High Public Expectations Research Articles

Impact of supply–demand matching on citizen satisfaction: analysis based on expectancy disconfirmation model

In the context of ensuring the well-being of citizens, the energy industry should predominantly adhere to the people-oriented approach. Investigation of citizen satisfaction through the lenses of power supply and societal demand is of utmost importance. This study constructs a satisfaction model based on expectancy disconfirmation theory, employs response surface analysis to explore the impact of matching degree between demand and supply on citizen satisfaction. The results show that citizen satisfaction is notably higher in case of a match between public expectations and supply quality compared to mismatch scenarios. Furthermore, instances involving both high public expectations and high supply quality, yield greater satisfaction compared to scenarios involving low public expectations and low supply quality. Importantly, citizen satisfaction experiences a dip when public expectations surpass supply quality, unlike situations where public expectations fall short of supply quality. Policy awareness does not moderate the effect of matching analysis on citizen satisfaction. This research enriches the scope of understanding the complex nature of public satisfaction, offering theoretical support for the high-quality development of power supply departments, catering to both energy needs and well-being of citizens. Thus, the current study significantly contributes to promoting the sustainable and high-quality development of the local social economy.

Glowing gels and pipettes aplenty: how do commercial stock image banks portray genetic tests?

News stories and patient-facing material about genetic tests are often illustrated by images, but the content of such images and the messages they propagate are rarely scrutinised. Stock image banks were searched to identify a hundred images relating to genetic tests and analysed using a multimodal critical discourse approach, aiming to identify what the images featured, how they were composed, and what they communicated about genetic testing. We found that images tended to focus on technical aspects of sample processing (for example, pipetting) and drew on older technologies (for example slab gel electrophoresis) when representing data arising from genetic tests. Composition choices like focussing images around pipette tips, or emphasising colour or brightness of electrophoretic bands, represented genetic testing as precise, unambiguous and illuminating. Only 7% of images featured a person having a genetic test, and only one image alluded to communication of genetic results. Current popular visual representations of genetic testing rarely highlight the possibility of uncertain or non-diagnostic outcomes, and may contribute to high public expectations of informativeness and certainty from such tests.

A South African institution perspective of a framework for enterprise resource planning systems

Background: Public sector organisations encounter many challenges because of their complex legislative requirements, social responsibilities and higher public expectations. In the early 1980s, governments worldwide started experimenting with improving functions and processes through enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. Objective: This study investigated the feasibility of South African government institutions in adopting a guideline that will assist in implementing a sustainable ERP system to improve their information systems strategy. Method: This study followed the qualitative dominating mixed research methodology. A survey was distributed to 20 participants with closed-ended questions to collect quantitative data and open-ended questions to collect qualitative data. Results: Thirteen factors that allow ERP systems to be successfully implemented were identified. Some of the factors included effective change management policies, end-user specialised knowledge, organisation culture fit, top management support, ERP training before and post-implementation, visibility of activities throughout the workflow, and willingness to change. Sixteen issues that restrict ERP implementation were also identified. Some of the restricting factors include ERP system complexity, high levels of customisation, inadequate flexibility, budget, maintenance costs, lack of vendor support, implementation delays and cost overruns. The current state of ERP implementation in the investigated organisation is of acceptance with growth being achieved gradually and steadily. Conclusion: The proposed framework provides core competencies such as top management support, ERP training before and post-implementation, and effective change management policies among others, that can be used to establish corrective measures before and during the installation of ERP systems. Contribution: This study contributed to the body of knowledge by identifying the success and hindering factors of ERP system implementation. The proposed framework outlines guidelines for organisations to successfully adopt and implement ERP systems.

A South African institution perspective of a framework for enterprise resource planning systems

Background: Public sector organisations encounter many challenges because of their complex legislative requirements, social responsibilities and higher public expectations. In the early 1980s, governments worldwide started experimenting with improving functions and processes through enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. Objective: This study investigated the feasibility of South African government institutions in adopting a guideline that will assist in implementing a sustainable ERP system to improve their information systems strategy. Method: This study followed the qualitative dominating mixed research methodology. A survey was distributed to 20 participants with closed-ended questions to collect quantitative data and open-ended questions to collect qualitative data. Results: Thirteen factors that allow ERP systems to be successfully implemented were identified. Some of the factors included effective change management policies, end-user specialised knowledge, organisation culture fit, top management support, ERP training before and post-implementation, visibility of activities throughout the workflow, and willingness to change. Sixteen issues that restrict ERP implementation were also identified. Some of the restricting factors include ERP system complexity, high levels of customisation, inadequate flexibility, budget, maintenance costs, lack of vendor support, implementation delays and cost overruns. The current state of ERP implementation in the investigated organisation is of acceptance with growth being achieved gradually and steadily. Conclusion: The proposed framework provides core competencies such as top management support, ERP training before and post-implementation, and effective change management policies among others, that can be used to establish corrective measures before and during the installation of ERP systems. Contribution: This study contributed to the body of knowledge by identifying the success and hindering factors of ERP system implementation. The proposed framework outlines guidelines for organisations to successfully adopt and implement ERP systems.

THE EFFECT OF MOTIVATION FOR THE PREVENTION OF CORRUPTION ACTS IN THE MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS

The report presents the objective need for motivation as an element of managerial impact in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The activity of the state administration should correspond to the high public expectations for professional competence, legality, integrity, correctness and responsibility. That is why motivation is the key element that leads to the formation of specific behavior aimed at the observance of value orientations in the performance of official duties and is an important prerequisite for the prevention of corrupt behavior among the employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Politicization of Insecurity and Efficient Management of the Nigerian Correctional Service, 2015-2022

In recent times, Nigeria has been plagued by escalating insecurity, which has culminated in daily cases of kidnapping, banditry, robbery, and indiscriminate killings in nearly all six geopolitical zones. The recurring decimal of these criminal operations has made possible the further extension of attacks to the Country’s correctional centers (Prisons), Thereby, hindering the ability and capacity of the Nigerian correctional service to live up to high public expectations of efficient management of correctional facilities across the country. However, despite the high number of attacks, the government appears powerless to stop this threat due to their inability to convict the perpetrators of these crimes. These terrorists on their own have grown more daring as can be observed with the rising cases of prison breaks across the nation as they aim to free their already captured colleagues without fear of being confronted by the security agencies. This paper therefore examined the effect of politicizing insecurity by political actors and its implication on the proper and efficient management of the Nigerian correctional service within the period under review. Using the instrumental theory of terrorism, the paper investigated critically the underlying issues preventing the Nigerian government from successfully apprehending runaway terrorists. Data for the study was collected through documentary sources and analyzed appropriately using the qualitative-descriptive method of data analysis. The study established that there appears to be a convoluted relationship between certain segments of the government or its security personnel and the terrorists wreaking havoc on the Nigerian state and this has had adverse effects on the efficient management of the Nation’s correctional service. As a result, the research urges a thorough investigation of Nigeria's terrorist sponsors and a complete revamp of the nation's security system.

The Assistant Еducator – a Valuable Resource in the Care, Education and Socialization of Kindergarten Children

Kindergarten, as an educational institution in which the training, upbringing and socialization of children takes place, is nowadays burdened with high public expectations. The connection between good educational results and children's participation in organized pre-school education is being discussed more and more often. Bulgaria has a pre-school infrastructure that provides a suitable educational environment. Participants in the educational process are children, teachers and parents, but an undervalued resource is the assistant educator. Through their professional duties and their presence in the child's life in the kindergarten, they are not only responsible for maintaining hygiene, but also assist teachers in organizing games, training, meals, walks with the children. Teamwork between teacher and an assistant educator creates a feeling of coziness and tranquility in children, so that each of them can feel included, protected, loved and encouraged in their development. This article presents some opportunities for optimizing the functional duties of assistant educators, as well as for the development of their professional competences. Effective use of such resource would help to increase the quality of the educational process.

Beyond the Boom: Dependent Development and Political Change in Argentina (2010–2015)

The integration of Latin American countries into the global economy has historically proceeded through the export of primary commodities, a dependency that has long exposed them to developments in core industrial nations, changing terms of trade, and “resource curse” externalities. However, in the early 2000s, a new commodity boom coincided with the arrival of left-of-centre administrations across the region forwarding post-neoliberal visions of development where extraordinary export rents were destined to expand public spending and progressive welfare policies. While the relationship between Latin America’s left turn and this latest boom has been well-covered in the literature, much less has been said about developments in the 2010s, when the end of that boom sent many of these projects tumbling, fuelling political discontent and facilitating the arrival of conservative administrations in places like Argentina, Brazil, and Ecuador, among others. Thus, this article explores the relationship between global integration and political change by looking at the case of Argentina, and developments during the second presidency of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (2011–2015), when falling agricultural commodity prices aggravated social tensions and political conflicts as the government sought to navigate a “governance puzzle” through which it attempted to square high public expectations for revenue redistribution with falling fiscal collection. In particular, we analyse the co-evolution of global economic conditions, macroeconomic disequilibria, and domestic political pressures, considering how this led the government to lock itself into a distributive conflict pattern that dissatisfied both opposition sectors and important segments of its support base. As such, this case study illuminates the structural challenges confronted by governments in developing economies pursuing ambitious developmental and socially-progressive agendas, while elaborating the political implications that current account and fiscal disequilibria may produce in these contexts.

How to manage endings in unsuccessful therapy: A qualitative comparison of youth and clinician perspectives

ABSTRACT Background: Approximately half of those who access child and adolescent mental health services do not show measurable improvement in symptoms. This study aimed to provide practice recommendations for managing treatment endings, particularly when outcomes have not improved. Method: Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 26 young people with a history of anxiety and/or depression along with 7 roundtable sessions with 52 mental health clinicians. Data were analyzed using Framework Analysis. Results: A common experience for young people when outcomes did not improve was a poor experience of the treatment ending, which often resulted in setbacks in their mental health and feelings of loss and abandonment. Clinicians agreed that ending was hard for young people and reported that they found managing ending hard on a personal and professional level. This was compounded by unrealistically high public expectations about the impact of therapy on outcomes and trying to strike a balance between fostering hope and managing expectations, within a context of inflexible service structures and resource constraint. Implications: Recommendations include establishing expectations from the outset and a shared understanding of what outcomes matter most to the young person. This can be achieved through communicating honestly about likely outcomes, while also providing hope.

In Silico: Where Next?

Everyone agrees that we do not yet understand how brains work, neither well enough to satisfactorily explain basic functions such as memory nor to design effective interventions to restore mental health. This is one of the great scientific challenges of our era, with huge implications not only for human health but for insight into all animal life and for the development of future technologies. How should resources be invested to foster the necessary leap toward understanding? Given the pressing societal need and the very high public expectations of neuroscience, stoked by TED talks, New York Times articles, and sci fi, the pressures riding on choices of funding targets are enormous. Against this background, 2013 was a banner year for the brain: both the European Union and the United States agreed to devote unprecedented support specifically to neuroscience. The European Union funded the billion-dollar Human Brain Project (HBP; Amunts et al, 2016), whose centerpiece was a team science effort to develop neuroinformatics infrastructure and to expand the Blue Brain Project (Markram, 2006), a high-fidelity biophysically realistic computational model of brain tissue. In the United States, the BRAIN Initiative launched with an initial commitment of $100 million and the appointment of a panel of respected scientists who met over months to identify major gaps and promising directions in neuroscience (Jorgenson et al., 2015). Government agencies then formulated funding opportunities that supported individual labs or small teams to develop new technologies to record, stimulate, analyze, and interpret neural activity. These efforts stimulated brain initiatives in several other countries, including Japan, Korea, and China (Huang and Luo, 2015; Grillner et al., 2016). Almost 10 years later, it is timely to look back at some of the large-scale neuroscience efforts of the past decade and the routes they …

Rethinking Clinical Trials and Personalized Medicine with Placebogenomics and Placebo Dose.

Pharmacogenomics, nutrigenomics, vaccinomics, and the nascent field of plant omics are examples of variability science. They are embedded within an overarching framework of personalized medicine. Across these public health specialties, the significance and biology of the placebo response have been historically neglected. A placebo is any substance such as a sugar pill administered in the guise of medication, but one that does not have pharmacological activity. Placebos do have clinical effects, however, that can be substantive in magnitude and vary markedly from person-to-person depending, for example, on the type of disease, symptoms, or clinical trial design. Research over the past several decades attests to a genuine neurobiological basis for placebo effects. All drugs have placebo components that contribute to their overall treatment effect. Placebos are used in clinical trials as control groups to ascertain the net pharmacological effect of a drug candidate. Not only less well known but also relevant to rational therapeutics and personalized medicine is the nocebo. A nocebo effect occurs when an inert substance is administered in a context that induces negative expectations, worsening patients' symptoms. With the COVID-19 pandemic, there are high public expectations for new vaccines and medicines to end the contagion, while at the same time antiscience, post-truth, and antivaccine movements are worrisomely on the rise. These social movements, changes in public health cultures, and conditioned behavioral responses can trigger both placebo and nocebo effects. Hence, in clinical trials, forecasting and explaining placebo and nocebo variability are more important than ever for robust science and personalized health care. Against this overarching context, this article provides (1) a brief history of placebo and (2) a discussion on biology, mechanisms, and variability of placebo effects, and (3) discusses three emerging new concepts: placebogenomics, nocebogenomics, and augmented placebo, that is, the notion of a "placebo dose." We conclude with a roadmap for placebogenomics, its synergies with the nascent field of social pharmacology, and the ways in which a new taxonomy of drug and placebo variability can be anticipated in the next decade.

A government–society confrontation

In legal courts the right to protest is often demarcated by its infringement on other constitutional rights in a typical illustration of graded absolutism when there is conflict between two overlapping sets of negative civil and political rights, with those of speech, expression, and movement culminating in rights to assembly and association on the one hand, and personal liberty and security on the other. The twentieth century ostensibly saw the end of blunt command and control policing in mature economies, but the practice of negotiated management is often thwarted at the scene. The strengths and limits of this philosophy are demonstrated in the political experiment that is Hong Kong, a postcolonial Chinese capitalist city with a proud legal and policing heritage from Britain. Crowd and riot management experiences have long been confined to festivities and peaceful rallies until the transfer of sovereignty in 1997. With constitutional freedoms of speech and assembly now upheld more explicitly than ever, the free, if less-than-democratically represented, population began to mobilize in discontent. Extraordinarily high public expectations of the police force highlighted its steep, treacherous learning curve as activists deployed, invented, and adapted protest techniques. As with many metropolitan forces, the tug of war between civil rights and public order rubs at the throat of the Hong Kong police. This essay examines these escalating developments in five key protest episodes that occurred after the 2003 Hong Kong mass rally. Police strategies are illustrated through established scholarly systems in police knowledge. Analysis suggests that, after the 2003 rally, the force has employed a passive–adaptive approach to evolving protest practices. The precious equilibrium, however, has been steadily disturbed following the loss of mutual trust between police and protesters, thus explaining the 2014 Umbrella Movement street confrontations.

ANALISIS KUALITAS PELAYANAN TERHADAP KEPUASAAN PELANGGAN (STUDI KASUS PENGURUSAN SURAT IZIN USAHA PERDAGANGAN DI KANTOR PELAYANAN PERIJINAN TERPADU KOTA PALEMBANG)

Quality of service is a response to the applicant on the level of service that is hosted by the Office of Integrated Licensing Services (KPPT) of Palembang as statements feeling of care received at the time taking care of business license letter (SIUP). This study aimed to analyze the dimensions of service quality ie reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy and tangible based on observations and interviews delivered by employees and customers at the time taking care of Trade Business License (License) in the Integrated Licensing Services Office (KPPT) of Palembang. The method used is descriptive method with qualitative approach. Observations and interviews with respondents on 5 indicators show that the physical evidence (Tangibles) from the comfort of the service is still less than satisfactory, reliability (Reliability) of the cost and timeliness of the necessary permits are still not satisfied, responsiveness (Responsiveness) from providing easily understandable information still not satisfied, the guarantee (assurance) of the attitudes and actions of officers as well as friendliness towards customers still lacking. The last indicator is empathy (Empathy) measured from providing delightful service to customers can be categorized own good, but because of the high public expectations on the performance of the service of this dimension, then this condition gives effects on the service user is not satisfied with the services received.Keywords : quality of service, Business license letter (SIUP),integrated license service offices (KPPT)

Exploring new models for improving planetary rover operations efficiency through the 2016 CanMars Mars Sample Return (MSR) analogue deployment

Approaches to rover mission operations were investigated in the framework of the CanMars Mars Sample Return (MSR) analogue mission deployments. Improving the efficiency of operations is a necessity for future planetary missions, including Mars 2020, which seek to combine sample targeting with in situ investigations in the fixed amount of time available in primary science operations and with increasingly high public and science community expectations for results. Analogue missions provide an important opportunity to experiment with mission operation strategies and learn lessons that can be incorporated in future missions. Improving the efficiency of operations was a key objective of the 2015 and 2016 CanMars mission deployment. The mission overall operations organisation for CanMars is described with comparison to current implementation of Mars Exploration Rover and Mars Science Laboratory missions. Approaches being tested included 3-sol plan sequences with increased use of waypoints for teach and return as part of a global Walkabout approach, use of Strategic Observation days to focus the Science Team's efforts, and consideration to improvements in how information is exchanged tactically and strategically in operations.

Maternal Occupational Exposures to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Risk of Neural Tube Defects in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study

Approaches to rover mission operations were investigated in the framework of the CanMars Mars Sample Return (MSR) analogue mission deployments. Improving the efficiency of operations is a necessity for future planetary missions, including Mars 2020, which seek to combine sample targeting with in situ investigations in the fixed amount of time available in primary science operations and with increasingly high public and science community expectations for results. Analogue missions provide an important opportunity to experiment with mission operation strategies and learn lessons that can be incorporated in future missions. Improving the efficiency of operations was a key objective of the 2015 and 2016 CanMars mission deployment. The mission overall operations organisation for CanMars is described with comparison to current implementation of Mars Exploration Rover and Mars Science Laboratory missions. Approaches being tested included 3-sol plan sequences with increased use of waypoints for teach and return as part of a global Walkabout approach, use of Strategic Observation days to focus the Science Team's efforts, and consideration to improvements in how information is exchanged tactically and strategically in operations.

Scandals, Media and Good Governance in China and Kenya

Conventional wisdom holds that democratic governments listen to their populations, while authoritarian governments do not. This paper questions the extent to which this dynamic applies in cases of government scandals, using the illustrative cases of China and Kenya. We expect democratic countries with free media to be responsive and authoritarian states to ignore public pressure. Counter to this expectation, however, authoritarian China is more responsive to public pressure to clean up scandals than democratic Kenya. Using case studies and quantitative analysis, we argue that while democracy and free media are important for government responsiveness to scandal, they are neither necessary nor sufficient conditions. We assert that political will, state capacity to respond and high public expectations for state action are also necessary.

Managing for efficiency: lessons from the United Kingdom’s Efficiency Agenda 2004–2010

The call for greater efficiency in public spending is not new, but today has additional force: how can we deliver more for (even) less? A combination of high public expectations about service quality and prolonged fiscal constraint requires New Zealand government departments to focus on the highest spending priorities, find more innovative ways to deliver services, and create efficiencies wherever possible (State Services Commission, 2010a, 2010b). The urgent need to refocus on providing smarter, better public services for less was a consistent theme over the past few years in public statements made by the previous secretary to the Treasury, John Whitehead. Whitehead identified developments in the public sector in the United Kingdom as a potential model for New Zealand, particularly the speed with which ‘new thinking [was] converted into action’ in the pursuit of efficiency (Whitehead, 2010), and referenced in particular a programme launched in the UK in 2004 as an innovative public reform initiative from which New Zealand might learn (Whitehead, 2009a).

Is the NHS, as an employer, overburdened with regulations relating to its obligations to employees?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide an introduction to the existing regulations relating to the obligations of the NHS to its employees and to discuss whether the NHS is overburdened with these regulations.Design/methodology/approachProvides an overview of the current employment regulations and their impact on the NHS. The authors conducted a literature search in August 2009 on EMBASE, HMIC, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, HEALTH BUSINESS ELITE (1995‐2009) using the terms “NHS employee”, “NHS employer”, “Employment laws”. The reference sections of retrieved papers were hand‐searched for further relevant references.FindingsThe NHS seems to differ from other employers in several aspects. It has always remained high in political agenda, and has had to face high public expectations. The NHS has a huge workforce from a variety of disciplines regulated by different external agencies. There are several areas where it seems that the NHS is struggling with the obligations to its employees. The law regarding the employment contract, redundancy and termination of contract puts the NHS management, as revealed in many case laws, in several legal dilemmas. The working time directives, time off work provisions and the rapidly changing health and safety obligations do not give flexibility and thus create practical problems to the human resources department. The ever‐growing financial obligations seem to be challenging even the very existence of the NHS.Originality/valueThe value of this paper is in drawing attention to the fact that existing employment law is complex and consists of several complicated statutes. The NHS is also going through a period of rapid changes, in trying to set and meet stringent and unrealistic national targets and thereby putting enormous pressure on its management and workforce. The NHS is therefore struggling in several areas with the obligations to its employees.

Safety in medical simulation–overlooked or underappreciated?

In the past, many doctors learned their craft in understaffed settings with heavy patient loads. Long hours of work with considerable responsibility provided the opportunity to gain experience and build skills rapidly. Patients accepted junior doctors in no small part because of a lack of alternatives. Altered perceptions about what is reasonable in relation to hours of work, the role of trainee doctors, and the expectations of patients have changed the situation considerably. The airline industry (amongst others) has created high public expectations for safe and reliable services, and these expectations are extending increasingly to healthcare. One notable difference between the airlines and hospitals lies in the way individuals are trained. In medicine, trainee doctors are still relied on to contribute towards much of the day-to-day workload. In many countries, trainee doctors still undertake a large portion of the service work, often with only distant supervision, particularly at night. Whether this experience is learning or training is a moot point. By contrast, passengers expect fully trained pilots. Increasingly, patients expect their doctors to be adequately trained, and they also expect their doctors to maintain their expertise and skill throughout their careers. One way to meet these expectations is through simulation. Today, simulation is integral to pilot training, credentialing, and maintaining competence. Anesthesiologists have adopted simulation to facilitate various aspects of their training, and they have made great advances in developing realistic simulators and acquiring expertise in this form of education. In principle, it is believed that simulation provides a safe and controlled environment in which experience can be provided exactly as and when required, and reflective learning can be facilitated through skilled debriefing. Simulation in anesthesia is not as well developed as simulation in the aviation industry, and levels of realism in the former fall far short of those taken for granted in the latter. However, progress is being made, and staff members at many simulation centres take pride in ensuring that the experience of participation in their simulated scenarios is as close to clinical practice as possible. One way to achieve this is to incorporate standard anesthetic equipment into their simulations (e.g., anesthetic machines, monitors, defibrillators, infusion pumps, drugs, labels, and electronic or manual charts) that participants use in their daily practice. In the current issue of the Journal, Riem, Boet, and Chandra report a case in which this approach created a risk for staff and students in their simulation centre. It seems that an unregulated flow of carbon dioxide, which was ‘‘exhaled’’ from a Laerdal SimMan 3G (Laerdal, Stavanger, Norway) patient simulator, caused a precipitous increase in the temperature of soda lime being used during a simulated case. The authors raise the possibility that simulation may become ‘‘too realistic’’ and call for greater awareness of the potential risks associated with taking equipment into environments for which it was not intended (many simulations are carried out in modified offices rather than properly constituted operating rooms or ward areas). They emphasize the importance of including safety in standards for accrediting simulation centres. A. F. Merry, MBChB (&) Department of Anaesthesiology, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142, New Zealand e-mail: a.merry@auckland.ac.nz

The ‘Millionaires Tax’ And Mental Health Policy In California

Despite long-standing and widespread opposition to new taxes, in 2004 Californians approved a so-called millionaires tax, levied on those with taxable net income over $1 million. The proceeds, estimated to be $700 million to $1 billion per year, can only be spent on improving mental health services for people with or at risk of a disabling mental disorder. Progress has been made in access to services, prevention programs, supported housing, and integrating mental health with the other human services. Challenges include a complex administrative structure, a paucity of change agents, a less-than-robust oversight and accountability process, and high public expectations.