Users Of Public Services Research Articles

Service Quality and Satisfaction with City Bus Public Transport, Kota Kinabalu Sabah

The urban public transportation is an important network system that many urban residences have come to rely on for accessibility and linkage to key urban areas. Although in many urban centers, private transport services is also a preferred mode of transport for many people, however, the significance of public transport remains a perceived need of the city from the standpoint of efficient and timely link between urban areas, control of traffic congestion, and impact on the urban air quality. For the public to maintain their patronage in public transport, reasonable public satisfaction with the services offered is indispensable. Kota Kinabalu city bus is a government-operated bus company started in 2009, but is gradually loosing public interest with low patronage, resulting in increase in personal vehicle traffic. This study aims to understand the reasons for low user patronage of city bus service by investigating the efficiency and quality of service provided. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected using questionnaire survey and open ended interview. Data is analyzed using inferential statistics analysis and factor analysis. Findings reveals that majority of the users are female of Malaysia nationality in age group 18-24 years and predominantly from low-income group. Overall users rated satisfaction is low because poor services in key area such as Disabled-friend Facility, Bus Network Coverage, Overcrowding and Vehicle Cleanliness. Comfort and Safety were also a major area of concern. It was evident from the study that the users are willing to pay more for improved quality City but. It can thus be inferred that the users of public bus service are not necessarily looking for cheap services but will appreciate improved services at the reasonable price

Efektivitas Pelaksanaan Program Pelayanan Publik Plus di Kecamatan Kuranji Kota Padang

The purpose of this study was to describe the effectiveness of the implementation of “public service plus” programs in Kecamatan Kuranji Padang City. This study described the effectiveness of program implementation seen from the quality of apparatus, administrator competence, facilities and infrastructure, discipline, and supervision. This study was a descriptive research with quantitative approach. The population of this study amounted to 1285 users of public services plus, with a sample of 93 respondents determined by Slovin formula and used random sampling technique. Instrument in this study used questionnaire with Likert scale measurement. Data in this study were analyzed with descriptive statistic. The results of this study indicated that the effectiveness of the implementation of public service plus programs only reached 49.7% and categorized as quite effective. In terms of effectiveness of the implementation of public service programs plus seen from the quality of apparatus, administrator competence, facilities and infrastructure, discipline and supervision, the service program only reached 57.3% and categorized as quite effective.

Official bilingualism meets de facto multilingualism: public service interpreting for the Chinese in Catalonia

Abstract Catalonia is well known for being a bilingual region with language policies that give full support to promoting Catalan. More recently, the number of languages spoken in Catalonia has risen significantly due to immigration flows, while immigration policies encourage all citizens living in Catalonia to be able to communicate in Catalan with the public Administration. The same immigration policies, however, also acknowledge that interpreting (or intercultural mediation) may be necessary to facilitate immigrants’ rights to access public services during the first few years they are living in Catalonia. This article analyses the relationship between a minoritized language (Catalan), a dominant language (Spanish) and a group of recently arrived languages (Standard Chinese and other Chinese varieties) from the perspective of public service interpreting. It discusses some of the results of an empirical qualitative research which included: (a) interviews with public service interpreters and intercultural mediators working with Chinese living in Catalonia, (b) interviews with managers and coordinators in charge of interpreting or mediation services, and (c) questionnaires answered by Chinese users of public services in Catalonia. This research depicts a complex reality: it not only reflects interpreters’ and managers’ biases towards Spanish or Catalan, often motivated by their place of origin or life experience, but also the challenges when dealing with linguistic variation, i.e. the variety of languages (geolects and mutually unintelligible dialects) included under the umbrella term of Chinese.

Factors Influencing Interoperability Level Required for the Implementation of T-Government in Saudi Arabia

Governments around the world have invested significant sums of money on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of services being provided to their citizens. However, they have not achieved the desired results because of the lack of interoperability between different government entities. Therefore, many governments have started shifting away from the original concept of e-Government towards a much more transformational approach that encompasses the entire relationship between different government departments and users of public services, which can be termed as transformational government (t-Government). This implementation of t-Government requires a high level of interoperability between government organisations. In this paper, a model is proposed to explore and investigates the key factors that influence interoperability required for the implementation of t-Government in Saudi Arabian context from four key areas, namely, organisational, technological, political and social using institutional theory as a lens. This model was developed comprising the effect of six main constructs: technological compatibility, organizational compatibility, governance readiness, citizen centricity and e-Government program on interoperability required for the implementation of t-Government. The model factors, relationships, and hypotheses stemmed from the literature on Information Sharing, Information Integration, G2G, interoperability and t-Government models.The results show that technological compatibility, organizational compatibility, and governance readiness have a positive impact on the interoperability required for the implementation of t-Government in this particular context. Unexpectedly, it indicates that citizen centricity has negative impact on the interoperability required for the implementation of t-Government. It also shows that there is a direct and positive impact from e-Government program (Yesser) to technological compatibility and governance readiness. Moreover, it shows that there is a direct and positive impact from citizen centricity to e-Government program (Yesser). Unexpectedly, the results indicate that e-Government program (Yesser) has no impact on the interoperability required for the implementation of t-Government. It also indicates that the e-Government program (Yesser) doesn’t affect organizational compatibility.This paper provides a model for creating interoperability between government organisations to help e-Government officials and policy makers to identify the key factors that can affect the interoperability level required for the implementation of t-Government, and examines how these issues could be treated in practice. It also provides a guideline to researchers with regard to the impact of these identified factors on interoperability required for t-Government implementation.

Incorporation and Individualization of Collective Voices: Public Service User Involvement and the User Movement\u2019s Mobilization for Change

‘Service user involvement’ is a widespread and well-known phenomenon within welfare policy and practice in Western countries and is usually perceived as a way of improving welfare services to better aid service users in managing their predicaments. However, the presented ethnographical study of service user involvement within a Swedish psychiatry organization shows that user involvement initiatives might also result in unintended and undesired effects on the collective user movement (i.e. the service user organizations involved in the activities). The analysis suggests that initiatives on user involvement might affect both the constitution of the user movement as well as the way the movement operates. Theoretically co-optation theory informs the analysis.

Rheumatoid Arthritis Portrayal by UK National Newspapers 2011\u20132016: A Service User - Led Thematic Analysis of Language Used

BackgroundAn important source of knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes about illness is the mass media. Research has established the often negative and emotive language utilised by journalists to report on physical and mental long-term illnesses. The limited amount of research on rheumatological conditions has largely focused on the extent of, and/or accuracy of media coverage. This is the first published study to examine systematically the language used by the United Kingdom (UK) popular press to specifically describe rheumatoid arthritis (RA).MethodsA patient and public involvement (PPI) approach, involving academics and service users with RA, was used to conduct the research. LexisNexis online repository of print media was searched for articles within a defined five year time frame, which included RA in the headline and/or lead paragraph of 15 UK national non-specialist newspapers. Resultant articles were uploaded to NVivo, and a realist perspective aided a thematic analysis of the data set.ResultsA search of LexisNexis produced 413 newspaper articles, of which 147 met the inclusion criteria. Three themes emerged: (1) language used to describe RA; (2) language used to refer to those who live with RA and; (3) language used to report on potential new treatments for RA. Negative and emotive terms such as ‘attack’, ‘painful’, ‘crippling’, and ‘agony’ were the most frequently used to describe the experience of RA. People diagnosed with RA were often portrayed as ‘sufferers’ or ‘victims’, though neutral language was also deployed. ‘Hope’ and ‘breakthrough’ were the most reported terms for potential new treatments for RA. Across the three themes, tabloid and middle market newspaper articles applied more sensationalised language with attention grabbing headlines and news stories. By contrast, such emotive terminology was less apparent in broadsheets.ConclusionsThe media is a source of information about RA for the general population, but the quality of newspaper journalism about the condition requires improvement. The findings may act as a stimulus for a national public awareness initiative and/or social marketing campaign. How the language currently constructed to describe RA in the press is received by people with RA would be an important area for future research.

IMPORTANCE AND SECURITY OF INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE INTERNET IN THE CONTEXT OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF ECONOMIC ENTITIES IN POLAND

With the development of information-sharing techniques via the Internet, there are many benefits for beneficiaries, customers and users of public sector information services. On the other hand, entities providing electronic information via the Internet appear to be able to significantly reduce transaction costs of conducted financial transactions and electronic data transfer. On the other hand, the process of making information available via the Internet generates a number of risks associated with identity theft, hacker hacking of classified data, and money scams in electronic banking systems. In response to these threats, individual entities including public sector bodies are developing security systems for remote access to information and transactions made via the Internet. Companies operating in Poland in pursuit of market and business success try to build their competitive advantage by implementing new IT solutions to their business. More and more companies and financial institutions use business intelligence on their IT platforms for Business Intelligence solutions. Business Intelligence analysis makes it easy for realtors to perform real-time analysis of large collections of businessrelated data. Consequently, the opinion that Business Intelligence solutions are becoming more and more useful in organizational management processes.

A função social do esporte na construção identitária dos sujeitos

Suscitar a discussão e o interesse profissional para a dimensão socioeducativa do esporte como direito constituído no Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente traz ao exercício da problematização o atual contexto brasileiro, onde o acesso a este direito por crianças e adolescentes, usuários dos serviços públicos, não vem sendo concretizado de maneira universal. Expressivas experiências interdisciplinares pelo Brasil, ainda que dispersas, evidenciam a função social do esporte ao ser instrumentalizado como ferramenta significativa na construção de potencialidades individuais e coletivas no interior do processo de formação identitária de crianças e adolescentes, quando inserido em um modelo de educação integral de saberes e vivências. Não se trata de apreender o direito ao esporte como prática social idealizada, e sim, efetivá-lo por meio de políticas públicas junto a crianças e adolescentes, sujeitos de direitos.

Public service innovation and multiple institutional logics: The case of hybrid social enterprise providers of health and wellbeing

Public sector organisations are confronted with growing health and social care needs in combination with severe resource constraints, prompting interest in innovative responses to such challenges. Public service innovation is poorly understood, particularly where innovators must navigate between the norms, practices and logics of public, private and civil society sectors. We contribute to the understanding of how innovating hybrid organisations are able to creatively combine co-existing logics. Case study evidence from newly established social enterprise providers of health and wellbeing services in England is utilised to examine how innovations are shaped by (i) an incumbent state or public sector logic, and two ‘challenger’ logics relating to (ii) the market and increasing competition; and (iii) civil society, emphasising social value and democratic engagement with employees and service users. The analysis shows how a more fluid and creative interplay of logics can be observed in relation to specific strategies and practices. Within organisations, these strategies relate to the empowerment of staff to be creative, financial management, and knowledge sharing and protection. The interplay of logics shaping social innovation is also found in relationships with key stakeholders, notably public sector funders, service users and service delivery partners. Implications are drawn for innovation in public services and hybrid organisations more broadly.

The legal regime of electricity service users in Peru

Peru is one of the South American countries that has undergone many changes because of liberalisation and regulation of public services. The electricity service, which underwent its main modifications through private investment and vertical disintegration, ended up affecting the services rendered to users in the electricity sector. In this context, this article assesses the peculiarities of the Peruvian regulation regarding the protection regime of users of the electricity public service in contrast with the consumer regime, checking rights and duties, as well as the user grievance resolution mechanism to finally present the conclusions of the article.

Cognitive and functional assessment about elderly people users of health public service

Abstract Objective: To evaluate the functional capacity, cognition and mood in three different care models for older adults. Method: A cross-sectional study conducted in 2014 with 140 older adults (37 institutionalized, 53 hospitalized and 50 outpatients). The MMSE, Clock Drawing Test (CDT), Activities of Daily Living Scale - ADLs (Katz, Lawton) and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) were applied. Results: Of those institutionalized, the majority were totally dependent for ADLs and 100% presented cognitive decline. Of those hospitalized and the outpatients, the majority were independent for ADLs, with 62.3% and 48.0% presenting cognitive decline, respectively. The minority presented depressive symptoms. The results indicated that age was a predictor of cognitive decline and the likelihood of prevalence in hospitalized and outpatient older adults increased by 8.7% for each year of life. Conclusion: It is important to pay attention to the cognitive and functional performance of older adults with the aim of preventing their decline, which is so frequent in the public health services in Brazil.

Women's Experiences of Childbirth in Serbian Public Healthcare Institutions: a Qualitative Study.

The aim of the present study was to explore how women, users of public maternity healthcare services in Serbia, experience birth and what the most problematic relational aspects of institutional context associated with negative or even traumatic aspects of birth experiences are, as described by the women themselves. An exploratory qualitative study was undertaken using semi-structured interviews with 15 primiparous women aged 26 to 49 who have recently given birth in different public healthcare institutions in Belgrade. The basic framework for the analysis of interview transcripts was the interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Through the analysis, four relatively broad and partly interrelated themes emerged: (a) feelings of isolation and abandonment, (b) lack of communication, (c) lack of a caring relationship, and (d) lack of control and agency. The aspects of institutional environment that were considered particularly distressing in most of the childbirth experiences are related to distant and cold relationship with healthcare providers which adds to the feelings of isolation and abandonment, in addition to the lack of insight into and control over the process of birth that is managed in the hospital context without relying on women's subjective involvement in any relevant way. The present study emphasized a supportive and caring relationship with medical practitioners, as well as allowing women to be more involved into their birthing process, as crucial for positive experience of birth, which might have profound and long-lasting psychosocial consequences. Recommendations for policy makers and future research are offered.

The Double Stigma of Limited Literacy and Mental Illness: Examining Barriers to Recovery and Participation among Public Mental Health Service Users

The disadvantaged social position of public mental health service users reflects synergistic relationships among tangible disadvantage and stigma and its consequences. Limited literacy, an important factor in social disadvantage and an additional source of stigma, is virtually absent from the discussion. Employing a mixed-methods, service user–informed design, we explore the meaning and impact of limited literacy in the lives of public mental health service users in the United States. Of 267 participants, 184 (69 percent) read at or below an eighth-grade level. Next, we demonstrate levels of and explore relationships among both literacy and mental illness concealment stigma and stigma consciousness (for mental illness). Finally, informed by our qualitative data, we describe how people encounter and manage this double burden of stigma with respect to: contexts of concealment, dilemmas of disclosure, and reduction and exclusion. Limited literacy and its associated stigma are important and underexamined barriers to mental health, well-being, recovery, and social inclusion for public mental health service users. Future work should include further examination of the multiple and layered stigmas in the lives of people with serious mental illness.

Participação direta em coprodução é democrática? Controle vetorial da dengue em Campo Grande – MS

A abordagem de coprodução considera a participação ativa dos usuários essencial para a implementação de políticas, estando essa maior influência direta nos rumos de política pública alinhada a princípios democráticos. Com a intenção de compreender melhor essa relação entre participação dos usuários e democracia em coprodução, o objetivo deste artigo foi caracterizar a participação dos usuários na coprodução do controle vetorial da dengue em Campo Grande – MS, Brasil. Os dados coletados em cinco bairros do município foram analisados por meio de análise de conteúdo. Constatou-se que, nos casos pesquisados, os usuários: (i) são incluídos no relacionamento com os profissionais, (ii) são capazes de produzir resultados de política pública e (iii) se beneficiam desses resultados alcançados. No entanto, para o alcance de uma plena participação democrática em coprodução, ainda falta aos usuários influenciar outros processos de políticas públicas – não limitando sua participação (apenas) à execução de ações propostas pelo poder público.

Designing Module E-Complaint System Based on Geotagging and Geofencing

The government initiative in the implementation of smart city concept is an effort in the management of a city. In the governance of a town, public service is one of the most important aspects. Improving public services requires public role because the society is the direct users of public services. One role of the community in improving public service is to provide information or complaint to the government. However, the media where the public reports such information has yet been optimum. Therefore, the researcher assumed that the public needs certain media as well as some support system where they can make complaints related to public service. The support system is in the form of e-complaint system installed on smartphones equipped with geotagging techniques to determine exactly where the complaint is made (location) and geofencing method to determine which territory the complaint belongs to. In this study, the researcher explained the process of designing module for geotagging and geofencing-based e-complaint system. Several experiments were conducted to find out the accuracy of these techniques. With 94% accuracy, geofencing was a suitable technique to apply. In addition, geotagging techniques using EXIF of a digital image was considered the most suitable technique for the e-complaint system rather than other geotagging techniques.

Visibilidade, estigmatização e territorialização: percepções acerca da vulnerabilidade na Atenção Básica à Saúde

A noção de Vulnerabilidade vem sendo adotada no Brasil pelo Ministério da Saúde como um dos objetos de intervenção fundamentais da Política Nacional de Promoção da Saúde (PNPS) (2006), produzindo mudanças profundas no modo de definir, identificar, intervir e priorizar a população a ser atendida, e provocando efeitos diversos nas práticas dos trabalhadores e dos usuários de serviços de Saúde Pública no país. O objetivo deste estudo é analisar percepções de trabalhadores da Atenção Básica à Saúde acerca da vulnerabilidade. Enfocamos trabalhadores que atuam na zona norte da cidade de São Paulo, mais especificamente na região da Freguesia do Ó / Brasilândia, local ao qual são atribuídos altos índices de vulnerabilidade, buscando compreender o modo como reconhecem pessoas e situações de vulnerabilidade e o modo como percebem suas estratégias de promoção da saúde e redução de vulnerabilidades. Foram entrevistados 14 profissionais pertencentes à Coordenação de Atenção Básica da Secretaria Municipal de Saúde de São Paulo, e à Supervisão Técnica de Saúde da Freguesia do Ó / Brasilândia, na Zona Norte de São Paulo. Neste estudo, destacamos três dimensões da noção abordadas pelos profissionais entrevistados: a visibilidade da população, os perigos da estigmatização e a relação com a territorialização. Conclui-se que a noção de vulnerabilidade coloca-se como potencial instrumento para a transformação das práticas de saúde se exercitar a participação ativa da população na análise e no equacionamento de problemas e necessidades de saúde, interrogando permanentemente os efeitos estigmatizantes e colonizadores destas mesmas práticas.

Do Political Factors Affect the Risk of Local Government Default? Recent Evidence from Spain

High levels of debt, provoked by a situation of economic and financial crisis, constitute a major threat to the financial sustainability of governments in the euro zone and in many other parts of the world. This delicate state of public finances also affects local governments and has led researchers to study the variables that influence the volume of bank debt. However, few have specifically analysed the causes of local government default, although it has provoked spending cutbacks and tax increases in many countries. The aim of this paper is to examine political factors that may increase the risk of local government default. Using a logit model for panel data and applying the Basel II rules, we studied the financial performance of large local Spanish governments for the period 2006-2011. Our empirical findings reveal four political factors that may increase the risk of default (the mayor’sknowledge of finance and economics, a low percentage of women councillors, a left-wing ideology and ideological alignment with the regional government).These findings are of great interest for stakeholders who may be affected by local government default, including voters, taxpayers, users of public services, managers, policymakers, financial institutions, creditors, fiscal authorities and central government.

Evaluation of Public Weather Services by Users in the Formal Services Sector in Accra, Ghana

We undertook a study that evaluated the public weather services used by people working in the formal services sector of the Ghana based in Accra, the capital city of Ghana. The study employed randomly-sampling survey technique to request information from 102 respondents on their use of services and information produced by the Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet), the country’s official producer and archival of meteorological data, information, products and services. The results of the analysis of survey data indicated that virtually all the respondents used public weather services produced by GMet. The users generally considered the quality of the public weather services to be of moderate quality. Using the contingent valuation method to ascertain the economic value of public weather services, 87.7% of the respondents were prepared to pay for the public weather services rather than be without them. The average WTP per person per month was 16.67 Ghana cedis per month or 200.04 Ghana cedis per year or 51.96 United States dollars per year. The aggregate economic value, based on only the users of public weather services in the formal services sector of Accra, who constitute just about 2.1% of the total work force of Ghana, is over four times the value of the annual budget provided by the Government of Ghana to GMet in 2016. Users in the formal services sector wanted GMet to produce more locality-specific weather forecasts and services with advance warning times. Further the information from the Agency needs to be distributed and publicised by the mass media through radio and television including the emerging and fast growing local language-based mass media on hourly basis rather than the current system where they are supplied to the general public once a day via the evening television news through the English-language radio and TV channels.

Corrupt behaviors of agents and users of public service in Cotonou in the face of representation of money and ethno-linguistic affiliations

The present study aimed to measure the link between representations of money, ethnolinguistics affiliations and the nature of corruption among agents and users of public services. The numerous legal mechanisms put in place have produced limited results without big effects. Thus, this survey raises the problem of the persistence (obstinacy) of corruption in spite of the multiple efforts taken various levels (institutional, national, and international). The sample of the study consists, on the one hand, of 100 users of public services chosen at random at the Directorate of Treasure and Public Accounting (DGTCP) and at the General Directorate of Taxes and Domains (DGID) in Benin. And on the other hand, of 50 agents in public service; identified in the two directorates according to their contact with the users in the exercise of their functions. Two different questionnaires were used to collect data on the two targets (of agents). The results from the correlation and regression analysis confirm the existence of a significant link between the representation of money, ethnolinguistics affiliations of the agents and users of public services and the behavior of corruption. The results of this research will allow authorities at various levels to better understand the behavior of corruption of the agents and users of public service and it will also be of use in the drafting of measures that aim at changing people’s behavior for an effective and productive fight against corruption.

User and Community Co-Production of Public Services: What Does the Evidence Tell Us?

ABSTRACTMuch of the current discussion of user and community co-production makes strong claims for its potential to improve outcomes. How much is actually known about the level, drivers, and potential effects of co-production? In this article, some of the key claims made for co-production are examined and an assessment is made of how they stack up against the empirical evidence. In particular, some areas are identified in which practice must be cautious about the potential contribution of co-production, and where further research is needed.