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Sociology promotes and describes public health, helping to explain macro-social dynamics of mental health care through studies of organizations, networks, and systems of care.

This chapter summarizes sociological research on mental health care organizations and systems, illustrating a macro-social perspective by examining the problem of transitions in care for young adults. Summary findings from a regional mental health services research project describe a system of care that includes 100 organizations. This system helps young adults with mental health needs.

The scope and management of care involves a focus on modes of treatment supported by research evidence and delivered effectively by people with cultural competencies. Care and continuity of care are delivered through coordinated systems of inter-organizational networks, linking organizations and providers. Active inter-organizational linkages are needed to support mental health for young adults during challenging and sometimes difficult transitions.

This research summarizes original and regional data on mental health care organizations within a regional system of care. Practical implications include support for the importance of coordination, transition planning, and cultural competence within and among organizations. Sociological and original research on organizations and systems should continue to elaborate the needs and values of mental health services for regional planning and public health.

Mountbatten offers a vivid description of the current‐awareness function using the analogy of a very wide conveyor‐belt, representing the information publishers, on which books, periodicals and reports appear at random: ‘The searcher is on a platform just above the belt and as the information material passes underneath he can pick up and read anything that he thinks might be of interest to him. You can imagine his frustration as he realises that for every item he takes time to examine, hundreds of others of possible interest to him have passed by’. Personality and environment will determine whether the individual can find an intelligent compromise between the extremes of neurosis induced by worrying about the material he is missing, or complacency with any system which produces one or two interesting items.

Public–Private Partnerships (PPPs) are used worldwide to reduce the infrastructure gap. Public entities encourage private sector involvement through PPPs, but the degree of such commitment is affected by several factors, related to the specific PPP project and to the institutional and economic environment in the host country. The purpose of this chapter is to perform an empirical analysis of the determinants of the degree of private sector participation in PPPs in developing and emerging countries. This chapter explores fractional response models to explain the degree of private participation in PPPs using data from 2000 to 2014, obtained from the World Bank’s PPI database. The results suggest that the type of project is a key determinant of the degree of private sector involvement. Favourable fiscal conditions and the existence of explicit support from the government (direct or indirect) increase the degree of private involvement. Multilateral support reduces private participation, emphasizing a substitution effect. In the same way, private sector involvement appears as a substitute to overcome failures in countries with poor financial systems. The results are particularly important for public authorities. This chapter identifies key factors that can foster private sector involvement in PPPs. Although the expansion of PPPs is a well-accepted reality, empirical studies that explore factors that affect the degree of private sector involvement are still lacking. This chapter particularly addresses this topic.

To the two aspects of the title—external information and attitudes—I would like to add a qualifying extension, namely, observations of a pragmatic special librarian seeking some necessary development routes from the passing conven‐tional library to the current and future library/information centre concept. I will keep to practical matters and problems of today and not fly into ‘futurology’ which appears to have become a fashion.

Research finds that various demographic factors, such as race, gender, education, and income, are associated with disparate health outcomes. Health literacy is an asset that can help consumers exert greater control over their health. The rapidly evolving information landscape can be overwhelming for consumers seeking health information. Users may not be aware of the influence of power, prestige, and money in funding, designing, creating, and disseminating information to consumers. Information professionals have an important role to play in providing health information to their users. Proponents of critical information literacy argue that librarianship must evolve beyond supporting the status quo and assist users in understanding the political and commercial forces that can shape the options available to users. Health-literate individuals can also be empowered to challenge the social determinants of health and support policies that would lead to more significant health equity for the whole of society.

This study sought to explore the needs and challenges of public libraries in meeting their users’ health information needs. The study also investigated participants’ perceptions regarding a public library workshop for consumers on the critical evaluation of health information. The study found that while attendance was low, the attendees rated the workshop positively.

The marketing of consumer products has developed into a sophisticated operation, largely in response to the maturation of markets and the consequential increased competition. Those participants active in markets are constantly vying with each other for their share of the value added, and complex interactions between the different components of the market develop. The market for information, in contrast, is relatively undeveloped, and whilst information has some characteristics which differentiate it from conventional consumer products, there is nevertheless considerable similarity which allows an analogous model for the information market to be constructed.

Thirty years or more ago, a favoured question in examination papers for librarians was some variation on the theme ‘Compare the merits of a classified catalogue and an alphabetical subject catalogue’. This was a subject which it was possible to write on or to discuss at great length, advancing a number of theoretical arguments or opinions expressed by pundits, without ever stating a single demonstrable fact. When, in the early 1950's, various people, such as Taube and Mooers, proposed new techniques for indexing, the reaction from the traditionally‐minded was such that it appeared there was to be a repetition of all the old arguments. In an editorial in American Documentation in 1955, Perry expressed a viewpoint, shared by many others, when he wrote:

Presents a case which suggests that companies in new‐technology‐based industries have a greater need for long‐term planning than those in other industries at other stages of development. During the period of an industry′s infancy, there is also a greater need for an industry, rather than a company, perspective. Judgemental forecasting techniques are suggested to be more suitable in new industries because of the problems associated with other forecasting methods. However, problems such as time pressure on executives and the need for confidentiality are more acute when using judgemental forecasting techniques in new industries. The Delphi technique has been used many times as a method of forecasting the future of established industries, but it has never been used to consider the future of a new industry. Discusses ten problems which can be encountered when Delphi is used in this situation and provides practical hints on procedures to overcome them, gained from its use to forecast changes in one new industry, the market analysis industry. Since new industries rarely have established trade organizations to carry out such Delphi studies, the role could be played by institutes of management education.

This paper is an attempt to give the picture of a somewhat different approach from that at Harwell. Descriptions of the systems and the data bases being used at Aldermaston have already been recorded in some detail, especially by L. Corbett, and so will not be repeated here. I would on the other hand like to say something about the policy behind the decision to use external data bases, to include some more up‐to‐date assessments of the use being made of these services and their present costs, and finally some plans for future developments.

February WED.4. Aslib Engineering Group. One‐day Conference. Newcastle. Aslib Transport Group/Motor Industries Information Group joint meeting. Plans for a new system of business statistics. Speaker: M. C. Fessey (Business Statistics Office). University of Aston. 2.30 p.m.