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Recent advances in technology have made truly open and accessible government significantly more realisable. One of the ways in which governments are using this technology is in the implementation of online portals that allow open (i.e., public and unrestricted) access to data and use of data. Such portals can be used by citizens and professionals to facilitate improved decision-making across a wide range of areas, from car-parking to promoting entrepreneurialism. However, the existence of portals per se is not enough. To maximise their potential, users must also feel that they are both accessible and usable. To gain insights into the current state of usability of OGD portals for professionals working in data-related areas, a comparative study of the portals of the G7 group was carried out, using a mixed methodology. This is the first specific comparison of these portals for such users, as well as the first study to add a user-centred qualitative dimension to the research. The study’s findings showed that the G7 countries are not maximising the potential of their portals or collaborating effectively. Addressing these issues, and building better cross-national consistency, would help to improve the value delivered by investment in OGD portals. The study also further supported an existing user-centred, heuristic evaluation framework for application to a more specific user group, as well as more generally.

Information sharing via social networking systems (SNS) is a common practice among academics, as well as others, that brings substantial benefits. At the same time, privacy concerns are widespread among SNS users, which may tend to inhibit their maximising the benefit from using the systems. This paper investigates the proposition that SNS user attitudes and behaviour are affected by privacy concerns, and that the effects are subject to significant cultural factors. A broad assessment of the literature provides the context for the study. Working in the context of Saudi Arabia, we apply a mixed-methods approach beginning with in-depth interviews, exposing in detail a range of views and concerns about privacy and SNS use, also allowing us to identify three key factors that bear on SNS usage and users’ concerns. Analysis of these factors in the light of the “theory of reasoned action” derives a structural model predicting several hypotheses relating the factors and users’ attitudes and behaviour. We assess the model through development of a questionnaire, administered to a large pool of academic participants, that allows us to examine how the model responds in general, and via multigroup partial least squares analyses, differentially to gender and to culturally distinct (Arab vs. non-Arab) constituents of the participant group. Results show good support for the hypotheses and clear gender and culture effects. Picking up issues from the interviews, discussion focuses on users’ views about SNS providers’ privacy policies and their inadequacy regarding culturally specific ethical concerns. We argue that these views may reflect different regulatory environments in combination with other cultural factors.