Evaluation Of Research Projects Research Articles

Family centres: a focus for the children in need debate

The development of child care policy has been characterized by debates organized along various intersecting constructs such as universal vs. selective services and prevention vs. treatment. Family centres, as a site of service delivery, represent a point of intersection of many of these arguments. Their role is contested between protagonists of all positions within the child care policy debates: whether they should be professionally managed, led by service users, provide a service to referred families, or offer a universal resource for local communities. This paper argues that a needs‐led approach to family centre development may supersede the sterile dichotomies of many of these debates. A case study is presented of an evaluation research project, designed to inform a needs‐led family centre policy for an urban unitary social services department. The methodology utilizes an approach combining quantitative analyses of geographical distributions of family need with qualitative presentation of the perspectives of actual and potential centre users, and agency stakeholders. The outcome is a family centre model which, by focusing on need, seeks to transcend the limited oppositions of the child care debates.

Bibliometric assessment of research performance in Flanders: policy background and implications

We illustrate the use of bibliometric tools in the evaluation of scientific research conducted at Flemish universities and publicly funded research organisations, and in the assessment of scientific‐technological performance in Flanders in the field of information technology. We sketch the policy background of a number of studies conducted during the past 6 years in Flanders. These studies have provided useful information to evaluators and policy makers in Flanders, and have generated indirect effects on policy decisions, as their outcomes were used in the policy debate to raise relevant questions, clarify concepts or distinctions, question assumptions or to substantiate impressions.

Academic validation of prior and experiential learning: evaluation of the process

This report is a summary of an AP(E)L evaluative research project conducted at the University of Southampton School of Nursing and Midwifery. The project aimed to shed light on the perceptions of candidates and teachers in conjunction with the effectiveness of the accreditation process. Through initial semi-structured interviews with teachers (n = 6) and candidates (n = 6) offering their perceptions and experiences, an emergent questionnaire was sent to the remaining active accreditation candidates (n = 60, response n = 39) and advisers/assessors (n = 36), response n = 32). The effectiveness of candidate preparation for beginning an accreditation claim, the comprehensiveness of the types of credit available to capture learning through experience, the styles of advising and feedback from assessment are all reported on. Interestingly, the data highlight how preparing an accreditation claim can affect both adviser and candidate, in terms of being more self-critical and reflective in their areas of practice.

Using Technology Absorption as an Evaluation Criterion: Case Studies from a State Research and Development Program

State agencies sponsoring local research and development projects often finance the development of technologies in partnership with other organizations. These contracting partners develop and demonstrate the new technology. This study distinguishes between two types of outcomes from such projects. Technology absorption is the adoption of a technology by an organization participating in the project. Technology transfer is the process by which outcomes are adopted by organizations outside the project (i.e., nonparticipants). From an evaluation perspective, research and development projects that result in the absorption of technology, without any subsequent transfer, are difficult to assess. Often these outcomes are counted the same as a transfer even though the process is subsidized by the state.Three case studies of absorption outcomes are presented. Absorption projects tend to be distinctive because: (a) they develop technologies that are very large in scale and very complex; (b) project leadership typically is provided by an end‐user who attempts to employ the technology for commercial purposes; (c) success is measured through the technological accomplishment and ongoing commercial venture rather than by the number of adopting organizations; and (d) they produce spillover benefits in the cohesion of the social networks formed among project participants.

Developing First Nations Child Welfare Standards: Using Evaluation Research within a Participatory Framework

Abstract: Program evaluation in aboriginal communities requires a participatory approach that recognizes the importance of culture and promotes mutual learning. Despite the articulation of principles and models that support this approach, the implementation of evaluation studies often reflects a more conventional model stressing the role of the expert and a deductive approach to knowledge development. The evaluation research project summarized in this article was designed and implemented to develop culturally appropriate child and family service standards in First Nations communities using a community-based participatory research model. Process and outcome benefits were achieved by utilizing multiple focus group interviews in the first phase and adapting these strategies in a combined feedback and consultation phase following preliminary data analysis.

How to Get a Research Idea and Get Someone to Pay You to Work on It

A course that explicitly addresses the important, but largely ignored issues of creativity and communication is described. In the course students develop practical skills as well as an intellectual basis for developing and evaluating research projects.

Evaluating research projects at toshiba. Designing a conceptual framework of evaluating research and technology development (RTD) programs

Toshiba, a broadly-based electric/electronics manufacturer, operates diversified businesses. A sophisticated research and technology management system supports those businesses based on a research and technology development (RTD) organization consisting of three layers: corporate, business group, and divisional laboratories. Evaluation of RTD projects is varied in accordance with their characteristics. To promote future inter-divisional business, the Corporate Incentive Program (CIP) funds corporate projects which are authorized and evaluated by the Corporate Technology Committee (CTC). In parallel, under the Corporate Strategic Program (CSP), committees monitor and evaluate specific, rapidly-advancing technologies so as to promote early acquisition and diffusion. Additionally, transnational strategic alliances (TSAs) are promoted on the basis of their merits and in accordance with Toshiba's corporate philosophy of Competition, Cooperation and Complementarity (CCC subsequently actual monetary contributions are monitored annually. Another style of pre-evaluation can be observed at the RDC in the Exploratory Programs by the Young (EPY). First, some actual cases at Toshiba are introduced. Next, discussion is extended to the evaluation framework, the corporate technology model and RTD productivity. Also noted is the importance of recognizing that the consumer is the ultimate evaluator and that evaluation-quality is improved by feedback from the market. Concept creation and target clarification must come first; only then does the evaluation make sense.

Sensible Matchmaking: Qualitative Research Design and theProgram Evaluation Standards

Abstract In this article, a welcome move by educational evaluators away from positivistic models of research is discussed. This move reflects prior epistemological shifts in the social and physical sciences. Most important to qualitative researchers is the Standards' new focus on the human aspects of evaluation, validity, and meaning and a broadened definition of what constitutes legitimate data collection and data analysis techniques. The author acknowledges how evaluators have incorporated subjectivities into research design and qualified their absolute criterion of objective evaluation while spelling out clear guidelines for documentation of all stakeholder perspectives. This analysis is from the perspective of the author's experiences with both traditional and qualitative evaluation research projects.

Changing minds about embryo research.

Documentary sources are used to examine the parliamentary evaluation of scientific research on human embryos which took place in Britain during the 1980s. Evidence is presented to show that there was a major change in the balance of opinion in the course of the long sequence of debates which ended with the passage of the Human Fertilization and Embryology Act in 1990. It is suggested that there was a pronounced movement in favour of embryo research which was associated with a significant alteration in the social relationships between scientists and Members of Parliament and with a marked change in the way in which embryo research came to be morally justified. It is argued that the negotiations over embryo research in Parliament contributed to the clarification of the moral boundaries within which such research was to be confined and to the establishment of social mechanisms designed to maintain the integrity of these boundaries.

Nursing's response to the crisis of access, costs, and quality in health care.

Changes now taking place in the structure of health care delivery in the United States from regulatory models controlled by physicians to competitive models driven by traditional market forces of cost and quality are beginning to open opportunities for innovative nursing practice models. This article reports on the cost-effectiveness of a community nursing center for persons living with HIV/AIDS. The potential cost impact of the nursing center is significant because of the nurses' ability to forestall hospital admissions and readmissions, decrease prolonged lengths of stay, provide medically supportive outpatient treatments, care for clients at a low cost per client per year, attract professional and nonprofessional volunteer services and donations, and increase job satisfaction, thus reducing costly nurse turnover. The 1991 to 1992 costs of HIV/AIDS health care in the United States were used to estimate conservatively that the center has saved more than $700,000 in 1991 and over $1 million in 1992 in hospital charges for HIV/AIDS care. A rationale for the cost savings estimates is supplied by results of quantitative and qualitative evaluation research projects conducted at the center. Finally, implications of this analysis for future directions in nursing practice and education are discussed.

A case study of an implementation of the ‘new literacy’ paradigm

ABSTRACTWithin this article, the authors discuss a research project which entailed using teacher journals as a source of program development, assessment and change. Over the course of one year, teachers from the West Deptford school system voluntarily participated in a professional development program entitled the PENN Literacy Network. This training program was led by a member of the West Deptford school district, and its aim was to promote new ways of integrating reading, writing and talking into language arts classrooms and across the curriculum. During the course of this training year, teachers were asked to keep journals detailing their experiences and understanding of the critical experiences which they were presented with, and these journals were responded to by the facilitator of the course and were read by researchers associated with the PENN Literacy Network in order to answer questions and identify emergent themes.This paper addresses some findings, analysis and interpretation of the qualitative evaluation research project which grew out of a university/school district collaboration. It describes the Pennsylvania Framework and the critical learning experiences associated with this Framework and details, using journal citations, teachers’ reactions to the changes taking place within their classrooms and their teaching philosophies as they adapt such critical experiences to their own daily practice. The changes which occur in the program due to teacher feedback and concerns are discussed.Throughout this case study, the authors seek to answer the following questions:‘In what ways have teachers who participated in the professional development program utilized the concepts and practices of the new literacy effort in their classrooms?’ and ‘How do these teachers feel about these changes?’ They believe that using such questions to analyze the journals helps to provide validation data supporting the assumption that the PENN Literacy Network does facilitate change and this data helps the facilitator of the course, the organizers of the Network and the university researchers to integrate teacher voices into the program itself. In addition, teachers are able to use the journals to experiment and learn while sharing their thoughts and feelings with their colleagues as a form of teacher research.

Public Sentiment Toward Innovative Child Sexual Abuse Intervention Strategies: Consensus and Conflict

Juvenile and Family Court JournalVolume 44, Issue 3 p. 17-26 Public Sentiment Toward Innovative Child Sexual Abuse Intervention Strategies: Consensus and Conflict Gregory J. Skibinski Ph.D., Corresponding Author Gregory J. Skibinski Ph.D. Gregory J. Skibinski, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the School of Social Work at The University of Alabama where he teaches courses in research, social work practice, child welfare and family treatment. His specialty is intrafamilial child sexual abuse intervention. He has published articles in legal and child welfare journals and has presented his work at regional, national, and international conferences. 3University of Alabama School of Social Work Box 870314 Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0314 4School of Social Work The University of Alabama Box 870314 Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0314Search for more papers by this authorJoan E. Esser-Stuart, Corresponding Author Joan E. Esser-Stuart Joan E. Esser-Stuart has recently joined the faculty in the School of Social Work at The University of Alabama. She was employed with The University of Alabama Capstone Poll for the past four years and worked on a variety of survey research and evaluation research projects. She teaches courses in the social work practice sequence, policy, family treatment and intervention. Her research specialities include family theory, policy, and evaluation. She has published articles and presented her work at regional, national, and international conferences. 3University of Alabama School of Social Work Box 870314 Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0314 4School of Social Work The University of Alabama Box 870314 Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0314Search for more papers by this author Gregory J. Skibinski Ph.D., Corresponding Author Gregory J. Skibinski Ph.D. Gregory J. Skibinski, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the School of Social Work at The University of Alabama where he teaches courses in research, social work practice, child welfare and family treatment. His specialty is intrafamilial child sexual abuse intervention. He has published articles in legal and child welfare journals and has presented his work at regional, national, and international conferences. 3University of Alabama School of Social Work Box 870314 Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0314 4School of Social Work The University of Alabama Box 870314 Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0314Search for more papers by this authorJoan E. Esser-Stuart, Corresponding Author Joan E. Esser-Stuart Joan E. Esser-Stuart has recently joined the faculty in the School of Social Work at The University of Alabama. She was employed with The University of Alabama Capstone Poll for the past four years and worked on a variety of survey research and evaluation research projects. She teaches courses in the social work practice sequence, policy, family treatment and intervention. Her research specialities include family theory, policy, and evaluation. She has published articles and presented her work at regional, national, and international conferences. 3University of Alabama School of Social Work Box 870314 Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0314 4School of Social Work The University of Alabama Box 870314 Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0314Search for more papers by this author First published: August 1993 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1755-6988.1993.tb00922.x AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume44, Issue3August 1993Pages 17-26 RelatedInformation

A SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT PRACTICE MODEL FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

This paper presents an operationalization of a social development practice model useful to community development. The model was initially developed in an attempt to rationalize practice with relationship to the value and policy writings in social development. It was anticipated that the model could be useful in planning, implementation and evaluation processes of community development practice. The model suggests the intensification of the processes of participation, empowerment, cooperation and institutionalization. It may extend the boundaries of community practice. A composite case study developed from an evaluative research project was used to provide material illustrative of the process usefulness of the model. The illustration demonstrated the model's usefulness as an evaluative device, while the presentation of the model focuses upon its utility as a community practice framework. It appears that the model could be useful in a variety of community projects.

Understanding and evaluating manual handling injuries: NIOSH research studies.

This paper presents an overview of NIOSH research aimed at characterizing and identifying intervention strategies for reducing musculoskeletal injuries during manual handling activities. Surveillance and evaluative research projects are reviewed. Future research directions of the Institute are also discussed.

Towards performance measurement of economics research in the Netherlands

In this paper some crucial elements in the changing nature of science policy and evaluation of scientific research are discussed. These observations are then used as a frame of reference for the design of a new system for performance assessment and judgment of economics research in the Netherlands, which is now being tested. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.

The Importance of an Introduction to Scientific Methodology and Research Evaluation in the Nursing Curriculum: An Icelandic Experience

This article briefly presents a total academic program for preparing professional nurses at the University of Iceland and discusses the reasons for teaching an introductory course in scientific methodology and research evaluation in its curriculum. It is argued that scientific methodology and research evaluation adds a necessary component to the qualification of the nursing graduate and an ability to participate in clinical research and advancement of research-based practice.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Foster Parent Training

As child welfare agencies confront limited resources and increasing demands for demonstrating positive results from expenditures, growing attention has been directed to the potential benefits of training programs for foster parents. A number of such programs have been designed and tried by child welfare agencies, and numerous claims have been made regarding the purported beneficial effects and positive consequences of training programs for foster care. However, few empirical studies have been reported that support these claims. This article summarizes what has been found in the few controlled studies of the effects of foster parent training and reports on an evaluative research project that examined one such program. Implications of the limited knowledge m this area are then examined.

Communicating Science to the Public. Edited by D. Evered and M. O'Connor. (Pp. 215; illustrated; £32.50). Ciba Foundation: London. 1987. - The Evaluation of Scientific Research. Edited by D. Evered and S. Harnett. (Pp. 276; illustrated; £32.50.) Ciba Foundation: London. 1989.

Communicating Science to the Public. Edited by D. Evered and M. O'Connor. (Pp. 215; illustrated; £32.50). Ciba Foundation: London. 1987. - The Evaluation of Scientific Research. Edited by D. Evered and S. Harnett. (Pp. 276; illustrated; £32.50.) Ciba Foundation: London. 1989.

The evaluation of scientific research

The evaluation of scientific research

Udder Health and BST

"Higher production will hurt the small producer, increase stress and enhance disease". These cliches are not new and have accompanied most major changes in the dairy industry dealing with milk production. They are not all untruths, and many management changes have affected exposure and risk to both metabolic and infectious diseases which challenge our traditional approach to disease control. Understanding the new sciences and using them properly are challenges we must face in our herd health programs. Historically, the elimination of Streptococcus agalactiae in a herd has not assured the control of mastitis unless combined with measures to reduce other sources of infections in the herd. Lowering the somatic cell count in a herd results in increased production, but without proper environmental controls, increased clinical mastitis can offset the benefits of reduced subclinical mastitis. Most of our management changes have resulted in improved production, better milk quality or positive cost-benefits ration for the producer. Bovine somatotropin (BST) is the most recent scientific advancement in the industry, offering benefits but sharing concerns as seen in the past. Unlike other new advances, few improvements have received as much publicity or as much scientific research evaluation.