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This issue is a selected bibliography covering the subject of leadership.

Questions of the form ‘what is “x”?’ raise their heads from time to time, and are often very important. Whether the question is ‘what is virtue?’ or ‘what is sociology?’ the search is on for something fundamental. At least one philosopher seems to have handled that most awkward of ‘what is “x”?’ questions ‘what is philosophy?’ with both humour and wisdom: ‘The story is told that the preferred response of G.E. Moore was to gesture towards his bookshelves: “It is what all these are about”’ (reported in Flew, 1979, p.vii). Indeed, the form in which the answers come to many of these questions has been of direct concern to philosophers from Plato to Wittgenstein, including Moore himself.

This contribution is focussing its interest on a specific section of social services and social administration in the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). An important part of the German Social Security System is represented by the Social Assistance, based on the Federal Social Assistance Act of 1961. All persons living in the FRG are entitled to receive social assistance (financial payments, payments in kind, personal advice), if their income is less than a certain minimum standard and no other sources (e.g. other social security schemes, family) are able to provide financial support. The number of persons receiving social assistance in the FRG increased since the beginning of the 80s rapidly (in 1986 about 2.2 million persons received income maintenance payments); among the recipients of social assistance long‐term unemployed persons, single‐parent families and the elderly are representing the major part of clients. Social assistance is provided by local social administration. One of the characteristics of the social assistance is the fact that the local administration is required to offer financial support as well as personal advice to the clients. This implicates that the assistance provided by the local administration is a rather complex process, including various types of administrative work as well as social help.

The smart city process encompasses many features. The two chapters before this has succinctly introduced the concepts and some parts that relate to smart city. The process in implementation is dissected in this section of the book. It starts from the conceptualisation of the process to further definitions of the subject. Also, traits attributed to smart cities are explained in smart environment, economy, governance, living, people and mobility. Urbanisation brings along with it several features and terminologies. One of which is smartisation fused into the smart city process. The smartisation of the city system aim to bring developments in making the city wireless and developing smart families at the same time. Also, there are smart general administrations and improvement of social administrations, development of smart transportation, improvement of smart medicinal treatment, develop-ment of smart city administration, development of green city, and development of smart vacationer focus. Other smart city processes include the drivers, barriers, and benefits.

The purpose of this paper is to explain the global, historic context of public administration and the specific British context of teaching and research for public administration. Also, it asks the question, “is twenty-first century public administration still ‘fit for purpose?’”.

The paper is a personal reflection on the changes to public administration and management during the twentieth and early part of the twenty-first century, in particular how the UK Learned Society has responded to a number of global, policy and cultural changes.

The findings demonstrate how the UK Joint University Council (JUC), representing public administration, has responded to changes, in particular to recent forces impacting on HE and training providers. It includes the outcomes of a series of recent UK debates as JUC approaches its 100-year centenary in 2018. It concludes by showing that public administration research, teaching and scholarship are as necessary, if not more so, in 2018. In particular, issues such as accountability, legality, integrity and responsiveness, the overall ethical guidelines are vital for both public and private educational curricula. For either theory building or empirical descriptions, public administration research can still positively contribute to the wider economy

As a personal reflection, the findings are offered to add to a debate on the future of public administration scholarship in the UK, and much wider afield.

The contents should be of benefit to academics, policy and practitioners in the field of public administration and management.

This study has wider societal implications, as all states are facing growing social problems and a need to seek novel ways of delivering public services.

Though the paper is a personal reflection, and may therefore be challenged, it is based on wider literature to support the claims being made.

This article revisits some theories and concepts of public administration, including those related to public value, transaction costs and social equity, to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of using artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms in public service delivery. The author seeks to mobilize theory to guide AI-era public management practitioners and researchers.

The author uses an existing task classification model to mobilize and juxtapose public management theories against artificial intelligence potential impacts in public service delivery. Theories of social equity and transaction costs as well as some concepts such as red tape, efficiency and economy are used to argue that the discipline of public administration provides a foundation to ensure algorithms are used in a way that improves service delivery.

After presenting literature on the challenges and promises of using AI in public service, the study shows that while the adoption of algorithms in public service has benefits, some serious challenges still exist when looked at under the lenses of theory. Additionally, the author mobilizes the public administration concepts of agenda setting and coproduction and finds that designing AI-enabled public services should be centered on citizens who are not mere customers. As an implication for public management practice, this study shows that bringing citizens to the forefront of designing and implementing AI-delivered services is key to reducing the reproduction of social biases.

As a fast-growing subject, artificial intelligence research in public management is yet to empirically test some of the theories that the study presented.

The paper vulgarizes some theories of public administration which practitioners can consider in the design and implementation of AI-enabled public services. Additionally, the study shows practitioners that bringing citizens to the forefront of designing and implementing AI-delivered services is key to reducing the reproduction of social biases.

The paper informs a broad audience who might not be familiar with public administration theories and how those theories can be taken into consideration when adopting AI systems in service delivery.

This research is original, as, to the best of the author’s knowledge, no prior work has combined these concepts in analyzing AI in the public sector.

John Rawls’ theory of justice has had a direct impact on public administration, especially work in new public administration. His theory has influenced the obligations of public administrators, the scope of citizen participation in public administration, and the equitable distribution of public services. It has also contributed to the development of administrative ethics. In addition, it suggests ways in which a mediating model of public reason might be developed for public administrators working on deeply divisive social and economic issues.

This study aims to examine how 20 local governments in Canada and the USA operationalize the government–citizen trust relationship through the administration of social media by answering two questions: Can local governments use social media to increase citizen trust? and if local governments can use social media, what can be learned about the administration of social media that results in an increase in citizen trust of government?

Based on a normative belief that increasing the trustworthiness of government is a desired outcome, the working proposition is that social media may offer a low-barrier method for engaging citizens and supporting trust-based relationships, if social media programs are administered in a way that operationalizes this objective. Using content analysis of data collected from interview transcripts and documentary sources, this exploratory, process-oriented study emphasizes the social, organizational and functional contexts of social media and social media as records.

The study found that most cities had extensive programs featuring multiple accounts on a number of common platforms. The cities maintained tight control over content, account creation and employee and audience participation to ensure compliance with federal and provincial or state legislation and to mitigate technology and content-based risks. The cities used social media to broadcast information, respond to service requests and provide issue management. Social media results were measured sporadically on an ad hoc basis for operational purposes and only two cities had dedicated procedures in place for managing social media as records. Contrary to previous research, this study indicates that fiduciary trust relationships do require trust by the agent (i.e. institution) and the principal (i.e. citizen).

To increase generalizability, an effort was made to select cities that were demographically and geographically diverse by selecting a range of population sizes and locations. However, selection was skewed towards cities with well-developed social media programs, and as a result, over half of the cities were national, provincial or state capitals or larger population centres. While these cities experienced economic advantages, the participants in the study identified challenges around resourcing and capacity, and their responses are expected to be of value to cities operating under similar constraints. Additionally, this study represents a point in time, as social media use at the local governments continued to expand and evolve during and after the data collection period.

This paper identifies three scenarios where social media content from local government accounts should be managed as records, including: the documentation of incidents, the on-going collection of city content from high-profile accounts and the “on demand” collection of citizens’ content where cities have asked for citizen input on topics or issues.

This study provides an in-depth characterization of social media administration and use by 20 local governments in Canada and the USA. Considering the progress made by cities in e-government using their websites as a base, cities can develop greater capacity for open government, meaning wider participation by citizens in the decisions that affect them on a daily basis. To achieve goals of transparency, accountability and civic participation, cities will need to develop capacity around social media measurement, reporting and procedures for managing social media as records.

In providing a detailed and complete description of social media use in 20 cities in two countries, this study moves beyond a compliance- and requirement-driven approach to consider the larger question of government–citizen trust and the relevance of records within this relationship.

The purpose of this article is to explore some of the current tensions within educational administration in the USA and conclude with a few cautions for educators who engage in social justice projects.

Using a selective case, this historical essay examines the issues of social justice and equity as they have related to educational administration in the USA.

The article finds that while educational administrative practice has been characterized as maintaining the social and political status quo, there are historic examples of leaders promoting social justice. One exemplar is J. Rupert Picott, who provides an example of how one educational leader navigated through a hostile environment to achieve equity.

In a society where accountability is narrowly defined and economic concerns continue to perpetuate a managerial model for educational administrators, those who embrace a social justice perspective will do so at their own peril. However, those who wish to act for the educational welfare and life outcomes of all children will likely adopt and adapt a social justice perspective suited to their own priorities and needs. In so doing they may incur professional and personal tolls.

This article provides an example of a leader for social justice who worked and lived under the racial apartheid of the Jim Crow US South.

The award of a Commonwealth Visiting Fellowship enabled the writer to investigate preparation programmes for educational administrators in twelve prominent Canadian universities. Interviews with professors, students and practising administrators, participation in lectures, seminars and assessment procedures provided the basis for the writer's impressions. An analysis of pre‐Master's, Master's and doctoral programmes revealed that, in general, students must select courses from (i) organization and administration theory, (ii) educational personnel supervision, (iii) education in Canada and (iv) a series of options. Evidence of a combination of discipline, theory, problems and career‐based approaches was found in most programmes. The writer argues that Canadian professors of educational administration are (i) anxious to improve the quality of the courses offered and grappling with the problem of programme relevance, (ii) not generally concerned with teaching as a skill and restricted in methods used, particularly simulations, (iii) somewhat insular in outlook and (prior to the establishment of CASEA) lacking an adequate means of inter‐departmental communication. Future developments in the preparation of educational administrators are foreshadowed by the writer.