Written by one of the leading figures in evaluation, Evaluation Thesaurus is the perfect alternative to the lengthy, expensive evaluation encyclopaedias and the all-too-brief glossaries at the end of evaluation texts. This edition includes recent work in personnel evaluation and its relevance to programme evaluation, fresh material on evaluation of scientific theories, contemporary ways to extend objective testing beyond multiple choice items without speed loss of correcting, and the most modern uses of computers in evaluation, analyses of assessment, focus groups and quality circles.
This book compares contemporary racism in the US and the Netherlands through in-depth interviews with fifty-five black women. As an interdisciplinary analysis of gendered social constructions of racism, it breaks new ground. Essed problematizes and reinterprets many of the meanings and everyday practices that the majority of society has come to take for granted. She addresses crucial but largely neglected dimensions of racism: how it is experienced; how black women recognize its covert manifestations; how they acquire this knowledge; and how they challenge racism in everyday life. To answer these questions, over two thousand experiences of black women are analyzed within a theoretical framework that integrates the disciplines of macro- and micro-sociology, social psychology, discourse analysis, race relations theory and women's studies. The samples include only black women with higher education. Many of their experiences of racism involve the `elite' among the dominant group. The book seriously challenges both the notion of Dutch tolerance and the idea that US racism is a problem of the past. Understanding Everyday Racism is thus urgent reading.
`Left me nourished, stimulated, and encouraged. The book's numerous components flowed smoothly and logically, aided by strong transitions and integrative passages. Given the editor's objective to `reframe' rather than `revisit' organizational culture, I contend they succeeded. The content and extensive bibliography render it an excellent supplement for the academic audience: for those already in the field, the book provides a thorough update and challenge to the cutting edge; for those new to the field, the book offers a balanced and encouraging overview without intimidation.... The merits... to the practitioner audience stem from the concise writing and vivid examples, particularly in Part One and most of Part Two' - Journal of Management With this follow-up to Organizational Culture (SAGE 1985), the editors continue their study of the interaction between investigation and the subject of inquiry. The editors have included a variety of frames as tools that allow readers to examine any empirical piece on organizational culture on its own merits - as good research - while at the same time, permit viewing it from other perspectives as well. Combined with a unique emphasis on process, this volume also includes reflections from the editors, pointing out their values, biases, beliefs, perceptions and experiences in research, and lending a human dimension to the research process.
In this account of the purpose, practice and outcomes of groupwork with women, the author draws on her own involvement in establishing and running community based womens' groups. The book provides accounts of the structured content of group sessions and the definitions and measurements of change developed by women participants themselves. By examining the impact of group process and dynamics on self and group identity, the book accentuates the changes which take place during and after the life of a group. The book offers a convincing rationale for adopting a feminist approach with women isolated in their own communities who bear the brunt of socio-political disadvantages, but a central tenet of the book is that feminist groupwork is applicable across a range of settings in the state and private sectors. The authors also address the conflicts which can arise from working from a feminist perspective within mainstream organizational settings. Throughout, the focus is on women's perceptions and explanations of themselves and their experiences, where women's groups promote alternative potentially liberating interpretations which have profound consequences on women's lives. The book demonstrates the distortions and inadequacies of mainstream psychological interpretations of female behaviour and highlights the ways in which these oppress and constrain women.
By using familiar concepts from classical measurement methods and basic statistics, this book introduces the basics of item response theory (IRT) and explains the application of IRT methods to problems in test construction, identification of potentially biased test items, test equating and computerized-adaptive testing. The book also includes a thorough discussion of alternative procedures for estimating IRT parameters and concludes with an exploration of new directions in IRT research and development.
"Violent Emotions" investigates the role of alienation and shame as the source of repetitious cycles of conflict. Theories and research from large-scale conflict, marital dispute and communication processes are reviewed and provide a background for the author's new integrative theory. This theory - with its research and practical implications - is applied to four case studies of marital quarrels which advance understanding of conflict escalation and resolution. The data generated is extremely useful for preventive and predictive measures in early marital problems and provides insight into the dynamics of family and other forms of violence.
This book provides a descriptive analysis of how public administrators manage municipal government. Using examples from the United States, it explores six dimensions of public administration: legal aspects of public management; human resources management; budgeting and public finance; the political dimension; intergovernmental relations and ethical considerations. As well as theory, the authors address such practical issues as economic development, housing, culture and recreation, public safety, transportation and waste disposal.
This volume examines how government and administration in America's largest cities have changed between 1960 and 1990. Each chapter traces demographic and economic changes over this vital, and at times turbulent, thirty year period explaining what those changes mean for politics, policies and the general quality of life. Analytic and comparative chapters extract patterns and variations which emerge from the city profiles. Each profile addresses common issues in socio-economic, coalitional, institutional, process, values and policy changes in the following American cities: Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Atlanta, Miami, New Orleans, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle.
Relationships with family and friends, community life, religion, work, racial identity, political attitudes and participation, and physical and mental health are among the topics explored in this volume on Black Americans. It reports the findings from a survey which collected and analyzed data on social, psychological, economic and political behaviours of Americans of African descent. This survey, the first to sample a truly representative cross-section of black people in America, was designed and conducted with a sensitivity to cultural influences never attempted before.
