Earticle

This study argues the need for a New Networked E-governance model for global e-Governance development, and emphasizes a dialectical approach through the lens of New Public Service, addressing the social design and construction of public administration. When combining the rational and social design approaches of New Public Service, new Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) provide opportunities for public administrators to understand the public sphere. Incorporating citizens’ perspectives can provide the impetus to reshape top-down, managementdriven E-government models (i.e., E-government Maturity Models) into a new pattern of E-governance that is more relevant to the conditions and needs of social networking era at the global level. Thus, the new model will be able to connect citizens and public administrators to critically examine public service, and to use ICTs to improve global e-Governance.

This study discusses the multi-dimensional aspects of the digital divide conceptualizing the magnitude of the digital gaps in social, economic, cultural, and political relationships, which goes beyond its familiar definition. Since the digital disparities bear a close parallel to the existence of social polarization, efforts to narrow digital inequities should be customized at the four structural levels: individuals, communities, regions, and countries. According to four structural levels, this study will examine the multidimensional approaches to the digital divide, which includes not only the accessibility and availability of information resources, but also the conscious and acceptable attitudes toward the perceived gap between the “haves” and the “have-nots”.

This article describes the current state of Internet and e-government usage and access in the United States. While the US was one of the pioneers in Internet development in the world, it is easily demonstrated that a strong digital divide now exists between the old and the young, the wealthy and the poor, the more highly educated and the less-educated, and particularly between urban/suburban dwellers and those who live in rural areas. The patterning of Internet development in the US is identified as the major reason for the existence of these differences. Unlike many other countries in the world, after building the infrastructure to establish the Internet, the US government turned the provision of Internet service over to the private sector. This has resulted in world-class service in wealthier higher population density areas and much lower quality service in poorer lower population density areas. E-government functionalities—long promised as remaking government—are shown also to be subject to digital divide problems since utilizing the Internet for interacting with government depends largely on access to and knowledge about the Internet.

Digital divide and e-governance are issues that take global precedence. This study examines the status and governmental actions on e-governance and the digital divide in Taiwan, focusing on continual development and advancement of e-governance and the termination of the digital divide. One significant finding of this study is an increase of more than 9% in computer usage in Taiwan between 2004 and 2011. Further it is shown that there was an increase of nearly 11% in internet usage during the same period. This along with other key findings provides an insight and detail that in Taiwan there have been steady improvements in closing the country’s digital divide through planned efforts by the government.