Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Analysis Of Near-Infrared Phase Effects On Biometric Iris Data, Brady Roos Stevenson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to ascertain potential iris scan data variations from near infrared waves derived from fluorescent illumination. Prior studies of iris data variances from infrared wave interference of halogen, incandescent, and sunlight with iris cameras suggest that similar changes may exist under near infrared wavelengths from fluorescent light. The concern is that the fluorescent energy emission may interfere with the near infrared detection of an iris camera. An iris camera is used to measure human eye characteristics known as biometrics. If such infrared emission is statistically significant, then it can alter the validity of the iris …

Enacting Technology In Networked Governance: Developmental Processes Of Cross-Agency Arrangements, Jane E. Fountain

National Center for Digital Government

This paper discusses the technology enactment framework, an analytical framework to guide exploration and examination of information-based change in governments.1 The original technology enactment framework is extended in this paper to delineate the distinctive roles played by key actors in technology enactment. I then examine institutional change in government by drawing from current initiatives in the U.S. federal government to build cross-agency relationships and systems. The U.S. government is one of the first central states to undertake not only back office integration within the government but also integration of systems and processes across agencies. For this reason its experience during …

Icts And Political Accountability: An Assessment Of The Impact Of Digitization In Government On Political Accountability In Connecticut, Massachusetts And New York State, Albert Meijer

National Center for Digital Government

This report presents a first analysis of the results of empirical research into the impact of digitization on political accountability in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York State. The report focuses on presenting the empirical findings and these data still require further analysis.

A Genetic Algorithm For The Longest Common Subsequence Problem, Brenda Hinkemeyer

Culminating Projects in Computer Science and Information Technology

The Longest Common Subsequence problem (LCS) is a known :NP-complete problem that computes the longest subsequence (series of characters occurring in the same order, although not necessarily consecutively) that any number of strings share. An LCS is not necessarily unique for any combination of strings; however, the length will be. The computationally difficult version of this problem occurs when the number of strings and the LCS length are not fixed. The problem has a number of applications: anything from searching content to file difference listings. There is no single solution that fits all situations, and the deterministic solutions available are …

Challenges To Organizational Change: Multi-Level Integrated Information Structures (Miis), Jane E. Fountain

National Center for Digital Government

From introduction: Governments are extraordinary information creators, users, and disseminators. I-government focuses attention on the flow and structuring of information within government (Mayer-Schoenberger and Lazer, this volume). Government actors engage in knowledge work, specifically, in the creation, sharing, and communication of information. They design and redesign processes by which information flows according to legislative mandate, organizational practice and public need. Recently, they have sought to rethink information flows in order to leverage benefits from information and communication technologies. When public sector actors seek to change these information flows at any appreciable level of complexity, they inevitably engage in complex organizational …

Establishing Public Confidence In The Viability Of Fingerprint Biometric Technology, Nathan Alan Green

Theses and Dissertations

The most common personal authentication techniques used for identity management employ a secret PIN or password that must be remembered. The challenge, for a given user, is that a multitude of such codes must be recalled over the course of the day for transactions involving distinct computer applications. Password mania prevails. Fingerprint biometric technology is an ideal alternate solution to this password recall problem. In spite of their availability for nearly thirty years, fingerprint biometric systems still remain uncommon in public sectors of industry such as education, government, and technology. Technology has improved sufficiently that false acceptance and rejection rates …

Exploring E-Government Evolution: The Influence Of Systems Of Rules On Organizational Action, J. Ramon Gil-Garcia, Ignacio J. Martinez-Moyano

National Center for Digital Government

In general terms, e-government can be defined as the use of information and communication technologies in government settings. However, it is neither a homogeneous nor a static phenomenon. In recent years, empirical studies have identified two interesting dynamics in e-government evolution. First, e-government has evolved from its initial presence on the Internet to a more transactional and integrated approach. Second, at the aggregate level and as a general trend, national governments have started adding technological sophistication and have been followed by state and local governments. This paper attempts to explain these two dynamics in the evolution of e-government as a …

The Attitudes Of Educators To Information Technology Adoption In Schools Settings, Manoj Maharaj, Wesley Govender

Manoj Maharaj

No abstract provided.

Is Necessity The Mother Of Innovation? The Adoption And Use Of Web Technologies Among Congressional Offices, Kevin M. Esterling, David M.J. Lazer, Michael Neblo

National Center for Digital Government

From first paragraph: Communication between legislator and constituents is fundamental to effective democratic representation, and devising the institutional means for citizen/legislator communication stands as one of the core and persistent problems in the practice of democracy. A legislator needs information about the preferences, ideals, norms, and beliefs of her constituents in order to do her job well. Similarly, citizens need information about the actions and decisions of their representative in order to maintain appropriate accountability. But as national problems become more complex, and as the political process grows more and more dominated by experts and organized groups, it is becoming …

Race, Place, And Information Technology, Karen Mossberger, Caroline J. Tolbert

National Center for Digital Government

What role does environment play in influencing information technology access and skills – over and above individual characteristics such as income, education, race, and ethnicity? One of the puzzles that emerged from our recent research on the “digital divide” was that African-Americans, and to a lesser extent, Latinos, had more positive attitudes toward information technology than similarly-situated whites. And yet, African-Americans and Latinos are less likely to have information technology access and skills, even when controlling for other factors such as income and education (Mossberger, Tolbert and Stansbury 2003). The research presented in this paper takes a first step toward …

E-Government Cross-Agency And Intergovernmental Initiatives Research Project: Web Survey Results, Jane E. Fountain, Robin Mckinnon, Eunyun Park

National Center for Digital Government

One of the central challenges of E-Government is organizational and institutional change. Professor Jane E. Fountain, the founder and Director of the National Center for Digital Government at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and her research team are currently continuing a practical research program on the development of crossagency collaboration and integration using information technologies. The project is designed to describe and explain critical success factors in successful E-Government cross-agency collaborative projects. The study should contribute significant management, economic and policy benefits as a result of better understanding how to structure conditions for success in cross-agency initiatives that …

Bureaucratic Networks Or Networked Bureaucracies? Knowledge Sharing In Ict-Enabled Innovation Projects, Maria C. Binz-Scharf

National Center for Digital Government

This paper examines knowledge sharing processes in digital government projects (DGPs). Although knowledge sharing processes are a central feature of the functioning of government, they have received little attention in the literature. The importance of knowledge sharing has become even more evident with the rise of digital government initiatives, as these have a networking effect on bureaucracies. With multiple agencies and multidisciplinary knowledge coming together, it is necessary to combine and reconnect the required knowledge. Based on empirical data from four DGPs in Switzerland and the United States, a theoretical model for knowledge sharing in DGPs is proposed. The model …

Electronic Government And Electronic Civics, Jane Fountain

National Center for Digital Government

Electronic government and electronic civics embrace a wide range of topics. Electronic government and electronic civics include in their purview the development, use, and implications of new practices, processes, forms and interests in government and civic life occasioned by the Internet, World Wide Web and related information and communication technologies. They are concerned with individuals and the groups they form and sustain in order to bring coherence and stability to community life. At a slightly higher level of analysis, electronic government and electronic civics take account of the use and implications of the Internet for all forms of civic engagement …

Local Government Stimulation Of Broadband: Effectiveness, E-Government, And Economic Development, David Clark, Sharon Gillett, William Lehr, Marvin Sirbu, Jane E. Fountain

National Center for Digital Government

Access to broadband is widely recognized as a prerequisite for a community’s economic welfare and the delivery of government services. In communities where the private sector is perceived as having failed to deliver adequate and affordable broadband services, municipal and county governments face pressures to stimulate broadband deployment. However, no systematic data documents the nature and status of municipal broadband initiatives, the comparative effectiveness of alternative policies for promoting broadband access, or their implications for local economic development, private provisioning of infrastructure, and the operation of local government. As a result, hundreds of communities are proceeding independently to develop their …

Open Source Software: A History, David Bretthauer

Published Works

In the 30 years from 1970-2000, open source software began as an assumption without a name or a clear alternative. It has evolved into a sophisticated movement which has produced some of the most stable and widely used software packages ever produced. This paper traces the evolution of three operating systems: GNU, BSD, and Linux, as well as the communities which have evolved with these systems and some of the commonly-used software packages developed using the open source model. It also discusses some of the major figures in open source software, and defines both “free software” and “open source software.”

An International Cross-Cultural Study Of The Role Of Chief Informational Officers In Healthcare, Wallace Saunders

Faculty Dissertations

The introduction and utilization of Information Systems (IS) in the hospital environment has had a significant and lasting impact on the practice of medicine. The development of this dissertation will attempt to explore a widely overlooked area: The comparison of Chief Information Officers (CIOs) in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Aspects of CIO experiences relating to assumed roles, CIO challenges, skills, frustrations, success, failure, leadership, management, involvement and perceptions about the role of Information Technology (IT) in healthcare are discussed with a comparative global model. This study investigates the managerial roles of the Chief Information Officer based on …

Review Of Personal Identification Systems, J. M. Cross

Research outputs pre 2011

The growth of the use of biometric personal identification systems has been relatively steady over the last 20 years. The expected biometric revolution which was forecast since the mid 1970's has not yet occurred. The main factor for lower than expected growth has been the cost and user acceptance of the systems. During the last few years, however, a new generation of more reliable, less expensive and better designed biometric devices have come onto the market. This combined with the anticipated expansion of new reliable, user friendly inexpensive systems provides a signal that the revolution is about to begin. This …

A Philosophical Critique Of Artificial Intelligence, David Miller

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The term "Artificial Intelligence" creates fantastic images of robots and omniscient machines. Of all the technological pursuits, Artificial Intelligence best epitomizes man's thirst for technology. The science of making machines think stands at the apex of man's mission, reflecting not only his desire for control over his world but also his quest to control himself. To create a machine capable of thought -- rational life -- would mean that man would have achieved a dream as old as technology itself.

Course Syllabus: Perspectives On Computers And Society, Judith V. Grabiner

Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research

Weizenbaum's statement is a compelling exhortation to his fellow professionals; nevertheless, I cannot wholly agree. It should be possible for nonprofessionals to understand, as a result of their own reading and experience, how computers interact with the rest of human life. The problems are not just technical, and their nature is not entirely unprecedented.

A Follow Up Study Of Printing Management Graduates, Terry Miller

Legacy ETDs

No abstract provided.

"Large Systems", Richard Ernest Bellman

Special Collections: Oregon Public Speakers

No abstract provided.