
On April 18, Gov. Tom Wolf, who assumed office in January, signed an executive order to create an open data portal. The new portal is mandated to contain downloadable, machine-readable data, a feature not offered by the state’s existing transparency site called PennWATCH. The state Office of Administration is also mandated to help agencies find their most valuable data sets.
The federal government is aggressively promoting disability access, with the General Services Administration playing a lead role. GSA, along with the U.S. Access Board, GSA, the CIO Council’s Accessibility Community of Practice, the Justice Department of Justice, and the Office of E-Government & Information Technology at the Office of Management and Budget work together to implement the standards laid out in Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.
Section 508 was added to the Rehabilitation Act in 1986, and has been revised since then, most notably in 1998, when an amendment changed its prescriptions from non-binding guidelines to binding, enforceable standards.
Weiterlesen: US: In government, accessibility is a team effort
'When I got everything caught up and taken care of, it's like, whew!'
As they so often do, 911 calls came fast and furious on a recent weekday afternoon. A residential burglary. A business burglary. A person with a gun. They all happened at once, in different Evansville neighborhoods.
Amy Worthington was on top of it. Seated in the City-County Dispatch Center, with four computer screens in front of her and her headset in place, Worthington navigated Evansville Police Department officers to each event.
Weiterlesen: US: For 911 Operators, Technology Helps, But Job Still Stressful
An analog-digital hybrid approach can benefit government workforces that require mobility to do their jobs.
As today’s citizens demand just-in-time and seamless access to government services, the central question of, “Why can’t government services be accessed and processed from an app?” is no longer an aspiration. It’s happening now. The challenge for public-sector leaders has now evolved and centers on how to quickly apply digital approaches to government — with the end game of enhancing the citizen experience.
Weiterlesen: US: Creating a Viable Path to Becoming a Digital Government (Industry Perspective)