E-government policy and practice: A theoretical and empirical exploration of public e-procurement

The purpose of this paper is to theoretically and empirically explore how public e-procurement policies are translated into practice. The theoretical argument draws on actor network theory (ANT), coupled with Colebatch’s [Colebatch, H. K. (2002). Policy (2nd ed.). Maidenhead, Open University Press.] social construct of policy, to analyze the actors, actions, and circumstances through which understanding of public e-procurement comes to stabilize (or not) into a coherent policy for action. Drawing on three case studies of central government agencies in Italy, Scotland, and Western Australia, we suggest new intellectual perspectives and methodological heuristics that may assist researchers and practitioners analytical efforts in examining sociotechnical change and the implications for policy development and implementation.     

Using ICTs to create a culture of transparency: E-government and social media as openness and anti-corruption tools for societies

In recent years, many governments have worked to increase openness and transparency in their actions. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are seen by many as a cost-effective and convenient means to promote openness and transparency and to reduce corruption. E-government, in particular, has been used in many prominent, comprehensive transparency efforts in a number of nations. While some of these individual efforts have received considerable attention, the issue of whether these ICT-enabled efforts have the potential to create a substantive social change in attitudes toward transparency has not been widely considered. This paper explores the potential impacts of information and ICTs – especially e-government and social media – on cultural attitudes about transparency.     

Towards a comprehensive understanding of digital government success: Integrating implementation and adoption factors

When analyzing the causes that lead to digital government success or failure, state of the art research is often divided into two main areas: (1) implementation of these initiatives by government agencies and (2) their adoption by citizens, as some of the most important users. Each of these two perspectives has its own concepts, measurements, and theoretical models. This separation becomes significant when trying to have a comprehensive understanding of digital government success and when facing practical problems since factors affecting both governments and citizens contribute to the success or failure of digital government initiatives. Therefore, this paper proposes a comprehensive digital government success model that attempts to integrate implementation and adoption perspectives. In addition, based on data from the 32 states of Mexico, the paper provides an illustrative example of how the proposed model could be used.     

Collection evaluation: A practical guide to the literature

This is an evaluative summary of the literature on assessment of academic library collections for working collection development librarians. It reviews the general literature on collection evaluation and the principal methodological approaches, including application of standards, use of checklists, verification studies, citation analysis, and use studies. Strengths and weaknesses of each approach are identified. The critical role of the experience and expertise of the evaluator and his/her objectives is stressed.     

Information-sharing in public organizations: A literature review of interpersonal, intra-organizational and inter-organizational success factors

Information sharing is considered an important approach to increasing organizational efficiency and performance. With advances in information and communication technology, sharing information across organizations has become more feasible. In the public sector, government agencies are also aware of the importance of information sharing for addressing policy issues such as anti-terrorism and public health. However, information sharing can be a complex task. Identifying factors that influence information sharing is critical. In the literature, research in information sharing focuses on the interpersonal, intra-organizational, and inter-organizational levels. This paper reviews the current information-sharing research, discusses the factors affecting information sharing at the three levels, and provides summative frameworks. These frameworks provide a means to discover future research opportunities, and a systematic way for practitioners to identify key factors involved in successful information sharing.     

Exploring the psychological foundations of democratic group deliberation: Personality factors,Confirming interaction,and democratic decision making

This report investigated relationships among group members’ personalities, confirming interaction, and democratic decision making. Using the Big Five personality measure and a self‐report measure of confirming interaction, it was hypothesized that confirming interaction would be reported more often in groups whose members are relatively extraverted, agreeable, conscientious, non‐neurotic, and open to experience. Of these personality factors, one had a clear association: Groups with higher mean levels of agreeableness reported higher levels of confirming interaction. In addition, perceived confirming interaction was hypothesized to be positively correlated with members’ perceptions of democratic decision making. This hypothesis was also supported.     

Testing the limits: The theoretical development and practical reality of a large-scale agarose gel treatment for a discolored Morris Louis

The raw canvas paintings of Morris Louis and similar color field works, with their extreme vulnerability to staining and structural damage, present a challenge for safe and successful treatment design, often testing the bounds of our abilities as conservators and stimulating expansion of treatment methodologies. The ability to draw from specialized textile and painting conservation techniques, and to understand their long-term implications and impact on aesthetic perception, is essential for the conservator of these modern paintings. A large Morris Louis, Untitled (Floral), held as a non-accessioned work at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, provided an ideal example to explore the intersection of minimally interventive treatments with the need for aesthetic perfection.     

面向市民的电子政务公共服务评价:以长江三角洲为例

市民是电子政务服务的主要对象,如何为市民提供高效、优质、规范、透明和全方位的公共服务,是电子政务的本质和宗旨。本文选择了与民生有关的生育、婚姻、户籍、文化教育、社会保障、公用事业、医疗卫生、交通出行共8项指标,采用电子政务公共服务成熟度方法,对长江三角洲各主要城市面向市民的电子政务公共服务进行了评价。结果表明：目前长江三角洲城市电子政务已处于公共服务型阶段,但公共服务的广度和深度都有待拓展和提高。     

RUBRIQ: tools,services, and software to improve peer review

Rubriq is on a mission to put lost time back into research. We estimate that 15 million hours are lost each year to redundant peer review as papers get rejected and flow down the journal prestige pyramid. Rubriq uses an author‐pays model to facilitate fast, independent, and standardized peer review performed by three academic peers who are financially compensated for their efforts. Authors receive the reviews as well as a detailed journal recommendation report in 1–2 weeks. This service is designed to improve journal selection, supplement editorial reviews, and make peer review more portable between journals. The creation of the standardized scorecard is just the first phase of Rubriq's plans to improve the scholarly communication workflow. Through lessons learned over the past year, the Rubriq approach is evolving into a broader set of tools, software, and services designed to speed and improve the scholarly communication process.     

Measurement and benchmarking foundations: Providing support to organizations in their development and growth using dashboards

Growth and stage models often lack a sound empirical and theoretical base and do not provide any help for organizations to improve. Measuring and benchmarking (M&B) is necessary for understanding an organization's position and identifying growth opportunities. Yet M&B methods are often not based on generalizations of practice and measure only what is directly visible. They are missing relevant elements that can help further development. In this paper, we propose a multi-level measurement framework utilizing a mix of measurement methods to look deep inside organizations. Whereas benchmarking is often based on a single number, deep insight is given by showing the performance in a broad range of areas and views using a dashboard. Guidance for improvement is created by identifying those elements that need improvements. The illustration of the framework in a case study shows that the process of measuring deep inside organizations might be more important than the actual outcomes and that per area different maturity levels might be possible. We provide seven principles that can serve as a foundation for developing M&B and stage models.     

HSCL LibQUAL+ 2004: from numbers and graphs to practical application

The University of Florida Health Science Center Libraries created a task force representing various departments to review data from its 2004 LibQUAL+ survey. This review compared results from the 2002 and 2004 LibQUAL+ surveys, and the data from the Association of Academic Health Science Libraries 2004 cohort. The task force analyzed the key components of the LibQUAL+ survey: Affect of Service, Information Control, Library as Place, and user comments. At the conclusion of this review, the task force made recommendations and suggestions along departmental lines to meet the patrons' needs and expectations. In addition to following the task force recommendations, the Libraries independently implemented several new services and hired additional personnel after the completion of the 2004 survey. Combined, these changes should improve overall library service and increase customer satisfaction. Looking towards the 2006 LibQUAL+ survey, the task force will be convened in advance and will guide the entire process.     

The impact of organizational factors on management information system success: An investigation in the Iran's agricultural extension providers

Information system success has been widely discussed in the past two decades. As systems and technologies are being improved and developed, discussions on their effectiveness and evaluation on their success have been continuously debated by researchers, scholars and practitioners throughout the years. Besides the major concern of IS effectiveness, factors influencing IS effectiveness are also important. One of these factors is the organizational factor. Using perceptual measures, this study aims to investigate the influence of organizational factors on MIS success. Survey questionnaires were gathered from 132 Extension Managers from Iran's Agricultural Extension Providers. Seven items were identified to influence MIS success. They are IS department structure, top management support, management style, managerial IT knowledge, goal alignment, resources allocation and IS infrastructure. The study also identified five MIS success dimensions; systems quality, information quality, perceived Ease of use, organizational impact and individual impact. The study found that the MIS success variables are significantly and highly correlated. The study also found all the organizational factors are significantly correlated to the five IS success factors investigated; the system quality, information quality, perceived ease of use, organizational impact and individual impact. Multiple regression analyses also found goal alignment as the highest predictor of IS success, followed by IS department structure, IS infrastructure and management style.     

Interpersonal deception: VI. Effects of preinteractional and interactional factors on deceiver and observer perceptions of deception success

Past research on deception success has focused on receiver judgments, ignoring deceiver perceptions, which may influence the ways deceivers choose to behave in interpersonal interactions. The present study investigated how several preinteractional and interactional factors affect both deceiver and observer perceptions of deception success. Preinteractional factors included three that have been found relevant to deceptive communication: social skill, self‐monitoring, and motivation. Interactional factors included receiver suspicion, plus four proposed by the four‐factor theory of deception (anxiety, affect, task difficulty, and behavioral control). Results indicated that deceivers’ perceptions of success were more affected by interactional factors (especially anxiety, interaction difficulty, and conversational normality). Conversely, observers were more affected by preinteractional factors such as deceiver social skill. However, motivation, self‐monitoring, and conversational normality affected both deceivers’ and observers’ assessments: greater motivation and self‐monitoring, coupled with more natural, expected communication, yielded greater believability in deceivers’ own eyes and the eyes of observers.     

“旗帜”是这样打造成的——以《中华检验医学杂志》为例

《中华检验医学杂志》创刊以来取得了不俗的成绩。本文介绍该刊在刊发高质量文章方面的经验;阐述通过创立VIP读者会员制、举办各种品牌会议、开办继续教育栏目等途径为读者服务的做法;总结开展对外合作方面的体会。     

Responsibility Rolls Down: Public Libraries and the Social and Policy Obligations of Ensuring Access to E-government and Government Information

Access to government information has been considered an essential element of democracy since the foundation of the American republic. Over time, the amount of government information produced has increased significantly, and the rise of e-government has made access to online government information, communication, and services equally vital to participation in society and interaction with governments. However, the outlets of free public access to government information and e-government have constricted over time, leaving public libraries as one of the only free public Internet access points in most communities. As a result, public libraries serve as a social guarantor of access to and assistance with government information and e-government services. This article first discusses the historical evolution of the means of access to government information and changes over time in responsibilities in providing such access. After exploring the interrelationships between government information and e-government, the article then details the development of the role of public libraries as guarantors of e-government access. Finally, the article examines the impacts of policy on e-government access in libraries, leading to a set of recommendations and conclusions to support the vital library roles related to e-government.