Technology and Program Management
Introduction
Security matters are a fundamental factor for any society from times immemorial. Effective security infrastructure is a major concern for the basic aspects of both the state and federal government and it should never to be compromised since any lapse may lead to detrimental consequences. It is in the best interest of all the areas of governance to access useful information so as to take the necessary action at the right time. The right information gives the federal or state governments relevant updates for needed planning and adjustments as the situations may demand from time to time. Effective communication ensures effective coordination of all state and federal functions within different departments.
Information sharing
Information sharing is a critical concept that has always been factored in the government processes to ensure integrity and accountability. Some of the theoretical basis which backs this right includes; Political-democratic justification, Oversight justification, Instrumental justification and Proprietary justification. Mainly, the rational for sharing federal and state information is based on the notion that government information should be uninhibited by the restraints of copyright law and should be accessible to all (Dehling & Sunyaev, 2014). The need for |Information sharing was evident when the federal trade commission in the United States called for a public forum in 2000 to debate on whether the exchanges of information in B2B could by any chance help in resolving the antitrust problems they were facing.
Information sharing has both advantages and disadvantages. Firstly information shared may sometimes cause more harm than good. For instance, shared information may sometimes leak to the unintended hands thus ending up being misused or used to threaten the economic stability of a nation or individual’s interests. Example, in Germany the health information technology (HTI) and electronic health card (eHC) particulars are mandated to share useful information on regard to patient’s health history. Technology development in the health sector has brought about e-health or electronic health, where the patients information can be stored in electronic format to help the physicians understand the condition of the patients based on the stored information. The main loophole that subjects information sharing to criminals includes lack of a clear framework under which information sharing protocols can be evaluated. For example, a malicious third party is able to get the information just by observing the user behaviour. A user who accesses much information regarding cancer medication may be considered more prone to have cancer related disease as compared to one reading on cough drops.
Information technology and e-health applications brought about through information sharing for consumers are expected to affect the future demands for physicians. This in a way might lead to increased number of trained health professionals who might not secure an opportunity in the health sector as a result of increased information technology platforms.
Information sharing in an oligopolistic market has become more problematic compared to the information shared mainly in low concentrated markets. In order to avoid such kind of challenges, it is recommended that the information should be shared and made available to the public. In summary of market information sharing, developing a policy in regard to information sharing is necessary to monitor collusive risks. This can facilitate proper coordination within the communication systems which in the long run enables the firms to achieve collusive results. By doing this, they can maintain the collusive equilibrium through monitoring their various members within the market processes. According to Golderman et al (2015), when there are improved information flows among the oligopolistic scenario, the overall view for coordinated behaviour is increased.
On the other hand, in cases where there are rivalries in price of goods within a state or between states, the information and differences can be smoothened and brought into a consensus through information sharing. This makes the cartels and the players in the trading sector keep check of each other, so that there is no exploitation of customers. However, this kind of market transparency can lead to collusive market, which may lead to price increase in the end. This can hinder the consumers in rightful decision for the choices of goods they prefer (Dehling & Sunyaev, 2014).
According to the illustrations above, it is easier to conclude that sharing information is very important. This is evident, because there is some expenditure that can be avoided. Going by the reasoning done in the earlier evidences, it is advantageous to have a proper way of sharing the information. Again, the mode and the nature of the information are necessary, since it limits the extent to which people are able to develop. When considering commercialization of information it is important to remember about the private entities that do not necessarily need a public opinion or rather do not involve the public. Marketing information should not be commercialised since it is a sensitive area and requires a lot of knowledge to help the consumers. The urgency for perfect knowledge of the market helps the consumers with better choices and pricing that suites them.
Security of Information Sharing Across State and Federal Governments
Increased information sharing, especially in the health sector, has significantly jeopardized consumer privacy. Cyber security has become a central issue in information sharing that has seen institutions spend huge amounts to protect the gathered information from falling to the wrong hands. Currently, as a result of increase cyber-attacks, protecting consumer’s interest has become quite challenging and expensive.
The emerging public e-communication networks have created underpinning infrastructure which facilitates other forms of vital infrastructure such as distribution networks, energy transmission and financial services. It is worrying that increased reliance on national infrastructure for vital information sharing on significant economic sectors such as transport, energy and finance means that threats to the main systems can have highly paralyzing effects on the modern society.
Commercialization of Public Information
Majority of the states in United States recognize the right of citizens or individuals to access information held by the public agencies. However, commercialization of public information has become common in the contemporary society. Commercialization of public information is meant to “reward” the taxpayers for the reasonable investment in creating the work. The need to commercialize public information can only be valid if it is meant to give back and support the public interest. Commercialization of public information applies if the information is meant for commercial use requesters, non-commercial use requesters from either scientific/educational institutions, or representatives of news media.
Government institutions and agencies are finding that information they have regularly gathered to fulfil their statutory and business purposes can now be re-used for commercial purposes. The view of increasing revenue collection through the commercial re-use of public sector information (PSI) is evidently appealing for federal and state governments. Some examples of Public Sector Information that have been re-used commercially include: land title information, street address registers, vital scientific research information, residential property transaction details, geospatial Information, and ordinance survey data.
Future trends
In regard to the information on public information sharing, it becomes easy to predict future trends. When the public have the perfect knowledge about the occurrences in the commercial fields, it becomes easier to execute business, make advancement in technology, ICT efficiency etc. commercialising the public information would deter development. With future advancement and freedom in access to information, this would be possible, hence commercialising the information would not be necessary.
Conclusion
It is notable by the virtue of having information shared; there are many advantages that come along with it. These are either felt directly or indirectly, sometimes both ways. On the ICT marketing, it is evident on the need for sharing the information as it requires a lot of expertise and professionalism in matters of health. Hence, when this information is shared, knowledge is spread and many precautions are taken in, while treating the patients. With the change in technology and various developing markets, it is advisable to have up-to-date information on the changing market patterns and the advancement in technology. For a healthier and fair competition, it is encouraged that an individual, a state or even a government should share the information. This also encourages innovation and specialisation of skills. There is the need for an efficient and on point information that is easy to work out and understand.
References
Dehling, T. & Sunyaev, A. (2014). Secure provision of patient-centered health information technology services in public networks-leveraging security and privacy features provided by the German nationwide health information technology infrastructure. Electronic Markets, 24(2): 89-99
Gelderman, C., Semeijn, J. & de Brujin, A. (2015). Dynamics of service definitions—An explorative case study of the purchasing process of professional ICT-services. Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, 21(3): 220–227.