The employment of the Internet and the world-wide-web for delivering government information and services to the citizens. ’E-Government' essentially refers to ‘The use of IT, ICTs, and other web-based telecommunication technologies to improve and/or enhance on the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery in the public sector. E government deals heavily with Internet and non-internet applications to aid in governments. E-government includes the use of electronics in government as large-scale as the use of telephones and fax machines, as well as surveillance systems, and even the use of television and radios to provide government-related information and services to the citizens. E government is rapidly increasing with the growth of the internet. More and more applications are being done via the internet. These include payments like taxes. I believe that even with my lack of inexperience of the different parts of e government talking to my parents they believe e government is convenient and the idea is effective and has had great results.
Online Taxes- Taxes paid online have increased dramatically in the last couple of years. More websites are offering for taxes to be paid online. 4 out of 10 people pay their taxes via the internet. It has resulted in companies like RBS world pay that have been set up purely for the use of e government, taxes can be paid straight from this website, therefore, its convenient and is easy to do and can be done anywhere providing you have internet access. Online taxes were established in 1998, they started of mainly in America it wasn’t till about the early 21st century when it became popular in England.
Advantages of using tax return online
- it's safe and secure - your account is encrypted, and protected by your chosen password and a unique User ID
- it's convenient and can be used at any time
- you get an instant acknowledgment as soon as HMRC receives your tax return
- your tax is worked out automatically as you complete the form, so you know what you owe or are owed right away
- HMRC can process online tax returns faster than paper returns and repay any money you are owed more quickly
- the deadline for online returns is later than for paper returns
- you can complete part of your tax return, save it and do the rest later, working at your own pace to meet the deadline
- you can tailor your return, completing the right pages for your circumstances
- you can store your completed return online and print out a copy for your records
- at any time you can view a statement of what you have paid, and what you owe or are owed
- you can view or amend your contact details and use a secure email channel to ask HMRC a question
- you can pay by Direct Debit - this is safe and secure, and makes it less likely you'll miss a payment deadline
- Increase in advertising and pop ups are employed by online companies offering help with filing taxes electronically resulting in process taking longer, or consumers accidentally signing up for additional services they don't need.
- Will also mean less access to in-person advice.
Online Petitions- Petitions done via the internet are becoming increasing popular. If the petition you start gets over 100,000 signatures it will be discussed in the House of Commons. Petitions done online are more effective more people can access your petition. Petitions can be started on the direct gov website. Although I am inexperienced on the topic of online petitions, I believe that they are a vastly increasing due to the more users using the internet. The petitions are a good idea it gives more people ways of expressing what they believe should be changed and with the petitions done via the internet it has the greatest chance of success. However I do believe that 100,000 signatures should be reduced to 75,000 this may not seem like a lot however browsing through the petitions most petitions only make it up to about 75,000 and there a lot vital ideas that should be discussed in the House Of Commons.
Advantages of using online petitions
- Easy to create
- Stand the greatest chance of being successful
- If successful then they are discussed in the House Of Commons so the website is linked directly to the government.
- Petitions done via the internet means more people can view the petition.
- Can take a long time to make it to the government ( up to a year)
- Can also take a long time to create although they are easy however you have to go through quite a lot of processes
Online voting- is an election system that allows a voter to record his or her secure and secret ballot electronically. In 2004, it's estimated that approximately 30 percent of the voting population in the United States used some form of e-voting technology, including direct electronic recording (DER) touch screen s or optical scanner s, to record their vote for President. Electronic votes are stored digitally. Electronic voting can reduce election costs and increase civic participation by making the voting process more convenient. Critics maintain that without a paper trail, recounts are more difficult and electronic ballot manipulation, or even poorly-written programming code, could affect election results.
Advantages of online voting
- Saved Ballot Templates eliminate the need to configure elections from scratch. Just do it once, then save that ballot configuration, and in subsequent years, specify only the names of the candidates.
- Reduced costs are enjoyed when the expenses of printing and mailing paper ballots are lessened or even eliminated.
- Email Reminders helps increase voter participation by reminding those who’ve not voted to do so.
- Email Validation brings added value to your online election ensuring the validity of your voters’ email addresses.
- Ballot Scrubbing ensures no ballot is spoiled due to anything not in compliance with your voting rules.
- Ballot Shuffling randomly orders the candidates’ names on each request of the ballot so all candidates get a fair chance at prime name placement on the ballot. Shuffling may be enabled on some positions and not others.
- Instantly provides you with informative day-by-day statistics about your election beyond just who won,
- Archived Election Results means all previous election results are readily available without having to dig through old records.
- Ability to correct mistakes allows candidate selections to be altered prior to final ballot submission.
Disadvantages of online voting
•Untrustworthy voting client
•Loose the seriousness and the value of elections
• not applicable to all voting schemes
Health services-Online health services are becoming increasingly popular, with a higher amount of people using the internet, hospitals and doctors are using online health services do educate the web users on whatever they want to know, this can be anything from symptoms, treatments and how illnesses can be prevented. One of the most popular health service website is the NHS Direct, which was established In 1997where the government announced the introduction of a new NHS, a plan to modernise, develop and rebuild its services.
Advantages of using health services
- Information is easy to view
- Wide range of information
- Convenient and easier than going all the way to hospital or doctors
- Can be accessed at anytime whereas doctors are only open specific hours.
- It also is instant information whereas at hospital and doctors you have to wait to be seen to be told information.
Disadvantages
- May not be as beneficial as going to the hospital or doctors
- If you are physically ill and want to find out what is wrong with you by using the internet, firstly it will be hard to do. Secondly you may not get as much information as going to the doctors/hospital.
Driving applications- With the increase of people driving, you can apply for your driving license online, by a applying for your driving license you apply for your provisional license. Websites like direct gov enable you to do this. However over website are set up specifically for driving applications. I believe millions of people using the internet this idea is very good. Its less hassle for people trying to apply for driving licences furthermore, it is also more convenient and can be done in the comfort of your own home, I believe that online applications is a very good idea.
Advantages of apply for driving licenses online
- They are quick and easy to do.
- The system helps by checking for errors.
- Applications can be made at any time – 24 hours a day 7 days a week, up until the closing dates.
- It is convenient you don’t need to travel to get the application form
- You don’t have to pay for postage
- It is instant
- There is no chance of the letter getting lost in the post
This is thorough but no illustrations!
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