Mid Sweden University

This is the first issue of a new journal, the International Journal of Public Information Systems (IJPIS), published by the Mid Sweden University, www.miun.se. We welcome you as a reader and potential contributor to this journal. This issue of IJPIS contains an article that discusses in some depth what a public information system actually is. In just a few sentences public information systems could be defined as information systems that

• provide services to the public (people and companies/organisations)
• empower citizens and companies/organisations to exercise democratic influence
• support governments at all levels to perform their tasks in an efficient and reliable way
• capture, preserve, and make available useful data for analysis, planning, and research

The primary goal of IJPIS is to publish good quality studies of public information systems. All scientific contributions will be refereed according to normal procedures. Topics include, but are not restricted to:

• user-centred design, usability, usefulness, citizen perspectives
• customer relations, different forms of interactions
• integration and segregation
• decision support systems, risk and decision analysis
• governance and democracy, political prerequisites
• cooperation between public administrations
• digital archives
• multimedia communications
• quality and security

The journal acknowledges the interdisciplinary nature of such studies, and it welcomes contributions from all kinds of scientific disciplines: humanistic, juridical, psychological, social, political, economics, informatics, technical, medical, mathematical, and philosophical.

IJPIS wants to link researchers and other professionals who share an interest in the process, nature, significance, and implications of public information systems design. The journal aims to be a forum for analytical and comparative articles, essays, case-studies, book reviews, and letters to the editor, and it will publish insightful pieces intended for general readers as well as specialists. To illuminate important debates and draw attention to specific topics, the journal may occasionally publish thematic issues. IJPIS may advertise important seminars and conferences, it may publish reviews of such events after they have occurred, and it is open to cooperation with organisers of seminars and conferences with regards to the publishing of refereed articles.

IJPIS is an electronic journal. All issues will be published on the website, and they will remain there, available to everyone, free of charge, for the foreseeable future. Readers are welcome to download, print, and distribute articles, as long as the source is properly recognised and any relevant legislation is adhered to. The electronic issues will be numbered, so that normal quoting techniques may be used.

An advantage of the website medium is that authors may, if they like, submit revised versions of their already published articles. In such cases, the original article will remain in its place, and the new version will be linked to it. Similarly, authors who want to debate the contents of previously published articles may have their contributions linked to those articles. Once again we would like to warmly welcome you as a reader of this journal, and we look forward to your contributions of material for IJPIS as well as any suggestions for improvements.

Bo Sundgren Chief Editor