Electronic Government and Web 2.0 in Brazil: the Reality of Some Municipalities in the State of Minas Gerais with Low HDI
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ISSN: 2278-3369 International Journal of Advances in Management and Economics Available online at: www.managementjournal.info RESEARCH ARTICLE Electronic Government and Web 2.0 in Brazil: the Reality of Some Municipalities in the State of Minas Gerais with Low HDI Luana Martins Oliveira, Jeferson Gomes dos Santos, Joao Paulo Calembo Batista Menezes Dept. of Public Administration at Federal University of Jequitinhonha e Mucuri Valleys-UFVJM, Brazil. Abstract Due to various transformations that have occurred in society since the advent of globalization and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), this research has the objective of analyzing the relevance of the electronic participation in the democratic context and to present the availability of web 2.0 tools intended for the participation on the websites of the prefectures of Mucuri Valley Mesoregion with low levels of Human Development Index, since ICTs can foster and broaden the forms of interaction between the State and Society. Electronic Government, based on electronic participation tools, can provide citizens with greater involvement in the decision-making aspects of public organizations, establishing a favorable scenario for democracy. The data collection was based on methods of content analysis, specifically an oriented internet browsing. At the end of the research the tools that are made available by city halls were presented and compared. Most municipalities in the Mucuri Valley Mesoregion use sites as e-government tools, three prefectures do not have electronic tools to disseminate and exchange information with citizens, and eight of them have no web 2.0 tools, demonstrating the slow digital evolution in some Brazilian municipalities. Keywords: Electronic Government, Web 2.0, ICTs, Public transparency, Citizen Participation. Introduction The current historical moment, known as the proposal of greater democracy and information age [1] and the time of a transparency [4]. globalized world [2], leads governments everywhere to get adapted to the use of new Electronic Government, which represents technologies in which Information and access to government services and Communication Technologies (ICTs) play a information via digital means, contributes to fundamental role in the modernization of the citizens' participation in the public relations between government, companies administration along with the government and citizens. through electronic means, so that the communication between these two happens By 2016, the digital gap between countries is more quickly [5]. still lingering, since the level of Internet penetration in developed countries is 81%, In Brazil 54% of households are already while in emerging and in the poorest ones are connected to the internet [6]. This new respectively at 40% and 15%. However it arrangement allows citizens to be more should be noted that in the same report it is involved in the decision-making aspects of shown that the access via cell phone is public organizations, setting the stage for an widespread and, with the coverage of 95% of effective democracy. Citizen participation the global population, the internet use has provided by electronic means [7] can be been widespread [3]. perceived as sustained not only by the popular will to enjoy these means, but also by This context forges a new reality for the the commitment of government programs to citizens as the evolution of informatics foster this involvement. In order to proposes a new paradigm of relationship consolidate such structure it is necessary the between State and Society, based on a existence of instruments that facilitate and Joao Paulo Calembo Batista Menezes et. al.| Jan.-Feb. 2018| Vol.7| Issue 1|17-26 17 Available online at www.managementjournal.info foster this participatory process, so that improvement of public administration democracy becomes more complete and processes, and through automation it is profound. The Brazilian governments in their possible to perform and provide services in a three levels (Federal, State and Municipal) faster and more efficient way, making it must develop mechanisms (financial, easier also to check and to monitor the technological and intellectual resources) that results. The citizen can access information propitiate the development of e-government and services without leaving home, reducing tools. the physical structure and the quantity of personnel necessary to assist in public The objective of this study is to analyze the agencies [10]. relevance of electronic participation in the democratic context and to present the Electronic government represents more than provision of tools for the citizen participation a website, an e-mail or other electronic in the Brazilian context, specifically on the transaction via the Internet [11]. It is the sites of prefectures of Mucuri Valley natural evolution from the technological Mesoregion in the State of Minas Gerais revolution that emerged with the knowledge considering low levels of Human society. Electronic Government comes as a Development Index. strategy for cost reduction and rapprochement between agents (government, Review of Literature citizens and companies). The relationship Electronic Government: A Concept between Government and Citizen is under Construction abbreviated in G2C; G2B refers to the relationship between government and The main asset of the current society is the business; G2G makes reference to the use of technological and digital means to relations between the entities and carry out the vast majority of its actions, and departments of the government [11]. in this context, the use of the Internet stands out, which enabled the circulation of The digital environment offers new information and services in accelerated opportunities, facilitating the exchange of levels, which has directed humanity to new information between agents. It allows for behaviors. more collaborative and participatory relationships between stakeholders (G2C, The way in which the State appropriates G2B and G2G), and they can actively modern ICT tools for its implementation in structure the political priorities, helping the the public administration is revealed in the design of public services and participation in provision of information among government their implementation, and also integrated bodies, companies and citizens, and is better solutions to complex challenges [12]. known as Electronic Government [8]. Electronic government aims to democratize A true transformation of social life derive access to information and participation of from the application of these technologies [9], citizens in government actions. However, can because its impact reaches diverse contexts, implementing a technological structure for including the political one, since it allows the electronic government in a country really existence of new means for the people to empower the democratic processes? This organize themselves politically, reaching issue reveals some aspects that should be even those who were disinterested. considered by the government at the time of planning an e-government project, because In this sense, Information and through it the information and services can Communication Technologies (ICTs) can have be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; political and democratic purposes for a but, effectively, who has access to this number of sectors of society, among which infrastructure and has the knowledge and are citizens, government organizations, civil skills necessary to enjoy its functionality? society, and political parties, among others. The introduction of these new means leads to These issues reveal the need for effective the expansion of citizen participation in planning when introducing e-government processes of discussion and political strategies. The government before executing deliberation, thus democratizing decision- an e-government project should ascertain making processes [8]. The use of Electronic whether it has the appropriate structure and Government strategies allows the Joao Paulo Calembo Batista Menezes et. al.| Jan.-Feb. 2018| Vol.7| Issue 1|17-26 18 Available online at www.managementjournal.info whether the agents involved (citizens and decisions, since the use of these technological companies) also have the necessary structure tools is able to bring citizen demands and the and knowledge to use the tools that will be political agenda closer together, and may made available [11]. improve the relationship between government and citizens [16].It is noteworthy Without adequate planning, Electronic that [17] this citizen participation transcends Government, instead of favoring democracy, the simple use of online public services. may lead to the exclusion of those who do not have access to sufficient technological Currently [18], e-government acts through structure to use the tools [13]. Electronic websites to conceive its relationship with Government is a strategic tool to institute users, which access information and services, innovative, participatory and open public spaces that must offer transparency and sectors, with the aim of improving social channels of participation both in the inclusion and governmental responsibility, as elaboration and in the conduct of public well as promoting the integration between policies. governmental and non-governmental actors in favor of national development and, in the In Brazil, since the internet was structured, long term, sustainable growth [12]. ICTs are used to raise the quality of public services, and since then e-government has