Papers by Luis F Luna-Reyes
ABSTRACT Researchers around the world propose different ways to assess the performance of electro... more ABSTRACT Researchers around the world propose different ways to assess the performance of electronic government portals in order to understand the factors that influence the quality of the information and services they provide to citizens, businesses, and other stakeholders. Most of these evaluation models only consider the results or outputs in terms of information, services, or other portal functionalities, ignoring the inputs of capabilities and resources that governments have and make available for these efforts. This paper argues that a more comprehensive approach is necessary, and using data envelopment analysis DEA could help to better understand how efficient governments are in their use of certain "inputs" to produce high quality e-government portals. DEA calculates an efficiency score based on some portal characteristics outputs, such as information, interaction, transaction, integration, and participation, and some organizational, institutional, and contextual factors inputs, such as government capacity, potential demand, and operation costs. The empirical analysis focuses on the state government portals in Mexico. Our results indicate that while there are some states that are never in first place in terms of portal quality or functionality, they also have very few resources and capabilities, which means they are highly efficient. Therefore, DEA could also improve the fairness and equality of portal assessment methods, particularly for governments with few initial resources and capabilities and/or adversarial environmental conditions.
System Dynamics Review, 2003
System dynamics depends heavily upon quantitative data to generate feedback models. Qualitative d... more System dynamics depends heavily upon quantitative data to generate feedback models. Qualitative data and their analysis also have a central role to play at all levels of the modeling process. Although the classic literature on system dynamics strongly supports this argument, the protocols to incorporate this information during the modeling process are not detailed by the most influential authors. Data-gathering techniques such as interviews and focus groups, and qualitative data analysis techniques such as grounded theory methodology and ethnographic decision models could have a strong, critical role in rigorous system dynamics efforts. This article describes some of the main qualitative, social science techniques and explores their suitability in the different stages of the modeling process. Additionally, the authors argue that the techniques described in the paper could contribute to the understanding of the modeling process, facilitate communication among modelers and clients, and set up a methodological framework to promote constructive discussion around the merits of qualitative versus quantitative modeling.
System Dynamics Review, 2006
The system dynamics group at the Rockefeller College of the University at Albany has been develop... more The system dynamics group at the Rockefeller College of the University at Albany has been developing techniques to create system dynamic models with groups of managers during the last 25 years. Building upon their tradition in decision conferencing, the group has developed a particular style that involves a facilitation team in which people play different roles. Throughout these years of experience, the group has also developed several “scripts” to elicit knowledge from experts based on small-groups research, and well-established practices in the development of system dynamics models. This paper constitutes a detailed documentation of a relatively small-scale modeling effort that took place in early 2001, offering a “soup to nuts” description of group model building at Albany. The paper describes in detail nine of the scripts that the group has developed, offering some reflections about their advantages and limitations. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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Papers by Luis F Luna-Reyes