BJ did an excellent job of presenting the challenges faced by tribal governments involving the encouragement of citizen participation and the movement towards information and communication technologies (ICT) to face them. The creation of a website, www.mygilariver.com, was a great solution, and mirrors the steps the city, state, and federal governments have taken to increase citizen communication and participation. The goal to move towards facilitating services is the next logical step. E-government seems to be the wave of the future, and everyone is trying to catch it. Not only is it a better way to keep in touch with the community, it is more cost effective as well. Great presentation BJ!
See this comment also posted on BJ's Blog.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Slashdot
I also grew up in Arizona. My family moved to Northern California (Napa) for 10 years, and when we came back, I didn't miss DST at all! (No offense Californians, but I don't miss CA either - earthquakes, twisty narrow roads, and the constant rain!) We don't need DST in Arizona. I can't imagine what it would be like to 'Spring Forward', and have sundown moved to even later. In the summer, the overnight low sometimes doesn't get below 90 degrees. I would not want to go to bed at 10:00 with the sun just going down and the temp at over 100. Don't get me wrong, I love hot weather and HATE the cold. This is my home, and not having DST is another great reason to stay here.
I joined Facebook this week, though it is not something I would have done had it not been a class assignment. From my point of view, in the long run, it is another obligation against my very limited free time. I did find that it was very easy to get started. I was able to find more than 5 people to add as friends right away. Most of them are local family, but I also found one of my cousins from California.
I found the site to be very east to navigate, and was able to edit my privacy options right away. I have not had a chance to post a picture or to visit all my friends' sites, but I did post to my CA cousin's wall. I see how this site could be a great place to maintain long distance communications without having to write letters or to make phone calls, but I prefer to call or see my local friends. It definitely makes it easier for people to keep in touch with scattered relatives and friends. I also feel comfortable with this site, more so than Myspace. I like the fact that you have to approve anyone to be a friend, and that the privacy options allow you to limit who can see your personal information.
I found the site to be very east to navigate, and was able to edit my privacy options right away. I have not had a chance to post a picture or to visit all my friends' sites, but I did post to my CA cousin's wall. I see how this site could be a great place to maintain long distance communications without having to write letters or to make phone calls, but I prefer to call or see my local friends. It definitely makes it easier for people to keep in touch with scattered relatives and friends. I also feel comfortable with this site, more so than Myspace. I like the fact that you have to approve anyone to be a friend, and that the privacy options allow you to limit who can see your personal information.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Meetup.com Event
Full Moon Hike
Nov 13
Thu 6:00 PM
- Location
-
625 N Galvin Pkwy
Phoenix, AZ 85008
(602) 256-3220
- Who’s coming?
- 10 Yes / 5 Maybe
Who's organizing?
P-kitty
Full Moon Hike
Papago Park
Trail: West Park Loop Trail
Length: 4 miles
Elevation gain: minimal, about 50 feet
Difficulty: Easy
This trail begins from the parking lot on the west side of Galvin Parkway. To the east of the parking lot is a single track, dirt trail that heads north towards the big buttes. It continues counterclockwise around the big butte and heads south around the smaller butte. It continues west around the golf course eventually leading back to the parking lot. This is an easy trail for hikers.
Meeting Location: TBA
Parking & Facilities: The parking lot located on the western end of Papago Park Drive has a drinking fountain, bike rack and picnic ramada with a few tables (not reservable). There are no restroom facilities on the west side of the park. (**Please note: though not indicated on the above map, West Park Drive has been closed to through traffic.)
Monday, October 20, 2008
Individual Paper Presentation
The Growth of E-Government:
Maintaining Service Levels Using Less Resources
Citizens both locally and around the world are placing increased demands on their governments. They have always demanded efficiency, accountability, and quality service. Now they also want government leaders to maintain the levels and quality of service they are receiving without having to pay more money for it. It is within their rights to make such demands, since it is their money that is being spent. In this current economic crisis, their concerns of service reductions are justified with the looming budget cuts that will require staff layoffs which could in turn result in service cutbacks. Mesa had to make the difficult choice to reduce services in the past due to budget pressures and the rejection of a primary property tax by voters.
Advances in information technology and communications over the past decade have given governments a reliable and efficient way to serve and communicate with their citizens through the internet. Web sites are not just for information anymore. Also, most governments provide intranet access specifically for their employees to help them with communication, information gathering, and providing efficient customer service. The explosion of internet use over the past 20 years proves that the trend toward e-services is the way to go. The internet has gone from less than 1 million users in 1990, to 1.418 million as of May of 2008. Clearly many citizens would jump at the opportunity to use e-services.
From this, it is reasonable to assume that a solution that could help governments to maintain services while still reducing costs is the implementation of e-government services. E-government is the use of any information or communication technologies (IT or ICT) needed to assist in the day-to-day administration of government. E-government could help to transform administration of services into a leaner and more cost-effective proposition. It could improve communications at all levels of government, from customer to city manager. Additionally, e-government could increase the efficiency of operations by changing processes, reducing costs, preventing duplication of work and promoting information sharing. Services such as utility bill payments, ticket purchases, payment of court costs and fines, access to library catalogs and services, registration and payment for city offered classes, applying for jobs, paying for building permits, and reserving rooms for special events could easily be handled on a government’s web site.
Governments both need and want to be responsive to their citizens. They are also required to be fiscally responsible with the money entrusted to them by the taxpayers. The success of government leaders is increasingly being measured by the benefits they are creating for their citizens and their communities. Offering e-government services that require minimal staff time to administer is a solution that meets the requirements of maintaining service and quality levels at reduced cost. The success of these various services can prevent future additional reductions in city services such as those that have been enacted in recent years in Mesa.
Maintaining Service Levels Using Less Resources
Citizens both locally and around the world are placing increased demands on their governments. They have always demanded efficiency, accountability, and quality service. Now they also want government leaders to maintain the levels and quality of service they are receiving without having to pay more money for it. It is within their rights to make such demands, since it is their money that is being spent. In this current economic crisis, their concerns of service reductions are justified with the looming budget cuts that will require staff layoffs which could in turn result in service cutbacks. Mesa had to make the difficult choice to reduce services in the past due to budget pressures and the rejection of a primary property tax by voters.
Advances in information technology and communications over the past decade have given governments a reliable and efficient way to serve and communicate with their citizens through the internet. Web sites are not just for information anymore. Also, most governments provide intranet access specifically for their employees to help them with communication, information gathering, and providing efficient customer service. The explosion of internet use over the past 20 years proves that the trend toward e-services is the way to go. The internet has gone from less than 1 million users in 1990, to 1.418 million as of May of 2008. Clearly many citizens would jump at the opportunity to use e-services.
From this, it is reasonable to assume that a solution that could help governments to maintain services while still reducing costs is the implementation of e-government services. E-government is the use of any information or communication technologies (IT or ICT) needed to assist in the day-to-day administration of government. E-government could help to transform administration of services into a leaner and more cost-effective proposition. It could improve communications at all levels of government, from customer to city manager. Additionally, e-government could increase the efficiency of operations by changing processes, reducing costs, preventing duplication of work and promoting information sharing. Services such as utility bill payments, ticket purchases, payment of court costs and fines, access to library catalogs and services, registration and payment for city offered classes, applying for jobs, paying for building permits, and reserving rooms for special events could easily be handled on a government’s web site.
Governments both need and want to be responsive to their citizens. They are also required to be fiscally responsible with the money entrusted to them by the taxpayers. The success of government leaders is increasingly being measured by the benefits they are creating for their citizens and their communities. Offering e-government services that require minimal staff time to administer is a solution that meets the requirements of maintaining service and quality levels at reduced cost. The success of these various services can prevent future additional reductions in city services such as those that have been enacted in recent years in Mesa.
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I had the most difficulty with this assignment. I started looking at articles on the site Thursday, and found the comments and replies disjointed and confusing. Many of the references are clearly technical or inside info/jokes. In many cases, they didn't even seem to have anything to do with the original post. I finally found one that seemed interesting, and below is my post. Because the original post on this was from 10/23, I don't know if I will receive a response or get rated up. I doubt I will ever go to this site again, as it really doesn't seem to have a lot of relevance for me.
Ask Slashdot: Alternatives to Daylight Saving Time?
from the even-ben-franklin-made-some-whoppers dept
Re:Move to Arizona (Score:1)