Digital Citizenship and E-Government Integration: The Case of North Cyprus

Introduction

Although big data, which has often been involved recently in studies in both science and social sciences, has started to be talked about with innovations about the advancement and use of technology is a phenomenon that we have been in for years. So far, this phenomenon has become the centre of attention of academic studies as a new phenomenology that we unwittingly support and contribute to the constant flow of data. Due to the internet and its developments, the promising increase of access to information has brought with it doubts about the confidence and value of information. Software companies that set out to bring back a wide variety of data expressed as information dumps in a meaningful and valuable way have revealed the phenomenon of big data and brought it into the literature. However, it makes connotations in reference to data that covers a lot of space as to large data volume in terms of word, the types of big data obtained from different sources are the transformation of data into meaningful and process able. At this point, large databases that database experts can format as relationship databases can be used and remain important as valuable data.

The concept is defined as being able to analyse a huge amount of data in different formats and constantly increasing. It includes data produced by sensors and machines as well as data produced by users. Public institutions and large companies are making big investments on this subject and developing new software every day (Bayrakcı, 2015, p. 1). Big data studies in the field of social science have focused more on databases in areas such as business, human resources, public relations and advertising, and customer and consumer behaviours. Looking at the relevant national and international literature, there are many studies on big data, especially in the field of social sciences. The study titled “Big Data: A Survey” (Chen, Mao & Liu, 2014) reveals the characteristics of big data and evaluates big data technology in a wide scope. In addition to discussing the general background of big data, this study offers solutions and suggestions for the future by discussing issues such as management, internet, online social networks, collective intelligence, and smart grid, which are representative applications of big data, including business.

With big data and all these possibilities and conveniences it offers, there is a wide range of literature including the creation of states' own archive databases and the services they provide to their citizens. Digitalization has been the subject that emerged from this place and has triggered various debates and transformations in many areas even today. Therefore, the effort to find possible answers to questions about what digitalization is and where it is in the concept of citizenship as a phenomenon that permeates all areas of life also supports interdisciplinary studies.

In addition to all these discussions, the internet and its associated developing technologies, smartphones, applications, social networks, electronic books, magazines, and web pages that offer true or false content have surrounded the lives of everyone. The information published in the digital environment has reached an indescribable dimension with the established communication numbers; information has gone out of physical environments and changed from 'clouds' to accessible format. In short, everyone; it has been able to post anything and travel online without limits. The emergence of citizenship which expresses the belonging of individuals to societies related to their rights and assignments in the communities in which they live, are based on the periods when people live collectively. The impact of the internet on people and societies has digited the concept of citizenship and the concept of digital citizenship has emerged. Digital citizenship can be defined as ‘acting in the awareness of all kinds of dangers within the framework of ethical and universal rules on the internet’.

In this study, the perception of digital citizenship and the nine dimensions of digital citizenship (digital etiquette, digital communication, digital education, digital access, digital commerce, digital responsibility, digital rights, digital safety, and digital security) and literature supported discussions were presented with the conscious, safe and effective use of the internet. In addition, it has been examined in terms of services offered through the e-government portal in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which has big data features of nine dimensions related to such digital citizenship. With this study, recommendations are presented to active internet users who are digital citizens and the steps to be taken to improve online services in terms of integration of digitalization in Northern Cyprus are mentioned.