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Few issues in recent times have so provoked debate and dissention within the library field as has the concept of fees for user services. The issue has aroused the passions of our…
Abstract
Few issues in recent times have so provoked debate and dissention within the library field as has the concept of fees for user services. The issue has aroused the passions of our profession precisely because its roots and implications extend far beyond the confines of just one service discipline. Its reflection is mirrored in national debates about the proper spheres of the public and private sectors—in matters of information generation and distribution, certainly, but in a host of other social ramifications as well, amounting virtually to a debate about the most basic values which we have long assumed to constitute the very framework of our democratic and humanistic society.
For most people, especially those with fixed incomes, household budgets have to be balanced and sometimes the balance is precarious. With price rises of foods, there is a switch…
Abstract
For most people, especially those with fixed incomes, household budgets have to be balanced and sometimes the balance is precarious. With price rises of foods, there is a switch to a cheaper substitute within the group, or if it is a food for which there is no real substitute, reduced purchases follow. The annual and quarterly reviews of the National Food Survey over the years have shown this to be so; with carcase meat, where one meat is highly priced, housewives switch to a cheaper joint, and this is mainly the reason for the great increase in consumption of poultry; when recently the price of butter rose sharply, there was a switch to margarine. NFS statistics did not show any lessening of consumer preference for butter, but in most households, with budgets on a tight string, margarine had to be used for many purposes for which butter had previously been used. With those foods which have no substitute, and bread (also milk) is a classic example, to keep the sum spent on the food each week about the same, the amount purchased is correspondingly reduced. Again, NFS statistics show this to be the case, a practice which has been responsible for the small annual reductions in the amount of bread consumed per person per week over the last fifteen years or so; very small, a matter of an ounce or two, but adequate to maintain the balance of price/quantity since price rises have been relatively small, if fairly frequent. This artifice to absorb small price rises will not work, however, when price rises follow on one another rapidly and together are large. Bread is a case in point.
Jishnu Bhattacharyya and Manoj Kumar Dash
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the distinct reasons and more common reasons that reduce customer satisfaction and are antecedents to customer churn behavior in the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the distinct reasons and more common reasons that reduce customer satisfaction and are antecedents to customer churn behavior in the telecommunication industry.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopted the netnography approach to investigate churn behavior by utilizing online user-generated content in qualified social media communities.
Findings
The investigation revealed that “data speed issue”, “ineffective relationship building”, “service area coverage issues” and “billing issues” are some of the most important attributes that influence a consumers' decision to churn. Further, the churn consequence influencers model summarizes the attributes that contribute to overall dissatisfaction and finally results in churn behavior. The study found out the application of the netnography approach in a quantitatively dominant research area and stands out with its insights from a rich qualitative data.
Practical implications
Proper clarification of customer expectations and pain points can help reduce customer churn. The study will serve as the basis for developing future churn prediction models that will contribute to the informed decision-making process.
Originality/value
Contributing to research on customer churn behavior, the study offers a novel attempt to study customer satisfaction and customer churn behavior jointly. The paper is the first attempt that contributes to the extant literature by adopting the unique qualitative approach to understand the reasons for telecommunication churn behavior in the emerging Indian market. Another contribution of this research is that the paper shifts the focus of the electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) literature to the telecommunications industry, thus adding another block to ongoing research in eWOM communication.
Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ OIR-02-2020-0048
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“WHAT Manchester thinks to‐day, London will think tomorrow,” was a current saying a century or less ago. It may be current today in political matters; it may be so even in library…
Abstract
“WHAT Manchester thinks to‐day, London will think tomorrow,” was a current saying a century or less ago. It may be current today in political matters; it may be so even in library matters. Before his lamented death, Charles Nowell drew up a long, careful memorandum for his committee on the desirability of Government grants in aid for libraries such as his own which acted in a very definite way as national libraries, in that their services were drawn upon by thousands outside Manchester who contributed nothing to the rates. In smaller measure the case could be made for every library authority which maintains a reference library, because there are no qualifications or introductions or fees required of any reader whencesoever he may come. To that quite substantial degree every good public library does national service. It could of course be contended that libraries receive services of a like kind for their own readers from all other towns and counties. In any case, the burden on Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow, Bristol—to name only a few important examples—is perhaps unfairly heavy. The case seems a good one. Opposition to the suggestion of tax‐aid which is by no means new, came formerly from the Authority associations, not because of their concern for the taxpayer's pocket, although we do not accuse them of lack of such concern, but because such grants imply a possible, indeed a likely, further interference with local autonomy. It is quite understandable; little by little local authorities have been shorn of their most productive enterprises. School and police in some towns, transport in others, and in all the gas and electricity industries have been appropriated by Government. On terms, it is true, but on capital payments which meant the loss of the recurrent income and, what was worse, loosened the local influence over the services concerned. Perhaps the local authorities can be persuaded that grants, without unreasonable interference and without loss of local control, are desirable. Librarians will watch with practical interest the progress of this proposal which, it should have been mentioned, has been approved by the Manchester City Council.
Lorcan Dempsey, Rosemary Russell and Robin Murray
The management of autonomous, heterogeneous network resources and services provides new challenges which libraries are now addressing. This paper outlines an approach based on the…
Abstract
The management of autonomous, heterogeneous network resources and services provides new challenges which libraries are now addressing. This paper outlines an approach based on the construction of broker services which mediate access to resources. It outlines a framework – the MODELS Information Architecture – for thinking about the components of broker services and their logical arrangement. It describes several development projects and services which show how brokers are developing. It uses examples drawn from the serials environment to describe some of the issues. Technologists understand that they must build more stable and unobtrusive media. They must establish more coherent contexts into which the technology may disappear.
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VINE is produced at least four times a year with the object of providing up‐to‐date news of work being done in the automation of library housekeeping processes, principally in the…
Abstract
VINE is produced at least four times a year with the object of providing up‐to‐date news of work being done in the automation of library housekeeping processes, principally in the UK. It is edited and substantially written by Tony McSean, Information Officer for Library Automation based in Southampton University Library and supported by a grant from the British Library Research and Development Department. Copyright for VINE articles rests with the British Library Board, but opinions expressed in VINE do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the British Library. The subscription to VINE is £10 per year and the subscription period runs from January to December.
Two speakers at Online 95 spoke on the contentious subjects of censorship and other ethical matters on the Internet. Charles Oppenheim, then of the University of Strathclyde…
Abstract
Two speakers at Online 95 spoke on the contentious subjects of censorship and other ethical matters on the Internet. Charles Oppenheim, then of the University of Strathclyde, talked about three problem areas on the Internet that are difficult to police — pornography; copyright and moral rights infringement; and libel and slander. He also cited some examples of each. Michael Dahan of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and of the Israel Democracy Institute, then talked about the censorship imposed on the Internet by the secret service in Israel — a country that is understandably more security conscious than many in the West.
Many of the fatuities and disasters attending the introduction of computers into Library and Information Services (LIS) can be ascribed to the ill‐conceived notion that…
Abstract
Many of the fatuities and disasters attending the introduction of computers into Library and Information Services (LIS) can be ascribed to the ill‐conceived notion that intellectual analysis both of the subjects of documents and of enquiries for information was no longer needed, that the machine would perform all the necessary concept relationships in short order and without human intervention. Anyone who has patiently watched Prestel clanking away in search of cricket scores will appreciate the fallacy well enough.
This paper aims to analyze the opportunities and challenges of public policy governance in industrialized democracies in the context of a globally integrated economy on the one…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to analyze the opportunities and challenges of public policy governance in industrialized democracies in the context of a globally integrated economy on the one hand and institutional decentralization on the other. The implications of these transitions suggest the need for horizontal collaboration and coordination between policy stakeholders (domestic and international) as well as among agencies across various levels of government. The case of regional economic development policy governance in Canada over the past two decades illustrates some of the complexities of public, private and community partnerships in policy governance as the country seeks to maintain and enlarge its niche in the global economy.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected through content analysis of policy and program documents relating to regional economic development in Canada, as well as in‐depth interviews of about 15 public officials directly involved in the administration of the policy.
Findings
The comparative analysis of regional economic development policy governance in two Canadian provinces over the past two decades illustrates some of the complexities of public, private and community partnerships in policy governance as the country seeks to maintain and enlarge its niche in the global economy.
Originality/value
The paper is based on an original research undertaken by the author and raises critical questions about the changing context of public management in an age of increasing globalization of economies and societies. It also addresses the distinct challenges of managing multi‐level systems in the face of the added complexities brought about by global integration.
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Kshitij Kushagra and Dr Sanjay Dhingra
Government is the biggest spender on cloud computing technology but a very limited study and data sets are available to assess the cloud adoption trends in government…
Abstract
Purpose
Government is the biggest spender on cloud computing technology but a very limited study and data sets are available to assess the cloud adoption trends in government organizations in India. As India is ushering towards “Digital India” it becomes essential for the government to embrace the cloud to enhance governance and meet the citizen expectations. This paper aims to discuss the evolution of cloud computing (Meghraj) in government organizations by examining the various information technology (IT) and cloud policies, thereby focusing on the policy gaps. The second part of this study assesses the cloud adoption trend by analyzing adopted cloud services, deployments models, leading sectors in cloud adoption and cloud approach. Eventually, in consultation with experts, a conceptual framework for cloud adoption in the government organizations of India is developed for wider cloud adoption.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors reviewed various IT/cloud policies and related literature to find the policy gaps for slow cloud adoption in government organizations. Authors have researched to collect the data from the various government procurement portals and analysed the tender and contracts of 500 organizations for cloud requirements to infer the cloud adoption trends. Based on the review of policy gaps, adoption trends and by consulting the experts a conceptual cloud adoption framework has been developed for wider cloud adoption in government organizations.
Findings
This study can be a pathfinder where the most innovative findings are about the cloud adoption trends in the government organizations in the time frame from 2013 till 2020. Several key findings are – the public cloud are the most widely adopted, infrastructure as a service model is the most used services, the majority of the applications migrating to the cloud are legacy applications, the leading sector in cloud adoption are – IT, transport and education. It is observed that the pandemic Covid-19 has acted as a catalyst and accelerated cloud adoption in government organizations. Eventually, a conceptual cloud adoption framework has been suggested addressing the policy gaps, deficiencies, overcoming the gaps and their related outcomes for the wider cloud adoption in the government organizations.
Practical implications
The findings of this work highlight the cloud adoption trends in government organizations which can prove vital to the policymakers. This work will assist policymakers, government organizations, researchers, IT professionals and others interested in analyzing the state of cloud adoption. The conceptual cloud adoption framework developed endeavours to uncover the policy gaps, suggest the gap resolution mechanism and outcomes which may assist the organization for wider cloud adoption. This research work effectively connects the policies to practice by stimulating the interest in understanding the policies, strategies and thereby creating the enabling environment for cloud adoption. This study provides feedback on cloud adoption trends which can assist in policy refinement and further strengthen policy/strategies.
Originality/value
As of date, there is limited data available for cloud adoption in government organizations. This work uniquely presents the cloud projections which helps to gain insights on cloud adoption trends in government organizations. This study is the first of its kind, focusing on cloud adoption in the unexplored government sector. This study provides a comprehensive summary of adoption statistics, policy analysis and practice in government organizations of India.
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