COURSE DESCRIPTION:
In 2002, half of all Americans and three-quarters of all American Internet users have visited a government web site to find information and/or conduct transactions (Council for Excellence in Government April 14, 2003). Three-quarters of the American e-government users believe that having government available on the Internet has made it much easier and more convenient for them to stay informed abut government programs and policies; two-thirds of these e-government users believe that it is also now more convenient and easier to conduct transactions with government.

This course examines the policy framework that enables an electronic government in the U.S. at the federal, state, and local levels of government. Government-2-Citizen, Government-2-Business, and Government-2-Government processes to provide information and services through electronic media are analyzed and evaluated using the policy framework and the context of current U.S. government issues and activities. Critical concerns such as privacy, security, e-democracy, and access in an electronic environment are addressed throughout the course.

REQUIRED TEXTBOOK:
Abramson, Mark A., and Morin, Therese L. E-Government 2003. (November, 2002). Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishing Group.

The following report is useful to understand the current state of Internet use in the U.S.: Digital Economy 2002. U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington DC.

RESOURCES
Some good sources for timely e-gov news include:
· Federal Computer Week
· Government Computer News
· Congressional Quarterly
· Governing magazine
· StatesNews
· Government Executive
AND for all the news on the Federal e-gov initiatives, see e-Gov

Monday July 28 – What is e-gov? Policy & First Practices
READ:
· A&M Chapter 1
· The New E-Government Equation
· Government Paperwork Elimination Act 44 U.S.C. 3504
· E-Gov bill S. 803 The E-Government Act
· Electronic Government: Government Paperwork Elimination Act Presents Challenges for Agencies
· eGovernment Leadership: Engaging the Customer

Tuesday July 29 – Privacy and Security
READ:
· A&M Chapter 9
· Information Management: Selected Agencies Handling of Personal Information. (September, 2002). GAO-02-1058
· Who can use your social security number?
· Information Security: Progress Made, But Challenges Remain to Protect Federal Systems and the Nation's Critical Infrastructures. GAO-03-564T April 8, 2003
· Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002
· The Privacy Act of 1974
· Internet Privacy: Implementation of Federal Guidance for Agency Use of Cookies. GAO-01-424 April 27, 2001

For more information on federal government information security guidance and law see:
The DOC Information Technology Security Program

· (Afternoon work session)
· Issue Brief #1 due today

Wednesday July 30 – A look at Federal, State and Local Sites
READ:
· A&M Chapter 2, 3 & 5
· Electronic Government: Success of the Office of Management and Budget's 25 Initiatives Depends on Effective Management and Oversight. GAO-03-495T March 13, 2003
· FirstGov
· Portal Paper
· Speaker Jon Gant

Thursday July 31 Access and the Digital Divide
· Information Management: Update on Implementation of the 1996 Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments. GAO-02-493 August 30, 2002
· A Nation Online: How Americans are Expanding their use of the Internet. U.S. (Feb. 2002). Department of Commerce, Washington, DC.
· (Morning work session)
· Issue brief #2 due

Friday August 1 – Where do we go from here?
READ:
· A&M Chapter 7 & 10
· Web evaluation discussions
· What would the perfect e-gov site look like?

EVALUATION:
Web analysis 40%
Group Assignment
Participation 20%
Issue brief (2) 20%

WEB ANALYSIS:
For this evaluation, each group will choose a federal, state or local, U.S. government agency web site to do a detailed evaluation and recommendation. You will be assigned to a GROUP on the first day of the class. Use the Yale Web Style Guide, the Performance Measures for Federal Agency Websites by McClure & Sprehe, the NASA Web Best Practices, and/or Assessing U.S. Federal Government Websites in GOVERNMENT INFORMATION QUARTERLY, and/or any other relevant web metrics that you find of value.

Create a framework from your research into the above mentioned metric tools and analyze the web site for content, community, and commerce as well as depth, usability, readability, and the like.

Create a model of characteristics you believe should be at lest minimally present in a government web site, be it G2C, G2B, or G2G. Think of legal/policy issues as well as issues of democracy (if relevant) access, and the like. Assess the site you are evaluating as it holds up as a government web site, as well as the other relevant web site characteristics from your above framework.

Make appropriate and useful/usable recommendations (referring back to the web metric literature) for improving the web site on any or all dimensions.

The project should be no longer than 10 double-spaced pages, plus a title page, references, and any illustrative appendices needed. Be sure to include all bibliographic materials utilized in the project in a reference section of the paper. See below for other directions for presentation of written materials for this course.

Please turn this paper in at the IST office, NO LATER THAN Monday, August 4, 2003 4:00 pm.

ISSUE BRIEF:
Issue Brief #1 on Information Privacy or Security (Tuesday)
Issue Brief #2 on Information Access (Thursday)

The issue briefs are to each focus on the assigned topic for that day and its impact on creating and enabling an e-gov.
Define the topic clearly and then tell me how it applies to creating electronic government. Be specific.
What laws guide it? What regulations?
What is the impact of this topic overall in developing and maintaining an e-government application?
Each issue brief should be no more than 4 double-spaced pages of text and should also include a cover page and an attached bibliography. I expect you will need to look at additional resources to make and to substantiate your case.

PARTICIPATION:
1). As in all graduate level courses, active participation in class discussions and activities is expected. This means you read the materials assigned before class and you discuss the materials in class. Any outside material from your work or studies is welcome as it relates to the topics we discuss. Included in participation is attending all class sessions, in full, on time!

2). The class will spend the week working towards developing a concept of e-gov and recommendations for what government on the web should be. The issues briefs should tie directly into the web analysis. The three assignments should form to create, for you, an understanding of what electronic government can and cannot do, the limitations and impediments to electronic government, and the possibilities for the future of electronic government.

CLASS NOTES:
As with all courses at the School of Information Studies, Syracuse University, a “basic grade” of “B” will be awarded for student performance that is judged to be satisfactory for the course level.
· Please familiarize yourself with the Statement on Academic Integrity and the Student Academic Dishonesty: Policies and Procedures to be found at
· I expect all work to be completed and turned on the date specified. No late work will · All work should be typed or computer-printed, double-spaced, on 8.5"x11" paper. All pages should have 1" margins and PAGE NUMBERS. Papers will be turned in electronically through the WebCT course space provided. All written work must have a cover page that contains the assignment name/number, the due date, and the complete name of all authors, not just a group name or number.
· Please use the Publication Manual of the APA, 5th ed. for assistance with writing in an accepted academic style. This applies to paper layout, word usage, citations in text, bibliographic citations, and other formatting of content. Papers that do not conform to the APA style will be marked down one letter grade.
· I do not read any pages beyond what is specified for the assignment.
· I read to the fifth mistake. Your grade will be based on what I have read to that point. Mistakes include spelling, grammatical errors, and typos. Carefully proof your work prior to submission.
· A word on Plagiarism: Figure out what it is and DON'T DO IT! This includes materials you find on the Internet. If you didn't write it, you'd better cite it! When making bibliographic citations, use an accepted and consistent style for your references. And remember that excessive use of “quotations” is a sign of a lazy mind!!!
· An assignment that contains plagiarized materials will be given an "F." The opportunity to redo a plagiarized paper does not exist.

For those of you who may need a refresher on government and policy:
(1) Ben’s Guide to U.S. Government for Kids:
http://bensguide.gpo.gov/index.html

Go to the grade 9-12 space and read about the:
Branches of government
National vs. state government
Glossary
(What are checks and balances and who really cares?)

(2) The Whitehouse: Your Government
http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/
This has a lot of good information on the Executive Office of the President, the Cabinet, and the 3 branches of government (what is the difference between the Executive Office of the President and U.S. federal executive agencies?)

(3) InfoUSA: About the U.S. Government
http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/politics/abtgovt.htm
Good information on the 3 branches of government and the 3 levels of government (and if you can’t name these as you read this, please do inform yourself!).

(4) For a Primer on County Governments go to: http://governing.com/gpp/gp2intro.htm