Algorithm-assisted decision-making in the public sector: framing the issues using administrative law rules governing discretionary power

This article considers some of the risks and challenges raised by the use of algorithm-assisted decision-making and predictive tools by the public sector. Alongside, it reviews a number of long-standing English administrative law rules designed to regulate the discretionary power of the state. The principles of administrative law are concerned with human decisions involved in the exercise of state power and discretion, thus offering a promising avenue for the regulation of the growing number of algorithm-assisted decisions within the public sector. This article attempts to re-frame key rules for the new algorithmic environment and argues that ‘old’ law—interpreted for a new context—can help guide lawyers, scientists and public sector practitioners alike when considering the development and deployment of new algorithmic tools. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘The growing ubiquity of algorithms in society: implications, impacts and innovations'.

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Administrative law and the machines of government: judicial review of automated public-sector decision-making

Legal Studies ◽

10.1017/lst.2019.9 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 39 (4) ◽

pp. 636-655 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Jennifer Cobbe

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Public Sector ◽

Administrative Law ◽

Machine Learning Techniques ◽

Clear Understanding ◽

The Public ◽

Starting Point ◽

Sector Decision ◽

Public Sector Decision Making ◽

Automated Decision Making

AbstractThe future is likely to see an increase in the public-sector use of automated decision-making systems which employ machine learning techniques. However, there is no clear understanding of how English administrative law will apply to this kind of decision-making. This paper seeks to address the problem by bringing together administrative law, data protection law, and a technical understanding of automated decision-making systems in order to identify some of the questions to ask and factors to consider when reviewing the use of these systems. Due to the relative novelty of automated decision-making in the public sector, this kind of study has not yet been undertaken elsewhere. As a result, this paper provides a starting point for judges, lawyers, and legal academics who wish to understand how to legally assess or review automated decision-making systems and identifies areas where further research is required.

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‘Party in the street’: The partisan politics of space

Environment and Planning C Politics and Space ◽

10.1177/23996544211033875 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 239965442110338

Author(s):

David Jenkins ◽

Lipin Ram

Keyword(s):

Public Sphere ◽

Public Space ◽

State Power ◽

Public Spaces ◽

The State ◽

Political Community ◽

Democratic Legitimacy ◽

Partisan Politics ◽

The Public ◽

The Public Sphere

Public space is often understood as an important ‘node’ of the public sphere. Typically, theorists of public space argue that it is through the trust, civility and openness to others which citizens cultivate within a democracy’s public spaces, that they learn how to relate to one another as fellow members of a shared polity. However, such theorizing fails to articulate how these democratic comportments learned within public spaces relate to the public sphere’s purported role in holding state power to account. In this paper, we examine the ways in which what we call ‘partisan interventions’ into public space can correct for this gap. Using the example of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPIM), we argue that the ways in which CPIM partisans actively cultivate sites of historical regional importance – such as in the village of Kayyur – should be understood as an aspect of the party’s more general concern to present itself to citizens as an agent both capable and worthy of wielding state power. Drawing on histories of supreme partisan contribution and sacrifice, the party influences the ideational background – in competition with other parties – against which it stakes its claims to democratic legitimacy. In contrast to those theorizations of public space that celebrate its separateness from the institutions of formal democratic politics and the state more broadly, the CPIM’s partisan interventions demonstrate how parties’ locations at the intersections of the state and civil society can connect the public sphere to its task of holding state power to account, thereby bringing the explicitly political questions of democratic legitimacy into the everyday spaces of a political community.

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Burden of mental health disability in Kerala: A secondary time trend analysis from 2002 to 2018

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckaa166.1073 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽

Author(s):

J Joseph ◽

H Sankar ◽

D Nambiar

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Mental Retardation ◽

Public Sector ◽

Human Resources ◽

Mental Health Disorders ◽

The State ◽

The Public ◽

Health Infrastructure ◽

Health Disorders

Abstract The fourth target of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 advocates for the promotion of mental health and wellbeing. The Indian state of Kerala is recognized for its gains in health and development but has substantial burden of mental health ailments. Historical analysis is vital to understand the pattern of mental health morbidity. The current study focusses on comparable estimates available from three largescale population-based surveys in India to explore trends in prevalence of mental health disorders over the years and map resources and infrastructure available for mental health care in Kerala. We undertook a secondary analysis of national demographic surveys from 2002 to 2018 which reported information on mental health and availability of health infrastructure and human resources. Data were collated and descriptive analyses were conducted. We compared the national and state level estimates over the years to study the trend in the prevalence of mental health disability. The prevalence of mental retardation and intellectual disability in Kerala increased from 194 per hundred thousand persons in 2002 to 300 per hundred thousand persons in 2018, two times higher to the national average. The prevalence of mental illness increased from 272 per hundred thousand people to 400 per hundred thousand people in sixteen years. The prevalence was higher among males (statistical significance was not indicated) in mental illness and mental retardation. 2018 data showed that the public sector had 0.01 hospitals and 5.53 beds per hundred thousand persons available for mental health treatment. Results showed a substantial increase in mental health illness over the 16-year study period that has affected males and females, as well as all social classes of the state. The current health infrastructure and human resources in the public sector of the state are inadequate to meet the current burden of the problem and to ensure universal access to care for its population. Key messages The trend in prevalence of mental health disorders in the state is increasing across the years. There is a mismatch between the extend of the problem and resources available in public sector.

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ISO 9001 and the public service: an investigation of the effect of the QMS on the quality of public service organizations

International Journal of Organizational Analysis ◽

10.1108/ijoa-05-2021-2753 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Jorge Armando López-Lemus

Keyword(s):

Public Sector ◽

Service Quality ◽

Public Service ◽

Public Services ◽

The State ◽

Iso 9001 ◽

Knowledge Generation ◽

Content Type ◽

The Public

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the influence exerted by a quality management system (QMS) under ISO 9001: 2015 on the quality of public services organizations in Mexico. Design/methodology/approach The methodological design was quantitative, explanatory, observational and transversal, for which a sample of 461 public servants from the state of Guanajuato, Mexico was obtained. To test the hypotheses, a structural equation model (SEM) was developed through the statistical software Amos v.21. For the analysis of the data, software SPSS v.21 was used. Regarding the goodness and adjustment indices of the SEM (χ2 = 720.09, df = 320, CFI = 0.933, TLI = 0.926 and RMSEA = 0.05) which, therefore, proved to be acceptable. Findings According to the results obtained through the SEM model, the QMS under ISO 9001: 2015 is positively and significantly influenced tangible aspects (β1 = 0.79, p < 0.01), reliability (β2 = 0.90, p < 0.01), related to response quality (β3 = 0.93, p < 0.01), guarantees (β4 = 0.91, p < 0.01) and empathy (β5 = 0.88, p < 0.01) of the quality related to public services in Mexico. The study’s key contribution is that it discovered that implementing a QMS in accordance with the ISO 9001: 2015 standard has an impact on the quality of public services, with the most influential quality of response. Similarly, the assurance and dependability of service quality turned out to be important in providing public service quality. Research limitations/implications In this paper, the QMS was only evaluated as a variable that intervenes in the process of obtaining quality in public service under the ISO 9001 standard in its 2015 version. In this regard, the results’ trustworthiness is limited to the extent that the findings may be generalized in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico’s public service. As a result, the scientific community is left primarily focused on service quality to promote new future research. Practical implications The ISO 9001: 2015 standard’s QMS is one of the tools for success in both the commercial and government sectors. However, there are practical limitations, which focus on the time during which managers exercise their vision in the public sector: first, the dynamics that managers play in public policy; second, the length of time they have served in public office; and third, the interest of directors of public institutions to improve the quality of service provided by the government. Other practical consequences concern organizational culture and identity, public servant commitment, senior management or secretaries of government, as well as work and training. Originality/value The findings of this paper are important and valuable because they foster knowledge generation in the public sector through the ISO 9000 quality area. A model that permits the adoption and implementation of a QMS based on the ISO 9001: 2015 standard in public organizations that seek to provide quality in their services offered to the user is also presented to the literature. Similarly, the paper is important because there is currently insufficient research focusing on the variables examined in the context of public service in Mexico.

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Framing Information Technology Governance in the Public Sector: Opportunities and Challenges

International Journal of Electronic Government Research ◽

10.4018/ijegr.2015100105 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 89-101 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Khalifa Al-Farsi ◽

Ramzi EL Haddadeh

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Information Technology ◽

Public Sector ◽

It Governance ◽

Decision Makers ◽

The Public ◽

Technology Governance ◽

Support Organizations ◽

Information Technology Governance ◽

Decision Making Processes

Information technology governance is considered one of the innovative practices that can provide support for decision-makers. Interestingly, it has become increasingly a de facto for organizations in seeking to optimise their performance. In principle, information technology governance has emerged to support organizations in the integration of information technology (IT) infrastructures and the delivery of high-quality services. On the other hand, decision-making processes in public sector organisations can be multi-faceted and complex, and decision makers play an important role in implementing technology in the public sector. The aim of this paper is to shed some light on current opportunities and challenges that IT governance is experiencing in the context of public sector services. In this respect, this paper examines the factors influencing the decision-making process to fully appreciate IT governance. Furthermore, this study focuses on combining institutional and individual perspectives to explain how individuals can take decisions in response to institutional influences.

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Through a Glass Darkly: The Role and Review of "National Security" Concepts in Canadian Law

Alberta Law Review ◽

10.29173/alr396 ◽

2015 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Craig Forcese

Keyword(s):

Public Policy ◽

Decision Making ◽

National Security ◽

Administrative Law ◽

The Public ◽

Precise Meaning ◽

Canadian Law ◽

Real Importance ◽

The Government

The expression "national security" or its close similes lacks a precise meaning, even in the public policy literature. Nevertheless, the concept appears in over 30 federal statutes. In most instances, the term is undefined, an important oversight in light of the significant powers these statutes accord the government. Under these circumstances, how courts review government invocations of "national security" is of real importance. With some exceptions, courts applying s. 7 of the Charter and standard administrative law doctrines have accorded substantial deference to government national security determinations. When largely deferential substantive review of the ambiguous concept of national security is coupled with the ex parti and in camera context in which these cases are often heard, the net effect is to leave government with a freer hand in national security matters than in other domains of administrative decision making. Several possible responses to this problem are proposed.

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METHODS AND WAYS OF ASSESSMENT OF LOSSES FROM CORRUPTION THEFT IN PUBLIC SECTOR OF ECONOMY

VESTNIK OF ASTRAKHAN STATE TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY SERIES ECONOMICS ◽

10.24143/2073-5537-2019-2-131-141 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 131-141 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Sergei Aleksandrovich Konovalenko ◽

Georgy Ismaylovich Harada ◽

Nazirkhan Gadzhievich Gadzhiev

Keyword(s):

Public Sector ◽

Political Development ◽

Negative Impact ◽

The State ◽

Public Funds ◽

Public Companies ◽

Financial Flows ◽

The Public ◽

Goods And Services ◽

The Government

Implementation of the decisions made in the course of management of economic and socio-political development of the state causes the adequate financial flows forming the budgetary sphere of the state. The trouble in this sphere does not allow to provide the necessary level of economic growth, hampers reforming of the economy, makes negative impact on commercial and foreign economic activity, interferes with improvement of monetary and credit, tax, insurance and other spheres of the financial system of the Russian Federation. The offenses connected with corruption and theft of budget funds committed by officials at various levels significantly undermine the authority of the government, cause a growth of discontent of society and impact the social and economic situation in the country. The practice of identifying the offenses connected with theft of public funds and property shows that practically all spheres of the public sector of economy are, to a greater or lesser extent, subject to the risks of such crimes commitment. In this regard, a research of methods and ways of assessment of corruption theft amount in the public sector of the economy is an important and hot topic. The main types of public funds theft have been analyzed, including theft of budget funds allocated in the form of grants for targeted measures; theft by overcharging the prices of goods and services used for the state needs; the acquisition of inventory for personal use of the heads of public companies at the expense of the company, etc. The dynamics of the amount of budget crimes in the Ryazan region has been analyzed. It was inferred that corruption crimes in the public sector of the Ryazan region include fraud, abuse of power, abuse of authority, illegal participation in business, as well as taking bribes. A set of measures for preventing the above crimes has been proposed.

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