Alfredo M. Ronchi

This book explores various e-Services related to health, learning, culture, media and the news, and the influences the Web and related technologies have had and continue to have in each of these areas, both on service providers and service users. It provides insights into the main technological and human issues regarding healthcare, aging population, recent challenges in the educational environment, the impact of digital technologies on culture and heritage, cultural diversity, freedom of expression, intellectual property, fake news and, last but not least, public opinion manipulation and ethical issues. Its main aim is to bridge the gap between technological solutions, their successful implementation, and the fruitful utilization of the main set of e-Services mostly delivered by private or public companies.Today, various parameters actively influence e-Services’ success or failure: cultural aspects, organisational and privacy issues, bureaucracy and workflows, infrastructure and technology in general, user habits, literacy, capacity or merely interaction design. This includes having a significant population of citizens who are willing and able to adopt and use online services; as well as developing the managerial and technical capability to implement applications that meet citizens’ needs. This book helps readers understand the mutual dependencies involved; further, a selection of success stories and failures, duly commented on, enables readers to identify the right approach to innovation in areas that offer the opportunity to reach a wide audience with minimal effort.With its balanced humanistic and technological approach, the book mainly targets public authorities, decision-makers, stakeholders, solution developers, and graduate students.

This book explores the main elements of e-Democracy, the term normally used to describe the implementation of democratic government processes by electronic means. It provides insights into the main technological and human issues regarding governance, government, participation, inclusion, empowerment, procurement and, last but not least, ethical and privacy issues. Its main aim is to bridge the gap between technological solutions, their successful implementation, and the fruitful utilization of the main set of e-Services totally or partially delivered by governments or non-government organizations.Today, various parameters actively influence e-Services’ success or failure: cultural aspects, organisational issues, bureaucracy and workflows, infrastructure and technology in general, user habits, literacy, capacity or merely interaction design. This includes having a significant population of citizens who are willing and able to adopt and use online services;as well as developing the managerial and technical capability to implement applications that meet citizens’ needs. This book helps readers understand the mutual dependencies involved; further, a selection of success stories and failures, duly commented on, enables readers to identify the right approach to innovation in governmental e-Services.With its balanced humanistic and technological approach, the book mainly targets public authorities, decision-makers, stakeholders, solution developers, and graduate students.

This book explores a society currently being transformed by the influence of advanced information technology, and provides insights into the main technological and human issues and a holistic approach to inclusion, security, safety and, last but not least, privacy and freedom of expression. Its main aim is to bridge the gap between technological solutions, their successful implementation, and the fruitful utilization of the main set of e-Services offered by governments, private institutions, and commercial companies.Today, various parameters actively influence e-Services’ success or failure: cultural aspects, organisational issues, bureaucracy and workflow, infrastructure and technology in general, user habits, literacy, capacity or merely interaction design. The purpose of this book is to help in outlining and understanding a realistic scenario of what we can term e-Citizenry. It identifies today’s citizen, who is surrounded by an abundance of digital services, as an “e-Citizen” and explores the transition from their traditional role and behaviour to new ones. The respective chapters presented here will lay the foundation of the technological and social environment in which this societal transition takes place.With its balanced humanistic and technological approach, the book mainly targets public authorities, decision-makers, stakeholders, solution developers, and graduate students.

Do virtual museums really provide added value to end-users, or do they just contribute to the abundance of images? Does the World Wide Web save endangered cultural heritage, or does it foster a society with less variety? How can information technology help to preserve the diversity of cultures in our fast-changing world? These are the questions that are raised and answered in this book, the result of a long path across the digital heritage landscape. Alfredo M. Ronchi, Secretary of the EC MEDICI Cooperation Framework, gives a broad overview of eCulture and digital heritage. His presentation is divided into three main sections: the first one devoted to the main issues and general guidelines, the second to technological fundamentals and the main solutions, and the third to applications and services, including a wide range of case studies. Starting from the basics the reader will be introduced to virtual museums issues and achievements, cataloguing, digitizing, publishing, and sustainable exploitation of cultural content, all exemplified by real-world case studies and applications. Taking into account more than 15 years of experience and results in digital cultural content research, the author provides a comprehensive view on issues and achievements in digital collections and cultural content for "memory institutions", developers of digital content and digital libraries, cultural content managers, publishers, librarians, and museum curators.

Do virtual museums really provide added value to end-users, or do they just contribute to the abundance of images? Does the World Wide Web save endangered cultural heritage, or does it foster a society with less variety? How can information technology help to preserve the diversity of cultures in our fast-changing world? These are the questions that are raised and answered in this book, the result of a long path across the digital heritage landscape. Alfredo M. Ronchi, Secretary of the EC MEDICI Cooperation Framework, gives a broad overview of eCulture and digital heritage. His presentation is divided into three main sections: the first one devoted to the main issues and general guidelines, the second to technological fundamentals and the main solutions, and the third to applications and services, including a wide range of case studies. Starting from the basics the reader will be introduced to virtual museums issues and achievements, cataloguing, digitizing, publishing, and sustainable exploitation of cultural content, all exemplified by real-world case studies and applications. Taking into account more than 15 years of experience and results in digital cultural content research, the author provides a comprehensive view on issues and achievements in digital collections and cultural content for "memory institutions", developers of digital content and digital libraries, cultural content managers, publishers, librarians, and museum curators.