It took me forever to come up with a topic I liked/found interest in. After reading in Open Government, particularly chapters 15 and 34, I was able to narrow down what I wanted to do. First of all, I am really intrigued by the book Open Government because of the variety of viewpoints and cases discussed in the book. For me, it is a great compilation of information about various venues of eGovernment. Here are some quotes I found thought-provoking:
Governor Mike Leavitt of Utah stated "I believe we are entering an exciting new era in society ... our world is becoming an information ecosystem, and the ramifications are monumental. Futurists believe there will be a massive shift in the nature of work and that the impact of the information age may be as great as the societal changes that occurred during the industrial revolution" (Fletcher, 375). How true this is! We are witnessing that now. That's what this class is all about. I love the imagery of an information ecosystem.
"Participation means more than just voting. Participation means applying your unique set of talents to improve the government that works for you" (Netherland & McCroskey, 177). This struck me because we always hear about how we can participate by voting, but these authors want to take it a step further--literally doing something to help the government. I asked myself what talents I had to offer to take this challenge. I'm still trying to think of something other than becoming a public administrator. What ideas do you have?
In chapter two I really liked the idea of building "a simple system and letting it evolve" (O'Reilly, 18). So many times we think we have to come up with big ideas and great solutions, when really if we simplify things, it would be so much better. Like with the internet and Twitter.
As for my project, I have decided to do a case study. My object of study will be The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I will discuss a brief history of how they grew from 6 members to nearly 14 million members (and still growing). Then I will discuss the issues involved in governing a worldwide church as well as the solutions (internet broadcasts, twitter, Facebook, satellite radio and TV, etc.) I don't know what other info I will add at this point, but that's a start. Finally (this will be the bulk of the paper) I will tie in my findings to public administration and e-government. I want to take the fundamentals of a worldwide church to discussing worldwide government (not that we will all be one nation, but many governed universally through various media and channels of information (e.g. the Internet). Some of the sources I want to use included Open Government, The Future of Work, "Bounding the Domain: Information Policy for the Twenty-first Century," "A Virtual Agency for Business, and texts found on the syllabus in the "Global e-Government" section for optional reading. I'm sure I will find other readings that apply as well.
For my literary analysis, I have chosen the book Persuasive Games: the Possessive Power of Video Games. I know this doesn't seem to relate to my individual project topic, but I wanted to do both. Whether there is a connection or not, I am sure I will find the texts engaging and useful.
Starla,
ReplyDeleteInteresting topic choice. On place that I would like you to develop as you look at worldwide governance is the chapter from lessig on competing sovereignties and the reading from module 5 on Smart governance infrastructures. LDS is not operating in a vacuum and needs to work within different communities through the world, so how does provide both the constant messages of its community while operating in diverse political and social environments. Specifically focusing on how technology creates or minimizes these influences.
This can be A very interesting project. You should look at the structure of the LDS church and see how it applies to e-governance. Considering the size of the church, this may be a pretty good case study.
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