Popular Government

What kinds of capital does a community need to thrive in today's economy, and how can North Carolina communities acquire them? A keen observer of the national scene describes the necessary assets and offers an action plan.

North Carolina Recycling figures range from 4 to 491 pounds per person in counties, 5 to 201 pounds in cities. Where does your community rank, and how can it recycle even more?

Auditing performance data (their accuracy, reliability, and comparability) is an essential component of performance measurement and benchmarking. Two specialists explain why.

The era of e-commerce and e-procurement is here, and many citizens expect the same responsiveness from government as from the private sector. Enter e-government. “E-government” is government use of information technology, particularly Web-based Internet applications, to enhance delivery of information and services to employees and agencies within government and to citizens and business partners. E-government focuses on centralization of public data and improvement of internal processes and communications. As the twenty-first century advances, government’s overwhelming interest is to use “interoperable” technologies—technologies that allow various departments to share data across information systems or products without special effort on the part of staff. Traversing all types of computer operating systems and various departments’ databases has become increasingly necessary. Such coordination will support greater efficiency and effectiveness and result in more citizen access.

This issue of N.C. Journal contains four articles:

• North Carolina Responds to Bioterrorism
• Cumberland Opts for County-wide Planning
• Organizations Teach Consensus-Building
• Institutes to Offer Training in New Medical Privacy Rule

This issue of At the Institute contains three articles:

• Ammons Appointed to Lead MPA Program
• Juffras to Teach Employment Law
• Wall Joins Public Health Law Faculty