Citizen Interaction Research Articles

DIGITALIZATION OF THE TAX SYSTEM IN EUROPE

In the context of the highly increasing dispersion of technology in the European economic environment, the interaction of citizens with the public sector is changing rapidly. European countries have significant differences on the tax collection, generating economic effects under a complex fiscal system. The purpose of this study is to analyse the effects of digitalization on the VAT compliance gap in the European Union countries. The analysis considers the VAT compliance gap as the dependent variable and examines the influence of E-government activities of individuals via websites as an independent variable, as a relevant indicator of digitalization. The research approach methodology consisted in EViews Granger causality tests for the collected data from the EU sources, for a period of ten years (2012-2021). The study results revealed relevant insights and latest information about the connection between e-government users and the VAT compliance gap. This relationship is particularly notable as it emphasizes the potential of digitalization in uplifting tax compliance and improving VAT collection. Studying the impact of digitalization on VAT compliance, the research is intent to provide to the economist, policymakers, and students a deeper understanding of the technology’s impact on tax policies and economic outcome.

Impact of E-Governance on Public Service Efficiency

This study examines the complex relationship between e-governance implementation and public service efficiency across diverse socio-economic contexts. Through a comprehensive review of recent literature, the research investigates how digital technologies reshape government operations and citizen interactions. The analysis reveals that while e-governance generally leads to improvements in service delivery, cost reduction, and increased transparency, these benefits vary significantly based on factors such as technological infrastructure, digital literacy, and specific service domains. The study challenges assumptions about immediate efficiency gains, particularly in developing countries where initial costs may increase due to the need for parallel traditional systems. The research emphasizes the importance of context-specific approaches, continuous evaluation, and addressing digital divide issues for successful e-governance implementation. These findings contribute to a nuanced understanding of e-governance's impact on public service efficiency, offering valuable insights for policymakers and public administrators navigating the digital transformation of government services.

Novel Framework for Enhancing E-Governance Systems Using Cloud Computing and Data Management Techniques

This study proposes a novel way for electronic government organizations to create and deploy computer systems. The recommended solution uses Amazon Web Services (AWS) S3 and Python's Pandas module to handle and analyze citizen data in a safe, scalable cloud. Data, security, and flexibility are major issues with e-government apps. It shows that cloud computing may increase digital governance's reliability, security, and efficiency, offering new alternatives to conventional paradigms. The utilization of cloud computing approaches to overcome traditional network restrictions and create a more flexible and efficient digital framework makes this research unique. According to the study, AWS S3 and Pandas can handle enormous datasets, improve data security, and streamline public service delivery. This strategy promotes service delivery and citizen interaction while improving e-governance's technological competence. According to the paper, online computing's scalability, efficiency, and security make it revolutionary in public administration. It gives states an organizational structure to embrace cloud-based apps, showing how technological improvements may improve government efficiency and efficacy, benefiting residents and the public. Emphasizes electronic governance by proposing a new cloud-based computing architecture for public administration. It enables governments to build more durable and adaptive electronic systems, enabling online governance advances.

THE CURRENT STATE OF DIGITAL MARKETING IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

The article describes the current state of digital marketing in public administration through the prism of the Ukrainian application “Diia”. The author analyzes how the introduction of digital technologies contributes to improving the quality of public services and improving communication with citizens. It is indicated that the Diia application is a vivid example of the strategic use of digital platforms to provide quick access to services, simplify administrative processes and increase transparency. The article emphasizes that Diia allows users to receive a wide range of services online, including issuing digital documents (passports, driver’s licenses, student cards, birth certificates, etc.), paying taxes, applying for social benefits, and other administrative procedures. Such functions greatly simplify the interaction of citizens with government agencies, allowing them to perform most of the necessary actions without the need to visit physical offices. This helps to improve the efficiency of public service delivery, reduce administrative burden, and increase the level of public trust in government institutions. The application ensures a high level of transparency in government relations, as citizens can easily track the status of their applications and receive up-to-date information on changes in legislation. The article defines the main elements of digital marketing used in public administration. The purpose of the article is to study the current state of digital marketing in public administration. The relevance of the topic is due to the rapid introduction of digital technologies into the public administration sphere, which ensures more effective interaction between the State and citizens. To achieve this goal, the methods of analysis, observation and systematization of information were used. As a result of the study, the main advantages and disadvantages of using digital tools in government agencies were identified on the example of the Diia application. The practical value of the article is to provide recommendations for improving digital platforms to improve the quality of public services and increase their accessibility to all categories of the population.

Analyzing e-government agencies’ Twitter/X engagement: A case study of Nevada

This research aims to investigate the dynamics of interactivity between Nevada’s e-government and its citizens through the utilization of social media, with a specific focus on Twitter. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the study analyzed how Nevada state agencies engage with the public on Twitter, while concurrently assessing citizens’ responses through qualitative empirical research. These responses were categorized into content features, encompassing subjective opinions and sentiments (positive/negative), and structural features, comprising objective elements like special characteristics and multimedia components. Content analysis was employed to explore these features, leading to the identification of seven themes within a hypothesized two-dimensional framework, encompassing both the reflection of interactivity and the transmission of interactivity.<br /> Quantitative methods, specifically ANOVA and multiple regression analysis, were utilized to test the hypothesis. The findings revealed that Nevada e-government agencies predominantly used Twitter for one-way information dissemination, with limited two-way communication with citizens. To enhance interactivity, it is suggested that e-government posts incorporate multimedia elements and external links to facilitate information dissemination. Public administrators in the State of Nevada should focus on providing valuable and beneficial government posts, encouraging citizens to respond and express their opinions. Continuous training for public administrators is recommended, given the rapid advancements in technology and social media platforms.<br /> Furthermore, adopting best practices from domestic and international social media companies is advised to stay innovative. Public administration should transition from merely governing individuals and information to becoming facilitators and moderators of discourse on social media platforms. State e-government can strengthen citizen interaction by consistently delivering valuable information on social media, thereby obtaining immediate feedback, and influencing public opinion.

“Incivility makes me angrier than uncivil disagreement”: a survey experiment using news comments

ABSTRACT News comments are a great space for citizen interaction, albeit they lack the rationale that would account for an online deliberative space. Through an experiment embedded into a population-based survey, this study seeks to explain how different levels of both incivility and disagreement affect readers on two key variables: negative emotions and user participation. Results show that the exposure to both incivility alone and uncivil disagreement increases negative emotions by the reader, such as anxiety and anger. However, contrary to what literature suggested, incivility by itself was the group with the biggest increase on negative emotions. In terms of online participation (e.g. putting an extra like in a comment), results showed no evidence to indicate a relationship between incivility, disagreement, and online participation. These results support previous findings suggesting that the exposure to online political incivility has mainly negative consequences.

Expanding Practices of E-Governance System in the Contemporary World

E-governance marks a significant transformation in public administration by incorporating Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to improve government operations and enhance citizen interaction. This paper offers an extensive review and synthesis of empirical issues and practices related to e-governance worldwide, with a particular emphasis on Nepal. Through a systematic literature review, the study explores academic articles, books, and reports to uncover critical themes in e-governance frameworks, challenges in implementation, and overall effectiveness. Key findings reveal ICT's pivotal role in modernizing governance, the varying success of e-governance policies across nations, and specific challenges encountered in Nepal, including insufficient infrastructure, low levels of ICT literacy, and political instability. The paper identifies several research gaps, such as the need for detailed data from rural areas, the creation of a tailored digitalization strategy for Nepal, and a comprehensive examination of both the benefits and drawbacks of ICT in governance. It also proposes future research directions, highlighting the necessity of contextual adaptation and longitudinal studies to more effectively address local needs.

The impact of weather on the racial composition of traffic stop and citation issuance in the United States

ABSTRACT We analyze how adverse weather influences the racial composition of traffic stops and the issuance of citations within the context of administrative discretion. The behavior of police officers and drivers may be affected by weather, leading to a change in the composition of stopped drivers. If changes in racial composition are due to police officers choosing to forego traffic stops because those are more costly in wet conditions, it could indicate racial bias. Based on data from 37 city and 11 state police departments, our analysis reveals that the racial composition of drivers stopped and the probability of a citation being issued are not independent of adverse weather conditions, especially for state agencies. These findings contribute to the existing literature on factors influencing police–citizen interactions and provide a foundation for investigating the potential connections among weather, administrative discretion, and racial bias.

‘The Food Must Reach the Hungry’: Lessons from Judicial Enforcement of Right to Food in India

Abstract Food security and securing right to food for all is one of the essential mandate for a welfare State especially for achieving aspiring targets of Sustainable Development Goals 2030. Judicialisation of right to food is a substantial way through which right to food can be protected and implemented at domestic level. The Indian experience of right to food adjudication depicts that the Supreme Court has carved out an expansive role for itself through judicial activism to secure the fundamental rights of the citizens. The PUCL case, popularly called as right to food case has set off a cascade of judicial action and made India a model showing how courts can effectively implement socio-economic rights through judicial intervention. This model of adjudicatory leadership by the constitutional courts shows a remedy-oriented approach which have overcome the normative concerns of democratic legitimacy and polycentricity. Courts have strengthened the institutional legitimacy through participatory democracy with citizens and adjudicated multifaceted policy concerns. The author put forth the emergence of ‘triad model’ of adjudication where interaction of courts, local bodies and citizens makes enforcement of the right more practicable. The article concludes that Courts can be a catalyst for transforming public policy implementation by securing basic right to the citizens through innovative remedies.

Odnos između povratnih informacija u internoj i eksternoj komunikaciji policije

The study aims to explain what dimensions of the satisfaction of Croatian police officers with internal feedback are predictors of their readiness to explain their actions to citizens. The survey was conducted in 2020 on a convenience sample of 1260 police officers. The questionnaire measures satisfaction with feedback as one of eight dimensions of satisfaction with internal communication and police legitimacy in two dimensions of police and citizen interaction: accountability (citizens) – attitude and behaviour. The purpose is to compare feedback in internal and external police communication and examine to what extent the satisfaction of police officers with feedback contributes to the understanding of their attitudes and behaviour towards explaining actions to citizens. The results indicate the weak predictive power of variables that measure satisfaction with feedback in understanding the attitudes and behaviour of police officers related to explaining their actions to citizens. However, when introduced into the predictor model that contains the criterion variable "Behaviour related to explaining police actions to citizens" is the variable of attitude, the proportion of the variance explained increases significantly. The contribution of the paper is an analysis of the connection between internal and external communication of police officers in Croatia, and communication research is extremely important in police organizations in transition countries that undergo a transition from the traditional policing models to citizen-oriented policing models. A limitation of the paper is that only one aspect of internal communication has been examined in isolation. Therefore, new research should examine the complex nature of internal communication within a police organization in the context of the quality of police officers' relations with citizens, especially in relation to the willingness to explain police actions, as an important dimension of trust in the police.

From social categorization to implicit citizenship theories: Advancing the socio‐cognitive foundations of state–citizen interactions

AbstractPublic administration research has recently paid increasing attention to public employees' social categorization of citizens and the consequences thereof for administrative decision‐making. We advance this line of scholarship by theorizing the concept of implicit citizenship theories (ICTs) and elaborating it in four sequential empirical studies. ICTs are implicit assumptions about citizens' typical or ideal characteristics that emerge freely and associatively in the minds of public employees and guide cognitive categorization. We investigate the content and structure of these ICTs and extract a taxonomy of six distinctive, yet interrelated, prototypes of citizens that public employees bring to their jobs. As implicit theories influence attitudes and behaviors, ICTs are relevant to the quality of public services delivered to citizens. This is particularly evident where negative prototypes give rise to unequal treatment. Practical interventions to change those prototypes might target their individual beholders or the social context that makes ICTs accessible.

Conceptual Framework for Unified E-Government Web Platform

Abstract Technological development has an impact on various areas, and governments from all over the world search to make a smooth transition from traditional to digital, by adopting dedicated software solutions aiming to facilitate the interaction of citizens with public institutions. These platforms are designed to improve the citizens relationship with government by facilitating various processes and tasks. The importance of having a unified web platform is easily justified. Citizens are no longer in need of searching different platforms for their specific needs, dealing with a lot of interfaces and accounts, as all are gathered in one, maintaining a robust, complex system that is easy to use. Therefore, they would benefit from an integrated digital environment, that meet their needs and expectations, also providing security and privacy of confidential and personal information. The authors present the value of creating such an environment, that has a high technical level, that is user-centered and accessible for interactions between citizens and government. Designing and implementing a unified e-government web platform requires the analysis of various factors and aspects such as user interface, processes, services, security measures, integration with social media platforms, collaborative environment, and many others. First, an investigation on specific literature was made to offer a context to the present research and be used as a starting point, highlighting the main factors related to e-government and the impact of this type of platforms. The model proposed by the authors encapsulates considerations on both sides: government and citizens to offer a detailed understanding on e-government platforms.

Use of Digital Media in the Public Sector

Abstract In the current context, more and more public services are offered in digital format, the trust of users in these online environments is essential to ensure the adaptation and use of these services efficiently and effectively. The main aim of the paper is to investigate and identify the factors that positively or negatively influence users’ trust in public sector digital environments. The paper will refer to the way users interact with the digital services that the local public administration makes available. Based on the presented case study, it was possible to analyze the degree and mode of interaction of citizens with these online services. It could be concluded that the essentiality of increasing users’ trust in digital environments in the public sector, by improving the accessibility, security and quality of these services, is crucial for promoting their use and for encouraging citizens’ participation in the decision-making and administrative process. The most important factors that affect users’ trust in digital environments in the public sector are the transparency of information, but also the security of personal data, the quality of information and the accessibility of digital platforms for effective use, respectively services and information to be up-to-date, easily accessible and the platform to be easy to navigate to streamline time spent on the platform or work time for public sector employees.

Recognizing “camera cues”: policing, cellphones and citizen countersurveillance

AbstractOver the past decade, recording technologies have enabled organized activists and ordinary residents to capture and circulate videos of police misconduct. Existing research focuses primarily, however, on organized activists who rely on formal training programs to record police behaviors. If formal programs train organized activists to capture police abuses on camera, how then do ordinary residents determine when they should record police behavior? Drawing on in-depth interviews with Black men who live in a Southside Chicago neighborhood, this study finds that residents’ recurrent interactions with police enable them to interpret officers’ words and actions as symbols of police misconduct, which, in subsequent exchanges, serve as signals to record events with their cellphones – what I term “camera cues.” Camera cues facilitate situated conceptions of legal authority that trigger residents’ distrust of police, reflecting the micro-dynamic connections between individuals’ legal consciousness and legal cynicism. Equipped with cellphones, residents scrutinize officers’ outward displays and police–citizen interactions to challenge police misconduct. While recording police behavior makes it possible at least occasionally to resist the dominance of legal authority, doing so often involves additional risks, including the destruction of their cellphones, verbal and physical threats, and arrests.

Reform of Decentralization of Power in Ukraine under Conditions of War: Legal Regulation, Management Features and Directions for Improvement

The purpose of the article is to reveal the reform of the decentralization of power in Ukraine under conditions of war. In the concept of the territorial community of Ukraine, ancient European traditions of Ukrainian local self-government and modern standards of the European Union have been successfully embodied. The productive interaction of citizens, the state, and international organizations contributed to formation of Ukrainian territorial communities. It has been proven that the personal income tax is one of the main sources of filling community budgets. For 9 months of 2022 local budgets of the Dnipropetrovsk region of Ukraine received 16,364,124 Ukrainian hryvnias (UAH) as personal income tax, which is 34% more than for the same period in 2021. Methodology: The specifics of the research subject, as well as its purpose and tasks determined the use of general scientific and special methods of scientific cognition. Stabilization and restoration of territorial communities in Ukraine require the introduction of a new three-level effective and transparent system of strategic planning: state strategy — regional strategies — community strategies. For restoration and stimulation of regional development strategizing should contain definition of the following four functional types of territories: territories of recovery, poles of economic growth, territories with special conditions for development, territories of sustainable development.

Neighbors with benefits: How politicians' local ties generate positive externalities when bureaucratic oversight is limited

AbstractExisting literature suggests bureaucrats shirk when political oversight is limited or inefficient. When civil servants engage in multitasking, elected office holders have neither the capacity nor the incentives to monitor bureaucrat–citizen interactions. I argue that under such circumstances, public servants prioritize responding to local anomalies which are located in the immediate vicinity of politicians. Using a novel dataset on geolocated citizen problem reports from 40 urban municipalities in Hungary (N = 24,149), matched against addresses of mayors, I find that proximity to mayors' domiciles is associated with more prompt responses from authorities. Results suggest politicians' local roots generate positive externalities for their neighbors, as civil servants are incentivized to put those reports on the back burner which are the most invisible for their political principals. Further analyses suggest response speed is also positively associated with incumbent mayors' re‐election chances. The findings refine our understanding on political oversight of bureaucrats and voters' expectations about likely behavior of locally embedded civil servants.

Practices on Aarogya Setu: Mapping Citizen Interaction with the Contact-Tracing App in the Time of COVID-19

The usage of contact-tracing applications has been synonymous with ensuring one's health security and safety during the COVID-19 pandemic. These contact-tracing apps have been scripted differently by each country, within design choices of centralized vs. decentralized architecture, closed vs. open-source protocol and collecting location vs. proximity data features. The distinct script of contact-tracing apps caters to the contextual background of each country with a presupposition about on-ground and consistent usage of the app. The article explores the ways in which citizens in India negotiate the usage of the Aarogya Setu digital contact-tracing app. It reveals citizens' on-ground practices of adopting or evading the app usage, besides reflecting on the broader institutional shortcomings that shape the scepticism towards technological solutionism in critical health exigencies. Three such practices are identified and thematically presented as resistance by early deletion, resistance by selective adoption and constrained adoption. The findings steer concerns regarding user-friendly designs and revisiting governance structures before deploying any technological solutionism by the state. Here, the paper attempts to reverse the gaze and explore how citizens'(in)effective adoption of the Aarogya Setu app not only responds but also challenges the norm of digital contact-tracing solutionism.

Temporal Dynamics of Citizen-Reported Urban Challenges: A Comprehensive Time Series Analysis

Temporal Dynamics of Citizen-Reported Urban Challenges: A Comprehensive Time Series Analysis

Into the Unknown: Conceptualizing the Experience of Uncertainty in Citizen–State Interactions

Abstract It is often argued that uncertainty is an inherent characteristic of citizen–state interactions. It is therefore hardly surprising that many scholars of street-level bureaucracy have studied how frontline workers cope with and make discretionary decisions under uncertain conditions. However, citizens’ experiences of uncertainty have received limited attention in the street-level bureaucracy literature. This article argues that understanding citizens’ experiences of uncertainty is highly relevant because experiences of uncertainty are likely to affect mental well-being of individuals negatively. The article seeks to address this gap by building a conceptual framework for understanding and analyzing citizens’ experiences with uncertainty in state–citizen interactions based on theoretical insights from the existing literature and in-depth qualitative analysis of 20 narrative interviews with former coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients and their relatives concerning their encounter with health authorities. The article proposes a conceptual framework that distinguishes between epistemic uncertainty and moral uncertainty. Epistemic uncertainty concerns uncertainty about empirical facts or knowledge. Moral uncertainty concerns uncertainty about values due to conflicting or competing norms and values. The article illustrates how these forms of uncertainty may arise before, during, and after citizens’ interaction with frontline workers.

Analysis of the educational and cultural activity of the Spanish government in social media: a comparison between pandemic and post-pandemic times

The COVID-19 pandemic challenged education systems as a whole, which had to act on emergency and without previous experience. The aim of this study is to examine the Spanish Government's response to the lockdown scenario through social media and the current (post-pandemic) activity. We collected the Twitter output of the 11 accounts linked to educational and cultural bodies and institutions of the Spanish Government and the interaction of citizens with them. We undertook analyses of social media output in pandemic and post-pandemic times. At the same time, we conducted a content analysis of the 126 tweets posted during the pandemic that had the greatest impact. The results point to increased production during the pandemic and a peak in interactions during the period of strict lockdown. The qualitative analysis reveals that Twitter is mainly used as an information and unidirectional communication board, where the Spanish Government's commitment to resources and tools based on open licences stands out, offering alternatives for Education in times of COVID-19, mainly to teachers. Finally, the analysis has allowed us to identify elements of success in social media communication.