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PurposeThe empirical research of e-government at the local level has been the subject of many studies in the last two decades. The evidence collected by those studies constitutes a relevant opportunity toward the development of a theory of local e-government implementation. However, several synthesis efforts are needed before such a theory can be developed. The purpose of this article is to contribute to that endeavor by proposing an empirical model of the determinants of e-government implementation by local governments.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical model results from the systematic revision of 59 primary studies published in scientific journals, between 2002 and 2018. As a starting point, a conceptual map relating concepts such as readiness, diffusion, adoption, implementation and institutionalization is presented.FindingsThere is a common set of determinants that explains local e-government implementation in general, and three other sets of determinants that contribute to differentiate each one of three e-government dimensions: e-participation, e-transparency and e-services.Research limitations/implicationsBecause it was found that different determinants are associated with different e-government dimensions, future empirical studies should differentiate between those dimensions when studying local government.Originality/valueThis is the first study to attempt a synthesis effort on the determinants of e-government implementation by local governments.

Purpose This study aims to investigate whether, discounting the effect of the relative wealth of countries, it is possible to observe the relevance of policies for e-government development. Design/methodology/approach The deviations of countries' results from what could be expected, considering their relative wealth is calculated by using the residuals of a linear regression using the Gross Domestic Product per capita as the independent variable and the UN E-Government Development Index as the dependent variable. The countries that achieve better and worse results than expected are then identified and their cases are analyzed by resorting to secondary sources, namely, published research referring to their cases. Those research documents were identified by successively searching the Scopus database, the Google Scholar database and the Web of Science. Findings The existence of formal e-government strategies and plans and the capacity to implement them can make a difference, allowing countries to achieve better results than expected or, in their absence, to perform worse than expected. Research limitations/implications The proposed methodology can be useful to e-government researchers, particularly as a basis for deeper and more detailed studies. Practical implications Countries should invest in well-developed and focused strategies and continuity of public policies and their capacity to deliver results. For that purpose, political commitment and high-level coordination are key factors. For low-income countries, long-lasting cooperation with external experienced partners is crucial. For high-income countries, innovative thinking is a key enabler. Originality/value This study uses an innovative method to look beyond the effect of the relative wealth of countries and investigate the relevance of public policies for e-government development.

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the impact of elections on social media adoption by local governments.Design/methodology/approachLocal elections between 2007 and 2018, all 308 Portuguese municipalities and all 43 districts of the Lima metropolitan area (the capital city of Peru) were considered in the study. The impact of elections on each country was assessed by fitting a theoretical model to the social media adoption data (collected for Facebook, YouTube and Twitter). This theoretical model includes a normal curve (as predicted by the Diffusion of Innovation Theory) and negative exponential curves centered on the inauguration dates of the newly elected governments.FindingsResults are impressive and consistent for both countries: following an initial period characterized by a normal adoption curve, there are notable surges in adoption associated with the inauguration dates of newly elected administrations. In a metaphorical sense, ballots make new waves of adoption.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings suggest that researchers should take into account the influence of elections when examining how local governments adopt innovations.Practical implicationsThe findings indicate that practitioners may find an opportunity to expedite the adoption of innovative communication technologies right after newly elected governments assume office. Additionally, election campaigns present a favorable occasion to demonstrate these innovations.Originality/valueThis is the first study to use non-linear optimizing techniques to explain the impact of elections on social media adoption by local governments.

Curricular internships are increasingly seen as an effective strategy capable of contributing to the objectives and targets of the sustainable development paradigm, both in its social, economic and institutional dimensions. This positive outlook is ingrained within the large bulk of existing research, which has been focused on the discussion of positive outputs, such as the enhancement of graduates′ competences (employability) and their work integration (employment). An important, albeit relatively unexplored, feature of the sustainable institutional politics of curricular internship management pertains to the assessment of its associated liabilities and tensions. This article seeks to address this challenge, by analyzing two interrelated dimensions. First, it seeks to understand the internship processes ranging from the planning to the implementation stages. Second, it elicits the associated negative aspects (the ‘lunar side’) of internships, allowing for an assessment of the features where there is room for improvement. Empirically, this article draws on in-depth qualitative research. It presents the results of four focus groups, voicing the perceptions of top management structures and students involving first cycle degrees in the areas of Marketing, Management, and Accounting from four public Portuguese Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)-three polytechnics and one university. Findings confirm the general positive outlook of internships. Perceived negative perspectives report to both internal problems (such as the lack of institutional support and curricular design) and external problems (e.g., the shortage of suitable internship placements), constituting barriers towards sustainable institutional policies and strategies. Adaptive strategies to overcome specific difficulties are highlighted (e.g., establishment of advisory committees with local businessmen). Finally, recommendations regarding curricular internship management at HEIs are delineated (e.g., investment in monitoring and evaluation strategies of internships).

This article addresses the adoption and use of Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) in the entry pages of the official websites of all (308) Portuguese municipalities. This is relevant because such websites are typically used to provide transactional services to citizens, and citizens need to trust that websites are authentic and that confidentiality and integrity of the information exchanged is assured in the communication process. Automated and, whenever needed, manual analyses were used to investigate the entry pages. Specifically, we checked for the existence of an HTTPS site; the correctness of website certificates and their certification chain; coherence between contents of the HTTP and HTTPS versions of websites; redirection from the HTTP version of a website to its HTTPS version; the existence of resources fetched using HTTP in HTTPS versions of websites; and exploitation of HSTS. A Quality Indicator was then defined and a classification of the municipalities into quality groups was produced. Possible determinants for the results obtained by the municipalities were also investigated. The general conclusion is that there is still much to be done to assure that citizens can communicate securely with the websites of all Portuguese municipalities, since only 3.6% of the municipalities were considered good, while 46.1% do not guarantee the minimum conditions. We argue that these results are associated with the fact that most Portuguese municipalities do not have the critical technical and managerial mass to correctly implement and maintain their websites. To mitigate this limitation, we propose the dissemination of technical instructions on how to correctly configure and deploy municipal HTTPS websites and the creation of shared services between the smaller municipalities.

This article aims to shed light on the current debate regarding the role of internships in higher education in graduates' employability. In specific, it analyses empirical data on a large-scale study of Portuguese first-cycle study programmes, in order to explore indicators of the professional value of internships in the employability of higher education graduates. Results demonstrate that study programmes that include internships tend to significantly enhance graduates' employability, particularly within the universe of polytechnic and public higher education institutions. Besides the instrumental value of internships, the impact of the nature and structure of the internship on the percentage of unemployed graduates are also discussed. Mandatory internships and the inclusion of multiple, shorter internships throughout the degree are negatively associated with unemployment levels. Results indicate work-based learning can be used as a successful strategy to bridge theoretical knowledge and practice and enhance graduate employability. These findings provide important insights for the evaluation and/or the design of internship programmes in higher education. (HRK / Abstract übernommen).

Learning Management System (LMS) is a type of an e-learning system is one of the main infrastructural requirements that improves access to higher education for persons with disabilities. The primary aim of the research study[1] was to explore perceptions of students with disabilities regarding the use and accessibility of learning management systems and benefits and/or barriers in e-learning. Students mainly have negative experiences while attempting to enter university web-sites/libraries/LMSs because of the inadequate adaptation to the specific needs of students with disabilities. In countries that do not have a developed LMS, the prevalent mean of communication with professors is via e-mail, in those where there is a LMS, there is not a fully accessibility of entire content and services for students with special needs. This research defined the need for creation of an accessible LMS or adjusted already existing LMS with accessibility solutions such as: a text-to-speech engine for blind students, a mode with sign language support for deaf students and a mode which supports dyslexic.

Interoperability architectures allow the creation of transversal workflows in the public administration and the integration of services from the perspective of citizens and businesses. In this paper we present a security model to address the security issues that are raised by an interoperability architecture that supports the dynamic composition of e-government workflows by autonomous agents. The model is based in a Public Key Infrastructure and a set of data structures which are supported on well-known standards (X.509 V3 and WSDL). It addresses agent identification, authentication, accreditation and authorization and ensures that results produced by agents are privately delivered to their intended recipients even though those recipients may not be known when the results are produced. Keywords: e-government; Security; Dynamic workflows; Privacy; Interoperability. As arquiteturas de interoperabilidade permitem a criacao de workflows transversais na administracao publica e a integracao de servicos na perspetiva dos cidadaos e empresas. Neste artigo apresentamos um modelo de seguranca que visa as questoes levantadas por arquiteturas de interoperabilidade baseadas em agentes autonomos que suportam a composicao dinamica de workflows. O modelo baseia-se numa infraestrutura de chave publica e num conjunto de estruturas de dados baseadas em normas bem conhecidas (X.509 V3 e WSDL). Este modelo de seguranca suporta a identificacao, autenticacao, acreditacao e autorizacao e garante que os resultados produzidos pelos agentes apenas sao entregues aos seus destinatarios, mesmo que estes destinatarios nao sejam conhecidos na altura da producao do resultado. Palavras-chave: e-government; Seguranca; Workflows dinamicos; Privacidade; Interoperabilidade.

Curricular internships are increasingly seen as an effective strategy capable of contributing to the objectives and targets of the sustainable development paradigm, both in its social, economic and institutional dimensions. This positive outlook is ingrained within the large bulk of existing research, which has been focused on the discussion of positive outputs, such as the enhancement of graduates′ competences (employability) and their work integration (employment). An important, albeit relatively unexplored, feature of the sustainable institutional politics of curricular internship management pertains to the assessment of its associated liabilities and tensions. This article seeks to address this challenge, by analyzing two interrelated dimensions. First, it seeks to understand the internship processes ranging from the planning to the implementation stages. Second, it elicits the associated negative aspects (the ‘lunar side’) of internships, allowing for an assessment of the features where there is room for improvement. Empirically, this article draws on in‐depth qualitative research. It presents the results of four focus groups, voicing the perceptions of top management structures and students involving first cycle degrees in the areas of Marketing, Management, and Accounting from four public Portuguese Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)‐three polytechnics and one university. Findings confirm the general positive outlook of internships. Perceived negative perspectives report to both internal problems (such as the lack of institutional support and curricular design) and external problems (e.g., the shortage of suitable internship placements), constituting barriers towards sustainable institutional policies and strategies. Adaptive strategies to overcome specific difficulties are highlighted (e.g., establishment of advisory committees with local businessmen). Finally, recommendations regarding curricular internship management at HEIs are delineated (e.g., investment in monitoring and evaluation strategies of internships).