Good experiences with virtual local government builds trust, according to a study on South Korea presented at The First Global Conference on Transparency Research held May 19-20 at Rutgers University-Newark, N.J. (See overall report in FreedomInfo.org.)
The study found that “satisfaction with the user-friendliness of e-participation applications directly and positively affects participants’ social learning and e-participants’ assessment of government transparency.”
Syracuse University professor Soonhee Kim and University of Idaho professor Jooho Lee also concluded: “Finally, the results show that there is a positive association between e-participants’ assessment of government transparency and their trust in the local government that provides the e-participation program.”
Another study of South Korea, concerning various kinds of disclosures by agencies, was conducted by Myoung Jin Lee and M. Jae Mon from Yousei University.
The results showed that the “quantitative level of public information disclosure has been stabilized and relatively higher than the qualitative level of public information disclosure.” However, “The qualitative level of public information disclosure began to decline recently because the number of citizens do not simply accept public agencies’ initial non-disclosure decision and often make appeals for reconsideration,” which the researchers suggested are being more successful.
Filed under: What's New