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Government Information Quarterly

Volume 16, Number 1, 1999

CONTENTS

DISCUSSION FORUM

Numbers and 'Damn' GPO Numbers
Peter Hernon ................................................................................... #

Articles

Security Classification Reviews and the Search for Reform
Harold C. Relyea ........................................................................................ #

Governments as Electronic Publishers? The Dutch Case
Harry Bouwman and John Nouwens ............................................ ##

Florida's Marine Resource Information System:
A Geographic Decision Support System
Lawrence A. West, Jr................................................ ##

SPECIAL FEATURE

The Digital Age: Challenges for Records Management
David Plocher ...................................................... ##

About the Authors ...................................................

Reviews ..................................................................................... #

Security Classification Reviews and the Search for Reform

Harold C. Relyea

In the early spring of 1997, the Commission on Protecting and Reducing Government Secrecy transmitted its final report to the President and the principal leaders of Congress. By the Commission's own account, this was the seventh "major review" of the security classification system to be conducted during the past 50 years. Why successive "major reviews" of the security classification program occurred may be discerned in the recurring theme each has imparted--overclassification remains a problem. The record of findings and recommendations arising from these "major reviews" is reviewed here with a view of gaining some insight into continuing difficulties within the security classification system and some possible reforms.

Harry Bouwman and John Nouwens

The improvement in the accessibility of government information is one of the primary goals of government information policy. The Dutch government seems to regard the Internet as an ideal vehicle for providing citizens Dutch government seems to regard the Internet as an ideal vehicle for providing citizens with government information. But, despite the open and public character of the Internet, the Internet is not the only relevant technology that can improve the accessibility of government information. This article examines how the Dutch government has tried to improve accessibility in six particular cases of electronic publishing. The experiences within these cases can help to identify feasible options that governments have in dealing with these issues, especially the technological and organizational choices that governments face.

Decision support systems (DSS) are a class of information systems where data, models, and an interface are combined to support a decision- maker's needs for data and analysis. This article reports on a system which fits all of the classic definitions of a DSS and which includes spatial models of object locations as crucial parts of the analytic, data, and interface support provided to the user. The system illustrates several interesting aspects of the construction of systems of this type, including the potential role of geographic information system (GIS) capabilities in DSS; the translation of user decision support needs with a geographic component into a DSS architecture; and the integration of a PC- based GIS package with additional interface, data management, and analytic tools. The system also illustrates certain managerial implications for systems of this type, including the importance of planning for system maintenance and the value of geographic data.

At the same time advances in information technology are being embraced by federal agencies, the implications for records management and archiving are being avoided like the plague. The most superficial review of current law and policy shows that this is unacceptable. Federal agencies must accept their responsibilities to maintain access and to manage, secure, and archive electronic information--now.

Harry Bouwman is a senior consultant with TNO Strategy, Technology and Policy Studies, and senior associate professor at the Department of Communication, University of Utrecht. He has been a visiting professor at the Department of Telecommunication, Michigan State University, and associate and an assistant professor at the Department of Communication, University of Amsterdam. He is an advisor for the Dutch and Belgium government on ICT projects.

Peter Hernon is Professor at Simmons College, Boston, and Editor of Government Information Quarterly. He is the author or editor of 33 books, the latest being Research Misconduct (Ablex, 1997) and Assessing Service Quality (American Library Association, 1998).

John Nouwens studied communication science at the Department of Communication, University of Amsterdam. Presently, he is a research associate at the Amsterdam School of Communications Research (ASCoR), University of Amsterdam, working on a doctoral dissertation about the use of electronic information services within organizations. His major research themes include information and communication technology, electronic commerce, knowledge management, government information policy, and electronic publishing. He has conducted research in such diverse areas as the catering industry, textile and clothing industry, the media industry, and the professional services industry (accountancy, consultancy, and insurance companies), and within government organizations.

David Plocher, from September 1990 through June 1998, was a Democratic Counsel to the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs. He assisted in the drafting of the Clinger-Cohen Act, the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, and the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993. He is now a senior attorney in the Office of General Counsel, U.S. General Accounting Office, and his e-mail address is plocherd.ogc@gao.gov.

Harold C. Relyea is a Specialist in American National Government with the Congressional Research Service. An undergraduate of Drew University, he received his Ph.D. in government from The American University. He serves on the editorial boards of Government Information Quarterly and Presidential Studies Quarterly. The author of over 100 articles from scholarly and professional publications in the United States and abroad, he published Silencing Science: National Security Controls and Scientific Communication (Ablex, 1994) and, more recently, a book on the Executive Office of the President.

Lawrence A. West, Jr. is an Assistant Professor of Management Information Systems at the University of Central Florida. He has published several papers on geographic information systems and the economics of information systems. His current research interests focus on the design and implementation of end-user geographic systems for business and government and the economic issues associated with the involvement of government agencies in the production of commercially valuable data. Dr. West received his Ph.D. from Texas A&M University.

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