\\server05\productn\A\ATP\30-3\ATP304.txt unknown Seq: 1 8-SEP-08 12:49 Administrative Theory & Praxis Vol. 30, No. 3, 2008: 324–341 R REEXAMINING THE ROLE OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION: FROM DEVASTATION TO DISCLOSURE Eric K. Austin Montana State University Jeffrey C. Callen Arizona State University ABSTRACT This article begins from the premise that the Internet is representa- tive of a range of digital technologies that are constitutive of the cur- rent sociopolitical moment. Exploring and extending the work done in the philosophy of technology, we examine the question of how public administration, in its role in governance and democracy, can relate itself to the Internet and other digital technology in a way that not only resists its devastation but also gives it a positive role in human experience. The article begins with Heideggerian and Kierke- gaardian critiques of technology, which reveal its potentially devas- tating effects. The consequences of these critiques are examined and propositions for an alternative ontology are proposed in which tech- nology resists devastation and becomes world disclosing. This alter- native gives propositional form to the experience of technology as it relates to post-traditional theories of governance. INTRODUCTION On February 4, 2008, the White House electronically transmitted the president’s proposed budget to Congress for the first time in U.S. his- tory. The image of this event presented on the White House website is a single official sitting at his computer with a CD ROM containing the federal budget. This image serves to replace the famous ceremonial de- livery of box upon box of bound volumes down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol building. This moment exemplifies efforts of federal, state, and local governments as they look to the Internet and other digital technology as a way to expand services to the public while simultane- ously coping with resource pressures. Advocates of e-government argue that the Internet can enhance government performance and efficiency 2008, Public Administration Theory Network