E-governance :: Technology, GIS

A very hot topic in public administration research today is e-government. Due to continued technology growth, organizations now have new avenues to approach their missions through fresh and multifaceted methods. E-government may just be the cure for many of today’s ailing cities. E-government as defined by Denhardt and Denhardt (2009) is the â€Å"use of IT to provide information, deliver services, support organizational management systems, ad/or to offer opportunities for dialogue and citizen input† (p. 378). In order to truly understand e-government one must look at the benefits and opportunities as well as specific applications in which it can be used. According to Denhardt and Denhardt (2009) e-government can have many benefits: these include but are not limited to; facilitating communication, aiding in information sharing between public officials and with the general public, increasing efficiency, making elections and voting more accurate, and in turn assisting public administrators to better serve citizens (p. 378-379). E-government also has opportunities, the two main gaps presented by Denhardt and Denhardt (2009) are novelty and cooperation (p. 379). Novelty causes obstacles because it can sometimes be difficult to choose between the many different choices public administrators have access to. Another issue with novelty is that these innovative and varied options often require substantial change which can be very costly and complicated to maneuver through. Cooperation is also a key opportunity; e-government calls for interaction and sharing between all levels of government and government agencies. (Denhardt and Denhardt, 20 09) If cooperation is lacking, e-government initiatives cannot be successful. In a particular case study of â€Å"Sun County†, the real location name was changed for confidentiality purposes; the implementation of a new GIS (Geographic Information System) was followed for several years in order to focus on the process of e-government rather than the outcome or outputs that other research has focused on (Tsai, Choi, & Perry, 2009). The goal of the new GIS database was for the Department's staff to have the ability to enter data into the GIS database, run reports, and generate maps in a real time manner from their own workstations; this would allow them to provide a high level of service without having to allocate a lot of resources. Another goal of the project was to ease the decision making process of management by giving them the ability to perform analyses to better understand County resources and circumstances (Tsai, Choi, & Perry, 2009).

IT Infrastructure Essay

Patton-Fuller is a community hospital treats all kinds of concerns (Ecampus, 2009). They provide healthcare services designed to meet every need and any stages in life. They have providing service since 1975 and their goal is to be as pleasant in their service as possible while being productive through their many communications between all the branches of the hospital. The hospital has the responsibility of providing good services and protecting patient’s rights. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) outline the principles and requirements that the hospital must use to ensure they are protecting rights. There is a large amount of the database that needs to be kept secure and this is one of the main goals of the IT department. Improve Communications Patton –Fuller utilizes four different information systems to improve communication and collaboration between senior management, employees, doctors, nurses, and patients. The information systems help to improve the communication between hospital operations, improve the relationships with patients, and helps executives manage hospital finances. †¢ the finance information system utilized mainly by executives assists in managing hospitals cash flows, assets, liabilities, and net income. This IS also generates statements required by federal regulations. †¢ The HR information systems was managing policies, procedures, and compliance requirements but now they use hospital intranet which frees HR employees to concentrate on more critical HR actions. The system used mainly by HR personnel for recruitment, training, and personnel evaluations. †¢ Customer relation’s management (CRM) is utilized to build loyalty between hospital and patients through the World Wide Web. Complaints and recommendations are tracked through the CRM proved reports to senior managers. †¢ The fourth system is the Knowledge management (KM). The medical KM is used by doctors and nurses to access online medical databases to assist in patient diagnosis and drug administration. Currently each room has one network connection. The network connections each patient room should be for the clinical PC used in the room. These PC’s should not be available to patient use because this out the hospital at a greater risk for security. OSI layers The Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) model has seven layers. The seven layers are: †¢ Application – this layer serves as the window for users and applications processes to access network services. †¢ Presentation – this layer formats the data to be presented to the application layer. †¢ Session – allows session or connection establishments, maintenance, and termination between processes running on different stations. It also supports communication over the network, and performing security checks. †¢ Transport – this layer ensures the messages are delivered err-r free in sequence, with no losses or duplications. †¢ Network – this layer controls the operation of the subnet, deciding which path the data should take. †¢ Data link- this layer provides error-free transfer of data frames from one node to another over the physical layer. †¢ Physical – This is the lowest layer of the OCI model. It also deals with the transmission and reception of the unstructured bit stream. Security and Protocols The current design for Patton-Fuller hospital might have some potential issues into the security arena. Avoiding potential issues and still providing the tools necessary for the hospital to keep providing exceptional service to the patients and families as well as the employees. Readings suggest that there should be three separate networks wired and wireless all with password protection: †¢ two of them will be for all employees inside the firewall. †¢ one of these two employees (for managers and executives) access lines with extra encrypted because this database will have sensitive information like HR issues and employee files. †¢ the third group outside the firewall will only be for family and guest access. One source said that a cat6 (which is what hospital has currently) speed is faster and about 250MHz vs cat5 at 100 MHz (Toms Hardware, 2009). It also suggests focusing more on the products that are connected to the lines to produce better speeds and productivity. Reference: Retrieved from https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/cist/vop/Healthcare/PFCH/it.asp?topview Retrieved from http://support.microsoft.com/kb/103884 Retrieved from http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/234786-28-network-cable-faster-cat5

Drinking Bottles Bottled And Sold History Behind Our...

Water bottles are a staple in today’s society. In his article, â€Å"Costly water: Bottled and Sold: The History Behind Our Obsession with Bottled Water,† author Martin W. Lewis quotes Peter H. Gleick when he says that, â€Å"Consumers buy bottled water for four main reasons: safety, taste, style, and convenience,† and he’s absolutely right (Par. 9). Bottled water is cleaner, healthier, and more convenient than tap water. More people are more apt to grab a bottle of water on the go, rather than fill a reusable bottle from the sink. It’s just easy. At least, that’s what we are led to believe. Bottled water is constantly in battle with its not-so-lavish counterpart, tap water. Some will even argue that the benefits of bottled water alone outweigh the cost. They, however, do not. The fact is, water bottles have plagued society for years and have become a growing menace to our environment and our people. The idea of having clean, dependable water in a convenient, disposable bottle has been often the appeal of the bottled water franchise. They boast anything from being mineral infused and pure to untouched and filtered at the source. It is even believed that because of these claims, bottled water taste better than tap. It is assumed so wholeheartedly, in fact, that America is actually one of the top bottled water consumers in the world with a whopping ninety-one liters per person (Top Bottled Water Consuming Countries, 2004.). In Tom Sandage’s article, â€Å"Bad to the Last Drop,† theShow MoreRelatedMarketing and Distribution of Packaged Drinking Water Industry7022 Words   |  29 PagesDistribution of Packaged Drinking Water Submitted by Asif Muhammed Praveen Kumar Pritha Sarkar F162 F192 F222 Marketing Distribution of Packaged Drinking Water We would like to express our gratitude to Ms. Garima Gupta who guided us throughout the execution of this project and who always provided us with his valuable insights on how to do a marketing research project both inside and outside the classroom. We would also like to thank the consumers who took time out to fill up our survey and providedRead MoreWater Wars Essay2186 Words   |  9 PagesWater is a human right, not a commodity. It is the essence of life, sustaining every living being on the planet. Without it we would have no plants, no animals, no people. However, while water consumption doubles every twenty years our water sources are being depleted, polluted and exploited by multinational corporations. Water privatization has been promoted by corporations and international lending institutions as the solution to the global water crises but the only one’s who benefit from waterRead MoreMarketing Mistakes and Successes175322 Words   |  702 Pagesbungled sales promotion were more than $300 million, and still counting. Then there was the monumental acquisition of Chrysler by Germany’s Daimler, maker of proud Mercedes, for $36 billion in 1998. After nine tumultuous years, Daimler gave up and sold Chrysler to a private equity firm in 2007 for only $7.4 billion. Although they may make mistakes, organizations with sharp managements follow certain patterns when confronting difficult situations: 1. Looming problems or present mistakes areRead MoreBrand Building Blocks96400 Words   |  386 PagesBuilding Strong Brands: Why Is It Hard? It is not easy to build brands in today s environment. The brand builder who attempts to develop a strong brand is like a golfer playing on a course with heavy roughs, deep sand traps, sharp doglegs, and vast water barriers. It is difficult to score well in such conditions. Substantial pressures and barriers, both internal and external, can inhibit the brand builder. To be able to develop effective brand strategies, it is useful to understand these pressuresRead MoreManagement Course: Mba−10 General Management215330 Words   |  862 PagesEconomy Text  © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2004 4 THE POWER OF MANAGEMENT CAPITAL THE DEMANDS OF SUSTAINING PROFITABLE GROWTH IN A BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT WHERE THE FAST DEVOUR THE SLOW Our work in helping to increase the profitability of many of the world’s major companies (as well as our database surveys of many other companies) has made it clear that all this complexity has been changing the fundamental dimensions of business strategy and the meaning of its implementation. These changes