Health information programming in public libraries: a content analysis

ABSTRACT

Health information programs, defined as library programs focusing on health-related topics, are an essential way for public libraries to reach out to their user communities, raising awareness of and interest in healthy lifestyle, promoting access to quality health information, and ultimately enhancing health literacy of the citizenry. This study presents a content analysis of the health information programs provided by a large urban public library system in the past year, seeking to strengthen the professional understanding of how public libraries can contribute to health literacy improvement through effective programming, and help other libraries gain insights on health information program planning and implementation.     

Examining the role of Web site information in facilitating different citizen–government relationships: A case study of state Chronic Wasting Disease Web sites

This paper develops a framework to assess the text-based public information provided on program level government agency Web sites. The framework informs the larger e-government question of how, or whether, state administrative agencies are using Web sites in a transformative capacity—to change relationships between citizens and government. It focuses on assessing the degree to which text information provided on government Web sites could facilitate various relationships between government agencies and citizens. The framework incorporates four views of government information obligations stemming from different assumptions about citizen–government relationships in a democracy: the private citizen view, the attentive citizen view, the deliberative citizen view, and the citizen–publisher view. Each view suggests inclusion of different types of information on government agency web sites. The framework is employed to assess state Web sites containing information about chronic wasting disease, a disease effecting deer and elk in numerous U.S. states and Canada.     

The accessibility of Chinese local government Web sites: An exploratory study

With the rapid development of Chinese e-government, Chinese citizens are encouraged to access e-government services as their convenience. However, the accessibility of Chinese e-government Web sites has been overlooked. This research study tries to provide an overview of the accessibility of Chinese local government Web sites. Three hundred twenty-four Chinese local government Web sites were examined to find out how accessible they are with reference to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 (WCAG) published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). This research found that all the surveyed Chinese e-government Web sites failed one or more W3C's accessibility measures and thus many disabled Chinese people may have substantial problems to access them. Several valuable recommendations are made based on the research findings and the China's actual conditions.     

The International Network Structure of News Media: An Analysis of Hyperlinks Usage in News Web sites

This study takes a network approach to examining international communication. Building upon the world system theory and the preferential attachment network theorem, the structure of the international network created by news media is examined. The use of external hyperlinks in 6,298 foreign sries in 20 languages from 223 news Web sites in 73 countries was examined. Findings revealed that information continues to flow from a handful of countries to the rest of the world. News media preferred linking to established information sources, typically in core counties. This study concludes that news media use new technology to replicate old practices.     

论市县级图书馆网站的共建共享

考察了当前互联网上已建的市县级图书馆网站的现状，认为已建市县级图书馆网站存在把现实的图书馆功能简单搬上网、特色不鲜明、缺乏必要的技术支撑等主要缺失；认为基于地域相近、历史文化资源大致相同及行政上的归属关系等原因，市县级图书馆有必要联合起来，共建共享网站，以达到更好地为读者提供网络服务的目的。     

Information privacy: a comprehensive analysis of information request and privacy policies of most-visited Web sites

Obtaining consumer data has become an essential practice of Web proprietors. This is because, compared with ‘brick and mortar’ retail stores, it is much more difficult for Web proprietors to build one-on-one or face-to-face relationships with customers. The collection of personal information online boosts customized services for consumers, but at the same time it increases concerns about privacy infringement. Using a content analysis of the most visited Web sites in Korea and the United States, this study compares the amount and breadth of information requested by Web proprietors and examines the relationship between the information requests and privacy policies of Web sites. This study found that Korea-based Web sites present stronger privacy policies than do US-based Web sites. Ironically, they also request a greater amount and variety of information from consumers than do US-based Web sites during registration processes. When narrowing the focus to US sites only, this study also revealed that the stronger the privacy policies presented by US Web sites, the more information the US Web sites request from consumers.     

Beyond Section 508: The spectrum of legal requirements for accessible e-government Web sites in the United States

In the United States, a number of federal laws establish requirements that electronic government (e-government) information and services be accessible to individuals with disabilities. These laws affect e-government Web sites at the federal, state, and local levels. To this point, research about the accessibility of e-government Web sites has tended to focus on compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. Though Section 508 has the most specific guidelines regarding Web site accessibility, it is hardly the only law establishing accessibility requirements for e-government Web sites, and Section 508 does not apply to many sites that may be required to be accessible by other laws. Until assessment of the accessibility of e-government Web sites accounts for all of the relevant laws, the understanding of levels of accessibility and compliance will be incomplete. This article examines the entire spectrum of federal laws that create legal requirements for accessible e-government Web sites, analyzing the accessibility requirements that the laws establish and the ways in which each of the laws applies to an e-government Web site. This article also suggests research areas that should be included in future assessments to address the entire range of laws related to the accessibility of e-government Web sites. The issues raised in this article have significant relevance to the design and development of e-government, to the assessment of e-government information and services, and to the inclusion in e-government of the 54 million individuals in the United States with disabilities.     

The expression of localism: Local TV news coverage in the new video marketplace

The emergence of a new video marketplace raises questions about the commitment of local TV news organizations to the FCC localism doctrine. Local news coverage at ten Pennsylvania stations in 1992 was content analyzed and compared with 1976 data collected by Adams (1980). Results indicate that stations devoted more coverage to outlying market areas in 1992 than in 1976, but emphasized sensationalism/human interest stories at the expense of local public affairs issues.     

The changing role of non‐English papers in scholarly communication: Evidence from Web of Science's three journal citation indexes

Non‐English languages are widely used, but their roles in scholarly communication are relatively under‐explored. By using Web of Science's Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE, 1900–2015), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI, 1900–2015), and Arts and Humanities Citation Index (A&HCI, 1975–2015), this study probes the patterns and dynamics of non‐English papers by year, citation index, and discipline using bibliometric analysis. The analyses show that English is increasingly being used as the dominating language from natural sciences and social sciences to arts and humanities. Around 97% of the papers in SCIE, 95% of the papers in SSCI, and 73% of the papers in A&HCI during the past decade were in English. However, other languages such as German and French were also used as important academic languages in sciences and social sciences during the first half of the 20th century, 1970s, and 1980s. Unlike natural science and social science disciplines, non‐English papers have consistently played important role in arts and humanities disciplines from the beginning of 1975. Although the shares of non‐English papers in SCIE and SSCI databases have been limited during the past decade, a large number of non‐English papers can be found in some applied disciplines of sciences and social sciences.     

Beyond contact-tracing: The public value of eHealth application in a pandemic

This study adopts a public value perspective to examine the eHealth services deployed by national and regional governments to contain the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, including symptoms checkers, information portals and contact-tracing applications. We analyse 50 cases of eHealth applications adopted in 25 European Economic Area (EEA) and outline how these systems and technologies map against four dimensions of public value: user orientation, participation, legality and equity. Our findings reveal that the public value of the eHealth applications adopted in the context of the current pandemic is affected by both endogenous and exogenous factors that undermine their ability to improve the quality of healthcare services and social wellbeing. We conclude by suggesting areas for further research to address such factors and the trade-offs emerging between different dimensions of public value.     

Patient-based benefit-risk assessment of medicines: development,refinement, and validation of a content search strategy to retrieve relevant studies

Introduction:Poor indexing and inconsistent use of terms and keywords may prevent efficient retrieval of studies on the patient-based benefit-risk assessment (BRA) of medicines. We aimed to develop and validate an objectively derived content search strategy containing generic search terms that can be adapted for any search for evidence on patient-based BRA of medicines for any therapeutic area.Methods:We used a robust multistep process to develop and validate the content search strategy: (1) we developed a bank of search terms derived from screening studies on patient-based BRA of medicines in various therapeutic areas, (2) we refined the proposed content search strategy through an iterative process of testing sensitivity and precision of search terms, and (3) we validated the final search strategy in PubMed by firstly using multiple sclerosis as a case condition and secondly computing its relative performance versus a published systematic review on patient-based BRA of medicines in rheumatoid arthritis.Results:We conceptualized a final search strategy to retrieve studies on patient-based BRA containing generic search terms grouped into two domains, namely the patient and the BRA of medicines (sensitivity 84%, specificity 99.4%, precision 20.7%). The relative performance of the content search strategy was 85.7% compared with a search from a published systematic review of patient preferences in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. We also developed a more extended filter, with a relative performance of 93.3% when compared with a search from a published systematic review of patient preferences in lung cancer.     

互联网:民意表达新通道

网络舆论开辟了反映民意的新通道 ,并将互动扩展到媒体之外 ,促进了政府与公众的沟通。它不仅为政府了解民情民意开启了一个视野宽阔的窗口 ,也为社会主义民主建设架起了一座桥梁。它使政府领导者能够更多地倾听群众呼声、了解世间百态、发掘民间智慧、看到来自网上的建议和批评。然而 ,网络舆论不可避免地存在着其不平衡的一面 ,它代表民意的程度还毕竟有限     

Technology,public policy,and the changing nature of federal information dissemination: Overview of a new office of technology assessment study

Use of information technology—such as electronic document filing, computerized databases, optical disks, electronic mail, electronic remote printing, and electronic bulletin boards—could revolutionize the public information functions of the Federal government. Technology is providing many new opportunities for Federal information collection, maintenance, and dissemination, but is also raising new issues, as well as exacerbating old ones, such as equity of access to Federal public information, the private sector role in Federal electronic information activities, and institutional responsibility for Federal information collection and dissemination.Two congressional committees have asked the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) to study relevant technology and policy issues, including possible future roles for the Government Printing Office, Federal executive agencies, libraries, and private firms. The OTA study process includes in-depth research and extensive outreach, and provides several opportunities for the participation of individuals and organizations interested in these topics.     

The changing face of a city government: A case study of Philly311

This study explores the transformation of a city government led by a 311 program, which provides a consolidated channel for non-emergency services and information. The paper first discusses the concept of “smart city” as a foundation for the examination of the 311 non-emergency contact program as a practice of government innovation, and then presents the details of the 311 program as instantiated in the City of Philadelphia. In-depth interviews with Philadelphia City government officials and managers responsible for creating and operating the City's 311 non-emergency contact program (Philly311) offer practical insights into the contributions the program is making to a more efficient, effective, transparent, and collaborative city government.     

Harmonious communitarianism or a rational public sphere: a content analysis of the differences between comments on news stories on Weibo and Facebook

In studying online political communication in China, many researchers apply theories generated in the West (particularly that of the public sphere) without questioning their applicability in the Chinese context. Others argue that new theories must be generated from the ground up, often basing these theories on traditional Chinese philosophies. However, the applicability of these approaches remains unproven. This research uses a content analysis to compare comments on news stories on Chinese and Western social media sites. It finds that there is little evidence to support either the use of public sphere theory in China or the use of traditional conceptions of Eastern styles of communication. Chinese netizens were no more subtle or harmonious (if anything, they were more divisive) and were less likely to talk with others, attempt to understand others’ opinions or attempt to work towards consensus or resolution. Based on these findings, I propose that future research should attempt to build more appropriate theories based on an understanding of how political ideas are actually produced, transmitted and received in society, rather than continuing to apply foreign or ancient theoretical frameworks without a critical interrogation of their applicability in their context of application.     

Co-production in digital transformation of public administration and public value creation: The case of Denmark

Public administrations are investing in the digital transformation of their citizen-oriented services and internal administrative processes. They are using co-production approaches and include different types of stakeholders into these transformative processes to increase service quality and generate public value. In this study, we investigate how these co-production approaches are implemented in both digital strategy formulation and implementation in Denmark. We identify four different types of public value: citizen, economic, administrative and societal public value.