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Fountain Keynotes International Semantic Web Conference

Political Science and Public Policy Professor Jane E. Fountain gave a Keynote Address at the 5th International Semantic Web Conference in Athens, GA on November 8, 2006. Fountain’s talk, “The Semantic Web and Networked Governance: Promise and Challenges,” discussed how the structures and processes of the state are becoming increasingly aligned with the structures and processes of the Semantic Web through “electronic government” initiatives. 

This alignment, however, should not be viewed as mere technological advancement, she said. Instead, it must be examined and understood within the context of voice, power, and institutional change. By looking at e-government through this lens, Fountain hopes researchers will be able to provide a deeper understanding of politics and networked governance and eventually create better governments completely.

A video of Fountain’s Keynote Address is available at http://seminars.ijs.si/iswc2006/.

Further information about Fountain’s research is available at the National Center for Digital Government, which she directs.  

November 30, 2006