Use Of Evaluation Information Research Articles

A Comprehensive Method for Ranking Mutual Fund Performance

The increasing guidance requirement in choosing mutual funds contribute to the development of an abundant literature on approaches of ranking funds performance. However, all the commonly used single index and multi-indexes ranking methodologies have their own drawbacks and are in fact not suitable for a reasonable and practical mutual funds comprehensive ranking sometimes. More specifically, the single index measures are incomprehensive, controversial, or even ineffective sometimes, while the mostly used multi-indexes methods do not make full use of evaluation information and usually indirect and inflexible in reality. This paper proposes a paired competition based mutual fund multi-indexes comprehensive performance ranking method which could avoid most of the shortcomings of existing approaches with six good characteristics: it is a comprehensive ranking method that reflects different performance aspects; it provides both cardinal and ordinal information for various practical applications; it integrates both individual evaluation information and joint comparison information for obtaining a more accurate and robust ranking scheme; it has a flexible framework to process complicated data situation; it reveals true strength of fund without distortion; it is convenient to operate in practice. In addition, a more reasonable objective weighted method is proposed to deal with the indexes correlation problems.

PSS solution evaluation considering sustainability under hybrid uncertain environments

In order to deal with resource shortage and environmental deterioration, product service system (PSS) are proposed as a sustainable development concept. Careful evaluation in the earlier design stages must be performed before putting a PSS design solution into practice in order to guarantee the sustainability. Due to the reason that sustainability involves many factors and PSS is a complex system with long lifespan, the sustainability criteria will be of great quantity and various measurements. This paper aims to deal with two issues: (1) how to choose the sustainability criteria (2) and how to deal with uncertain factors when measuring these criteria. The zigzag mapping process is adopted to help decision makers to obtain criteria from the customer domain to function domain. The customer domain is modified to include the economic, environmental and social aspects of sustainability. To deal with uncertain factors, the Information Axiom is extended in the hybrid uncertain environments characterized by fuzziness and randomness co-existing. The design range is modeled as a fuzzy variable and the system range is modeled as a random variable. Thus the information content calculating involves integrals with fuzzy boundaries. A fuzzy simulation algorithm is constructed to calculate this kind of integrals. Two case studies are illustrated to highlight the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed approach. The results show that the proposed method could reflect the judgements of decision makers more precisely, and make use of evaluation information more comprehensively. The results also show that use-oriented PSS is easy to be influenced by the social aspect of sustainability, while product-oriented PSS is easy to be influenced by the economic aspect of sustainability.

The Quality Evaluation Method of Instrument Flight Procedure Design Scheme Based on Fuzzy Linguistic Assessments

The quality of Instrument Flight Procedure Design Scheme (QIFPDS) is directly related to the terminal area airspace capacity, quality, efficiency of air traffic management, and even the safety of aircraft. Hence, the evaluation of QIFPDS has great significance in real life. However, the evaluation of QIFPDS in real work is mainly done by experts through their specific knowledge and experience, which usually leads to a bias result and inevitably contains subjectivity and arbitrary defects. In this paper, a multi-attribute group decision-making method is proposed. This method makes full use of evaluation information; objectively and effectively evaluate QIFPDS. Also in this paper, a mathematical model for this method is introduced and a detailed step to solve this model is listed. At the end of this paper, an example is given to show the effectiveness and feasibility of the method. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/telkomnika.v11i12.3687

The True Impact of Evaluation

There is a growing call for evaluation capacity building (ECB); although the area currently lacks a rich research base, there are few robust methods and practice through which to define it. The argument in this article is that the impact of evaluation is mediated by program stakeholders’ engagement in evaluation activities. This mediation provides a foundation for a consideration of the merit of ECB. This study sought to find confirmation that stakeholder engagement in evaluation could influence the outcomes of a program and thus subsequently provide evidence as to the merit and significance of evaluation engagement. Multiple forms of evaluation data were collected for two long-term public health evaluations and coded and collated again on an evidence-based rubric in close consultation with the community. The influence of stakeholder’s willingness and capacity to engage in evaluation activity was also investigated. The analysis revealed that stakeholders’ engagement in evaluations provided reasonably unique contributions to the overall program outcomes. This article provides the impetus for evaluation-based capacity building, in that it presents empirical evidence that willingness, capacity to engage in evaluation activities, and the use of evaluation information increases the probability of achieving desired outcomes and sustainability.

The Optimum Selection of Instrument Flight Procedure Design Scheme Based on the Relative Superiority Degree

The optimum selection of instrument flight procedure design scheme is very important to the enhancement of capacity of terminal area, and to the work quality and efficiency of air traffic management and flight safety. However, in practice, the optimum selection is often made by experts based on their on their specialized knowledge and experience. This human-made selection in most cases could be biased or not optimum. To address this problem, we present an evaluation method based on the relative superiority degree technique. This method makes full use of evaluation information and makes unbiased optimum selection with very low human interference. We give details of using this method in this paper, including constructing evaluation indicator system, obtaining values of each indicator; building evaluation model based on relative superiority degree and finding solution of the model, etc. At the end of this paper, we present a numerical example to demonstrate the feasibility of this method.

Implications of evidence-based practice for community health.

Evidence-based practice, developed in clinical medicine, is being applied to community health programs. Barriers to implementation of evidence-based practice noted in clinical medicine are likely to exist in community health settings and may be complicated by the nature of community health programs. These barriers include accessibility and availability of relevant data, social and political considerations of program decision-making, and conflicting expectations for evaluation research. This paper discusses barriers to both amassing evidence for practice and using evidence for decision-making in community health. The potentialfor conflict between practice goals set by evidence-based thinking and those set by community health organizations is also discussed. Implications for evaluations of community health programs are raised and recommendations for improving access to and use of evaluation information are made.

The mediating effect of participation efficacy on evaluation use

Participatory evaluation is commonly understood as stakeholder involvement in evaluation decision-making and is generally accepted as a means of increasing the use of evaluation information. There are, however, few empirical studies that attempt to explain the causal processes of participatory evaluation and how it is expected to work to increase the use of evaluation information. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of participatory evaluation by testing a series of causal relations in a proposed model of participatory evaluation. An intervening mechanism design ( Chen, 1990) in conjunction with structural equation modeling was used to test the plausibility of the model. The sample included 315 elementary and secondary teachers who participated in the 1995/1996 British Columbia School Accreditation Program. Results indicated the model was a plausible representation of the data and was thereby a tenable explanation of how participatory evaluation can be expected to work to increase the use of evaluation information.

A Confirmatory Factor Analytic Model of Evaluation Use

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to develop and test a second-order factor analytic model of conceptual, instrumental, and symbolic use of evaluation information. The participants were 308 elementary and secondary school teachers who participated in the British Columbia School Accreditation Program. Structural equation modelling was used to test the fit of the model. The results confirmed a three-factor structure of conceptual, instrumental, and symbolic use. Cross-validation indicated that the model would likely replicate in other independent samples. The model in this study is unique in that it is a first attempt at confirming the factor structure of conceptual, instrumental, and symbolic use in a measure of evaluation use.

Aging Research and Education Centers in the United States

There is chronic dissatisfaction among both faculty and students about the process and effectiveness of resident performance evaluation. The author asserts that the source of this problem is the current practice of merging the two different purposes for evaluation: to monitor residents' meeting of performance standards and to provide guidance for residents' professional development. By attempting to meet both quality-control and guidance obligations using one set of objective data, most residency programs fall short in meeting one of these aims. The common preoccupation with psychometric precision, objectivity, and the statistical processing of forms frequently distracts users from making effective use of evaluation information. The proposed solution is to divide resident evaluation into two simpler, entirely separate and distinct systems--neither of which would look much like the current system. There would be a faculty-controlled, quality-control system focused on screening for minimal performance standards. This would use simple, qualitative measures for early warning and rapid follow-up. The second evaluation system would be a resident-controlled, guidance-oriented system focused on self-assessment, peer and faculty coaching, and reflection. The hypothesized benefits of this approach include an improvement in residents' motivation and performance, an increase in residents' self-direction, and an enhancement of communication between residents and faculty members.

Assessing Evaluation Performance and Use

Two studies were conducted to determine the stability of self-assessment of evaluation performance and use over a six-week period. Two instruments, the Evaluation Performance Questionnaire (EPQ) and the Evaluation Utilization Questionnaire (EUQ) were developed to assess internal evaluation of community mental health centers (CMHCs). One hundred one evaluators of CMHCs were surveyed in Study 1, and 175 directors and evaluators were surveyed in Study 2; response rates were 54% and 60%, respectively. Test-retest reliability coefftcients were calculated for total and subscale scores, and scale means were compared across time. Results show that the EPQ and EUQ provide reliable information about the level and scope of evaluation activity and the use of evaluation information within community mental health centers. The value of these tools for research, administration, evaluation, and practice is discussed

Locus of Control as an Influencer of School Evaluation Needs

There is now a body of research available that suggests that the personal characteristics of decision makers influence how information is used. One characteristic that influences use of information is sense or locus of control in the decision-making context. This article presents three studies that examine the relationship of locus of control to evaluation audience needs for and use of evaluation information. Results indicate that locus of control in educational decision-making settings is related to (a) knowledge of superin tendent support, (b) type of audience involved, and (c) context of the program being involved.

The Lay Public's Need for School Evaluation Information

Evaluation research suggests that audience characteristics affect the use of evaluation information. Two factors that influence the lay public's need for educational evaluation information are voting habits and parental status. This article examines the relationship between participant voting frequency and parental status on the need for evaluative data. Results indicate that the more frequently parents voted, the more they wanted additional information and the less ready they were to immediately support the program. Nonvoting nonparents wanted more information and were less inclined to provide immediate support. Frequently voting nonparents expressed needs similar to those of fre quently voting parents but were more ready to provide immediate support for the program whereas frequently voting parents were not.

School Boards' and Administrators' Use of Evaluation Information

this study investigated the effect that several key contextual variables had on the information needs and uses by a national sample of school boards and administrators. The factors included (I) the quality of the decision to be made, (2) the amount of personal conflict involved, (3) the content of the program, and (4) whether respondents were board members or administrators. Responses to questions about simulated evaluation vignettes indicated that these factors affected the need for more time and information. and from whom people would want to obtain more information. A wareness of these influencers should help school evaluators assist decision makers.

Evaluation—What's It All About?

What are the major forces that promote evaluation? What are the forces that impede effective use of evaluation information? These and other relevant questions, plus evaluation models, are discussed in this article by an author who involves his readers.