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The Usage of E-Governance Applications by Higher Education Students Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice • 14(5) • 1925-1943 ©2014 Educational Consultancy and Research Center www.edam.com.tr/estp DOI: 10.12738/estp.2014.5.2051 The Usage of E-Governance Applications by Higher Education Students M. Kemal ÖKTEMa Kamil DEMİRHANb Hacettepe University Hacettepe University Haydar DEMİRHANc Hacettepe University Abstract This study aims to analyze the factors affecting the Internet usage of university students using e-governance applications. It is important to examine these factors to understand why the online citizen participation is not increasing as expected, while Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) usage is improving in governance. Governance is an understanding that aims to provide more efficient and effective government applications. It consists of constructing interactive relationships between governments and citizens. New information and communication technologies (ICTs) provide interactive opportunities to citizens. We focus on students because they constitute an important subset of citizen population. The methodology of this study consists of data collected by a survey of 328 university students of Hacettepe University between 2011 and 2012. The sample is taken from six colleges of this university. Our results show that factors affecting the usage of e-governance applications are mainly related to the Internet usage variables rather than socio-economic status of students. Internet security, Internet usage level, Internet usage ability, and Internet usage tendencies are independent variables that have significant effects on the solution of the problem of improving ICTs usage in the processes of governance. Keywords E-participation, Offline Participation, Social Media, Internet, University Students, Youth Participation. This study focuses on the factors affecting the of university students using electronic governance Internet usage of university students using applications. These factors are mainly related to the electronic governance applications. It aims at factors that are concerned with the Internet usage understanding why participation is not increasing rather than socio-economic features of university as expected while ICT usage is improving in the students. In general, socio-economic features, such governance processes. This problem is considered as gender, age, and income, are important factors in terms of the factors affecting the Internet usage but in the university’s case, these conditions are a Mustafa Kemal ÖKTEM, Ph.D., is an associate professor of public administration. Contact: Hacettepe Uni- versity, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Department of Public Administration, Ankara, Turkey. Email: [email protected] b Kamil DEMİRHAN, Ph.D. candidate is a research assistant at the Department of Political Science and Public Ad- ministration. His research interests include political theory, Internet and democracy, social media and politics, new social movements and globalization. Correspondence: Hacettepe University, Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Postal code: 06800, Beytepe, Ankara, Turkey. Email: [email protected] c Haydar DEMİRHAN, Ph.D., is an associate professor of statistics. Contact: Hacettepe University, Faculty of Science, Department of Statistics, Beytepe, Ankara, Turkey. Email: [email protected] EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES: THEORY & PRACTICE more or less equalized. Electronic governance and Turner (2012, p. 1) support the claim that (e-governance) applications are related to both the “there is no empirical research that examines usage of technology and citizen participation in satisfaction with contact channels, and a few public politics. “Electronic” indicates the technological opinion surveys have been analyzed examining capacities of our age and “governance” is a new citizens and their reactions to e-government.” This perspective in government paradigm. Innovations attention underlines the gap of citizen-centric in both technology and perspective create new perspectives in research. It also emphasizes that understandings for governing such as “governing most studies related to e-governance are concerned with people.” In public administration theory, with the supply-side of interaction process this aspect is called governance, and it aims at (Reddick & Turner, 2012, p. 1). In addition, studies transforming the governing processes to be more about e-governance indicate that most studies effective and legitimate and the structures and focused on the experiences in the United States, processes more democratic by using interactive United Kingdom, and European Union countries. communication tools. This aim is closely related There is a need for e-governance experiences in to the communication capacities of actors who are different countries to deeply understand the issue in the political, social, and economic networks and and the extent of different experiences (Pina, their potential to access information and services. Torres, & Acerete, 2007). Regarding these gaps These capacities show the extent, velocity, efficiency, in the literature, we focus on the e-governance and reciprocity of actors in the communication process in terms of the citizen-centric perspective, process. The Internet has the capacity to improve and this study also provides information about interactive communication processes among the e-governance process in Turkey, which can people, organizations, or institutions at different contribute to comparative studies by means of data levels. It can also help in the collection of and perspective outside the Western World. information about social, economic, and political Specifically, this study is concerned with the factors issues. Therefore, governing with people using affecting the Internet usage of university students Internet technologies is called e-governance. using e-government applications. University Governance requires a bottom-up participation students are the main subjects of this study, as flow in the governing process since citizens became young people are seen as the main actors in a variety the main actors using e-governance applications. of processes in the information era (Bakker & de Citizens are needed for accountability and they Vreese, 2011; Calenda & Meijer, 2009; Livingstone, are supposed to be planners, practitioners, and 2007; Theocharis, 2011). They constitute an users of e-governance applications. Researches important part of the citizenry because they have about e-governance have primarily focused on the potential to act in unusual situations to realize the capacities of information and service delivery their capacity as useful, valuable, and reflective of governments, organizations, or institutions and citizens (OECD, 2012). In addition, as in other new their capacities to realize the citizens’ participation information and communication technologies, (Fan, 2011; Melitski, Carrizales, Manoharan, & young people are the primary users of the Internet. Holzer, 2011; West, 2004). The main topic in these Hacettepe University is one of largest universities of studies is related to the questions, “Which level of Turkey in terms of student population and diversity institutions can achieve interaction with citizens?” of undergraduate programs. Students come from and “Do they provide adequate tools or channels different cities of Turkey, and they have different contacting and interacting with citizens?” Briefly, socio-economic statuses, backgrounds, income most of these works focus on the Internet usage levels, and ICT experiences. Therefore, these and the online service capacities of institutions and students constitute a heterogeneous sub-population organizations. They analyze websites of government of university students in Turkey. agencies, institutions, or organizations. However, We took a random sample of students of Hacettepe in terms of the interactive understanding of the University. Due to the heterogeneity of students of governing process, citizens’ Internet usage in Hacettepe University, our sample is representative governing processes is as important as Internet of university students from Turkey. This study’s usage capacities of organizations or governments. In methodology consists of statistical analyses of data the literature, limited work has focused on citizens’ collected through a survey that was specifically Internet usage tendencies, factors, and relations designed and developed by the authors to determine affecting citizens’ Internet usage in e-governance the students’ socio-economic status, backgrounds, applications. Explanations provided by Reddick 1926 ÖKTEM, DEMİRHAN, DEMİRHAN / The Usage of E-Governance Applications by Higher Education Students income level, and ICTs experiences. The survey provide new opportunities for the interaction was completed by students under the authors’ between social actors and governments (Flak supervision. It contains questions about students’ et al., 2009). Basically, ICTs provide interactive socio-economic status and ICT experiences communication channels, which are important such as their usage abilities of ICTs, usage of in the transformation of the current governing online communication channels, students’ offline process to a governing process that is open to activities, students’ accessibility, communication, the collaboration and deliberation of different interaction willingness of students, and Internet actors in the processes of service provision and security. information delivery (Dawes, 2008; Potnis,
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