The Success of a Nation’s Soccer Team: A Bellwether Regarding a Nation’s Electronic Information Infrastructure, the Legal Regulations that Govern the Infrastructure, the Resulting Citizen-Trust in Its Government and Its E-Readiness in Nigeria, the DPRK, China, Japan, South Korea, the Netherlands and the United States
67 Pages Posted: 2 Jan 2013
Date Written: December 1, 2012
Abstract
Information technology infrastructures should be designed with cutting-edge equipment that offers citizens consistent and dependable access to necessary and pertinent information. The infrastructures should be held accountable and regulated by a well-established legal system. Additionally, the infrastructures should create a body politic that trusts its government, is aware of its nation’s laws, regulations, and policies, and is motivated to contribute and participate positively in the national economy and political process. In modern societies, the most efficacious means in which a nation-state can create an information infrastructure is via electronic technology (“e-technology”). Some nation-states are currently better prepared than others to provide information to their citizens via e-technologies, and some are more willing to provide a free exchange of electronic information. An assessment of how well a nation can disseminate freely accessible, valid, and reliable information, and how willing nations are to provide complete, accurate, and open information via e-technologies is defined as “e-readiness." Scholars have posited numerous models to measure e-readiness. These models use various factors to measure a nation’s e-readiness. This paper takes an eclectic approach from these proposed models and uses three factors to examine and determine the e-readiness of various nation-states: 1) whether a nation-state maintains a well-organized electronic information infrastructure (“EII”) that distributes valid and reliable information; 2) whether it has a reliable legal system that ensures that the information infrastructure is acting to benefitits members of society; and 3) whether the information infrastructure and the regulatory system are increasing societal trust and therefore citizen participation in economic and civic activities.
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