Free Wireless Internet Park Services

Abstract

This article examines the adoption of free wireless Internet parks (iPark) by Qatari citizens as a means of accessing electronic services from public parks. The Qatar government has launched the iPark concept with a view of providing free internet access for all citizens while enjoying the outdoors. This concept is enabled by an ICT infrastructure and broadband facilities which is considered as regional good practice. By offering free wireless Internet access, the Qatari government encourages its citizen's to actively participate in the global information society with a view of bridging the digital divide. Using a survey based study this research set out to examine the Qatari citizens' perceptions of the iPark initiative. Results of the survey showed that there is a positive level of relation between the independent variables, usefulness, ease of use, Internet safety, and Internet speed/response time and one dependent variable, intention to use the iPark in Qatar. The paper provides a discussion on the key findings, research implications, limitations, and future directions for the iPark initiative in Qatar.

E-government non-adoption in the Republic of Mauritius

“…Source: Adapted from Roopchand [23] Facilitating conditions directly affect usage behaviour. Lack of facilitating conditions in terms of inadequate IT skills and ICT infrastructures may seriously hamper the use of government e-services [22]. Some of the nonusers interviewed in the present study expressed their inability to use technology due to lack of resources, skills and inaccessibility.…”

“…Attitude acts as an important determinant that predicts adoption of electronic government [25]. The main influence on usage of e-government is trust [26] and web security affects citizen's intention to use the free wireless Internet parks [22]. Thus in this study it is postulated that the level of public trust affects citizens' attitudes towards the adoption of e-government and to capture this, two items were put on the questionnaire.…”

“…Several studies have highlighted online security and/or trust in a particular government as being prerequisites for the adoption of e-government [14], [15], [16], [17], [18], [19], [20], [21], [22]. Politicians, government website designers, administrators and technicians must pay particular attention to these aspects.…”

The New Electronic Government

“…There are a few reasons for the failure, likely current infrastructure is not compatible economically and socially. Al-Shafi (2012) argued that the reasons for the failure arose after investigation, and included an absence of trust, skills, strategy, and interest from the citizens. This clearly shows that not only does the government need to take interest, but the people should be involved as well.…”

Upgrading Society with Smart Government

“…"These technologies can serve a variety of different ends: better delivery of government services to citizens, improved interactions with business and industry, citizen empowerment through access to information, or more efficient government management" (World Bank, 2011, p.1). Some of the potential benefits of Smart Government include decreasing corruption by increasing government transparency, providing greater ease to the citizenry through online resources, creating revenue growth by creating jobs involving IT, and/or increasing cost reductions by simplifying older tasks that can now be performed online or by a computer (Al-Shafi, 2012). There are hundreds of other definitions in the current literature of what Smart Government stands for.…”