No public value without a valued public

This study aims to enlighten the controversial discussion about the term public value in an innovative way. Instead of normative pronouncements and paternalistic posits, this study combines a theoretical, literature-based conception with an empirical quantitative approach. For this, the key term, public value, is split into its constituent parts of customer value and citizen value and is transformed into measurable attributes. By means of a choice-based conjoint analysis on panel data for Germany and the United Kingdom, we explore which performance attributes of public service broadcasters are the most important. Based on the results, we create a conception of public value from the perspective of the license fee payers as the main stakeholder of public service broadcasters. Our findings may unlock existing potential to increase our understanding of what is meant by the term public value.     

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.     

Government as a platform,orchestration, and public value creation: The Italian case

E-Government literature has discussed how the adoption of the Government as a Platform (GaaP) can help public administration to produce more efficient public services. However, since little attention has been given to the impact of GaaP on public value creation more research is needed to analyse whether the GaaP is effective to help the government to deliver public services that fulfil social expectations and, hence, public value. Indeed, efficiency does not guarantee public value. Besides efficiency, public value incorporates citizens' variegated expectations and needs that change over time and that are sometimes rival. For these reasons, the delivery of public value is often challenging for public agencies. The aim of this paper is to explain how the GaaP configuration can help public administration to deliver public value better. The paper finds that the modularity of the platform configuration and different ecosystems that support public agencies need to be orchestrated to support the effective creation of public value. The authors analyse the case of the Italian GaaP initiative to discuss the importance of the orchestration of the GaaP characteristics to improve the coordination among public agencies and enable the co-production of services with external actors, in order to deliver public value better. The findings show that the orchestration of the GaaP configuration characteristics can enable Italian public administration to deliver public value, but also that, if the GaaP is not properly orchestrated, it can constrain the creation of public value.     

The economic value of library services for children: The case of the Czech public libraries

Public support of library services must be targeted towards children because these services play a key role in their development. However, no prior research has investigated the value of public library services for children. Specifically, earlier studies evaluated the value of public libraries as a whole, without considering library services for different stakeholders. The fact that children are not autonomous economic agents is another problem to address. These barriers can be overcome by using the contingent valuation method with parents/caregivers as the subjects queried and children used as the objects in this study. Thus, the economic value of library services for children can be obtained to support managerial decisions on services specifically designed for children. More precisely, this study is unique in that it develops a contingent valuation methodology for estimating the value of children's library services based on adults' willingness to allocate a proportion of municipal budgets. Both users and non-users were surveyed to verify the proposed methodology empirically. The results show that the perceived effectiveness (ratio between perceived benefits and costs) of children's library services is 11.2 (11.2 units of benefits for each unit invested) in Czech public libraries compared with 4.3 for a library as a whole. This finding confirms the essential role of children's library services, implying that public libraries should offer a broader selection of children's books and other services. The study also shows that the value of children's library services depends on the age, education and economic structure of the adults queried. In addition, their satisfaction with library services is another important determinant, indicating that public libraries can influence the perceived benefits of children's library services.     

The value of therapeutic reading groups organized by public libraries

This research examines the benefits of therapeutic reading groups that are run by public libraries, and explores their value from the perspective of the participants. Narrative interviews were conducted with 14 members of one of three therapeutic reading groups in order to gather empirical evidence on their experiences in the groups and to develop an understanding of their perceptions of its benefits. Participants were very positive about the value of the groups and the way that they were facilitated. The 11 benefits they discussed were clustered into two groups associated with reading and access to books, and group interaction. Many of these benefits had a positive impact on participants’ individual assurance and self-esteem; the groups also had positive consequences for social inclusion and involvement in the local community and economic activity. Benefits were shown to stem from the social nature of the groups, the texts read, and from the unique experience of shared reading as a creative, collaborative, and interpretive act. This is the first study to gather evidence from the participants of therapeutic reading groups on their perceptions of benefits. The findings support the value of therapeutic reading groups, and support the case for the further development of these groups, and further studies into their benefits.     

Reinventing the public value of libraries

ABSTRACT

Libraries worldwide have had to re-think their purpose and adapt to changing community needs and expectations. They are no longer simply repositories for old books. Rather, they are vital components of a community’s social and economic infrastructure that connects communities and fosters creativity and innovation. This paper explores the changing role of libraries—and public value organizations more broadly—in creating positive social, economic, and environmental outcomes for individuals and communities.     

A public value perspective for ICT enabled public sector reforms: A theoretical reflection

The purpose of this paper is to offer a critical discussion of information system adoption in the public sector (often referred to as e-government) and to contribute to the debate by offering a public value perspective. The paper points to the public value paradigm as an alternative approach to studying ICT-enabled public sector reforms. This paradigm, we argue, proposes an alternative way of framing the nature of the problems faced when ICT enabled public sector reforms are initiated and studied. The public value perspective proposes a new and richer context in which to study and research these phenomena. It also calls for the redefinition of the ways we assess e-government in the context of public sector reforms. It is therefore seen as vital to evaluate the socio-political impact of ICT adoption in the public sector.     

The effects of e-Government cloud assimilation on public value creation: An empirical study of China

Cloud computing applications have entered the stage of popularization and wide adoption as part of e-Government. Improving the implementation and assimilation of e-Government cloud applications (e-Gov cloud) to create public value has become an important issue. Based on theories of information technology (IT) assimilation, IT value, and organizational ambidexterity, this study develops a model of e-Gov cloud assimilation and explores the individual and joint effects of the depth and breadth dimensions of e-Gov cloud assimilation on public value. The model was tested with partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) using a survey of local government agencies in China. The empirical results show that the two dimensions of e-Gov cloud assimilation - depth and breadth - have significantly positive effects: (1) directly on operational public value and (2) indirectly on strategic public value through operational public value. Moreover, the complementary fit strategy of the depth and breadth of e-Gov cloud has a significantly positive effect on strategic public value, while the balanced fit strategy has no significant effect. These findings contribute to both academic research and practical implications, advancing our understandings of e-Government cloud assimilation on public value creation.     

A health education outreach partnership between an academic medical library and public library: lessons learned before and during a pandemic

Background:Public libraries serve as community centers for accessing free, trustworthy health information. As such, they provide an ideal setting to teach the local community about health and health literacy, particularly during public health crises like the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2018, an outreach partnership between an academic medical library and public library has developed, delivered, and continuously evaluated a health education program targeting public library users.Case Presentation:Health education activities were integrated into three existing public library programs: adult workshops, child and family programming, and circulating family activity kits. Prior to COVID-19, events were held at the public library, which then pivoted online during the pandemic. An interprofessional team approach combined the expertise of academic medical and public librarians, medical school faculty and staff, and medical students in developing the educational programs. Twelve in-person and five virtual programs were offered, and five circulating health education family kits were launched. Activities were assessed using program evaluation surveys of the adult and children''s programs and circulation statistics of the kits.Conclusions:This case report showcases the lessons learned from implementing a longitudinal outreach partnership between an academic medical library and public library before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The interprofessional team approach and flexibility in program design and delivery in both the in-person and virtual environments proved critical to the success of the partnership. This partnership could serve as a model for other libraries interested in pursuing interprofessional collaborations in educating local communities on healthy behavior and health information–seeking practices.     

Beyond family structure: The family in domestic comedy

This inquiry examined the portrayal of family relationships in domestic comedy. Participants were randomly assigned to view and evaluate samples of thirteen programs, selected for the study on the basis of their popularity during the period 1950‐1990. Separate discriminant function analyses of spousal and parent‐child relations showed that spousal relations were defined in terms of receptiveness and expressiveness while parent‐child relations were defined in terms of the effectiveness of child socialization and the affective tone of the relationship. Further examination provided strong evidence that the development of the television family has occurred as a stepwise process in which successive generations have been characterized by changed levels of relational openness and a general trend toward increased expression of affect in spousal relations. The study yielded no support for the claim that family life and family relations have deteriorated across time in the television family although there was evidence that working‐class families are seen to be less functional than higher socio‐economic status families. The limitations and implications of these findings are discussed.     

信息无障碍理念在我国公益性信息服务业中的应用现状调查

本文采用文献调研、网络调查、田野调查等方法调查了我国各级政府、图书馆、第三方组织及相关企业在其提供公益性信息服务过程中应用信息无障碍理念的一些实际情况,并总结了8种具体模式及近50种子模式,并提出相关建议。     

安徒生童话在阅读疗法中的价值和应用

安徒生童话是享誉世界的文学名著,对安徒生作品的深入解读,可以挖掘出其中蕴含着的关于爱的底蕴、孤独、感情慰籍、励志追梦、艺术思辨、反思科技等丰富的人文内涵,这在阅读疗法中具有很高的价值和广泛的应用前景。     

Public AI canvas for AI-enabled public value: A design science approach

Public agencies have a strong interest in artificial intelligence (AI) systems. However, many public agencies lack tools and frameworks to articulate a viable business model and evaluate public value as they consider investing in AI systems. The business model canvas used extensively in the private sector offers us a foundation for designing a public AI canvas (PAIC). Employing a design science approach, this study reports on the design and evaluation of PAIC. The PAIC comprises three distinctive layers: (1) the public value-oriented AI-enablement layer; (2) the public value logic layer; and (3) the public value-oriented social guidance layer. PAIC offers guidance on innovating the business models of public agencies to create and capture AI-enabled value. For practitioners, PAIC presents a validated tool to guide AI deployment in public agencies.     

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     

论图书馆的公共关系

文章就图书馆公共关系的概念、构成要素以及图书馆公共关系内容和基本原则、如何强化“公关”意识等进行探讨。     

关于公共图书馆核心价值的思考

目前图书馆学界关于“图书馆核心价值”的讨论方兴未艾,表面上看似乎气氛热烈,观点纷呈,但事实上未能触及到图书馆价值本体层面,更遑论“图书馆核心价值”。通过价值理论正本清源之廓清,运用该理论对桑良至先生《核心价值观与图书馆学基础理论》一文所述IFLA“图书馆核心价值观”的剖析,对其论及“图书馆核心价值观”时出现逻辑悖论进行探因,以及对嬗变中公共图书馆“核心价值”的思考。     

Beyond genre theory: The genesis of rhetorical action

In this essay, I contend that traditional genre theory has an important inherent limitation: It assumes that a single controlling characteristic (often, but not exclusively, situation) is responsible for (and explains) the production of a genre of rhetoric. In contrast, the theory of the Genesis of Rhetorical Action holds that four Burkean ratios—scene‐act, purpose‐act, rhetor‐act, and agency‐act—can be employed to explain how rhetorical discourse occurs (invention). After arguing that the theory of the Genesis of Rhetorical Action is a potentially powerful extension of genre theory on conceptual grounds (and noting that published genre studies reveal the limitations of this theory), I provide empirical evidence from the analysis of rhetorical discourse (research on the Functional Theory of Political Campaign Discourse) to reinforce this argument. A new conception of genre theory is then advocated.     

The application and value of information sources in clinical practice: an examination of the perspective of naturopaths

Background: The approach of evidence‐based medicine (EBM), providing a paradigm to validate information sources and a process for critiquing their value, is an important platform for guiding practice. Researchers have explored the application and value of information sources in clinical practice with regard to a range of health professions; however, naturopathic practice has been overlooked. Objectives: An exploratory study of naturopaths’ perspectives of the application and value of information sources has been undertaken. Methods: Semi‐structured interviews with 12 naturopaths in current clinical practice, concerning the information sources used in clinical practice and their perceptions of these sources. Results: Thematic analysis identified differences in the application of the variety of information sources used, depending upon the perceived validity. Internet databases were viewed as highly valid. Textbooks, formal education and interpersonal interactions were judged based upon a variety of factors, whilst validation of general internet sites and manufacturers information was required prior to use. Conclusions: The findings of this study will provide preliminary aid to those responsible for supporting naturopaths’ information use and access. In particular, it may assist publishers, medical librarians and professional associations in developing strategies to expand the clinically useful information sources available to naturopaths.