Public Information Management Research Articles

Post-New Public Management Governance and Information Issues

Post-New Public Management Governance and Information Issues

Judgments as Public Information

AbstractThis article is written by Paul Magrath who is the Head of Product Development and Online Content at the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England and Wales (ICLR). His article explores the issues surrounding the custodianship of those public legal documents, such as court judgments, which form primary sources of law but which may also contain private data, and looks at the way custodians of such data can also act as gatekeepers, enhancing or inhibiting access by the public as well as more specialised users. It expands upon an article published by Infolaw.co.uk entitled “Custodians and gatekeepers: maintaining access to public legal information”, and refers to recent case law involving the tension between information in the public domain and the individual's privacy and “right to be forgotten” by search engines. The article also looks at how court documents are made accessible in other jurisdictions and imagines how things might be improved in our own courts, before concluding that the model of a not-for-profit organisation, such as the ICLR or BAILII (the British and Irish Legal Information Institute), may work as well if not better than public or private management of judgments and other legal public information.

Electronıc Document Management System in the Turkısh Publıc Sector and Recommendatıons

In a world of acceleration of alteration, where management mentality of the society is basing on necessitates of globalization and information, a need of changes came forward in public management systems, the alteration from industrial society to information society has been made public management information systems quite important. Taking into account the necessity of providing public services in the best way, using information technologies is the best way for understanding a new public management. In this context the public sector has been transitioned into electronic document managemen system during the e-state (electronic goverment service) period, seems itself of the difficulties to be overcome of make efficiency, reliability and permanency of this system. This study evaluated what the electronic document management system, using in the public sector of Turkey, is and gives the recommendations for overcoming current difficulties.

Concentration and correlations of perfluoroalkyl substances in whole blood among subjects from three different geographical areas in Korea

Toxicity and persistence of perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs) in human have raised considerable concern and several biomonitoring studies throughout the world reported the widespread occurrence of these compounds in human tissues. However, information regarding influence of geographic, lifestyle and demographic factor on PFAS levels in human blood tissues is limited. In this study, whole blood samples collected in 2006–2007 from 319 donors from suburban Seoul (Suwon and Yongin), Busan and Yeosu in Korea were analyzed for perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), perfluorononanoate (PFNA), perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS) and perfluorooctane sulfonamide (PFOSA). Blood donors classified into seven age groups with ages ranging from 8 to 82years, and different lifestyles and socio-economic status. PFOS (median=4.15ng/mL) was found at the highest concentration with a maximum concentration of 59.1ng/mL. The concentrations of other PFASs were in the decreasing order of; PFOA (median=1.30ng/mL)>PFNA (median=0.85ng/mL)>PFHxS (median=0.47ng/mL)>PFOSA (median=0.12ng/mL). Geographical differences in the concentrations of five target PFASs were found. Significant positive relationships between PFAS concentrations and the age of the donors were found. Gender-related differences were found in the concentrations of PFOA, PFNA, PFHxS and PFOSA. No association was found between PFAS levels and several lifestyle factors and socio-economic status which included drinking habit, furniture/carpet in an indoor environment and monthly income. Occupation was an important determinant for PFNA and PFHxS concentrations in the whole blood. Except for PFOSA, significant associations were noted between PFASs concentrations and smoking habit. The results of this study provide information for further public health monitoring and safety management for PFASs in Korea.

基于GIS技术的县级生态公益林质量评价

对生态公益林质量进行科学评价是提高森林资源经营管理水平的重要环节，也是生态公益林信息管理系统建设过程中的重要组成部分。以县级生态公益林为研究对象，综合运用地理信息系统技术平台，利用森林资源“二类调查”小班数据库为信息源，建立了县级生态公益林地理信息管理系统，对生态公益林实行动态化、可视化和科学化管理。采用频度统计法、理论分析法、专家咨询法等筛选评价指标，用AHP法确定各指标的权重，构建了基于“二类调查”数据的生态公益林质量评价指标体系。利用建立的地理信息数据库中公益林小班信息，依据生态公益质量评价指标体系，采用固定小班评价法对生态公益林进行质量评价。 Ecological public welfare forest quality scientific evaluation is an important link to improve forest resource management level, and an important part of ecological public welfare forest information management system construction process. This study which by the county-level ecological public welfare forest as research object, integrate application geographic information system technology platform, use of forest resources that “second-class survey” sub-compartment database for information sources, established the county-level ecological public welfare forest geographic information management system. The ecological public welfare forest can achieve dynamic, visual and scientific management. Frequency statistics method, theoretical analysis, expert advice and other methods were adopted to screen out evaluation indexes, and AHP method was used to determine each index weight. An index system was constructed based on the “second-class survey” data to evaluate the quality of ecological public welfare forest. Finally, based on ecological public welfare forest quality evaluation index system, use of public welfare forest sub-compartment information by geographic information database was established, adopting fixed sub-compartment evaluation method to evaluation ecological public welfare forest quality.

An analysis of drug stock-outs in rural Western Kenya and subsequent patient impact

strengthening in low resource settings. Investments in electronic medical record (EMR) systems offer promise for improved information for patient and public health program management. Strong data quality (DQ) is a precursor to strong data use. Routine DQ assessment (DQA) within EMR systems can be resource-intensive when using typical methods of audit and chart review. Automated database queries on the completeness, accuracy and timeliness of data offer an efficient alternative. This DQA focuses on Haiti’s national EMR iSante a system deployed in 119 health care facilities and containing longitudinal data for more than 400,000 patients. Methods: This mixed-methods evaluation focused on data related to HIV care and treatment. We first used a qualitative Delphi process to identify DQ priorities among local HIV experts, followed by a quantitative DQA on these priority data elements. The quantitative DQA examined 13 indicators of completeness, accuracy and timeliness of data using retrospective data from HIV patients, collected during more than 3.5 million encounters from 2005e June 2013. We described levels of DQ for each indicator over time, and examined the consistency of within-site performance. Using generalized linear models (GLM) with logit link and binomial errors for each of the 13 DQ indicators, we examined associations between DQ results and site and system characteristics, such as facility type, urban vs. rural location, and number of iSante system users. Findings: Ninety-five sites using the iSante data system were included in the evaluation. On average, completeness was high for demographic data but low for clinical data, accuracy of age data was low, and timeliness of data entry was low. For most indicators, DQ tended to improve over time, both overall and within specific sites. DQ was highly variable across sites, and sites which performed strongly in some indicators performed weakly in others. In adjusted analyses, site and system factors with generally favorable and statistically significant associations with DQ indicators were University hospital type, private sector governance, presence of more advanced IT infrastructure, greater site experience, greater maturity of the iSante system, having more overall system users but fewer new users. Interpretation: The heterogeneity in performance on various priority DQ indicators across sites indicates that excellent DQ is achievable in Haiti, but that many sites have much work to do to improve their DQ performance. A dynamic, interactive “data quality dashboard” within iSante could bring transparency and motivate improvement. Further investment in the IT infrastructure supporting iSante, including assuring stable power supply, and in on-going training for new users, is also warranted. Funding: Health Resources and Services Administration (#U91HA0680); US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (#5U2GGH000549-03). Abstract #: 02ITIS025

A comparative analysis of the perception of public relations in Chinese and South Korean newspapers

The study analyzes the major newspapers of China and South Korea to explore how the journalists perceive public relations term which is equivalent to Xuan Chuan in China and Hong-Bo in South Korea. Chinese news considered the primary function of Xuan Chuan to be persuasion, whereas Korean news considered the primary functions of Hong-Bo to be public information and image (reputation) management. Xuan Chuan was more likely to be associated with the government and persuasion, whereas Hong Bo was closely associated with for-profit organizations and image management.

Information culture in three municipalities and its impact on information management amidst e-government development

This article presents research conducted in three municipalities in Sweden and Belgium. The municipalities were involved in e-Government development. The article focuses on information culture, which constitutes the attitudes and norms embraced by the municipal employees towards public information management and use. E-Government is meant to improve efficiency through the use of information technology and information. This, however, requires effective information management regimes if information is to be leveraged in a manner that will enable the municipalities to attain their ultimate goal of high quality service delivery. Despite investments in information systems this research has proved that the information culture embraced by these will have to change if the ultimate goal of delivering high quality services to the citizens and the effective use and re-use of information is to be achieved. Information culture researchers argue that there is a correlation between business success and information culture. Therefore, the attitudes, norms and how the employees value organizational information, impacts its efficient use and management. This article therefore highlights some of the challenges that are caused by the attitudes of the municipal employees like lack of information management skills, collaboration and insufficient information management systems and satisfactory information management architecture. Even though huge investments are currently being made in the development of e-services, there are soft issues that need to be seriously addressed.

PMS39 - Annual Expenditure on Anti-Tnf Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis for the Public Health System in Brazil

Provide clinically relevant evidence and drug expenditure information for brazilian public health system management. We performed a systematic review on the use of anti-TNF biological agents, infliximab, adalimumab and etanercept in the treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, using the precepts of evidence-based medicine, ensuring methodological quality of clinical studies, prioritizing clinical outcomes. Clinical evidence was retrieved in PubMed, Central Cochrane, EMBASE and medicine purchase costs in July 2010. Twenty-three randomized trials met the eligibility criteria, six on infliximab, nine on adalimumab and eight on etanercept. Adalimumab and etanercept showed no benefits when not associated with methotrexate. The ACR50 response to infliximab (NNT = 6) and adalimumab (NNT = 5) were similar while the results for etanercept were considered heterogeneous. The annual cost of infliximab to treat six patients and get ACR50 response in a single patient was US$ 125,997.00 while for adalimumab to treat five was US$ 186,990.00. The ACR70 response was similar between etanercept (NNT = 9) and adalimumab (NNT = 10), being lower in the recommended dose of infliximab (NNT = 12). The most favorable annual cost of acquisition was observed with adalimumab which US$ 311,651.00 is needed to treat 10 patients and get ACR70 response in a single one, compared to expense of US$ 365,107.00 with etanercept (NNT = 9). The unusual infliximab dose of 10mg/kg showed similar results (NNT = 9), however with the most unfavorable spent of US$ 680,385.00. Adalimumab was the agent who showed the most favorable annual expenditure for medicine purchase from the perspective of the public health system in Brazil, considering the most clinically relevant response.

Public Relations in the Public Sector. The Role of Strategic Communication in the Italian Public Administration

Purpose of the paper: The aim of this study is to examine the level of strategic management of public administrations and information and communication programs by public communication officers in Italy. Methodology: The study is quantitative in nature. It was constructed according to the findings of the Excellence Project in Public Relations and thus applies a research instrument similar to that used in other international scholarly investigations in public relations. The population comprises civil servants working in information and communication activities for Italian public administrations. Findings: The majority of public communication officers in the Italian public administration are not involved in the strategic management of public administrations but rather contribute to operational activities. They report directly to the senior manager of their department/unit and they use a mixed model of public relations. Research limitations: Due to a lack of information on the exact number of public communication officers working in the Italian public administration and a too small number of respondents in one of the respondent groups, it is not possible to draw inferences or general conclusions from the findings. The study also suffers from the limits of a quantitative research approach, which provides less elaborate accounts of public communication officers’ perceptions of the strategic role of communication in the public sector. Originality/value of paper: This study contributes to the existing knowledge on strategic public relations and public communication by offering a specific analysis of the strategic management of information and communication programs in the Italian public administration.

도로명주소기본도를 이용한 부동산개발안내도 구축 방안 연구

부동산개발은 국토의 효율적 운영을 촉진하며 국민 경제에 미치는 영향이 지대하므로 관련 정보의 축적을 통해 종합적인 정책을 수립하는 것이 필요하다. 속성정보만으로 구축된 부동산 관련 정보는 분석과정에서 오류가 발생할 가능성이 있으므로 특정 필지 및 그 위의 건물을 기본으로 주변의 정보와 함께 공간분석이 가능한 부동산개발안내도를 구축해야 하며 이는 땅의 소유관계를 알 수 있는 지적정보와 땅 위에 존재하는 다양한 건축물과 사회기반 시설에 대한 공간정보에 부동산 관련 행정정보를 속성으로 부여함으로써 가능하다. 특히, 건물의 형태적 변화와 속성적 변화 정보의 최신성을 유지할 수 있어야 한다. 이에 본 연구에서는 도로명주소기본도를 기초로 부동산개발안내도를 구축하는 방안과 각 시스템 간의 연계를 통해 최신성을 유지할 수 있는 방안을 제시하였다.

지방자치단체의 모바일 앱 서비스 이용 활성화 방안에 관한 연구: 부산광역시를 중심으로

Because of rapid advance of wireless Internet-related technology and fast diffusion of Smart phone, a variety of mobile applications through domestic and foreign app stores have been made and used. Under the recognition of current trend, both central government and local government have developed and provided public mobile app in order to accomplish the mobile e-government. However, public mobile app is not popular in spite of vast investment for its development and service. This study investigated current issues and problems of public mobile app in public service, management, and technology aspects. To do so, this study categorized the interested people of public mobile app into users, providers, and developers, and conducted deep interviews to them. Based on the interview results, the study suggested the following recommendations for the activating tools of public mobile app: providing user-customized information, fruitfulness of public information management, maintenance of management system for public mobile app service, user-friendly promotion appropriate in mobile environment, public mobile app development based on e-government standard framework, etc.. This study may provide the researchers with the successive study guidelines in mobile e-government and public mobile app fields. Also, the study may help the practitioners to make effective decisions on polices and strategies for mobile e-government of local government.

In the name of terror?: Information and policy in the decade post 9/11

AbstractIt seems that every passing week reveals new developments in the ways in which information policies are being implemented throughout society. Tragedies like the Boston Marathon bombings of March 2013, along with the VIA Rail train plots in the Toronto‐Montreal corridor remind and compel us to examine the decade that has passed since the events of 9/11 and the subsequent legislative and policy impacts on information. The aim is to provide information professionals and scholars with an open forum to critically reflect on post‐9/11 legislation, policies, and practices and how they impact access to information and informational activities more generally, including the production, management, and diffusion of public information. With an eye toward the future, we examine the extent to which the discourses and practices of the past decade have contributed to shaping and reshaping our information environment, how the information field has responded in the ten years since this defining event, and why and how information professionals ought to remain engaged in these matters in the future.

AFTER 1848: THE EUROPEAN REVOLUTION IN GOVERNMENT

ABSTRACTThis paper revisits the question of the impact of the 1848 revolutions on governance and administration across the European states. Few historians would contend that the immediate post-revolutionary years saw a ‘return’ to pre-1848 conditions, but the transitions of the 1850s are usually presented as episodes within a narrative that is deemed to be specific to the respective nation-state. This paper argues that the 1850s saw a profound transformation in political and administrative practices across the continent, encompassing the emergence of new centrist political coalitions with a distinctively post-revolutionary mode of politics characterised by a technocratic vision of progress, the absorption into government of civil-society-based bodies of expertise, and changes in public information management. In short, it proposes that we need to move beyond the restrictive interpretation implied by the tenacious rubric ‘decade of reaction’ towards recognising that the 1850s were – after the Napoleonic period – the second high-water-mark in nineteenth-century political and administrative innovation across the continent. The paper argues, moreover, that these transitions took place on an authentically European basis and that they only come fully into focus when we survey the spectrum of governmental experiences across the European states. The paper closes with some reflections on the broader implications of this reappraisal for our understanding of European history in the middle and later decades of the nineteenth century.

A comparative study of e-government XBRL implementations: The potential of improving information transparency and efficiency

This study examines the e-government implementation of eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) to increase accountability and transparency in business and financial information. The business and financial information gathered in XBRL format is machine-readable and interoperable, thereby improving the ease of public dissemination and analysis. This study focuses on identifying and examining the determinants of successful XBRL implementation and draws from several bodies of literature: e-government, institutionalism, collaborative public management, regulatory compliance, and management information systems to identify determinants of successful implementation. This study selects four diverse implementations: the Netherlands, Australia, the United States, and Singapore. Empirical analysis follows a comparative case study method. The findings of this exploratory study underscore the importance of program goals and strategic alignment in achieving information transparency and efficiency, the advantage of strategies correlating to institutional setting, the critical need to provide incentives for adoption, and the usefulness of incremental implementation. The managerial and theoretical implications of these findings as well as future research opportunities are explored.

Ten years later: Information and policy in the aftermath of 9/11

AbstractThe theme of this year's ASIS&T conference inspires us to examine our past, present, and future as a discipline. This panel adopts a similar lens but focuses specifically on the decade that has passed since the events of 9/11 and the subsequent legislative and policy impacts on information. The aim is to provide information professionals and scholars with an open forum to critically reflect on the post 9/11 legislation, policies, and practices and how these have affected access to information and informational activities more generally, including the production, management, and diffusion of public information. With an eye toward the future, we examine the extent to which the discourses and practices of the past decade have contributed to shaping and reshaping our information environment, how the information field has responded in the ten years since this defining event, and why and how information professionals ought to remain engaged in these matters in the future.

Design of Service Supervision and Subsidies Evaluation System for Urban Public Transport

In order to promote the sound development of urban public transport industry, government administration needs to enhance quality supervision of operational service to public transport enterprises, while taking scientific and effective strategy of financial subsidies. So service supervision and subsidies evaluation system for urban public transport are designed. First of all, system construction demand was analyzed based on enterprise operation cost accounting, subsidies evaluation and service quality supervision. And then the idea and workflow of system construction are proposed. Furthermore, public transport enterprises cost accounting, supervision and evaluation of public transport enterprise services, compensation scope and methods of financial subsidies to public transport enterprises, audit and evaluation of compensation mechanisms for financial subsidies are analyzed and researched separately. Based on the above, functional architecture of service supervision and subsidies evaluation system for urban public transport for government sector management is proposed. The system is composed of four function modules: basic database of public transport operation, cost of ticket revenue accounting system, service quality evaluation system, and subsidies compensation evaluation system. The ideas and methods are provided for service supervision and subsidies evaluation system for urban public transport and industry management information platform construction.

(A306) Community Resilience and the Christchurch Earthquake: Best Laid Plans or Practise Made Perfect?

On February 22, 2011 at 12:51 pm an earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale struck the city of Christchurch, population 376,700 in the South Island of New Zealand. This followed a 7.3 magnitude earthquake in September 2010, but the shallowness (5km) and proximity of the February earthquake to the central city, resulted in far more devastation, with Modified Mercalli scores reaching ten in some areas and upward ground acceleration exceeding 2.4G. The application of the Coordinated Incident Management System (CIMS) routinely used by New Zealand Civil Defence agencies was swift, innovative and efficient, facilitating rapid deployment of local and international emergency teams and response resources. The effectiveness of this response was partially attributed to lessons learnt from the September earthquake which, with hindsight, was a practise for the more serious February event. The community response was equally remarkable, with standard approaches to measuring preparedness and resilience suggesting that community resilience in Canterbury was high. A number of initiatives by the New Zealand Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management may have fostered some of this resilience,particularly community- based resilience-building projects initiated by the Regional Emergency Management Office on 2009 and 2010, supported by the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management. In addition, website education resources and media promotion (“Get Ready Get Thru”) and a travelling exhibition called “The Pandemic Roadshow” had been particularly well received and remembered by Canterbury residents. However, two key events provided an impetus for the Canterbury community to burnish its resilience. First, the Swine flu (AH1N1) pandemic in 2009 resulted in a greater awareness of public health in emergencies along with a doubling of neighbourhood support groups. Secondly, the September 2010 earthquake resulted in the establishment of the student army of volunteers and improvement of public information management. This presentation will describe the markers of community resilience following the Christchurch earthquake and discuss how such resilience can be fostered in communities where emergency preparedness is not recognised as a priority.

Taboos and Rebels—Or, Transgression and Regulation in the Work and Lives of Kinshasa's Television Journalists

This article explores political transgression in Kinshasa's media space and informal and official reactions to these. Ethnographic material will exhibit violation and regulation in the context of two highly popular media genres, call-in shows and short reportages about life in the city. In order to extend our understanding of political mediation, I argue we need to pay attention to the management of public information, to the parties involved in the negotiations about what can and should be publicly (re-)presented and what not, and to the ways in which political actors balance between containment and exposure. I present two types of media rebellion in order to illustrate in some detail the variety of ways in which political conflict and mass media interact in present-day Kinshasa, and how certain television journalist defy the borders between “the speakable” and that what should remain hidden.

Key Performance Indicators in Highway Design and Construction

AASHTO has expressed the need for formalized and effective performance-based management in highway projects. Performance measures and key performance indicators (KPIs) are widely used by international highway agencies to manage performance in public–private partnership contracts, with great success. Performance measures have been used by a number of U.S. state departments of transportation (DOTs) to manage highway agency performance, but the use of formalized KPIs is limited. This research presents information from four detailed design–build (DB) case studies. The case studies were selected from DOTs with mature performance management systems to determine how contractor performance is managed during design and construction. The research found that although performance measures were used in the majority of the case studies, formal KPIs were not. This paper provides a description of practices for managing performance during design and construction and how the current practices and DB requests for proposal offer state DOTs the opportunity to implement KPIs effectively. The results include examples from each case study revealing how the opportunities for design and construction KPIs are aligned with higher agency-level performance measures. The findings and these relationships were determined for six different performance areas common to design and construction: (a) cost and schedule monitoring, (b) quality monitoring, (c) safety management, (d) public information management, (e) environmental stewardship, and (f) traffic reliability during construction. Results of this study may assist agencies and researchers in developing a more standard form of performance management.