By
Raul Bernardino (Dino), B of Comp. Sc., MSc in ISM
Abstract:
Digital democracy is a place for you to use your
ideas and talents in order to develop an engaging, innovative, and simple to
use digital solution that will encourage more people to engage within Timorse society
and the globe communities.
The Digital Democracy enables you and your
community to discuss and prioritize issues, then challenges your member of the government
and parliament to respond. The positive aspects of using this digital
technology are bringing global communities to your own desk and start to share
and help one another with knowledge and best practices. It brings an effective
and efficiency solution to the problems that you normally experience.
The digital democracy also brings us some negatives
aspect of it. It is a free place to express and interact. Technology helps to
bring multi culture to interact and it might create a culture shock. Whereas,
the use of social media for free expressing, - not use a common sense or
constructive critiques anymore but use of threatening, negative arguments, offensive
words, etc.
Introduction:
Far
before digital era, knowledge sharing was costly and holds by certain groups. It
combines with copy rights and intellectual properties. The knowledge impacts to
the societies in general were very limited.
Nowadays,
the dissemination of the information and knowledge share across the globe is
just within a second. The digital technology helps to record and accessible at
any time and from anywhere. Even, the digital technology can transform old
available information and knowledge into digital industry.
We
all agree that, science and innovation are fundamental elements keys’ for the
economic advancement, competitiveness, and the wellbeing of the nations, while
the link between scientific researches, technological innovations, national
wealth, and social wellbeing are complex and involve many interacting elements.
During
20th century, the developed countries increased the resources to invest for
research, development, and technological innovation to improve living standard.
The step of change in innovation, with potential to impact on most facets of
our lives, is not showing any signs of diminishing as we enter the 21st
century.
Major
scientific discoveries of the 20th century namely: The splitting of the atom in
1932 at Cambridge University. The
invention of the transistor was at the Bell Laboratories in the USA in 1947. The
isolation of penicillin and the discovery of its antibiotic potency were in the
UK. The elucidation of the structure of
DNA was at Cambridge University in 1953 and followed by the separating of the
genetic code of all living organisms. The 20th century saw a diminution in the
time span between a major scientific discovery and its exploitation for the
benefit or non-benefit of mankind.
The
transistor could be considered to have had the greatest impact on our lives
within the revolution of information communication and technology, including
the development of the personal computer, the Internet, World Wide Web (WWW),
electronic applications, and electronic mail.
Therefore, small group in Timor- Leste has to commit to making the
Digital Democracy Challenge platform into
‘One Timor Concept’ as a great place to meet and interact with one and another.
By entering or participating in the Digital Democracy
Challenge you agree to abide by Code of Conduct. The Digital Democracy Challenge platform
may also have additional guidelines that govern your use, so be sure to review
them in addition to this Code of Conduct. Digital
Democracy Challenge is not responsible for any user-created content or
other user activities through the Digital Democracy Challenge platform. All
activity on the site is also governed by the Site's Terms of Use.
Timor-Leste Context:
Da Silva addressed Information Communication and Technology
(ICT) infrastructure in Timor-Leste in his writing on the digital review of
Asia Pacific (2009-2010). He specifically focused on the Timor-Leste National
Development Plan (NDP) for 2020. In this publication, he wrote about the
telecommunication monopoly by Timor Telcom (TT) – owned and operated by
Portugal Telecom International (PTI). Since March 2002, TT or PTI has been the
only telecom operator and the formal ICT backbone in Timor-Leste. However, the
international institutions (World Bank Group, Asia Development Bank, Embassies,
etc.) are allowed to have their own communication networks.
Recently, this situation has been changed. The
government of Timor-Leste reviewed the NDP in 2011 and renamed the document
‘Timor-Leste Strategy National Development Plan (SNDP) 2011-2030. In this
strategy, the government of Timor-Leste has stated that the telecommunication
sector will be a priority in 2015.
The government of Timor-Leste has adopted telecom
liberalization and the implementation in which is now on track. There are three
licenses issued by the government of Timor-Leste for telecom operators (Timor
Telecom, Telin – Telecommunication Indonesia International latest known as Telekomcel,
and Vittel-Vietnam telecommunication- latest known as Telmor). The goal of the
liberalization is to establish stable, modern telecommunication networks to
connect the people of Timor-Leste to the rest of world within affordable and
reliable access (tools for Digital Democracy).
Dale addressed social networking in Timor-Leste as a
construct of preexisting social culture, such as with elite politicians and
leaders using Facebook to establish their own support networks. She
specifically stated that “social networks can play a beneficial role
by channeling information, bringing new ideas, or providing social support in
times of emergency”, Dale (2011). Bernardino commented on one of her blogs
that: ”people are social and tend to
interact with one another by connecting to the people who share their knowledge
and ideas, the best practices around, and communicate their needs and
coordinate the available resources, and collaborate their different ideas and
form new ideas”, Bernardino (8 March 2012).
Tambowon’s (2011) dissertation “proposed to design and build a digital community by using available ICT
infrastructure” to facilitate Timorese students learning the Portuguese
language. Furthermore, Tambowon referred to this idea as a global community of
language learning along with promoting the global cooperation worldwide. She suggested
the use of digital storytelling and a web site as the community platform, with
the focus on a community platform interface in which to link or connect the
Portuguese speaking people around the world with Timorese students that are
learning Portuguese. Form this we can infer that Tambowon’s global community
refers to social networking capability.
Silove’s psychiatric research publication described
that: “Timor-Leste workers need a
capacity building management because they are in low and middle income”,
Silove (2011). Furthermore, Silove phrased that, it is important to be
proactively identifying the effective programs for a staff’s psychosocial
needs. Here, it can be assured that the ICT tools can help the workers or staff
to perform their tasks more efficiently and effectively while continuing their
education. For instance, ICT tools can establish an online community where
staff or workers can build their own capacity and gain knowledge by using
online learning programs, connecting and interacting with the right person
(exchange knowledge and experiences), get online mentoring, etc. from other
parts of the world without having to leave office and travel overseas.
At this point in time,
global communication has been extended by the social capability tools which
have become an integral part of the new technology development implementation.
Social capability will improve and maintain the business operations, personal,
and professional relationship in their dependency of the computing and
networks.
Moreover, technology
development brings the innovations and imitates a real social environment
virtually. This technology enables people to connect and establish
communication with other people around the world which allows them to more
easily interact with the right, skillful person and to share their expertise.
Additionally, doctors can save lives via virtual conferences. In some
instances, they simply share their knowledge and expertise and learn from
others. The technology allows work from remote locations and can eliminate the
need to travel. Other good examples of
the benefits of social technology are distance learning with the use of video
conferencing tools to facilitate the learning process, the on-line or virtual
classes using the internet as a tool for interaction between students and
professors, etc. Potashnik and Capper
quoted that “distance education is
becoming increasingly popular as economic forces encourage, and new
technologies facilitate, its spread”, Potashnik and Capper (1998). This
means social technology allows us to have classes and meet classmates
virtually.
In reality, Timor-Leste
Face-Bookers and other social networking users are not really maximizing the
collaboration and coordination of the best practices in order to facilitate
their daily work to be efficient and effective. Most face-bookers and other
social networking use of offensive words, unconstructive critics etc. This situation may also contribute to the
instability of the nation.
Another
issue in the government of Timor-Leste ICT implementation is the digitalizing of
office documents for archiving. For example, civil servants were not archiving
official documents properly, but rather in local data storage (USBs, desktops, or
laptops). Although the data is centralized by the department file sharing
system - there are many duplications across the system. As a consequence of
local data storage, much of it cannot be shared, there is less accurate
information available for the decision making process, staff time is consumed by
searching for one particular document or another, there are higher storage costs
borne by the institution, and the risk of data loss is very high due to lack of
proper backups. In some circumstances, staff time is consumed by rebuilding a lost
document, especially if no version track is available. Additionally, security,
integrity, and document auditing are other issues associated with local data
storage. According to Gartner (2009), “employees
spend between 30 and 40 percent of their time creating, searching for,
retrieving, repurposing and organizing documents”.
Documents
are often shared across departments. But by using Microsoft file sharing tools
in which we cannot track or audit when or how the documents were last modified or
deleted. Recently, in August 2012, the fifth iteration of the government of Timor-Leste
formed to replace the previous government. This new government has had no data
or information handed over to assist in the continuation of governmental operations.
The result of this is that some programs or plans will not be continued. The new
political appointments of the fifth government may have to redo the work. This
means that a great deal of time will be consumed rebuilding lost or corrupted
data. One way to avoid this issue in the future is for the government of Timor-Leste
to create policies and procedures for data management. Furthermore, the
government needs to hire business analyst consultants to take part in the analysis
of information across government departments and to build a business process
model accordingly. The system analyst will be required to define the system
specification details and the developer will develop according to the design
and specifications provided.
Document
management is a critical issue for the government of Timor-Leste’s future
operations and a part of the institutional memories that Timorese youth and
students can use as a resource for future studies and research. Additionally,
it will provide a framework for future governments to build on. The government
of Timor-Leste has to take immediate action and develop a comprehensive plan to
create a system of national data management and an archive to hold this newly
organized information.
Another
problem encountered in government institutions is manual paper work which slows
down the decision making processes. For instance, the process of developing a
document on a computer, printing the document, and signing and copying the
document before the originals are sent to various destinations and the copies are
archived in a filing cabinet. People have to be diligent in filing all documents
according to the topic, version, and date. If a document is missing, it may be
hard to find. Therefore, it is important to digitalize and automate manual
paper work and the signature process. Moreover, digitalizing and automating
these processes can facilitate auto workflow capability which will move the
object (document, form, etc.) according to the role and functions in the
organizational hierarchies.
According
to Morphy (2012), “the IBM industry has
enhanced the social enterprise application with IBM connections. This IBM
connection can integrate the user’s wikis, blogs, emails, and calendars which
are attached to the person”. IBM has simplified business file sharing,
social networking, online meetings and instant messaging including real time document
editing via a cloud based productivity suite. This product facilitates
effective operations, especial those involving communication.
Furthermore,
Rozwell at Gartner (2012) stated that, it is important “to communicate and educate the employees on the role of social media
and record management policy”. The conclusion is that social media needs to
be regulated. However, how to regulate it becomes a big question for every
industry and most organizations as it impacts the data protection and privacy. The Constitution of Timor-Leste states that the
“right
to honor and privacy, inviolability of home and correspondence,
and protection of personal data”
(Timor-Leste Constitution, 2002:36-38).
The
current ICT infrastructure, through which each government department is connected,
is not reliable. The fiber optic connections that run from building to building,
which are designed to connect government departments in Dili, do not function properly.
Most of the ICT infrastructure uses access points to establish communication
among the departments and staffs.
Moreover,
there are very few email and file printing servers in government departments.
Almost all Non-Government organizations, civil servants and ministers use
public email servers such as Gmail or Yahoo to communicate with coworkers and
line ministers. For instance, if one staff member sent an email with an
attachment to her supervisor for review in the next room, or even a supervisor
sitting directly beside her, it would take ages to reach them. This is because
the email has to go out to the international servers before coming back to the supervisor’s
desk. Almost all government business operations are centralized in the capital.
Because of the centralization, there is not much ICT infrastructure connecting the
central government with authorities in the districts or future municipals. Some
government institutions that have offices in the capital and the districts currently
use Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) for
internet communication. Others use Timor Telecom 3G and Telecomcel. The
internet bandwidths in Timor-Leste are too expensive. Timor Telecom 3G cost is 2$
an hour. Despite this, most of the government departments use Timor-Telecom’s
internet services. The bandwidth speed for these services is 1 MB per second for
uploads and downloads at a total cost of about $10,000 per month. To overcome
the low bandwidth distribution among government entities, several government
institutions have leased internet services through VSAT communications. The
cost of leasing VSAT for 1MB per second upload and 2 MB per second download is about
$8,000-$9,000 per month.
The
question is why do we have to rely on internet communication, while most of the
interactions are between Timor-Leste government officials? The answer is because
these officials use public emails (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) for their daily
operations. This is evidence that the government of Timor-Leste has wrongly
invested in the ICT sector. Also, the government must bear in mind that the current
ICT system and its infrastructure are not secure, not cost effective, and not
efficient. Therefore, it is important to build an internal or local loop for
government communication. This means that the communication among the staff is
done on internal servers, while only external communication would rely on the
internet. By using the internal or local loop for communication, the government
could secure its communication and save a lot of money.
To
achieve this local loop communication, the government needs to invest in local
back bone infrastructure in order to connect both local departments and departments
out in the districts or future municipals. Secondly, the government needs to
invest in a data center and local server
infrastructure for each department. Finally, the government of Timor-Leste
has to create a single directory in which communication is established based on
a central point of contact where government employees are allowed to securely connect, communicate, coordinate and collaborate
(4Cs).
Once
the local loop and data center are established, users need training in order to
optimize the use the technology. One part of the training is to improve security
by improving understanding of specific topics, tips and tricks, with mentoring and
desk side coaching. This optimizes the use of technological features and helps avoid
the risks such as viruses, phishing, spam, etc.
Conclusion:
It is important to
underline that, social technology allows us to connect, communicate,
coordinate, and collaborate with the intended people from anywhere in the world
and at any time we need. We have to connect and establish a communication in
order to coordinate and collaborating the ideas and knowledge in order to
improve our own productivity, skills, knowledge, and also maintain our contact
relationships. Technology has changed document
centric into people centric
environments.
The challenges of having
social capability in the ICT system environment are that people have different
cultures, languages, time zone, and work and life balance. These difficult
situations can be easily overcome by having common missions, objectives, and
goals.
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Appendix:
Code of Conduct of Digital
Democracy within One Timor Concept and It’s Challenges
Respect Each Other:
One Timor Concept team encourages everyone to treat each other
equally with mutual respect. Do not
use the Digital Democracy Challenge platform (future 1TimorConnect) to
threaten, harass, stalk, or abuse others. The Digital Democracy Challenge
reserves the right to remove posts that advocate or encourage expressions of
violence, bigotry, racism, hatred, or profanity. Digital Democracy Challenge
within One Timor Concept administrators may remove postings that are
deemed inappropriate, offensive or that violate guidelines or this Code of
Conduct. Digital Democracy Challenge may also eject or ban any user from their
area who behaves in a manner deemed inappropriate, offensive or who violates
guidelines or this Code of Conduct. By participating in any area of the Site,
you agree to be bound to the rules of that area.
Keep It Legal
Digital Democracy Challenge does not allow any illegal activities.
You cannot use the Digital Democracy Challenge platform to publish, post,
distribute, or disseminate defamatory, infringing, obscene, or other unlawful
material or information, specifically, but not limited to, child pornography,
bestiality and incest. Also, you may not use the Digital Democracy Challenge
platform for chats relating to illegal drugs. You may not use the Digital
Democracy Challenge platform for the purpose of linking to external sites that
violate this Code of Conduct. Do not upload files or post messages that contain
photos, music, software or other material protected by intellectual property
laws, rights of privacy or publicity or any other applicable law unless you own
or control the rights thereto or have received all necessary consents. Digital
Democracy Challenge is not responsible for any use of anything you say or post.
Do not post any materials (including software and other information) that could
harm (or is designed to harm) other users' computers or would allow others to
inappropriately access software or Web sites. Digital Democracy Challenge does
not tolerate disruptive activity online, such as persistent off-topic comments
and postings or statements that incite others to violate this Code of Conduct
or participate in illegal activities. Our Site's users want to post on our
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computer programs that contain such features, or access to any content that
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for the use of scrolling, showing multiple screens, and other activities that
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Please don't Spam
Please don't "spam" through our Digital Democracy
Challenge platform, none of our users like it. To spam includes sending
identical and irrelevant submissions to many different discussion groups,
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at any time, without notice, from any or all Digital Democracy Challenge
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Keep it personal
The Digital Democracy Challenge platform areas may be used to
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Be responsible and liable
You are responsible and liable for all your activities while
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are responsible for anything you say or post and for protecting your own
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of, access to, or deletion or alteration of any materials included on the Site.
Digital Democracy Challenge reserves the right to remove at any time, without
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Internet may contain adult content and may not be suitable for children. You
are responsible for any actions you may take based on advice or information you
receive online. Use your own good judgment when evaluating information provided
through this Site's Digital Democracy Challenge platform or any other such
services, remember that the information provided could be from people at any
age and experience level. The decision to conduct transactions with anyone is
your own and you should conduct your own research prior to making any
decisions.
Uphold the Code
In helping to make our Site a great place to meet and exchange
information, you must do your part to uphold this Code of Conduct. Digital
Democracy Challenge also reserves our right to amend or change the Code of
Conduct at any time without notice. You agree to periodically review this
document to ensure you are doing your part. Digital Democracy Challenge is not
obliged to send users or hosts a warning before deleting any content.
Protect Your Privacy
We caution you against giving out personally identifiable
information (such as social security numbers, credit card numbers, names and
addresses, telephone numbers, driver license numbers) to strangers online,
which may be used for illegal or harmful purposes. Some personal information
you provide to Digital Democracy Challenge may be stored outside of the country
in which you reside.
Thank you for following this Code of Conduct and joining the
Digital Democracy Challenge online community!
