Pitt Presents International Conference on e-Government Oct. 12-13

PITTSBURGH-As more and more people become computer literate, countries have begun making their governmental services available online. This global environment of electronic government, or "e-government," is the topic of the 2nd International Conference on e-Government (ICEG), to be held Oct. 12-13 at the Holiday Inn at University Center, 130 Lytton Ave., Oakland. The conference is cohosted by the University of Pittsburgh's School of Information Sciences (SIS) and European Union Center of Excellence.

The conference will feature an international group of presenters and practitioners who will address economic, political, and academic issues, such as electronic voter registration and national identity cards. In addition, the conference will sponsor mini-tracks on e-government in developing nations and evaluating e-government.

Keynote speaker Larry Olson, chief technology officer and executive director of the Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) and former chief information officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, has led efforts to create a shared vision for technology by working across organizational boundaries to champion business and technological innovation, promote common interests, and support the core missions of Texas state agencies. Additionally, he was the architect of Texas' 2005 strategic plan for information resources management, "Shared Success: Building a Better Texas through Shared Responsibilities." His talk is titled "e-Government-A View from the States, from Pennsylvania to Texas."

Other presentations at ICEG 2006 include "Reflections on e-Voting in Ireland: Misunderstanding both Democracy and Technology," "Tracking and Evaluation of

e-Government Projects in Saudi Arabia," "Parliamentary Web Presence: A Comparative Review," and "The Role of Complexity in Preparing for Political Decision-Making."

SIS faculty members Toni Carbo and Ken Sochats will serve as cochairs for the conference. Carbo, who also is a professor in Pitt's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, studies information ethics and information policy. She also serves as editor of The International Information and Library Review and has served on the editorial boards of several publications.

Sochats is director of SIS' Visual Information Systems Center and codirector of Pitt's Center for National Preparedness. Sochats won the 2005 Award for Geographical Information Systems Service at the Central Appalachian Geospatial Conference and the 2002 Carnegie Science Center Award for Excellence in Information Technology.

For more information on ICEG 2006, visit www.academic-conferences.org/iceg/iceg2006/iceg2006-home.htm.

###

10/5/06/tmw