DGOnline Newsletter

Volume 28: September 2009

Welcome to dgOnline, the electronic newsletter of the Digital Government Society of North America. dgOnline is a monthly summary of news and events of interest to the DG community.  To submit material for inclusion in future issues, please send email to Meelis Kitsing at newsletter@dgsociety.org .

In this Issue:

• Politics of Open Source
• Conferences and Calls for Papers
• Grant Opportunities and Announcements

Politics of Open Source

The conference will take place on May 6-7, 2010, in Amherst, Massachusetts and features Clay Johnson (Sunlight Labs) as one of the daily keynote speakers. Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FOSS) has made significant advances, both technically and organizationally, since its emergence in the mid-1980s. Over the last decade, it has moved from a software development approach involving mostly volunteers to a more complex ecology where firms, nonprofit organizations, government agencies and volunteers may be involved. Moreover, the production paradigm continues to expand to other areas of digital content (e.g., Creative Commons, Wikipedia, Connexions, etc.). In this conference we use the phrase “open source” to capture this broader phenomenon. The Program Committee encourages disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches to the study of open source, broadly defined.

"Politics" in the conference title, can have many interpretations. Political issues closely tied to the free and open source software movement(s) include: national government policies related to the adoption of open source technologies or questions related to interoperability and open standards, software patents, vendor lock-in, and copyright. These are central themes we expect may be discussed in this forum. In this context, we welcome international submissions since differences in the political perspective appear in international contexts. However, topics related to how the concept of openness has led to various interpretations, adaptations, and applications of “open source” in other domains, and political issues that surround these broader innovations, are also welcome. More information is available at the conference website at http://www.umass.edu/jitp/

Conferences and Calls for Papers

Call for Papers: Pre-ICIS Workshop on eGovernment Research
This one day workshop is sponsored by AIS SIG eGovernment and will take place prior to International Conference on Information Systems (More information on the conference is available at http://www.icis09.org ). Submissions are invited for presentation and discussion at the 2009 SIG eGovernment Workshop to be held from 8.30 am -5 pm on Tuesday, December  15, 2009, Marriott Desert Ridge Hotel, Phoenix. More information about the workshop is available at http://sigegov.org

Call for Papers: MPSA

Scholars are invited to submit papers for for the 68th Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA) Political Science Conference on April 22 - 25, 2010 in Chicago. Proposal Submission Deadline is October 9, 2009. More research papers are presented at MPSA than any other political science conference.  There are over 1,100 panels in all fields of Political Science as well as hundreds of interdisciplinary panels -including information technology and politics. More information is available at http://www.mpsanet.org and proposals can be submitted at http://www.mpsanet.org/submitaproposal

SIGOSRA Call for Proposals

SIGOSRA, a special interest group of the Association for Information Systems, invites proposals for minitracks at the 2010  Americas Conference on Information Systems AMCIS meeting in Lima, Peru, August 12-15.The track in End-user Information Systems (EIS) and Knowledge Management will focus on research and application of information technology in the end-user environment to support work processes, improve employee performance, and enhance overall organizational effectiveness. Minitrack proposals are invited on topics related to implementing and supporting technology in the workplace, end user project management, collaboration and work group technologies, knowledge management, business process redesign, usability, technology training and support, industry specific applications, and technology adoption, innovation and use. Proposals related to EIS and KM curriculum issues, service learning, and other pedagogical topics are also invited. The track is open to all types of research methodologies (e.g. quantitative, qualitative, case study, action research), including visionary articles and research in progress proposals. Please submit your proposal by October 2 using the AMCIS conference system at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/amcis2010

Call for Papers: International Conference on e-Government in Turkey

The Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TÝKA) together with the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) and the eGovernment Centre of the Public Administration Institute for Turkey and the Middle East (TODAÝE eDEM) co-organise the "International Conference on e-Government: Sharing Experiences-eGOVSharE2009" which will take place on December 8-11, 2009 in Antalya, Turkey.  The purpose of the conference is to bring together senior government officials and academicians from various countries to discuss the e- Government policies and implementations. Additionally, the conference is intending to establish a common platform to enable the e-Government implementing senior policy makers and executives, and academicians to share their knowledge and experience. The Conference Organisation Committee cordially invites you attend eGOVSharE2009 Conference. You are requested to fill in the application form placed at  http://edem.todaie.gov.tr and send it back to the contact address provided below, by 31 October 2009. If you are willing to present a paper you can submit via https://cmt.research.microsoft.com/EGOV2009/. 

Call for Papers: The 7^th Annual Conference in Citizenship Studies: /Networks/
The conference will take place at Wayne State University, Detroit, MI on April 8-10, 2010 Citizenship requires networks and networks can confer citizenship. The  theme of the 2010 conference of the Center for the Study of Citizenship explores the similarities and the tensions between networks and citizenship in the past, present, and future. It also considers how  networks have shaped citizenship and how citizenship has influenced the development of networks. Noted scholar Yochai Benkler (Harvard University and author of /The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom/) will give the keynote speech. We welcome proposals from any time period or geographic area and across the widest range of disciplines from faculty, graduate students, and independent scholars. Proposals should be submitted online at http://141.217.132.114/csc/csc_request.htm no later than Friday, October 23, 2009.  Both panel proposals and individual submissions are welcome. Those interested in submitting panel proposals can use H-Citizenship (http://www.h-net.org/~citizen) to locate scholars with compatible interests. Questions should be directed to Marc W. Kruman at  aa1277@wayne.edu.

Call for Papers: special issue Scope, Objective, and Achievement of E-government:
E-government to   E-governance

It is our pleasure to seek article proposals for a special issue of International Journal of Electronic Government Research (IJEGR) whose focus is on "Scope, Objective, and Achievement of E-government: E-government to   E-governance". IJEGR is a peer-reviewed multi-disciplinary international journal that publishes high-quality, original research about electronic government. Electronic government is broadly defined within topics such as but not limited to the hardware and software technology, e-government adoption and diffusion, e-government policy, e-government planning and management, e-government applications and e-government impacts. The journal also serves as a forum for scholars and practitionersto present theoretical and philosophical discussions on current issues relating to the practice of electronicgovernment. Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit papers for this onor before January 1,2010. All submissions must be original and may not be under review by another publication. Morei nformation is available at http://www.igi-global.com/development/author_info/guidelinessubmission.pdf. 

Call for Papers: Transforming Government

The journal publishes leading scholarly and practitioner research on the subject of transforming

government through its people, processes and policy. Unique and progressive in its approach,

the journal seeks to recognise both the multidisciplinary and the interdisciplinary perspectives

of e-Government, and encourages both pure and applied research that impacts central and local

Government, with international perspectives also welcome. It will also be interested in exploring

how research carried out in the private sector can be applied to the public sector as a means of

improving efficiency and effectiveness. Coverage is international and focused on original research

in e-Government ICT, service chain issues, public sector management, policy implications of

developing environments, and organizational and human resource issues. To submit an article,

please go to the journal homepage at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/tg.htm, or contact:

The Editor, Professor Zahir Irani, Brunel University, UK E-mail: Zahir.Irani@Brunel.ac.uk,

or the publisher, Kelly Pycroft, E-mail: kpycroft@emeraldinsight.com 

Call for Papers: International Journal of Electronic Governance

International Journal of Electronic Governance (IJEG) is an academic journal focusing on interdisciplinary issues of electronic governance and digital collaboration in the domains of administrative, political and social interaction world-wide. IJEG is published in english by Inderscience Publishers and all submitted manuscripts are subject to a double-blind review process. Full text of the IJEG inaugural and the second issues available from http://www.inderscience.com/ijeg

Call for Papers: IMCIC 2010

The International Multi-Conference on Complexity, Informatics and Cybernetics: IMCIC 2010 will take place on April 6 -9, 2010 in Orlando, Florida, USA.  Papers/Abstracts Submissions and Invited Sessions Proposals are due by October 21th, 2009. All Submitted papers/abstracts will go through three reviewing processes: (1) double-blind (at least three reviewers), (2) non-blind, and (3) participative peer reviews. These three kinds of review will support the selection process of those papers/abstracts that will be accepted for their presentation at the conference, as well as those to be selected for their publication in JSCI Journal. More information is available at http://www.2010iiisconferences.org/IMCIC

Call for Papers: CCCT 20010

The 8th International Conference on Computing, Communications and Control Technologies: CCCT 2010 will take place on April 6 -9, 2010, in Orlando, Florida, USA. Deadlines are the following: Papers/Abstracts Submissions and Invited Sessions Proposals: September 30th, 2009, Authors Notifications: November 16th, 2009, Camera-ready, full papers: December 16th, 2009 More information is available at

http://www.2010iiisconferences.org/CCCT

Call for Papers: RMCI 2010

The 7th International Symposium on Risk Management and Cyber-Informatics: RMCI 2010 will take place on June 29-July 2, 2010 in Orlando, Florida, USA. The deadlines are the following: October 14th, 2009: Submission of draft papers (2000-5000), extended abstracts (400-2000) and abstracts for interdisciplinary communication (200-600 words), November 30th, 2009: Notifications of acceptance February 10th, 2010: Submission of camera-ready or final versions of the accepted papers. More information is available at http://www.2010iiisconferences.org/RMCI

Information Polity: Call for Papers

Authors who wish to write articles for future editions of Information Polity are requested to submit their manuscripts electronically to the Editorial Assistant: Dr Alasdair Marshall, email: amar2@gcal.ac.uk. For more detailed instructions please refer to the Authors Corner on the IOS Press website: www.iospress.nl
 

Grant Opportunities and Announcements

NSF Programs

The programs can be a good fit with certain types of digital government research:
Innovation and Organizational Sciences  (IOS)
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5378&org=SES&from=home

Law and Social Sciences

http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5422&govDel=USNSF_39

Sociology

http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5369&govDel=USNSF_39

Political Science

http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5418&govDel=USNSF_39

Creative IT

http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2009/nsf09572/nsf09572.htm?govDel=USNSF_25
Decision, Risk and Management Sciences  (DRMS)

http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5423&org=SES&from=home 

Science, Technology and Society

http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5324&govDel=USNSF_39

Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry  (GOALI)
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=13706

SBE Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grants

http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=13453&govDel=USNSF_50
The full list of Social and Economic Science programs at NSF can be
found at http://www.nsf.gov/div/index.jsp?div=SES

The NSF Regional Grants Conference will take place in Jackson, MS on October 5 and 6.

More information is available at http://www.nsf.gov/events/event_summ.jsp?cntn_id=114599&govDel=USNSF_13

Disclosure of White House Visitor Access Records Online

In September President Barack Obama took another important step toward a more open  and transparent government by announcing a historic new policy to  voluntarily disclose White House visitor access records.  Each  month, records of visitors from the previous 90-120 days will be  made available online. http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Opening-up-the-peoples-house

Open Government: Transparency, Participation, and Collaboration
The National Center for Digital Government presents "Open Government: Transparency, Participation and   Collaboration" with Dr. Beth Noveck, United States Deputy Chief Technology Officer for Open Government on Friday, October 30, 2009 at 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm at the Isenberg School of Management 108 at University of Massachusetts Amherst Campus. Dr. Noveck will discuss the Obama Administration's call for transparency and open government and its commitment to achieving an "unprecedented level of openness in Government." Dr. Noveck directs the White House Open Government Initiative at www.whitehouse.gov/open. She is the author of Wiki Government: How Technology Can Make Government Better, Democracy Stronger, and Citizens More Powerful (2009) and editor of The State of Play: Law, Games and Virtual Worlds (2006). She is on leave as a professor law and director of the Institute for Information Law and Policy at New York Law School and McClatchy visiting professor of communication at Stanford University. The lecture will be streamed live and archived on ncdg.org.

NCDG Workshop on Ethics in Science and Engineering
The workshop will take place on October 23, 2009, 8:00 am-5:00 pm at W.E.B. DuBois Library, 26th floor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst Campus. The National Center for Digital Government is convening a workshop to advance knowledge about the potential and limitations of digital libraries to support sharing knowledge in the domain of ethics in science and engineering.  What digital tools, applications and  architectures offer promise to increase not only transmission of information but the quality and depth of institutional development?  How can the cost of search and navigation through voluminous materials be reduced? What social tools and semantic web frameworks might be useful to incorporate into online resource sites? What are the key limitations of digital libraries and how might these be minimized or overcome?  More information is available at www.ncdg.org

Malmo09
Europe's first-ever popular e-government event Malmo09 will take place on November 19-20, 2009. This spontaneous local response to the fifth official EU e-gov event is yet to be created by its participants. It promises: no presentation longer than six minutes, focus on transparency, data mashups and pertinent art and an exemplary Swedish chef. To join in visit Malmo09.org or email rsvp@malmo09.org

DGSNA Conferences in 2009-2010

The Board of DGSNA, the Digital Government Society of North America,  has decided that the dg.o 2009 conference, originally scheduled to be held in Puebla, Mexico, on May 18-20, will not be held this year, due to fears raised by the swine flu epidemic. Although there will be no physical meeting this year, the conference proceedings will be published, and will be noted as an official publication of the DG Society, so that papers can be formally referenced in citations.  Anyone already registered for the conference will receive the CD of the proceedings, and the proceedings will be published as usual in the ACM Digital Library. The local organizer team in Puebla has unanimously agreed to host dg.o 2010, our next conference, in Puebla next May.  It is a great city, and we still want to enjoy it! In addition, a smaller event will be held in Washington DC in November or December 2009, focusing on the interests of members of  the US government, and will include some events originally planned for the dg.o 2009 conference.  You will receive information about this event later in the year. 

Special Deal for DGSNA Members: Discount on Information Polity
IOS Press, the publishers of the highly regarded journal Information Polity, has reached an agreement with the DGSNA Board. Individual members can subscribe to the journal for a discounted rate of US$75 per year (print copy) and US$25 per year (online copy). Student members receive a discounted rate of US$15 per year (online copy).  The journal's website is http://www.iospress.nl/loadtop/load.php?isbn=15701255.

New E-Governance Book Series by IOS Press

IOS Press is specialized in advanced publications in the field of administrative sciences. Recently, the Press started a new series named Global E- Governance.  The publisher maintains longstanding collaborations with international organisations like IIAS and NATO and publishes a book series Innovation and the Public Sector, edited by Professor Victor Bekkers. In addition they publish 3 journals: Information Polity, edited by Prof. John Taylor, I-Ways, edited by Mr. Russel Pipe, and the International Journal of Regulation and Governance, published with TERI (New Delhi).

SSRC Dissertation Proposal Development Fellowship (DPDF)
The Social Science Research Council, with funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, is pleased to announce a call to faculty for interdisciplinary research field proposals for the 2009 Dissertation Proposal Development Fellowship (DPDF) program.  Established in 2006, the DPDF combines financial support and workshop experience for early-stage graduate students engaged in predissertation research and developing their dissertation proposals. The DPDF program is designed to intervene at a critical moment in the career development of graduate students in the humanities and social sciences by aiding their transition from students to researchers. It provides complementary interdisciplinary perspectives to students across the disciplines of the social sciences and humanities. Faculty applicants must be tenured at different doctoral degree-granting programs at US universities and apply in teams of two. DPDF Research Directors lead groups of 12 graduate student fellows in two four-day workshops Research directors receive a stipend of $10,000 each. More information about the program may be found at: http://programs.ssrc.org/dpdf

Contact Meelis Kitsing at newsletter@dgsociety.org for questions or to submit material for future newsletters.

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