Public Administration News
Share
 |
Singapore: E-govt Services Put Singapore at No. 1 |
| Source: |
channelnewsasia.com |
| Source Date: |
Saturday, September 08, 2012 |
| Focus: |
ICT for MDGs
|
| Country: |
Singapore |
| Created: |
Sep 11, 2012 |
|
SINGAPORE: A landmark survey measuring the Web's use, utility and impact on people and nations saw Singapore placed overall just outside the top 10 - among 61 countries - despite the Republic ranking highly in terms of communications infrastructure, including boasting the fastest broadband speeds in the world.
Singapore was also second, behind Sweden, when it comes to the Internet's political impact - which measured, among other things, how a government used the Web to inform and engage with citizens, and whether main political parties had websites and campaigned online.
In economic and social terms, however, the survey findings suggest the Republic could go some way still in getting the most value out of the Web - Singapore placed 13th and 22nd, respectively. This, particularly as the Republic boasts the fastest broadband speeds and also ranks second in terms of communications infrastructure (how wide and affordable public access to communications is).
The Web Index, which was released on Wednesday, was the brainchild of the World Wide Web founder Tim Berners-Lee, and was funded in full by a US$1-million (S$1.24-million) grant from United States tech giant Google. It was computed using data from both institutions such as the United Nations, the World Bank and World Economic Forum, as well as a questionnaire scored by professionals or experts in various fields in each country.
The survey, which was released by Mr Berners-Lee's World Wide Web Foundation, described Singapore's high ranking in terms of the Web's political impact as "perhaps most" surprising..
Singapore is also one of three countries with high per-capita income levels but are not among the Top 10 in making the Web work for its citizens - the others are Qatar (21) and Germany (16).
The Index comprised three main segments, of which "impact" was the most heavily-weighted (60 per cent). The remaining 40 per cent was split between how far a country has expanded its communications infrastructure, and Web usage and content.
To measure the Web's impact on a country politically, the foundation measured the extent of e-government services and whether these improved efficiency. It also looked at the extent that a government used the Web to provide information and engage with citizens, as well as whether main political parties had websites and campaigned for support online.
Singapore scored highest among all the countries for the efficiency of its e-government services.
The Web's importance as a political battleground was most apparent in Singapore, the United States and Sweden.
For social impact, the survey looked at how much information and communication technologies (ICT) aided access to basic services, such as health, education and financial services. In this aspect, the Republic was pipped only by Sweden and Qatar.
The survey also measured the usage of social networking sites - Iceland had the most wired population; Singapore placed ninth overall.
What probably dragged the Republic to 13th place overall in terms of the Web's social impact was probably a question on how much distance-learning is used for the training of teachers.
When it came to the Web's economic impact, Singapore also has lots of catching up to do.
Whether in terms of the number of Web-based businesses or the extent companies used the Internet for business, Singapore fell short of countries like Sweden and Switzerland. The Republic's impressive ICT infrastructure has also not translated to as many new organisational models, such as remote working and telecommuting, as Sweden and the United Kingdom.
National University of Singapore communications and new media lecturer Alfred Siew put this down to a "human resource problem".
"Many of the companies here are really plugged in and employees can actually work from home but managers still prefer to see their workers in the office," he said. The prominent technology blogger also agreed that Singapore companies were "not as advanced" as those in other countries in terms of having a web presence.
"Many mom and pop shops or SMEs think 'I do not need a website' because they don't think it brings them business. We could probably do more but it requires a mindset change," said Mr Siew.
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Tag This |
Singapore: E-govt Services Put Singapore at No. 1 A landmark survey measuring the Web's use utility and impact on people and nations saw Singapore placed overall just outside the top 10 - among 61 countries - despite the Republic ranking highly in terms of communications infrastructure including boasting the fastest broadband speeds in the world
 Tell A Friend |
|
 del.icio.us digg this Slashdot |
| Rate: |
0 ratings
|
Views: |
161 |
| Comments: |
0 |
Favorited: |
0 |
Bookmarked: |
0 |
Tagged: |
0 |
|
|
|
|