Application of Natural Language Processing to Determine User Satisfaction in Public Services

Research on customer satisfaction has increased substantially in recent years. However, the relative importance and relationships between different determinants of satisfaction remains uncertain. Moreover, quantitative studies to date tend to test for significance of pre-determined factors thought to have an influence with no scalable means to identify other causes of user satisfaction. The gaps in knowledge make it difficult to use available knowledge on user preference for public service improvement. Meanwhile, digital technology development has enabled new methods to collect user feedback, for example through online forums where users can comment freely on their experience. New tools are needed to analyze large volumes of such feedback. Use of topic models is proposed as a feasible solution to aggregate open-ended user opinions that can be easily deployed in the public sector. Generated insights can contribute to a more inclusive decision-making process in public service provision. This novel methodological approach is applied to a case of service reviews of publicly-funded primary care practices in England. Findings from the analysis of 145,000 reviews covering almost 7,700 primary care centers indicate that the quality of interactions with staff and bureaucratic exigencies are the key issues driving user satisfaction across England

The Management of Interorganizational Collaborations

Els observadors de l’àmbit de la gestió pública preveuen un increment en la varietat i la complexitat de les formes de col•laboració entre el sector públic, el privat i el no lucratiu. No obstant, la recerca en el camp de les col•laboracions entre sectors encara esta sent desenvolupada, i necessita examinar el gran nombre de formes col•laboratives que han emergit en les darreres dècades. De fet, les dificultats que apareixen en la col•laboració entre el sector públic, el privat i el no lucratiu s’han d’afegir a les dificultats que presenta la gestió col•laborativa en general, i també les identificades en les aliances de negocis. Mesclar els diferents entorns, objectius, estructures i valors de les organitzacions públiques, privades i no lucratives per assolir un objectiu comú, afegeix més complexitat a la comesa, ja de per si complexa, de gestionar una aliança. En aquesta tesis he analitzat diferents aspectes de les col•laboracions interorganitzatives entre els diferents sectors, per tal d’entendre millor com aquestes complexes formes organitzatives han de ser desenvolupades i gestionades. Amb aquest objectiu, he recollit evidències de diferents diverses col•laboracions a Catalunya. Primer he adreçat la següent pregunta de recerca: Perquè succeeixen les col•laboracions? Quin és el rol del gestor/a en la creació de col•laboracions interorganitzatives? Després d’identificar el rol que tenen els gestors públics, vaig realitzar una enquesta entre els directors/es generals de totes les organitzacions públiques catalanes. Utilitzant Upper Echelons Theory per tal d’identificar els determinants de les col•laboracions interorganitzatives. En segon lloc, he analitzat organitzacions que fa molts anys que estan formades per diferents sectors: les State Owned Enterprises (SOEs). He aprofitat l’oportunitat que ha brindat l’actual crisi financera per mesurar com els interessos dels diferents sectors afecten el desenvolupament d’aquestes organitzacions; el seu interès radica en que estan formades per actors privats i actors públics de diferents nivells de l’administració pública (nacional, regional i local). Tercer, m’he centrat en comprendre millor el desenvolupament de les col•laboracions entre sectors. El focus d’aquest estudi, però, no ha estat el sector públic, sinó les organitzacions no lucratives. He realitzat una enquesta als membres de les juntes directives dels clubs esportius catalans per analitzar com col•laboren amb el sector públic i elaborar conclusions de com podrien millorar-ne els resultats. Finalment he explorat quins resultats específics podrien ser obtinguts en les col•laboracions en funció de la forma organitzativa realitzada. Per això, he desenvolupat un cas d’estudi del Banc de Sang i Teixits i he analitzat com diferents formes organitzatives facilitaven la innovació. Aquesta tesi proporciona evidencia empírica per l’argument que, en l’estudi de les col•laboracions interorganitzatives, els gestors i gestores importen. Importen en la decisió de si la col•laboració és la millor opció institucional, quan donen resposta a les diferents demandes dels stakeholders durant els processos col•laboratius, i quan decideixen quina és la millor forma organitzativa per desenvolupar les seves activitats col•laboratives.Los observadores del ámbito de la gestión pública prevén un incremento en la variedad y la complejidad de las formas de colaboración entre el sector público, el privado y el no lucrativo. No obstante, la investigación en el campo de las colaboraciones entre sectores todavía está siendo desarrollada, y necesita examinar el gran número de formas colaborativas que han emergido en las últimas décadas. Así, las dificultades de colaboración entre el sector público, el privado y el no lucrativo deben añadirse a las dificultades que presenta la gestión colaborativa en general, y también a las identificadas en las alianzas de negocios. Mezclar los distintos entornos, objetivos, estructuras y valores de las organizaciones públicas, privadas y no lucrativas para conseguir un objetivo común, añade más complejidad a la cometida de gestionar una alianza. En ésta tesis he analizado distintos aspectos de las colaboraciones interorganizativas entre diferentes sectores, para entender mejor como éstas complejas formas organizativas deben ser desarrollabas y gestionadas. Con éste objetivo, he recogido evidencias de distintas colaboraciones en Cataluña. Primero he abordado la siguiente pregunta de investigación: ¿Por qué suceden las colaboraciones? ¿Cuál es el rol del gestor/a en la creación de colaboraciones interorganizativas? Después de identificar el rol que tienen los gestores públicos, he realizado una encuesta entre los directores y directoras generales de todas las organizaciones públicas catalanas. Utilizando Upper Echelons Theory para identificar los determinantes de las colaboraciones interorganizativas. En segundo lugar he analizado organizaciones que llevan muchos años operando y están formadas por distintos sectores: las State Owned Enterprises (SOEs). He aprovechado la oportunidad propiciada por la actual crisis financiera para medir como los intereses de los distintos sectores afectan al progreso de éstas organizaciones; si interés radica en que están formadas por actores privados y actores públicos de diferentes niveles de la administración pública (nacional, regional y local). Tercero, me he centrado en comprender mejor el desarrollo de las colaboraciones entre sectores. El foco de éste estudio, pero, no ha sido el sector público, sino las organizaciones no lucrativas. He realizado una encuesta a los miembros de las juntas directivas de los clubs deportivos catalanes para analizar cómo colaboran con el sector público, y elaborar conclusiones de cómo podrían mejorar sus resultados. Finalmente he explorado qué resultados específicos podrían ser obtenidos en las colaboraciones en función de la forma organizativa realizada. Por eso he desarrollado un caso de estudio del Banco de Sangre y Tejidos y he analizado cómo diferentes formas organizativas facilitan la innovación. Ésta tesis proporciona evidencia empírica en soporte del argumento que, en el estudio de las colaboraciones interorganizatives, los gestores y gestoras importan. Importan en la decisión de si la colaboración es la mejor opción institucional, cuando dan respuesta a las diferentes demandas de los stakeholders durante los procesos colaborativos, y cuando deciden la mejor forma organizativa para desarrollar sus actividades colaborativas.Observers of the public management landscape are witnessing an increase in the variety and complexity in the forms of collaboration between the public, the private, and the non-profit sectors. However, research in the field of cross sector collaborations is still developing and has yet to fully examine the myriad organizational forms that have emerged during the last decades. Indeed, the challenges presented by cooperation across public, private, and non-profit sectors may compound those that characterize collaborative management in general as well as those identified in business to business alliances. Mixing the distinctive environments, goals, structures and values of public, private and non-for profit organizations to achieve a common goal adds further complexity to the already complex task of alliance management. Because of that, in this thesis I analyzed several aspects of inter-organizational collaborations between different sectors to better understand how these complex organizational forms can be developed and managed. To this end, I collected evidence from several collaborations in Catalonia. I first addressed the following research question: “Why do collaborations occur?” What is the manager’s role in the creation of inter-organizational collaborations? After identifying the role of public managers, I conducted a survey among the chief executives of all Catalan public organizations. I used Upper Echelons Theory to assess environmental and organizational variables and identified the determinants of inter-organizational collaboration. Second, I analyzed the organizations formed by different sectors and in operation for several years: the State Owned Enterprises (SOEs). I took the unique opportunity of the current financial crisis to assess how the interests of different sectors affect the development of an organization. These organizations are highly interesting because they are formed by both private actors and public actors from several levels of the public administration (i.e., national, regional, and local). Third, I aimed to better understand how cross-sector collaborations occur. However, the focus was not on the public sector, but on the actors on the other side of collaborations: non-profit organizations. I conducted a survey among the executive boards of Catalan sports clubs to assess how they collaborate with public organizations and drew conclusions on how they might enhance the performance of such collaborations. Finally, I explored what specific outputs could be achieved from the organizational arrangement in collaborations. For this, I conducted a case study of the Catalan Blood and Tissues Bank and assessed how different collaborative arrangements facilitated innovation. This thesis provides empirical evidence for the argument that, when studying inter-organizational collaboration, managers do matter. They matter when deciding if collaboration is the best institutional choice, when overseeing varying interests of the stakeholders during the process of collaboration, and when deciding which organizational form is best to develop collaborative ventures

Doping of solution-processed two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides

Semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) such as MoS2, WSe2 or WS2 have attracted a lot of interest in recent years because of their outstanding optoelectronic properties including tunable bandgap or strong light absorption in the visible range, even at sub-micrometer thickness. Furthermore, doping these materials with transition metal atoms is an approach which can additionally modify a TMDs’ optoelectronic properties and therefore could enable these TMDs to take part in new applications. Indeed, one method to exfoliate TMD materials is the electrochemical intercalation of TMDs with THA+ molecules. Recently this method was altered to make it more scalable, using annealed pellets made from commercially available powder. This method is readily adaptable such that bulk TMDs are doped in the annealing phase before being exfoliated into doped 2D TMD nanoflakes. In this work we present an extensive study regarding p-type doping of MoS2 with Niobium (Nb) for different atomic concentrations. We confirm the incorporation of the dopant agent to the TMD crystal lattice and observe consequential changes in the optoelectronic properties of the resulting nanoflakes. Besides, from 0.75% Nb doping the intrinsic n-type MoS2 displays ambipolar due to the p-type behavior added by Nb atoms. Consequently, NbMoS2 shows promise as a building block of ultra-thin ambipolar field effect transistors (FETs). We follow up with the incorporation of n-type dopant agent Rhenium (Re) as preliminary story. Here, Re is also confirmed to enter at MoS2 crystal structure. However, as it stands 0.5% and 1% Re doping to MoS2 are not beneficial for PEC performance of this material. Finally, we show that this method can also be used for other TMDs such as p-type WSe2 and n-type WS2, showcasing the universality of this method. Here, dopant agent incorporation to the TMDs crystal lattices is also confirmed and therefore optoelectronic properties of WSe2 and WS2 are also demonstrated to change because of Nb addition. In summary, we successfully dope 2D TMD materials using a scalable, solution-processable method and we show that these doped materials have potential in future ultrathin optoelectronic devices.Outgoin

Homophily and Polarization in Twitter Political Networks:A Cross-Country Analysis

Homophily, the tendency of people to have ties with those who are similar, is a fundamental pattern to understand human relations. As such, the study of homophily can provide key insights into the flow of information and behaviors within political contexts. Indeed, some degree of polarization is necessary for the functioning of liberal democracies, but too much polarization can increase the adoption of extreme political positions and create democratic gridlock. The relationship between homophilous communication ties and political polarization is thus fundamental because it affects a pillar of democratic regimes: the need for public debate where divergent ideas and interests can be confronted. This research compares the degree of homophily and political polarization in Catalan MPs' Twitter mentions network to Dutch MPs' Twitter mentions network. Exponential random graph models were employed on a one-year sample of mentions among Dutch MPs (N = 7,356) and on a one-year, three-month sample of mentions among Catalan MPs (N = 19,507). Party polarization was measured by calculating the external-internal index of both Twitter mentions networks. Results reveal that the mentions among Catalan MPs are much more homophilous than those among the Dutch MPs. Indeed, there is a positive relationship between the degree of MPs' homophilous communication ties and the degree of political polarization observed in each network

Del monopolio estatal al "monopolio" privado : el rol de la alianza entre el gobierno mexicano y el Grupo Carso en la re-regulación de las telecomunicaciones (1989-2006)

A partir de los años 80, el antiguo régimen internacional de las telecomunicaciones ha sufrido importantes cambios. Los Estados impulsaron un proceso de liberalización de las telecomunicaciones que conllevó la privatización de los monopolios públicos y la desregulación de los monopolios privados del sector. La doctrina neoliberal que propugnaba la reformulación del rol de los Estados frente a sus economías, ha afectado también este sector económico. Estas transformaciones han provocado la aparición de una nueva estructura del régimen internacional de las telecomunicaciones, en la que la Unión Internacional de las Telecomunicaciones (UIT) ha cedido su rol como regulador del sector a una nueva constelación de organizaciones lideradas por la OMC. Además, otra característica relevante de esta nueva estructura es que el poder de los mercados de telecomunicaciones está centralizado en un reducido grupo de firmas multinacionales (FMN). En este contexto, es interesante estudiar las reformas de las telecomunicaciones mexicanas (1989-2006), con el objeto de comprender el actual comportamiento del mercado mexicano de las telecomunicaciones. Primeramente, analizaremos el rol jugado por la alianza establecida entre el sector privado mexicano (el Grupo Carso) y el gobierno central en el proceso de privatización de Telmex (1989-90). Seguidamente, estudiaremos el proceso de liberalización de las telecomunicaciones mexicanas en vistas a demostrar el impacto que ha tenido la consolidación de esta alianza en el mercado mexicano de las telecomunicaciones

Assessing the Effects of User Accountability in Contracting Out

Supplementary data is available at the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory online.The data that support the findings of this study are available in the Harvard Dataverse Repository, at https://doi. org/10.7910/DVN/I1TQ2O.How does contracting out affect service performance? Evidence to date is mixed. We argue that this is partially due to prior studies focusing often on whether—not how—services are contracted. Yet, how services are contracted matters. In particular, we argue that whether users pay user fees for services to contractors affects efficiency. Where they do, contractor revenue depends on user satisfaction and contractors face incentives to provide quality services to users to retain revenue. Where, by contrast, governments fund services, information asymmetry about the quality of services users receive allows contractors to shirk quality. The assertion is substantiated by empirical evidence derived from a comprehensive analysis of conditional efficiency within the water supply services across 2,111 municipalities in Spain, employing a two-stage conditional order-m data panel estimation. Our results show that contracting out where users pay service fees and thus have incentives to hold contractors accountable outperforms contracting out without user fees in quality-adjusted service provisionAgència de Gestió d’Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca, Grant/ Award Number: SGR Program2017-SGR-1556Junta de Andalucía, Proyectos I+D+I a agentes del Sistema Andaluz del Conocimiento (PAIDI 2020) Grant Number: P20.00605Universidad de Granada, Grant Number: B-SEJ-476-UGR20Ministerio de Ciencia e InnovaciónGrant Number: PID2021-128713OB-I00COLLABQUAL PID2020- 116103GB-I00

Moonwalking together:Tracing Redditors’ digital memory work on Michael Jackson

This article investigates the memory work concerning Michael Jackson on Reddit. By means of their posts, comments, and replies, people contributing to this site – Redditors – enter into a process we call mnemonic stabilization. This is a collaborative process in which networked individuals share their memories about, in this case, Michael Jackson. We argue that this process resembles Jackson’s dance technique called moonwalking: Redditors seem to go back in time, but they continually alter how Jackson is remembered and forgotten, depending on the (personal) context of the present and an imagined future. These theoretical observations are assessed empirically by a content analysis of comments and replies (N = 917) posted on the subreddit /r/MichaelJackson between June 25, 2009, and December 31, 2018. This revealed that most posts with a mnemonic dimension focus on personal memories of Michael Jackson’s music, performances, and (perceived) positive characteristics, rather than on how he should be remembered. These findings can be partially explained by Reddit’s socio-technical infrastructure

Political Polarisation and Network Leaderships in the Catalan Parliamentarians Twitter Network

This article seeks to test if Twitter is opening communication flows between parties and paving the way for the appearance of network leaderships or if it is reducing them to representatives of the same party or ideology and empowering party leaders. The study is based on a dataset spanning from 1 January 2013 to 31 March 2014 which covers all relationships (4,516), retweets (6,045) and mentions (19,507) of Catalan parliamentarians. The data sustain that the political polarisation of Catalan parliamentarians¿ Twitter flows is deeper in the relationship and retweet networks than it is in the mention and that even if party leaders are still at the centre of communication flows, other parliamentarians are taking the floor and becoming network leaders.Este artículo trata de probar si Twitter abre flujos de comunicación entre partidos distintos y allana el camino para la aparición de liderazgos en la red o si los reduce a representantes del mismo partido o ideología y empodera a los líderes del partido. El estudio se basa en un conjunto de datos que abarca desde 1 de enero de 2013 al 31 de marzo de 2014 e incluye todas las relaciones (4516), retweets (6045) y menciones (19.507) de los parlamentarios catalanes. Los datos sostienen que la polarización política de los parlamentarios catalanes en los intercambios de Twitter es más profunda en las redes de relaciones y las redes de retweets que en las redes de menciones y que, aunque los líderes del partido se encuentran todavía en el centro de los flujos de comunicación, otros parlamentarios están tomando la palabra y se están convirtiendo en líderes en la red

Echo Chambers in Parliamentary Twitter Networks:The Catalan Case

Social media is transforming relations among members of parliaments, but are members taking advantage of these new media to broaden their party and ideological communication environment, or they are mainly communicating with other party members and ideologically aligned peers? This article tests whether parliamentarians’ use of Twitter is opening communication flows or confining them to representatives of the same party or ideology. The study is based on a data set spanning the period January 1, 2013, to March 31, 2014, which covers all relations (4,516), retweets (6,045), and mentions (19,507) among Catalan parliamentarians. Our results indicate that communication flows are polarized along party and ideological lines. The degree of polarization of this network depends, however, on where the interactions occur: The relations network is the most polarized; cross-party and cross-ideological interactions are greater in the retweet network and most present in the mention network