Interoperability and Information Brokers in Public Safety: An Approach toward Seamless Emergency Communications

When a disaster occurs, the rapid gathering and sharing of crucial information among public safety agencies, emergency response units, and the public can save lives and reduce the scope of the problem; yet, this is seldom achieved. The lack of interoperability hinders effective collaboration across organizational and jurisdictional boundaries. In this article, we propose a general architecture for emergency communications that incorporates (1) an information broker, (2) events and event-driven processes, and (3) interoperability. This general architecture addresses the question of how an information broker can overcome obstacles, breach boundaries for seamless communication, and empower the public to become active participants in emergency communications. Our research is based on qualitative case studies on emergency communications, workshops with public safety agencies, and a comparative analysis of interoperability issues in the European public sector. This article features a conceptual approach toward proposing a way in which public safety agencies can achieve optimal interoperability and thereby enable seamless communication and crowdsourcing in emergency prevention and response

Marketing library services to children and young people

This paper discusses the future of Schools Library Services in the North West region of England based on a research project recently undertaken by the Centre for the Public Library and Information in Society at the University of Sheffield on behalf of MLA North West. The research has revealed somewhat of an identity crisis for Schools Library Services in the region, encouraged by educational policy, changing public library service priorities and subsequent issues surrounding service perceptions, awareness and ownership. The research has revealed a desire within the sector for a more visible alignment of Schools Library Services within the empirical services to children and young people agenda. Particular opportunities exist within the literacy development remit, building upon best practice examples in the region concerning reader development projects and family learning initiatives. Recommendations include the formation of a regional professional network designed to promote a seamless library service to children from early years to young adulthood including staff training, advocacy and proactive service marketing under a strong and identifiable regional brand

Transaction stage of e-Government systems: identification of its location & importance

All e-Government maturity models identify a Transaction stage along the pathway to full systems integration. The evidence suggests that a significant number of project failures occur at this stage and thus frustrate the endeavour to achieve a coherent uniform means of access to Government. Clearly, research to identify and overcome the challenges presented at this stage is critical. In this paper the Transaction stage is clearly delineated as the point at which online technology ceases to be peripheral to the agency’s activity. Hence, it presents the first real organisational challenge and an appropriate research strategy is defined to uncover the problems that arise at this point

Social Computing and Cooperation Services for Connected Government and Cross-Boundary Services Delivery

Connected Government requires different government organizations to connect seamlessly across functions, agencies, and jurisdictions in order to deliver effective and efficient services to citizens and businesses. In the countries of the European Union, this also involves the possibility of delivering cross-border services, which is an important step toward a truly united Europe. To achieve this goal, European citizens and businesses should be able to interact with different public administrations in different Member States in a seamless way to perceive them as a single entity. Interoperability, which is a key factor for Connected Government, is not enough in order to achieve this result, since it usually does not consider the social dimension of organizations. This dimension is at the basis of co-operability, which is a form of non-technical interoperability that allows different organizations to function together essentially as a single organization. In this chapter, it is argued that, due to their unique capacity of coupling several technologies and processes with interpersonal styles, awareness, communication tools, and conversational models, the integration of social computing services and tools within inter-organizational workflows can make them more efficient and effective. It can also support the \u201clearning\u201d process that leads different organizations to achieve co-operability

A case study of asthma care in school age children using nurse-coordinated multidisciplinary collaborative practices

Aim: To describe the role of school nursing in leading and coordinating a multidisciplinary networked system of support for children with asthma, and to analyze the strengths and challenges of undertaking and supporting multiagency interprofessional practice. Background: The growth of networked and interprofessional collaborations arises from the recognition that a number of the most pressing public health problems cannot be addressed by single-discipline or -agency interventions. This paper identifies the potential of school nursing to provide the vision and multiagency leadership required to coordinate multidisciplinary collaboration. Method: A mixed-method single-case study design using Yin’s approach, including focus groups, interviews, and analysis of policy documents and public health reports. Results: A model that explains the integrated population approach to managing school-age asthma is described; the role of the lead school nurse coordinator was seen as critical to the development and sustainability of the model. Conclusion: School nurses can provide strategic multidisciplinary leadership to address pressing public health issues. Health service managers and commissioners need to understand how to support clinicians working across multiagency boundaries and to identify how to develop leadership skills for collaborative interprofessional practice so that the capacity for nursing and other health care professionals to address public health issues does not rely on individual motivation. In England, this will be of particular importance to the commissioning of public health services by local authorities from 2015