=Paper=
{{Paper
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|storemode=property
|title=Evaluation of Regional Web Portals
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1498/HAICTA_2015_paper106.pdf
|volume=Vol-1498
|dblpUrl=https://dblp.org/rec/conf/haicta/OcenasekUVS15
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==Evaluation of Regional Web Portals==
https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1498/HAICTA_2015_paper106.pdf
Evaluation of Regional Web Portals
Vladimír Očenášek1, Miloš Ulman2, Jiří Vaněk2, Edita Šilerová2
1
Faculty of Economics and Management, Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, Czech
Republic, e-mail: ocenasek@pef.czu.cz
2
Faculty of Economics and Management, Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, Czech
Republic
Abstract. Evaluation of regional web portals is based on methods of Digital
Governance in Municipalities Worldwide. We evaluated 6 regional web portals
using 12 parameters in area of content and services. From the five possible
evaluated areas belonging to methodology of Digital Governance in
Municipalities Worldwide, we focused on the areas of content and services.
We compared Czech web portals against Austrian and Swiss web portals. The
highest number of points got Posázaví (welcome in the tourist region around
the river Sázava (www.posazavi.com)), which obtained full score for
immediate updates, searchable databases, newsletter subscription, event
calendar and capabilities of GIS. Evaluation brings insight in matter of
increasing attractiveness and website traffic of concerned portals, which would
lead to increase in visitors of concerned regions.
Keywords: Digital Governance in Municipalities Worldwide, Rutgers –
SKKU – E-Governance Performance Index, regional web portal, regional
touristic headquarter, multilingual support, event calendar, searchable
database, accommodation and event reservation
1 Introduction
There are many of different rankings in the world, which relate to information and
communications technology. For example, United Nations e-Government survey
evaluates expansion of e-government administration in 193 countries in the world
every two years and publishes worldwide ranking of EGDI (e-government
development index).
Since 2003 web portals of capitals of the largest countries in the world have been
evaluated by - Digital Governance in Municipalities Worldwide (Holzer et al., 2014)
every two years. This rating is organized by the "The E-Governance Institute" which
is part of Rutgers University Newark. Prague (15 in) was included for the first time
in 2007. Prague was ranked in excellent 2nd place in 2009, in the period 2011 - 2012
was in 4th place and in the period 2013 - 2014, Prague ranked 10th. (Pazderník,
2013). Our methods of evaluation are based on methods of Digital Governance in
Municipalities Worldwide, which is focused on regional web portals.
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2 Methods
Rutgers-SKKU E-Governance Performance Index is calculated during methods of
Digital Governance in Municipalities Worldwide. Regional web portals are evaluated
based on predefined criteria of this index. The survey evaluates websites of
municipalities in terms of privacy, usability, content, services, and citizen and social
engagement, and ranks them on a global scale. The Rutgers-SKKU E-Governance
Performance Index is calculated within methodology of Digital Governance in
Municipalities Worldwide.
The Regional web portals are evaluated based on predefined criteria of this index.
The survey evaluates websites of municipalities in terms of privacy, usability,
content, services, citizen and social engagement. Score differ based on type of the
question. For „yes or no“ questions, it scales from 0 or 1 to 0 or 3 points in less and
more important criteria, respectively and from 0 to 2 (even 3 in special cases) in
questions where differentiation is possible.
We evaluated 6 regional web portals using 12 parameters in area of content and
services. For instance, we evaluated whether web portal provides: online
publications, multilingual access, GIS, calendar of events, searchable database of
articles, accommodation reservation etc. All parameters are shown in the Table 1.
3 Results
Department of Information Technologies is interested in web rankings,
importance of agrotourism and usage of map portals for a long time (Vaněk et al.,
2011). In this article we compared Czech web portals against Austrian and Swiss
web portals.
For evaluation of regional web portals, we chose two regional touristic
headquarters (Tourist Authority South Moravia (www.ccrjm.cz), Tourist Authority
South Bohemia (www.jccr.cz)), one regional touristic web (Posázaví - welcome in
the tourist region around the river Sázava (www.posazavi.com)), two Austrian web
portals, which represents cross-border cooperation between Austria and Czech
republic (Genuine holidays on the farm in Austria (www.agroturistika-v-
rakousku.cz), Austria – arrive and revive (www.austria.info/cz)) and official web of
Switzerland Tourism Company (www.mojesvycarsko.com)).
From the five possible evaluated areas belonging to methodology of Digital
Governance in Municipalities Worldwide, we focused on the areas of content and
services.
In the area of content, we evaluated whether web portal contains:
• contact information for regional representation, municipalities, members of
LAG (Local Action group), members of non-profit organization, suppliers,
stores etc.
• books and publications online
• possibilities of GIS
• multilingual support
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• event calendar
In the area of services, we evaluated whether web portal contains:
• newsletter subscription
• searchable database of articles, statistics and surveys
• message board
• FAQ section
• personalize the home page
• accommodation and event reservation
• frequency of website updates
Questions, score scale and evaluation are shown in Table 1.
The highest number of points (20 out of 27) got Posázaví (welcome in the tourist
region around the river Sázava (www.posazavi.com)), which obtained full score for
immediate updates, searchable databases, newsletter subscription, event calendar and
capabilities of GIS.
The 2nd place went to official web of Switzerland Tourism Company
(www.mojesvycarsko.com), which got 18 points out of maximal 27. This web portal
stands out with its sophisticated booking system, capabilities of GIS and easy to use
event calendar including various thematic categories (Family Trips, Cycling, Group
excursions, Food and Wine etc.).
Some areas aren’t adequately addressed, which is evident from the data in the
table. The message board is available only on Posázaví portal, FAQ section and
possibility of adapting the site aren’t included on neither of them.
Fig. 1. Regional touristic web Posázaví (www.posazavi.com) – demonstration of possible
object selection for map view – accommodation, camps and camping sites, castle ruins,
chateau
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Fig. 2. Swiss touristic portal – menu of interests
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Table 1. Evaluation Czech web portals against Austrian and Swiss web portals according to 12
parameters
question scale Tourist Tourist Posázaví Genuine Austria Switzerland
Authority Authority holidays – arrive Tourism
South South on the and Company
Moravia Bohemia farm in revive
Austria
A 0,1 1 0 1 0 0 1
B 0,1,2,3 3 2 2 2 2 1
C 0,1,2 0 0 3 1 0 3
D 0,1 1 0 1 1 1 1
E 0,1,2,3 2 0 3 3 3 3
F 0,1,2 2 3 3 0 2 2
G 0,3 3 3 3 3 3 3
H 0,1,2 0 0 1 0 0 0
I 0,1,2 0 0 0 0 0 0
J 0,3 0 0 0 0 0 0
K 0,1,2 2 0 0 2 2 2
L 0,1,2,3 1 1 3 1 2 2
Total
15 9 20 13 15 18
points
Legend:
A - Does the site provide information about regional representation, the municipality?
B - Does the site offer documents, reports, or books (publications) online?
C - Does the site have GIS capabilities?
D - Does the site offer access in more than one language?
E - Does the site offer a calendar of events?
F - Does the site offer registration page newsletters?
G - Does the site offer searchable databases of articles, surveys, statistics?
H - Does the site provide a bulletin board for posting questions?
I - Does the site provide a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) corner?
J - Does the site allow users to customize the main city homepage?
K - Does the site allow users to register accommodation, event?
L - How often are the city's website updated?
4 Conclusion
Alongside the unofficial web portals, which points out a certain local attraction,
official webs are made. An official site promotes certain geographical area, region or
county. We devote our attention in this article to these web sites, evaluate them based
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on selected criteria in order that these sites will improve and their next versions will
offer more useful information and possibilities for users.
We used methods of “Rutgers-SKKU E-Governance Performance Index”, which
is used for evaluating portals of government administration across the world (Gaulé,
Žilinskas, 2013). This issue is starting to appear in bachelor’s projects and master’s
thesis at Czech universities (Kotala, 2010).
We modified 12 parameters for evaluating regional web sites and used these
parameters for evaluation of 6 regional portals. Czech, Austrian and one Swiss web
portal were represented. Evaluation brings insight in matter of increasing
attractiveness and website traffic of concerned portals, which would lead to increase
in visitors of concerned regions.
As it turned out during our model usage, which took into account only two of the
important areas (content and services), level of regional web portals significantly
differ. Some criteria are fulfilled across the all sites, but some of them are partly or
completely missing. Individual solutions therefore often prefer different criteria, thus
providing different perspectives on the region and its issues. If all criteria were met,
the informational content and thus even usefulness of the individual portals would
rise. Theoretically, this would lead to a "content compatibility" of individual
solutions, which would ultimately bring profit to users and consequently the visitors
of their respective regions.
We will continue to pursue this issue in order to develop methods for evaluating
the regional web portals.
Acknowledgments. The results and knowledge included herein have been obtained
owing to support from the following institutional grants.
Internal grant agency of the Faculty of Economics and Management, Czech
University of Life Sciences in Prague, grant no. 20151053, “Development and use of
information and communication technologies in rural areas”.
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