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Describes an investigation of attitudes to the LION (Library Integrated Online Network) online public access catalogue at LiverpooI Polytechnic Library (now Liverpool John Moores University) using observation and a questionnaire survey of 55 library users. Suggests that the reaction to the automation of the library catalogue was positive and it appears to have improved service to users, but more user education and guidance would result in a further improvement.

Identified risk factors and clinical experience suggest that self‐harm is a common and very significant problem in forensic psychiatric settings. Sparse training on self‐harm given to staff throughout professional development is a concern for staff who can be left feeling dissatisfied and powerless as how to manage the patient who self‐harms. Consequently, staff often have to rely on idiosyncratic beliefs about self‐harm and its management to guide their practice. This survey investigated staff attitudes towards self‐harm in a forensic psychiatric service. The results highlight much variation in attitudes and a sub‐population of staff holding relatively more punitive/negative beliefs. In addition, the survey drew attention to the difficulty of managing self‐harm in forensic settings‐especially in relation to issues around facilitating safe self‐harm.

Describes the the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) as decision support tools in public libraries in England. A GIS is a computer software system that represents data in a geographic dimension. GIS as a decision support tool in public libraries is in its infancy; only seven out of 40 libraries contacted in the survey have GIS projects, three of which are at an advanced stage. Libraries are using GIS for the display of users as postcode data over a layer of wards thematically shaded as demographic data. This provides information for library management. Users can be represented as having books on loan, or as answering a user satisfaction survey. Decisions made on these data are: mobile library routes, area management initiatives, service targeting and capital development programmes.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the inter-related impact of the antecedents of collaboration on the emergence of relational risk and the impact of relational risk on the effectiveness of collaboration in public safety networks (PSNs).

The research is based on desk research and a survey questionnaire. The analysis of the results was based on the modelling of structural equations.

The analyses indicate how the antecedents of collaboration influence relational risk in PSNs and the extent to which this risk, in turn, may affect the overall effectiveness of collaboration in the networks studied. The findings identify the antecedents that have the greatest impact on the emergence of relational risks, the drivers of relational risk in PSNs and the impact of the drivers of relational risk on collaboration in the networks.

The study of relational risk is rarely undertaken with little literature or research in the field of public safety. The added value is the identification of the causes of the relational risk among the antecedents of collaboration in PSNs and the analysis of the impact of this risk on the effectiveness of inter-organisational collaboration.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of transformational leadership – broadly defined as an individual who is visionary, innovative, inspirational and sensitive to the needs of followers – on the level of organizational resiliency.

This study employs multiple hierarchical regression analysis to test the causal relationship between transformational leadership and organizational resiliency by utilizing 112 respondents working in emergency management departments of local governments, fire and police stations, and nonprofit organizations in the Southeastern Economic Region of South Korea.

The results of the analysis indicate that transformational leadership style has a positive and statistically significant effect on perceived organizational resiliency. The findings also indicate that elected officials such as mayors are more likely to focus on building organizational resiliency than appointed officials and nonprofit leaders.

This study fills the gap of the current literature in the field of emergency management by establishing empirical evidence of the need to identify leaders with transformational traits in order to build a resilient organization, which can better respond and adapt to a catastrophic event in the Asian context.

Green public procurement (GPP) may be a viable solution and an innovative policy tool for public managers to address complex environmental issues facing communities globally. Given their substantial purchasing power, local GPP initiatives and success can accelerate a transition toward a more sustainable society through governments' influence over the private sector. The study's central research question is: What are the factors associated with US local governments' engagement with GPP practices?

This research applies the Mohr's (1969) model of motivations, obstacles and resources (MOR) and draws on original, comprehensive and national survey data collected in collaboration with NIGP: The Institute for Public Procurement to explain adoption of GPP as an innovative policy tool. To ensure the robustness of the findings, the data are analysed by running two types of regression – ordinal logistic and negative binomial – using two different operationalizations for the dependent variable, a GPP scale (ordinal) and a GPP scorecard (count).

The decision surrounding GPP adoption is ultimately driven by organizations’ strategic visions, organizations’ familiarity with the GPP concept and practices, and mandates from the federal government through funding mechanisms.

This study offers guidance to both academic researchers and policymakers in public management and public budgeting and finance on strategies and policy options to expand GPP adoption and utilization.

Focusing on Johannes L. Sadie, a South African economist hired to investigate the economic options of Southern Rhodesia at the time of the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI), this chapter examines the historical, ideological, pedagogical, and international influences of the intersection between economic discourse and racial ideology. Using the example of the Sadie recommendations, this chapter examines how the changing political context informed the state’s approach to the economy. A reading of the context in which Sadie was hired to justify Rhodesia’s UDI and provide legitimacy to its economic policies sheds light onto the Ian Smith regime’s approach to an alternative post-imperial (but not post-settler) state and economy, but it also speaks of the ways in which economic discourse can be deployed for political purposes by authoritarian regimes.