Document Delivery as a Supplement or Replacement for Serial Subscriptions

Abstract

Increasing serials costs and shrinking budgets present challenges for academic libraries to continue providing sufficient access to scholarly articles. Rapid document delivery services can serve as an effective means to fill the gap caused by serials cancellations. This column examines several of the existing document delivery service providers and addresses issues involved in their implementation.     

Service Users with Experience of Poverty as Institutional Entrepreneurs in Public Services in Belgium: An Institutional Theory Perspective on Policy Implementation

In this article, we report on a qualitative and interpretative research project in which we gained in‐depth knowledge about dynamics in ten federal public policy units in Belgium where a service user with experience of poverty was employed. Starting from an institutional theory perspective, it was argued that these service users with experience of poverty can possibly feature as institutional entrepreneurs or agents of change who initiate a critical reflection in the mindset of fellow social administrators about taken‐for‐granted practices, routines and rationales. In order to fulfill this ambition, we equally stressed that service users with experience of poverty should be able to perform two other roles as well: to provide direct support to citizens, especially those living in poverty during their contacts with a public policy unit, and to formulate concrete propositions to change some of the policy units' internal procedures. Our research findings reveal that these two roles provide a necessary breeding ground for further interaction and (in)formal dialogue between service users with experience of poverty and fellow social administrators about the quality and accessibility of service delivery. However, installing this shared responsibility proves to be a valuable but also gradual process, and we argue that it is therefore undesirable when service users with experience of poverty act as so‐called ‘heroes’ in changing these taken‐for‐granted institutional practices, routines and rationales.     

Putting the ‘public’ into public service delivery for social welfare in South Africa

Mubangizi BC, Gray M. Putting the ‘public’ into public service delivery for social welfare in South Africa Int J Soc Welfare 2011: 20: 212–219 © 2010 The Author(s), International Journal of Social Welfare © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the International Journal of SocialWelfare. The privatisation of some essential services in South Africa has raised severe difficulties for those for whom the idea of fees for services is quite foreign and who, in any case, cannot afford to pay for services. The government has developed several initiatives to educate people about the need to pay for services provided by local government, the largest of which was the Masakhane fees‐for‐services campaign. This article describes two recent initiatives that seek to engage local citizen participation, namely, Integrated Development Plans and izimbizo (or traditional forums). These are examined along with the challenges faced by local government in promoting citizenship participation in service delivery within a decentralised system of governance. The article concludes with some recommendations on how citizen participation can be enhanced so as to make the ‘public’ visible in public service delivery and thus improve social welfare services.     

不确定需求下闭环供应链定价模型研究

构建了不确定需求下1个制造商与1个销售商组成的具有产品再造的闭环供应链定价模型.利用博弈理论对2种定价模型进行了分析,得到了一些结论.进一步通过数值仿真定量分析了各模型中新产品制造成本变化对废旧品回收价格、市场销售价格和系统及其成员利润期望值的影响.比较2个定价模型发现集中决策的市场回收价格高于分散决策,销售价格低于分散决策,销售量大于分散决策,系统的利润期望值大于分散决策.     

A new perspective on client service: From on-the-job to structured competencybased training. The University of Wollongong Library experience,a descriptive case study

Abstract

Skilled and knowledgeable staff equipped to respond to change is a key learning and growth goal of the University of Wollongong Library. But how do front line staff develop and maintain their client-centred service skills and behaviours? How do they manage the myriad of diverse needs and expectations from a constantly changing student population, within a volatile technological environment? By challenging established approaches to service delivery training, it was possible to demonstrate a need to be more adaptable and responsive. We recognized that earlier approaches such as on-the-job training were no longer adequate. In 2009 the University of Wollongong Library introduced competency-based training. This represented a new approach to staff training and an opportunity for renewal. Numerous factors contributed to this decision, with the overarching goal being to keep our staff on the cutting edge of service delivery. A systematic approach was used that involved researching competency-based training ideologies; identifying core client service skills, knowledge and behaviours; identifying learning outcomes; developing module content; identifying assessment criteria; and programme delivery.     

The Reality of Social Inclusion Through Digital Government

SUMMARY

Over the past few years, there has been much debate over the effectiveness of digital government. This paper addresses the strategic value and the effectiveness of digital government where it concerns enhancing citizen participation and social inclusion. It involves examining four specific facets of “effectiveness”–including: the view of management and ICT strategists; social and cultural implications; the implications of digital inclusion/exclusion and e-readiness upon social inclusion; and the citizens' view of the success of digital government in enhancing public access to information and transparency–based on a pilot study of digital government initiatives by local government in New Zealand.     

Immigration and Immigrants

Abstract

Public opinion polls conducted from 1964 to 1999 found that Americans' desire to reduce immigration increased dramatically, but there existed a wide variation regarding which nationalities were to be restricted. Furthermore, the majority believed that many immigrants wind up on welfare and raise taxes for Americans and, hence, cause problems for the United States. This article reports on these findings and their implications for current political attitudes toward immigration and recent change and proposed changes inimmigration laws and programs.     

Community Based Rural Health Care in India

SUMMARY

India is a large country, geographically as well as popula-tionwise. The majority of its population lives in rural areas, i.e., villages. Again, most of the villages are in remote areas. The State has been making sincere efforts to make the basic social services accessible to all in the rural area. Health being one of the vital services, it has been a challenging task before the State to extend it to the remote rural areas, many of which are not yet connected by motorable roads. As a result of various experiments carried out over the last five decades, the State has developed a fairly well-designed primary health care service, and it is in operation in rural areas. However, there appears to be a striking gap between the delivery of health services in rural areas and utilization of the services by the people. Attempts have been made in this article to apprise the readers of the health service system in India, and it discusses the issue of health service delivery at the village level. The discussion is based on a small study carried out in a rural area in the State of West Bengal (India) where students of social work of the University to which the author belongs are placed for field work. Following the inputs received through supervision of the students' work, the study was initiated and conducted.

This article based on the study seeks to focus on peoples' perception of the health services as provided by the State in rural areas, which in turn gets reflected in the extent to which they utilize the services. Social workers being an integral part of the health set up, their role bears special significance. Discussion, therefore, centres on scope for social work intervention at the community level as well as in institutional level of the health service delivery system to make the services meaningful and effective in rural areas. In fact, it has to take the leadership role in reforming the service delivery system when required.     

What Do Men Want?

Abstract

Men play a key role in determining good sexual health outcomes for themselves and their sexual partners. However, many interventions and much of the programmatic focus and effort in reproductive and sexual health care delivery, are focused on women. This paper shows how international goals for development (the Millennium Development Goals), and international agreements on population and development (such as that agreed at the International Conference on Population and Development, Cairo,1994) cannot be met without the full and active involvement of men. We argue that achieving international goals and targets requires more than simply encouraging men to take more responsibility for their actions, it requires a detailed understanding of men's own concerns in the field of sexual health and a commitment to address those concerns to achieve better sexual health for all.

Using examples from south Asia, the paper explores the evidence surrounding the burden of men's sexual ill-health in the Region. We find that while public health programmes are (rightly) focused on controlling HIV (and sexually transmitted infections to some degree), evidence from population-based surveys of men across south Asia shows that men are most concerned with ‘psycho-sexual conditions’ including discharge syndromes, weakness, and erectile dysfunction. There is evidence that some of these conditions may be linked to higher rates of risk-taking and gender-based violence in some men. We further review patterns of care seeking for men reporting these and other sexual health problems.

We conclude that the challenges facing public health professionals are how to ensure that men receive interventions which are appropriate (and affordable and accessible and of high quality) for addressing their own sexual health concerns whilst also meeting wider public health goals of improving population levels of sexual and reproductive health.     

Parents' Definition of Effective Child Disability Support Services: Implications for Implementing Family-Centered Practice

The current study examined parents' perspectives of services within a community-based childhood disability program in the process of enhancing the family centeredness of its services. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 39 mothers and 22 fathers approximately 18 months after entering the service delivery system. Parents reported that effective service delivery requires service coordinators with interpersonal and practice skills working within an adequately resourced service system that has policies and procedures that are responsive to family needs. Parent feedback was congruent with the principles of family-centered practice and has important implications for the implementation of family-centered services.