This handy guide and supplemental text examines trends in information and communication technology (ICT) that impact the day-to-day operations of federal, state, and local government. It seeks to improve service delivery, human resource administration, political participation, education, and citizen input (e-democracy), while at the same time recognizes that with ICT's great promise comes great peril in the form of erosion of personal privacy (e-surveillance). Through the use of numerous examples and exercises, Robert Cropf helps students and practitioners alike explore the ways technological change shapes public policy, develop useful tools and skills for working in or with e-government, and understand the role that social media plays in helping to spark political, economic, and social change.

Robert A. Cropf is professor of political science at Saint Louis University where he teaches public administration. He is on the editorial board of the International Journal of Information Communication Technologies and Human Development and is author of American Public Administration: Public Service for the 21st Century and coauthor of The Public Administration Casebook.