Government Data and the Invisible Hand

NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.

NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.

The article, Government Data and the Invisible Hand is written by David Robinson, Harlan Yu, William Zeller, and Edward Felten. It comprises information regarding whether government-related information should be readily available on the internet, which would make data accessible to all computer users.

The authors have clearly stated that to provide transparency of its policies to viewers through the internet, it is important to cut down the information that the federal government passes on to the citizens. It is suggested to employ this method to increase peoples use of the internet to gain whatever information they require.

The internet is the norm these days and people often gain maximum information through this source, rather than from the television or other sources of mass media. Websites should be designed in a way to attract a maximum number of viewers. The use of certain techniques while making websites pulls audiences of all types (Accessibility, 2008). The authors of this article have given the viewpoints of the three presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John McCain, regarding the internet and the outsourcing of government-related issues to the public. This aspect may prove beneficial for people, as they may get to know of the opinions of these three significant figures, reading this article.

It has been told in this article that the federal government is too slow compared to the fast-paced internet world, as the number of computer users is high, but the information provided to them is very little, and there is slow updating on the whole. This is an additional piece of information for readers.

The data that is given to the internet is also manhandled, which causes a delay in the updating of websites, disclose the authors. They say that the information and data should be provided on the internet with accessibility to all and sundry, but they should also be able to amend any information if necessary, through a third party who could carry out correspondence. This is also a suggestion, increasing the value of the article.

The article contains a step-by-step briefing of the methods that can be employed for the accessibility of data and its use, and what process is undertaken after the government passes the data to the private parties for further handling. It has also been told that the costs of manipulating data for websites are low, which is yet another form of information to the general reader. However, the easy access of URLs to people can be harmful as they allow complete interactions of users to be viewed too (Weinstein, L. & Neumann, P., 2000).

It has been specified in this article that the objective of bringing up the topic under discussion is to let the government information or any data be used for peoples reuse in their tasks. The data can be accommodated for achieving certain objectives, and mass access can reduce the costs of utilizing it.

Some other options of the use of the data provided by the governmental bodies are seen. Access to raw data should be available from libraries, if not directly from peoples personal computers. This data should be available for their personal use. The article suggests that US patents should be accessible, through pdf file formats, or by URLs that are permanent. Another aspect the article has included is to find out the authenticity of any piece of information provided by citizens to third parties who are to take action on it. It has been said that through the digital signatures beside each data item, easy verification can be made about that specific information, without having to go and check the government site.

The drawback of this article is that it has clearly stated the negative elements of the governments inefficiency to update the information that has been given for online accessibility. Senators have asked for their updates too, which is an issue that was better if not publicized like this. The readers may get the idea that any such information that they refer to may not be updated as yet. The managerial aspect of the government has its significance, through internet usage and by carrying out a large number of consultation activities through the internet (Chadwick, A. & May, C., 2008).

One of the positive elements of this publication is that it has given an outlook on the way government information and raw data are used and put up online for people to view. Additionally, sample suggestions are provided to the reader, of what steps can further be taken to increase the accessibility of such matter, and how cost-effective it can be to become a third party to allocate this information further for people to reach. This is a form of encouragement to the people who are viewing the article, by enticing them to take up such actions.

On the whole, the article has more positive aspects to it than negative ones and is a highly informative piece of reading.

References

Chadwick, A. & May, C. Interaction between States and Citizens in the Age of the Internet: e-Government in the United States, Britain, and the European Union 2008. Governance, Vol 16;2. Web.

Internet Accessibility. Accessibility: University of Guelph 2008. Web.

Weinstein, L. & Neumann, P. PFIR Statement on Government Interception of Internet Data 2000. Web.

Click Here To Order Now!

Government Data and the Invisible Hand

Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?

We have qualified writers to help you.

We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.

You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)