Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand the citizen perception of quality of service with respect to the Government’s citizen service delivery system of Karnataka and conduct an investigation to determine the major factors which affect the quality of Government service delivery system in the state of Karnataka in India. Design/methodology/approach Primary data related to variables affecting citizen service satisfaction are collected using a questionnaire survey. The questionnaire was designed based on literature review and consulting officers associated with public service delivery system in the state of Karnataka. Findings The study found that the five factors “Responsiveness,” “Tangibility,” “Predictability,” “Reliability” and “Perceptiveness” are primary determinants of the quality of citizen/government services. Research limitations/implications Right to Service Act has been adapted by 24 states and 5 union territories in India. It is highly impossible to study the progress of Right to Service Act in each and every state of India. In this paper, the author has made a detailed study of state of Karnataka, which has the highest in-time service disposition rate −95.06%, highest number of institutions −99 and highest number of services −1,115 services under Right to Service Act in India and generalized the results for other states. Practical implications This research enables government institutions/organizations to enhance their understanding of citizen service quality and perception of government services. The citizen satisfaction gauging parameters can provide useful direction to the design, implementation and management of government services. Social implications Government/citizen services include services provided by each and every department of the government. The services covered here begin from birth of individual as birth certificate service till the death of individual which includes death certificate, and in between this life cycle of an individual, important events such as service related to caste certificate, marriage certificate, service verification for job, property or Khatha certificate are included under government services, covering services related to all the major events of one’s life. The improved level of service quality can enhance service satisfaction among citizens resulting in good governance. Originality/value The paper addresses quality of Government services for the first time in the state of Karnataka, India using a carefully designed research study. This paper is of value to research scholars in the area of government service quality in India and other countries where government services are delivered either under Right to Services Act, in stipulated time frame or through citizen charters.
{"title":"Exploring quality of citizen service delivery system in the state of Karnataka, India","authors":"Raghavendra D. Padiyar","doi":"10.1108/tg-05-2022-0062","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/tg-05-2022-0062","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose\u0000The purpose of this paper is to understand the citizen perception of quality of service with respect to the Government’s citizen service delivery system of Karnataka and conduct an investigation to determine the major factors which affect the quality of Government service delivery system in the state of Karnataka in India.\u0000\u0000\u0000Design/methodology/approach\u0000Primary data related to variables affecting citizen service satisfaction are collected using a questionnaire survey. The questionnaire was designed based on literature review and consulting officers associated with public service delivery system in the state of Karnataka.\u0000\u0000\u0000Findings\u0000The study found that the five factors “Responsiveness,” “Tangibility,” “Predictability,” “Reliability” and “Perceptiveness” are primary determinants of the quality of citizen/government services.\u0000\u0000\u0000Research limitations/implications\u0000Right to Service Act has been adapted by 24 states and 5 union territories in India. It is highly impossible to study the progress of Right to Service Act in each and every state of India. In this paper, the author has made a detailed study of state of Karnataka, which has the highest in-time service disposition rate −95.06%, highest number of institutions −99 and highest number of services −1,115 services under Right to Service Act in India and generalized the results for other states.\u0000\u0000\u0000Practical implications\u0000This research enables government institutions/organizations to enhance their understanding of citizen service quality and perception of government services. The citizen satisfaction gauging parameters can provide useful direction to the design, implementation and management of government services.\u0000\u0000\u0000Social implications\u0000Government/citizen services include services provided by each and every department of the government. The services covered here begin from birth of individual as birth certificate service till the death of individual which includes death certificate, and in between this life cycle of an individual, important events such as service related to caste certificate, marriage certificate, service verification for job, property or Khatha certificate are included under government services, covering services related to all the major events of one’s life. The improved level of service quality can enhance service satisfaction among citizens resulting in good governance.\u0000\u0000\u0000Originality/value\u0000The paper addresses quality of Government services for the first time in the state of Karnataka, India using a carefully designed research study. This paper is of value to research scholars in the area of government service quality in India and other countries where government services are delivered either under Right to Services Act, in stipulated time frame or through citizen charters.\u0000","PeriodicalId":51696,"journal":{"name":"Transforming Government- People Process and Policy","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45632084","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Purpose The world is facing global challenges that require international collaboration. This study aims to describe and analyze how digital technologies are applied in global governance to respond to such critical challenges. Design/methodology/approach The authors apply an interpretive case study of climate reporting to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as a case of digitalization in global governance. It includes interviews with officials in the Swedish public administration and the UNFCCC secretariat to cover national and international levels. The authors describe the reporting process and analyze the role of information systems through the lens of information infrastructures. Findings “Information infrastructure” is a valuable instrument to understand digitalization in global governance as a complex interplay between information systems, information, standards, organizations, people and social structures. The level of sophistication is, however, basic with a large potential for improvement – for instance in analytical and communicative services to support evidence-based decision-making and assessment of progress. Research limitations/implications The data collection is limited to one governance process: reporting. Future studies should complement the findings by broadening the scope to other processes. The authors propose that digital global governance is dependent on an effective information infrastructure, and that the five design principles by Hanseth and Lyytinen (2016) offer guidance when developing this. Practical implications The results indicate a large unutilized potential of digital technologies to improve progress assessment, communicate more effectively with stakeholders and identify new ways of visualizing data to support decision making in global climate policy. Social implications Use of digital technologies, as suggested in the article, could strengthen the implementation capability of climate goals, which is of urgent need. Originality/value While most research in digital governance considers the national or municipal level, this study provides empirical insight and theorization of digital technologies in a global governance setting.
{"title":"The state of information infrastructure for global climate governance","authors":"T. Engvall, L. Flak","doi":"10.1108/tg-05-2022-0064","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/tg-05-2022-0064","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose\u0000The world is facing global challenges that require international collaboration. This study aims to describe and analyze how digital technologies are applied in global governance to respond to such critical challenges.\u0000\u0000\u0000Design/methodology/approach\u0000The authors apply an interpretive case study of climate reporting to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as a case of digitalization in global governance. It includes interviews with officials in the Swedish public administration and the UNFCCC secretariat to cover national and international levels. The authors describe the reporting process and analyze the role of information systems through the lens of information infrastructures.\u0000\u0000\u0000Findings\u0000“Information infrastructure” is a valuable instrument to understand digitalization in global governance as a complex interplay between information systems, information, standards, organizations, people and social structures. The level of sophistication is, however, basic with a large potential for improvement – for instance in analytical and communicative services to support evidence-based decision-making and assessment of progress.\u0000\u0000\u0000Research limitations/implications\u0000The data collection is limited to one governance process: reporting. Future studies should complement the findings by broadening the scope to other processes. The authors propose that digital global governance is dependent on an effective information infrastructure, and that the five design principles by Hanseth and Lyytinen (2016) offer guidance when developing this.\u0000\u0000\u0000Practical implications\u0000The results indicate a large unutilized potential of digital technologies to improve progress assessment, communicate more effectively with stakeholders and identify new ways of visualizing data to support decision making in global climate policy.\u0000\u0000\u0000Social implications\u0000Use of digital technologies, as suggested in the article, could strengthen the implementation capability of climate goals, which is of urgent need.\u0000\u0000\u0000Originality/value\u0000While most research in digital governance considers the national or municipal level, this study provides empirical insight and theorization of digital technologies in a global governance setting.\u0000","PeriodicalId":51696,"journal":{"name":"Transforming Government- People Process and Policy","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42168274","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Luisa Fernanda Rodríguez-Hevía, Laura Rodríguez-Fernández, L. M. Ruiz-Gómez
Purpose The purpose of this research is to study what factors influence European citizens in their interaction with government in the EU regions. It analyses the differences across European regions, taking account of each region’s degree of economic development and incorporating different spatially tailored approaches into the analysis. Design/methodology/approach A logistic regression analysis was used to establish whether the profiles of e-Government users differ according to the development tier they live in and other explanatory variables: socio-demographic, digital skills and type of internet connection. Findings This research identifies regional inequalities in EU citizens’ digital behaviour with public administration. This statistical study of European regions allows to better apprehend the profile of the EU’s e-citizens and offers conclusions to explain citizens’ behaviour, highlighting the influence of several variables. Originality/value Given the lack of pan-European e-government studies at a regional level, this article provides a comparative analysis for the European Union and gives insights into the behaviour of European e-citizens, highlighting the presence of digital inequalities in Europe depending on the region where citizens reside.
{"title":"European regional inequalities in citizens’ digital interaction with government","authors":"Luisa Fernanda Rodríguez-Hevía, Laura Rodríguez-Fernández, L. M. Ruiz-Gómez","doi":"10.1108/tg-03-2022-0031","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/tg-03-2022-0031","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose\u0000The purpose of this research is to study what factors influence European citizens in their interaction with government in the EU regions. It analyses the differences across European regions, taking account of each region’s degree of economic development and incorporating different spatially tailored approaches into the analysis.\u0000\u0000\u0000Design/methodology/approach\u0000A logistic regression analysis was used to establish whether the profiles of e-Government users differ according to the development tier they live in and other explanatory variables: socio-demographic, digital skills and type of internet connection.\u0000\u0000\u0000Findings\u0000This research identifies regional inequalities in EU citizens’ digital behaviour with public administration. This statistical study of European regions allows to better apprehend the profile of the EU’s e-citizens and offers conclusions to explain citizens’ behaviour, highlighting the influence of several variables.\u0000\u0000\u0000Originality/value\u0000Given the lack of pan-European e-government studies at a regional level, this article provides a comparative analysis for the European Union and gives insights into the behaviour of European e-citizens, highlighting the presence of digital inequalities in Europe depending on the region where citizens reside.\u0000","PeriodicalId":51696,"journal":{"name":"Transforming Government- People Process and Policy","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-07-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41584710","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore and explain, through practical considerations, the ever-increasing presence of local option sales taxes and “special purpose” local option sales taxes (SPLOST) in the composition of the tax portfolio of local governments. Design/methodology/approach This research is designed as a case study of county-level fiscal trends in Washington counties between 1990 and 2018. Data were collected for all 39 Washington counties for 29 years in three domains: revenue, crime and society. Observations were fitted to longitudinal models for tests of cointegration or trend, or to cross-sectional regression models for tests of predictive quality. Findings This study shows that the stated “special purpose” does not influence a county’s decision to impose a SPLOST. Furthermore, this study finds that indicators of educational attainment, income, poverty, unemployment and rural areas are the largest predictors of a county’s propensity to change the composition of its revenue portfolio in favor of the sales tax. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to explore whether indicators of a stated “special purpose” are statistically related to a county’s propensity to adopt a particular SPLOST. This study concludes that a county’s decision to adopt a SPLOST does not depend on the stated “special purpose.” In addition, it shows that urbanized counties with higher per capita income and education levels, but lower unemployment and poverty, can predictably import sales tax revenue from neighboring jurisdictions. This is a significant finding as it may explain why SPLOST is gaining popularity.
{"title":"Empirical evidence of practical considerations in local government tax portfolio composition: consequences of SPLOST taxes","authors":"Fabio Ambrosio","doi":"10.1108/tg-05-2022-0063","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/tg-05-2022-0063","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose\u0000The purpose of this study is to explore and explain, through practical considerations, the ever-increasing presence of local option sales taxes and “special purpose” local option sales taxes (SPLOST) in the composition of the tax portfolio of local governments.\u0000\u0000\u0000Design/methodology/approach\u0000This research is designed as a case study of county-level fiscal trends in Washington counties between 1990 and 2018. Data were collected for all 39 Washington counties for 29 years in three domains: revenue, crime and society. Observations were fitted to longitudinal models for tests of cointegration or trend, or to cross-sectional regression models for tests of predictive quality.\u0000\u0000\u0000Findings\u0000This study shows that the stated “special purpose” does not influence a county’s decision to impose a SPLOST. Furthermore, this study finds that indicators of educational attainment, income, poverty, unemployment and rural areas are the largest predictors of a county’s propensity to change the composition of its revenue portfolio in favor of the sales tax.\u0000\u0000\u0000Originality/value\u0000To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to explore whether indicators of a stated “special purpose” are statistically related to a county’s propensity to adopt a particular SPLOST. This study concludes that a county’s decision to adopt a SPLOST does not depend on the stated “special purpose.” In addition, it shows that urbanized counties with higher per capita income and education levels, but lower unemployment and poverty, can predictably import sales tax revenue from neighboring jurisdictions. This is a significant finding as it may explain why SPLOST is gaining popularity.\u0000","PeriodicalId":51696,"journal":{"name":"Transforming Government- People Process and Policy","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49495778","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Purpose This paper aims to highlight problems and opportunities for introducing digital automation in public administration (PA) and to propose implications for public value creation of robotic process automation (RPA) through the perspective of good bureaucracy as a guiding framework. Design/methodology/approach This conceptual paper addresses the purpose by applying three normative ideal types: Weber’s ideal type for a bureaucracy, new public management and public value management. This paper synthesizes an analytical framework in conducting case studies of the implementation of RPA systems in municipal administration. Findings This paper contributes to new insights into public value creation and digital automation. The following four implications are proposed: the deployment of RPA in municipal administration should emphasize that organizing administrative tasks is essentially a political issue; include considerations based on a well-grounded analysis in which policy areas that are suitable for RPA; to pay attention to issues on legal certainty, personal integrity, transparency and opportunities to influence automated decisions; and that the introduction of RPA indicates a need to develop resources concerning learning and knowledge in the municipal administration. Originality/value This paper is innovative, as it relates normative, descriptive and prescriptive issues on the developing of digital automation in PA. The conceptual approach is unusual in studies of digitalization in public activities.
{"title":"Public value creation and robotic process automation: normative, descriptive and prescriptive issues in municipal administration","authors":"J. Johansson, M. Thomsen, M. Åkesson","doi":"10.1108/tg-11-2021-0193","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/tg-11-2021-0193","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose\u0000This paper aims to highlight problems and opportunities for introducing digital automation in public administration (PA) and to propose implications for public value creation of robotic process automation (RPA) through the perspective of good bureaucracy as a guiding framework.\u0000\u0000\u0000Design/methodology/approach\u0000This conceptual paper addresses the purpose by applying three normative ideal types: Weber’s ideal type for a bureaucracy, new public management and public value management. This paper synthesizes an analytical framework in conducting case studies of the implementation of RPA systems in municipal administration.\u0000\u0000\u0000Findings\u0000This paper contributes to new insights into public value creation and digital automation. The following four implications are proposed: the deployment of RPA in municipal administration should emphasize that organizing administrative tasks is essentially a political issue; include considerations based on a well-grounded analysis in which policy areas that are suitable for RPA; to pay attention to issues on legal certainty, personal integrity, transparency and opportunities to influence automated decisions; and that the introduction of RPA indicates a need to develop resources concerning learning and knowledge in the municipal administration.\u0000\u0000\u0000Originality/value\u0000This paper is innovative, as it relates normative, descriptive and prescriptive issues on the developing of digital automation in PA. The conceptual approach is unusual in studies of digitalization in public activities.\u0000","PeriodicalId":51696,"journal":{"name":"Transforming Government- People Process and Policy","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-06-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48027797","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Purpose This paper aims to explore the open government data initiative in the Food Protection program area within the New York State’s Department of Health to assess the impacts of opening data in terms of data quality and public value. An ecosystem lens is used to explore the dynamics of actors and their interactions, the processes involved in the program and the consequences such interplay brought forth to data quality. Design/methodology/approach The data were collected through 15 semistructured interviews with multiple stakeholders from different sectors, such as county officials, administrators and technicians, food sanitarians, data journalists and restaurant owners. At the analysis stage, the ecosystem perspective helped to capture the big picture of the open data actor interrelationships within this community regarding the food service inspections datasets. Findings Prior research suggests that open data initiatives enhance data quality. However, this study shows how opening data can adversely affect the quality of data. Results are explained by competing dynamics and conflicting interests among open data actors, undermining the expected public value from open data initiatives. Research limitations/implications The findings are in contrast with the mainstream open data literature and helps open data scholars to anticipate some currently unexpected results of open data initiatives. Limitations include potential biases associated to interpretation of interview data and that the results are based on a single case study. Practical implications This study makes governments and policymakers alert about the possibility of similar open data byproducts and unwanted outcomes and helps them to design more effective open data policies, hence gaining higher economic advantage while lowering costs of open data initiatives. Originality/value Detailed open data and open data case studies through the ecosystem perspective are still scarce and can enrich discussions about open data policy design and refinement in the public sector. The data used for this research are not used in any prior papers, and to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to identify such adverse effects of data quality that have been reported.
{"title":"Systemic effects of an open government program on data quality: the case of the New York State’s Food Protection program area","authors":"M. Najafabadi, Felippe Cronemberger","doi":"10.1108/tg-11-2021-0194","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/tg-11-2021-0194","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose\u0000This paper aims to explore the open government data initiative in the Food Protection program area within the New York State’s Department of Health to assess the impacts of opening data in terms of data quality and public value. An ecosystem lens is used to explore the dynamics of actors and their interactions, the processes involved in the program and the consequences such interplay brought forth to data quality.\u0000\u0000\u0000Design/methodology/approach\u0000The data were collected through 15 semistructured interviews with multiple stakeholders from different sectors, such as county officials, administrators and technicians, food sanitarians, data journalists and restaurant owners. At the analysis stage, the ecosystem perspective helped to capture the big picture of the open data actor interrelationships within this community regarding the food service inspections datasets.\u0000\u0000\u0000Findings\u0000Prior research suggests that open data initiatives enhance data quality. However, this study shows how opening data can adversely affect the quality of data. Results are explained by competing dynamics and conflicting interests among open data actors, undermining the expected public value from open data initiatives.\u0000\u0000\u0000Research limitations/implications\u0000The findings are in contrast with the mainstream open data literature and helps open data scholars to anticipate some currently unexpected results of open data initiatives. Limitations include potential biases associated to interpretation of interview data and that the results are based on a single case study.\u0000\u0000\u0000Practical implications\u0000This study makes governments and policymakers alert about the possibility of similar open data byproducts and unwanted outcomes and helps them to design more effective open data policies, hence gaining higher economic advantage while lowering costs of open data initiatives.\u0000\u0000\u0000Originality/value\u0000Detailed open data and open data case studies through the ecosystem perspective are still scarce and can enrich discussions about open data policy design and refinement in the public sector. The data used for this research are not used in any prior papers, and to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to identify such adverse effects of data quality that have been reported.\u0000","PeriodicalId":51696,"journal":{"name":"Transforming Government- People Process and Policy","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-06-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41751477","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present the legal conditions under which governments may use green artificial intelligence (AI) in city planning. Although Japan was one of the early countries to release its general AI principles, it has been relatively slow in establishing conditions where administrative agencies may use AI. Granted, there have been some recent scholarship that discusses the usage of AI in general under Japanese administrative law, but the use of green AI in city planning under Japanese law has not yet been discussed. Hence, this paper intends to focus on green AI in city planning and discuss the conditions for usage based on different categories of AI. Design/methodology/approach This paper conducts a legal analysis on the utilization of AI for the purpose of sustainable city planning and administration in Japan. The approach of this paper is to summarize the existing scholarship in Japanese administrative law and analyse the new elements in the new field of green AI in city planning. This paper is not a natural science paper. The social science method of jurisprudence is used. This paper cites only public sources, and no informal literature has been referenced. Findings This paper establishes the conditions where Japanese central and local government may use green AI in city planning from a legal viewpoint based on three categories. The categories are green AI usage in city planning concerning things, green AI usage in city planning concerning people and green AI usage in city planning concerning automated decision-making. Research limitations This research is limited to an analysis of Japanese law, which means that issues other than law are not included in this paper. Further, although general legal issues are discussed, this paper is intended to discuss Japanese law issues only, and foreign laws are not discussed. Therefore, this paper mostly cites Japanese language papers published in domestic journals. Practical implications The intended practical implication of this paper is to allow central and local governments to determine – based on the proposed categories – whether green AI can be used for city planning purposes and under which conditions. The authors hope that this will assist the Japanese government in establishing rules on the usage of AI by governmental agencies and allow for the greater actual usage by Japanese central and local governments of green AI in future city planning. Social implications As the theme of this paper deals with governmental use (and the function of a government is to serve society), the social implications at issue can be said to be equivalent to the practical implication. Originality/value There have been articles discussing Japanese administrative law restrictions on AI in general. However, as of now, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, there have been no articles published focusing on green AI used for city planning. The authors note that the green AI used for cit
{"title":"Sustainable city planning and public administration assisted by green AI: attendant legal challenges under Japanese law","authors":"T. Matsuo, Shun Iwamitsu","doi":"10.1108/tg-06-2021-0109","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/tg-06-2021-0109","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose\u0000The purpose of this paper is to present the legal conditions under which governments may use green artificial intelligence (AI) in city planning. Although Japan was one of the early countries to release its general AI principles, it has been relatively slow in establishing conditions where administrative agencies may use AI. Granted, there have been some recent scholarship that discusses the usage of AI in general under Japanese administrative law, but the use of green AI in city planning under Japanese law has not yet been discussed. Hence, this paper intends to focus on green AI in city planning and discuss the conditions for usage based on different categories of AI.\u0000\u0000\u0000Design/methodology/approach\u0000This paper conducts a legal analysis on the utilization of AI for the purpose of sustainable city planning and administration in Japan. The approach of this paper is to summarize the existing scholarship in Japanese administrative law and analyse the new elements in the new field of green AI in city planning. This paper is not a natural science paper. The social science method of jurisprudence is used. This paper cites only public sources, and no informal literature has been referenced.\u0000\u0000\u0000Findings\u0000This paper establishes the conditions where Japanese central and local government may use green AI in city planning from a legal viewpoint based on three categories. The categories are green AI usage in city planning concerning things, green AI usage in city planning concerning people and green AI usage in city planning concerning automated decision-making.\u0000\u0000\u0000Research limitations\u0000This research is limited to an analysis of Japanese law, which means that issues other than law are not included in this paper. Further, although general legal issues are discussed, this paper is intended to discuss Japanese law issues only, and foreign laws are not discussed. Therefore, this paper mostly cites Japanese language papers published in domestic journals.\u0000\u0000\u0000Practical implications\u0000The intended practical implication of this paper is to allow central and local governments to determine – based on the proposed categories – whether green AI can be used for city planning purposes and under which conditions. The authors hope that this will assist the Japanese government in establishing rules on the usage of AI by governmental agencies and allow for the greater actual usage by Japanese central and local governments of green AI in future city planning.\u0000\u0000\u0000Social implications\u0000As the theme of this paper deals with governmental use (and the function of a government is to serve society), the social implications at issue can be said to be equivalent to the practical implication.\u0000\u0000\u0000Originality/value\u0000There have been articles discussing Japanese administrative law restrictions on AI in general. However, as of now, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, there have been no articles published focusing on green AI used for city planning. The authors note that the green AI used for cit","PeriodicalId":51696,"journal":{"name":"Transforming Government- People Process and Policy","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-06-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43459966","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Purpose The paper aims to examine the environmental challenges of artificial intelligence (AI) in EU law that regard both illicit uses of the technology, i.e. overuse or misuse of AI and its possible underuses. The aim of the paper is to show how such regulatory efforts of legislators should be understood as a critical component of the Green Deal of the EU institutions, that is, to save our planet from impoverishment, plunder and destruction. Design/methodology/approach To illustrate the different ways in which AI can represent a game-changer for our environmental challenges, attention is drawn to a multidisciplinary approach, which includes the analysis of the initiatives on the European Green Deal; the proposals for a new legal framework on data governance and AI; principles of environmental and constitutional law; the interaction of such principles and provisions of environmental and constitutional law with AI regulations; other sources of EU law and of its Member States. Findings Most recent initiatives on AI, including the AI Act (AIA) of the European Commission, have insisted on a human-centric approach, whereas it seems obvious that the challenges of environmental law, including those triggered by AI, should be addressed in accordance with an ontocentric, rather than anthropocentric stance. The paper provides four recommendations for the legal consequences of this short-sighted view, including the lack of environmental concerns in the AIA. Research limitations/implications The environmental challenges of AI suggest complementing current regulatory efforts of EU lawmakers with a new generation of eco-impact assessments; duties of care and disclosure of non-financial information; clearer parameters for the implementation of the integration principle in EU constitutional law; special policies for the risk of underusing AI for environmental purposes. Further research should examine these policies in connection with the principle of sustainability and the EU plan for a circular economy, as another crucial ingredient of the Green Deal. Practical implications The paper provides a set of concrete measures to properly tackle both illicit uses of AI and the risk of its possible underuse for environmental purposes. Such measures do not only concern the “top down” efforts of legislators but also litigation and the role of courts. Current trends of climate change litigation and the transplant of class actions into several civil law jurisdictions shed new light on the ways in which we should address the environmental challenges of AI, even before a court. Social implications A more robust protection of people’s right to a high level of environmental protection and the improvement of the quality of the environment follows as a result of the analysis on the legal threats and opportunities brought forth by AI. Originality/value The paper explores a set of issues, often overlooked by scholars and institutions, that is nonetheless crucial for an
{"title":"The environmental challenges of AI in EU law: lessons learned from the Artificial Intelligence Act (AIA) with its drawbacks","authors":"U. Pagallo, Jacopo Ciani Sciolla, M. Durante","doi":"10.1108/tg-07-2021-0121","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/tg-07-2021-0121","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose\u0000The paper aims to examine the environmental challenges of artificial intelligence (AI) in EU law that regard both illicit uses of the technology, i.e. overuse or misuse of AI and its possible underuses. The aim of the paper is to show how such regulatory efforts of legislators should be understood as a critical component of the Green Deal of the EU institutions, that is, to save our planet from impoverishment, plunder and destruction.\u0000\u0000\u0000Design/methodology/approach\u0000To illustrate the different ways in which AI can represent a game-changer for our environmental challenges, attention is drawn to a multidisciplinary approach, which includes the analysis of the initiatives on the European Green Deal; the proposals for a new legal framework on data governance and AI; principles of environmental and constitutional law; the interaction of such principles and provisions of environmental and constitutional law with AI regulations; other sources of EU law and of its Member States.\u0000\u0000\u0000Findings\u0000Most recent initiatives on AI, including the AI Act (AIA) of the European Commission, have insisted on a human-centric approach, whereas it seems obvious that the challenges of environmental law, including those triggered by AI, should be addressed in accordance with an ontocentric, rather than anthropocentric stance. The paper provides four recommendations for the legal consequences of this short-sighted view, including the lack of environmental concerns in the AIA.\u0000\u0000\u0000Research limitations/implications\u0000The environmental challenges of AI suggest complementing current regulatory efforts of EU lawmakers with a new generation of eco-impact assessments; duties of care and disclosure of non-financial information; clearer parameters for the implementation of the integration principle in EU constitutional law; special policies for the risk of underusing AI for environmental purposes. Further research should examine these policies in connection with the principle of sustainability and the EU plan for a circular economy, as another crucial ingredient of the Green Deal.\u0000\u0000\u0000Practical implications\u0000The paper provides a set of concrete measures to properly tackle both illicit uses of AI and the risk of its possible underuse for environmental purposes. Such measures do not only concern the “top down” efforts of legislators but also litigation and the role of courts. Current trends of climate change litigation and the transplant of class actions into several civil law jurisdictions shed new light on the ways in which we should address the environmental challenges of AI, even before a court.\u0000\u0000\u0000Social implications\u0000A more robust protection of people’s right to a high level of environmental protection and the improvement of the quality of the environment follows as a result of the analysis on the legal threats and opportunities brought forth by AI.\u0000\u0000\u0000Originality/value\u0000The paper explores a set of issues, often overlooked by scholars and institutions, that is nonetheless crucial for an","PeriodicalId":51696,"journal":{"name":"Transforming Government- People Process and Policy","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-06-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49649169","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to raise awareness on the need for a more comprehensive approach on the interdependence between artificial intelligence (AI) and environmental sustainability. It provides an overview of existing sustainable AI policy initiatives at the national and regional level. More precisely, it discusses whether existing European Union (EU) environmental policies are suitable for the AI era or whether new regulations are needed in this field. Finally, this paper assesses cross-fertilisation opportunities between the EU and non-EU countries. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on a qualitative analysis of sustainable applications of AI and the sustainability of AI. Emphasis is laid on the latter, and a “sustainable by design” approach is proposed, which in essence is a prerequisite for transparent, responsible and human-centred AI systems. The analysis primarily focuses on environmental sustainability. Findings The majority of studies focus on how to use AI to protect the environment with very little attention paid to sustainable design of AI. On the other hand, the EU’s comprehensive approach towards sustainable AI is closest to promoting “sustainable by design” AI. Several ways have been identified in which the EU’s actions can be translated beyond its borders. Research limitations/implications One of the largest limitations of this study is its moderate scope. This paper is confined to the EU and as such provides a limited assessment of global policies and measures on the interplay between sustainability and AI. Consequently, the paper did not provide an in-depth analysis of environmental policies worldwide that could help provide a better picture of possible cooperation areas or common grounds. Another limitation of this study is that it primarily focuses on environmental aspects and as such accords little attention to the economic and social pillars of sustainability. Social implications With less than 10 years to go before reaching the sustainable development goal deadline, this study can help stakeholders better understand what is being done worldwide in terms of sustainable AI. Moreover, given that the technology is still in its early phase, this study can inspire a “sustainable by design” approach to the development of AI technologies. Originality/value All national AI strategies published by 1 June 2021 were analysed to identify whether and to what extent they prioritise the interplay between environment and AI. Furthermore, the authors also looked at the EU policy and how it aims to address AI from a sustainable perspective.
{"title":"Is the future of AI sustainable? A case study of the European Union","authors":"Natasa Perucica, K. Andjelkovic","doi":"10.1108/tg-06-2021-0106","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/tg-06-2021-0106","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose\u0000The purpose of this paper is to raise awareness on the need for a more comprehensive approach on the interdependence between artificial intelligence (AI) and environmental sustainability. It provides an overview of existing sustainable AI policy initiatives at the national and regional level. More precisely, it discusses whether existing European Union (EU) environmental policies are suitable for the AI era or whether new regulations are needed in this field. Finally, this paper assesses cross-fertilisation opportunities between the EU and non-EU countries.\u0000\u0000\u0000Design/methodology/approach\u0000This study is based on a qualitative analysis of sustainable applications of AI and the sustainability of AI. Emphasis is laid on the latter, and a “sustainable by design” approach is proposed, which in essence is a prerequisite for transparent, responsible and human-centred AI systems. The analysis primarily focuses on environmental sustainability.\u0000\u0000\u0000Findings\u0000The majority of studies focus on how to use AI to protect the environment with very little attention paid to sustainable design of AI. On the other hand, the EU’s comprehensive approach towards sustainable AI is closest to promoting “sustainable by design” AI. Several ways have been identified in which the EU’s actions can be translated beyond its borders.\u0000\u0000\u0000Research limitations/implications\u0000One of the largest limitations of this study is its moderate scope. This paper is confined to the EU and as such provides a limited assessment of global policies and measures on the interplay between sustainability and AI. Consequently, the paper did not provide an in-depth analysis of environmental policies worldwide that could help provide a better picture of possible cooperation areas or common grounds. Another limitation of this study is that it primarily focuses on environmental aspects and as such accords little attention to the economic and social pillars of sustainability.\u0000\u0000\u0000Social implications\u0000With less than 10 years to go before reaching the sustainable development goal deadline, this study can help stakeholders better understand what is being done worldwide in terms of sustainable AI. Moreover, given that the technology is still in its early phase, this study can inspire a “sustainable by design” approach to the development of AI technologies.\u0000\u0000\u0000Originality/value\u0000All national AI strategies published by 1 June 2021 were analysed to identify whether and to what extent they prioritise the interplay between environment and AI. Furthermore, the authors also looked at the EU policy and how it aims to address AI from a sustainable perspective.\u0000","PeriodicalId":51696,"journal":{"name":"Transforming Government- People Process and Policy","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49208470","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Dini Rosdini, N. N. Afiah, Prima Yusi Sari, Tettet Fitrijanti, H. Ritchi, Adhi Alfian
Purpose This study aims to explore how risk culture – tone at the top (TATT) and informed risk decision (IRD) – can affect the effectiveness of risk management (EORM) in the government. Design/methodology/approach The authors experimented on 84 civil servants working in central and local governments in Indonesia, focusing on vital local governments and critical ministries/institutions in central governments. Findings TATT and its interaction with IRD do not affect the EORM, while IRD and socialization of risk affect and improve it. A weak TATT, low commitment and ineffective implementation of risk culture to the lower-middle echelon may impair a country’s risk management (RM) practice. IRD with socialization is also the key to improving decision-making and RM. Originality/value This paper illuminates the possibility of risk culture in regulating the EORM in the governmental general planning process using the experiment as the research method and provides different facets in the application of risk culture in the government, where the focus is on policy-making, budgeting and planning aspects by involving several important ministries, institutions and strategic local government’s civil servants.
{"title":"Who is calling the shot? Risk culture experiments on bi-level governments","authors":"Dini Rosdini, N. N. Afiah, Prima Yusi Sari, Tettet Fitrijanti, H. Ritchi, Adhi Alfian","doi":"10.1108/tg-03-2022-0026","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/tg-03-2022-0026","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose\u0000This study aims to explore how risk culture – tone at the top (TATT) and informed risk decision (IRD) – can affect the effectiveness of risk management (EORM) in the government.\u0000\u0000\u0000Design/methodology/approach\u0000The authors experimented on 84 civil servants working in central and local governments in Indonesia, focusing on vital local governments and critical ministries/institutions in central governments.\u0000\u0000\u0000Findings\u0000TATT and its interaction with IRD do not affect the EORM, while IRD and socialization of risk affect and improve it. A weak TATT, low commitment and ineffective implementation of risk culture to the lower-middle echelon may impair a country’s risk management (RM) practice. IRD with socialization is also the key to improving decision-making and RM.\u0000\u0000\u0000Originality/value\u0000This paper illuminates the possibility of risk culture in regulating the EORM in the governmental general planning process using the experiment as the research method and provides different facets in the application of risk culture in the government, where the focus is on policy-making, budgeting and planning aspects by involving several important ministries, institutions and strategic local government’s civil servants.\u0000","PeriodicalId":51696,"journal":{"name":"Transforming Government- People Process and Policy","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43771442","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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