bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Two pupil‐centred approaches to the assessment of school libraries
Authors: Shenton Andrew K. 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThe paper seeks to explore two qualitative techniques that may be used to evaluate the effectiveness of school libraries. The first is based on a “willingness to return” concept previously applied to reference interviews. The second extends a modelling‐through‐reaction methodology that has recently been developed to identify the characteristics of the ideal “information entity”.Design/methodology/approachAlthough each method draws on data relating to the strengths and value of the library as perceived by users, modelling‐through‐reaction also addresses possible areas of improvement and the ideas of non‐users. Data are typically collected via individual interviews and focus groups. Direct quotations from participants are likely to feature prominently in outcomes when the modified “willingness to return” approach is employed, whereas more abstract principles result from modelling‐through‐reaction.FindingsThe findings emerging from the application of the methods can be employed in several ways. The first technique is of particular use in advocacy, since it enables intermediaries to demonstrate the specific benefits that their work brings to the lives of pupils. The second helps information professionals identify the strengths and weaknesses of their library. It can also inform subsequent quantitative investigation, in which Likert responses are given to statements, and may facilitate target setting.Originality/valueThe paper is unusual in highlighting various information behaviour issues within the course of a study of evaluation. Whilst the use of a wide range of references in the paper helps to endow the methods proposed with academic credibility, they are intended primarily to be of practical use to intermediaries.
Applying pop‐up survey software to incorporate users' feedback into public library computing service management
Authors: Chiranov Marcel 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThis paper aims to describe the main impact and performance measures employed by the Global Libraries – Biblionet Romania programme (GL‐Biblionet) and reports on the pilot application of a pop‐up survey designed to provide focused user‐feedback to inform the development of the programme.Design/methodology/approachGL Biblionet aims to ensure that community informational needs are increasingly met at public libraries, and that these in turn provide better services to users and the community. An efficient performance management system of public library computing service is required for these purposes, including an adequate data/feedback collection system, and a flexible mechanism to analyse and report the findings. A pop‐up survey mechanism was developed and tested as a key part of the user feedback element of impact and performance measurement.FindingsThe pilot implementation of the pop‐up survey was broadly successful in providing useful data but the survey results need to be contextualised and triangulated with other impact and performance measurement data to assess their level of reliability. More nuanced questions about users' self‐assessments of competence in using ICT need to be developed.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough only at the pilot stage, the GL‐Biblionet approach to pop‐up survey development offers a potentially useful tool for long‐term use by public libraries in Romania and for other countries faced with similar public library development and user feedback issues.Originality/valueThis paper reports on a novel and potentially valuable application of pop‐up survey technology for national systems of public libraries and for local or regional application.
Contextual approach to understanding the socio‐cultural function of a public library in Japan
Authors: Klopfer Lisa , Nagata Haruki 
Published: March 2011

PurposeDespite a growth in demand that public libraries be accountable to citizen needs, basic research into the socio‐cultural context in which libraries operate, particularly cross‐culturally, is still needed. Durrance and Fisher have argued that libraries have too long relied on output measures to indicate library efficiency (and to justify funding) but that such measures do not reflect the social, cultural or other values actually held or gained by library users. This observation begs the question, what socio‐cultural functions do public libraries actually have? What values do they reinforce? What needs are met? How do public libraries fit into the larger social fabric of public and private institutions? And how might these functions vary from one society to another? This paper aims to address these issues.Design/methodology/approachThe questions are similar in scope to those found in museum studies (for example, see the book series Museum Meanings edited by Eilean Hooper‐Greenhill and Flora Kaplan), but have been rarely applied to libraries. In an unusual research collaboration we explore these questions relying on both qualitative and quantitative methods to gauge some of the socio‐cultural functions of a public library in Japan.FindingsOf primary concern is the methodological problem of developing questions that draw out values and concepts of which the visitors themselves may not be explicitly aware. In this research the paper attempts to draw out not just the satisfaction levels of patrons, but to delineate something of the patrons' own conception of their public library. Studying a rather unusual library by Japanese standards, it is found that some patrons have responded to the particularly strong community focus of the library director.Originality/valueSocio‐cultural studies of the functions of libraries are rare. This study therefore can act as an exemplar for further international studies.
A new constrained stochastic multidimensional scaling vector model
Authors: Scott Crystal J. , DeSarbo Wayne S. 
Published: March 2011

PurposeMultidimensional scaling (MDS) represents a family of various geometric models for the multidimensional representation of the structure in data as well as the corresponding set of methods for fitting such spatial models. Its major uses in business include positioning, market segmentation, new product design, consumer preference analysis, etc. The purpose of this paper is to apply a new stochastic constrained MDS vector model to examine the importance of some 45 different leadership attributes as they impact perceptions of effective leadership practice.Design/methodology/approachThe authors present a new stochastic constrained MDS vector model for the analysis of two‐way dominance data.FindingsThis constrained vector or scalar products model represents the column objects of the input data matrix by points and row objects by vectors in a T‐dimensional derived joint space. Reparameterization options are available for row and/or column representations so as to constrain or reparameterize such objects as functions of designated features or attributes. An iterative maximum likelihood‐based algorithm is devised for efficient parameter estimation.Originality/valueThe authors present an application to a study conducted to examine the importance of leadership attributes as they impact perceptions of effective leadership practice. Implications for future research and limitations are discussed.
Impact of organizational sociotechnical system on managerial retention
Authors: Ghosh Koustab , Sahney Sangeeta 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThe industrial organizations all over the world are operating in a highly competitive and challenging business environment. Achieving customer satisfaction on a continual basis keeping in view of the increasing expectations of the customers has been the key to the growth of business and operations. Customer satisfaction and business development can only be achieved by retaining the competent and capable managers at different hierarchical levels of the organizations. But with the growing career opportunities and better employment prospects available, turnover of managerial personnel has become an increasingly important industrial problem worth studying in the recent years. The purpose of this paper is to examine the industry‐wide problem of managerial turnover.Design/methodology/approachThe paper describes a study which is diagnostic in nature and which follows a causal design approach to empirically examine if the impacts of both the organizational social and technical subsystem elements on managerial retention are significant or not. In the first phase, a pilot survey was conducted on a sample of 93 managerial respondents at junior and middle levels in order to test the validity and reliability of the survey instrument. The second phase of the study was conducted on a sample of 444 junior and middle‐level managers from various organizations located in India to determine the causal impacts of the organizational social and technical subsystem factors on managerial retention through developing an integrated model by using the general linear modeling technique.FindingsThe results were in the expected direction and fulfilled the research aim of the current study. The factor analysis had grouped the items into seven constructs with a total of 53 items. Studies indicate that in industrial organizations the design of managerial jobs by balancing both the organizational social and technical subsystem elements does impact managerial retention. The empirical model developed through general linear modeling technique supports the proposed relationships.Originality/valueThrough identifying and empirically establishing the impacts of organizational social and technical subsystem elements on managerial retention in Indian context, this paper helps to understand the managerial expectations from their prospective employers. The top management of the business organizations may use the findings as guiding criteria, while constructing, managing, and evaluating their managerial retention strategies in Indian context.
Examining the behavioral manifestations of fan avidity in sports marketing
Authors: DeSarbo Wayne S. , Madrigal Robert 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThe sports industry is one of the fastest growing business sectors in the world today and its primary source of revenue is derived from fans. Yet, little is known about fans' allocation of time, effort, and/or financial expenditures in regard to the sports they care so desperately about. The purpose of this paper is to explore the multidimensional aspects of such manifestations of fan avidity and examine the nature of heterogeneity of such expressions.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from a student sample of football fans from a well‐known US university.FindingsIn total, 35 different expressions of fan avidity are developed related to how fans follow and support their favorite team. A spatial choice multidimensional scaling model is developed to uncover four latent dimensions of fan avidity expression.Originality/valueThe managerial aspects of these empirical findings are provided, and the authors suggest several directions for future research.
A proportionality model of Markov manpower systems
Authors: Nilakantan K. , Sankaran Jayaram K. , Raghavendra B.G. 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to construct a model of hierarchical manpower systems which follow proportionality policies in recruitment and promotion of their staff, ostensibly with a view to safeguard the career interests of their existing employees.Design/methodology/approachThe manpower systems are modeled as Markov systems, and their inherent characteristics and long‐term behavior are studied.FindingsSignificantly it is shown that such proportionality systems do not compromise on flexibility in the long term, and can also provide an additional means of controlling the blend of manpower in the system. The theoretical results were tested with real‐world data, and a good degree of conformity was observed between the theoretical predictions and the actually observed behaviour.Practical implicationsThe model can also be applied to organizations which outsource a part of their work, the outsource workforce being notionally being considered as recruits to the system.Originality/valueOutsourcing of work is being practiced on an ever‐increasing scale nowadays, and becoming, at times, even controversial, and as a consequence, an increasing number of organizations are resorting to protectionist policies; the model in this paper provides a theoretical framework in which to view and analyze this phenomenon.
A review of the European Union eParticipation action pilot projects
Authors: Koussouris Sotirios , Charalabidis Yannis , Askounis Dimitrios 
Published: March 2011

PurposeAs the society has long ago left the “industrial age” and entered the “information age”, people, enterprises and above all decision makers are constantly trying to get the best out of the opportunities and the technologies offered, for facilitating their life and their work. One of the most active and promising domains nowadays, is eParticipation, which is actively promoted by all stakeholders, as there is a great need of reconnecting citizens with the decision makers and re‐engaging them into the democratic procedures, especially as during the last years this gap is expanding, with the most convincing proof being the huge figure of voter turnout during the latest European elections. The purpose of this paper is to address these issues.Design/methodology/approachA review of the most active and well‐known eParticipation action pilot projects funded in the European Union is presented, alongside with a methodological framework that has been followed for mapping, assessing and evaluating those projects, using a beyond the state‐of‐the‐art classification method.FindingsConclusions of the performed work are in a position to outline the current status quo of eParticipation in Europe, highlighting lessons learned and opportunities for future activities and research.Originality/valueThis paper includes valuable information towards practitioners, decision makers and administration officials, based not only on the established knowledge and on the experiences gained, but also on the identified gaps of the domain, aiming to support them in understanding the status quo of the domain and in the design process of future research roadmaps for eGovernace and policy modelling.
Do social networking groups support online petitions?
Authors: Panagiotopoulos Panagiotis , Sams Steven , Elliman Tony , Fitzgerald Guy 
Published: March 2011

PurposeEPetitioning has been emerging as arguably the most important eParticipation institutional activity. This paper aims to provide some insights into how ePetitions are perceived and supported by social networking sites.Design/methodology/approachThe paper investigated the connection between the UK Government's ePetitioning system and social networking groups linking to governmental petitions. Online data from Facebook were collected and analysed with respect to numbers of supporters compared to official signatures.FindingsThe results indicate that although the process of signing an official petition is not more complex than joining a Facebook group, the membership of respective Facebook groups can be much higher. In particular, certain topics experienced very high support on Facebook which did not convert to signatures.Originality/valueThe paper's added value lies in the questions raised about the potential uptake of citizen‐government interactions in policy‐making mechanisms.
E‐participation readiness of Austrian municipalities
Authors: Höchtl Johann , Parycek Peter , Sachs Michael 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to depict the present situation of e‐participation initiatives of Austrian municipalities and derives recommendations to further enhance the e‐participation sophistication level.Design/methodology/approachThe findings are based on hypotheses we verified against a dataset obtained from an electronic survey among all Austrian municipalities, conducted in 2008.FindingsThe technical basis for e‐participation in Austria is well developed, yet accessibility of municipal web sites and the phrasing of information leaves space for improvement. E‐participation in Austria is still in a nascent state and requires the convergence of technical, political, legal and socio‐economic factors, which has not yet fully arrived at the municipal level.Research limitations/implicationsThe raw material of the survey did not allow a qualitative assessment of e‐services.Practical implicationsChange of law and reconsideration of opening hierarchical structures.Social implicationsRecommendations of implementing e‐participation on municipal level.Originality/valueOwing to the broad fragmentation of e‐government strategies and relevant regulations, the detailed results of the survey are only of limited use for comparability to other surveys in this domain. The identified factors for e‐accessibility and the derived measures for e‐participation thereupon are a new approach and will help further research and surveys to define an e‐participation assessment framework.
Internet voting in the USA: analysis and commentary
Authors: Awad Mohammed , Leiss Ernst L. 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThe first American internet voting (I‐voting) implementation was in 2000. Since then many attempts and trials have taken place in this field. This paper aims to analyze these various attempts and discuss their benefits and vulnerabilities.Design/methodology/approachI‐voting can provide ease to elderly citizens and people with disabilities. Some also believe that the convenience that the internet offers will attract young voters, and hence increase voter turnout. I‐voting can also solve the problems of late delivery of absentee ballots “which leads to discarding the votes”.FindingsElection officials believe that I‐voting can be considered a valid voting option if it offers at least the same level of security as traditional remote voting methods. On the other hand, many data security experts doubt that the current internet infrastructure is safe enough to support such an important function. I‐voting is still far from being a voting option for US citizens residing in the States; however, it is considered a promising alternative to facilitate voting for those living overseas.Originality/valueThe authors believe this paper contains the most comprehensive analysis of the I‐voting trials that have been carried out in the USA over the last decade.
“The Guarantor”
Authors: Ablameiko Sergei , Kalosha Nikolai , Lipen Denis , Lipen Vitaly 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThe research is aimed at developing an efficient electronic voting platform that would offer distinct advantages over traditional paper ballot voting and the available electronic voting systems.Design/methodology/approachBased on the analysis of the existing technologies and the authors' prior findings, electronic voting was approached as a public information and communication technologies service.FindingsA new methodology of forming election event outcomes is proposed, which is based on the outcomes of internet transactions between web portals such as “The Guarantor” and millions of remote electors, voting event officials and independent observers (auditors). The paper presents the structure of a state‐scale voting system that collects, processes publishes the results of different election events.Originality/valueThe system can accept votes cast online by internet or SMS, by mail, via electronic kiosks and by special computer‐filled paper ballots at polling stations. The system also provides a number of new possibilities for network verification of voter registration and the individual votes without compromising the voters' privacy. A model implementation of a web portal for remote monitoring of election events and individual outcome verification is presented.
The challenges of informed citizen participation in change
Authors: Hughes Mark 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThe paper analyses discussion about public service organisational innovation and change in strategic plans as a potential source of information informing citizen participation.Design/methodology/approachThe strategic plans of 24 different UK public service organisations were analysed using NVivo.FindingsThe strategic plans did not provide comprehensive information about organisational innovations and changes taking place. However, the rationales for why public service organisations were changing were evident.Research limitations/implicationsThe research was based upon a small sample and only a single communication channel (the strategic plans) was analysed.Originality/valueThe paper highlights the challenges of informing citizens about forthcoming organisational innovation and change in public service organisations and suggests ways forward.
Measuring the public value of e‐government: a case study from Sri Lanka
Authors: Karunasena Kanishka , Deng Hepu , Singh Mohini 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThis paper aims to present a case study on the public value of the e‐Sri Lanka program. Four major dimensions of public value creation through e‐government including the delivery of public services, the achievement of outcomes, the development of trust, and the effectiveness of public organizations are considered in evaluating the performance of the e‐Sri Lanka program. The progress of e‐Sri Lanka program is evaluated, and the potential areas for improvement in the development of e‐government in Sri Lanka are identified.Design/methodology/approachExisting methodologies for evaluating the public value of e‐government have been critically analyzed. The need for extending existing methodologies for better assessing the performance of e‐government is discussed. Consequently, an extended conceptual framework is developed for evaluating the public value of e‐government. Various national survey data in Sri Lanka on e‐government development are used for conducting the empirical analysis on the performance of the e‐Sri Lanka program.FindingsThe study reveals that the public value of e‐government in Sri Lanka is unsatisfactory in all the dimensions of public value generation. It shows that the proposed framework is effective in facilitating the identification of public value of e‐government in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, the study shows that the lack of e‐services, the security threat to public information in public organizations, the low adoption of information and communication technologies in government, and the low uptake of available e‐government initiatives are the key reasons for such a poor performance in e‐government.Practical implicationsThe proposed framework can be used for evaluating the public value of e‐government. It provides individual governments with an effective means for better understanding the impact of their e‐government efforts on their citizens and societies, leading to better policies and strategies being made for the continuous development of e‐government.Originality/valueThe proposed framework would be the first approach in examining the public value of e‐government by considering all the dimensions of public value creation. It is the first in‐depth study of public value creation through e‐government in Sri Lanka. Such a study is significant to Sri Lanka giving that its e‐government development is at a crucial stage supported by various international aid organizations.