EU makes connectivity progress: Sixty percent of public services across the EU are fully available online, according to a European Commission report on the progress of the i2010 strategy. Over 96 percent of European schools are now connected to the internet -- two-thirds of them via broadband, up from almost zero in 2001. In the health sector, 57 percent of doctors now send or receive patient data electronically, with 46 percent receiving results from laboratories electronically. The report shows that while some countries (such as Austria, Czech Republic, Malta and Portugal) offer 100 percent of basic public services for businesses online, others are trailing (for example, Bulgaria, Poland and Latvia). Launching the report, Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media, welcomed the connectivity figures but noted that "some parts of the EU are still lagging behind... All EU countries must therefore work harder to close the gaps, to enhance cross-border communication services as well as services that also reach rural and remote regions."
Manchester Police try social networking: The Greater Manchester Police department has became the first UK police force to establish a presence on social networking site Facebook, reports Silicon.com. The police force has created an application called GMP Updates on Facebook; users of the site who download the app will receive updates of crime news, police appeals and missing-persons reports. The updates can be shared with the user's contacts or commented upon by the user. The application also links to an external site where information on crimes can be submitted anonymously. The police force said that within a day of launching the service, 750 people had added GMP Updates to their Facebook profile. The police say the tool offers a new way to raise awareness of crime and to engage with the public. However, some privacy advocates have warned that users who download the app may end up sharing more information with the police than they intended, as application creators on Facebook have access to more details about users than regular users do.
NI Health Dept safeguards remote access: Northern Ireland's Department for Health, Social Services and Public Safety has signed a deal with Cryptocard for the provision of two-factor authentication (2FA) technology. The technology is being rolled out to safeguard the authentication of 750 remote access and systems administrator users across the department. The data accessed by these remote users is often 'patient identifiable' and highly confidential. The new system will replace the old security authentication system currently in place, which required the periodic replacement of tokens. The rollout for the 750 health professionals, system support personnel and third party maintenance providers will take place through the rest of 2008. Following this initial deployment, there are plans to potentially extend the 2FA to groups such as those accessing centrally held web-based waiting list information.
Citizens less satisfied with US e-gov sites: Citizen satisfaction with US e-government websites has reached its lowest ebb in three years, according to the latest quarterly E-Government Satisfaction Index, a division of the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Out of a score of 100, citizen satisfaction with e-government fell to 72.4 points in the first quarter of 2008, down 7 percent from the previous quarter and down one point from a year ago. The report cites two possible factors that may have contributed to the decline in satisfaction. With the presidential election looming, and uncertainty over the status of e-government under a new administration, "some government websites may be holding off on putting the necessary resources into improving the citizen experience until they have a better sense of whether or not they'll be able to finish what they start," said Larry Freed, president and CEO of ForeSee Results and author of the report. The second contributory factor is the decline in satisfaction with the category of portals and department main sites, which serve either as the gateway to a department or to link users to information from external sources. Satisfaction with this category dropped more than three points to a score of 71.7.
Jamaica continues ICT investment: The Jamaican government has extended its wide-ranging ICT project for another year. The project, which aims to boost the island nation's 'e-readiness' and support the development of the local ICT industry, was originally scheduled to wind down in March 2008, but is now due to conclude in June 2009. The government has allocated JMD352.3 million (about EUR3 million) in the 2008/2009 budget to the programme. Some of the initiatives that have already been rolled out under the scheme include the creation of an online tax portal to facilitate electronic payment of taxes by citizens, the establishment of an e-government website (www.e-jamaica.gov.jm), and the kitting out of 11 "community access points", where people from marginalised communities can gain access to ICT tools. Projects to be funded for the coming year include the training of government staff in the use of IT, a move towards using open source software within government departments, and the rollout of online help facilities for e-government services.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Sylvia Leatham
Quelle/Source: ElectricNews, 24.04.2008
