Digital Commons Network^™

Designing Technical-Assistance Programs: Considerations For Funders And Lessons Learned, Jennifer Lyons, Sheila Dunleavy Hoag, Cara Orfield, Sonya Streeter

The Foundation Review

As foundations continue to provide grantees with technical assistance in addition to financial support, it is important to understand what works well, for whom, and in what circumstances. This reflective practice article aims to help funders who have identified a problem amenable to technical assistance to develop a strong program by providing support to a group of organizations addressing similar problems or by providing customized individual support.

Drawing on insights from evaluations of two technical-assistance programs, this article recommends five key issues for funders to consider when offering such a program: whose priorities will shape the agenda, how group composition …

Envisioning Mechanisms For Success: Evaluation Of Ebcd At Cheo, Kristina Rohde, Mireille Brosseau, Diane Gagnon, Jennifer Schellinck, Christine Kouri

Patient Experience Journal

To advance patient engagement (PE) and more comprehensively involve patients, families, and staff in quality improvement (QI) at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), the Experience Based Co-Design (EBCD) approach was piloted. Set against the backdrop of envisioning factors that would facilitate success, an evaluation was designed to assess five domains: strengthening of mutual understanding, collaboration, and partnerships between patients/families and staff; a greater involvement of patients, families, and staff in QI; satisfaction with the process; the ability of EBCD to generate clear and useful data to ascertain the patient/family and staff experience; and the ability of EBCD to …

Transformation In Lifelong Education In Thailand, Suwithida Charungkaittikul Ed.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

This research aims to evaluate the operational performance of the Office of NonFormal and Informal Education (ONIE) based on the Non-Formal and Informal Education Promotion Act B.E. 2551 during 2008–2012. The samples were selected from personnel of ONIE and learning networks by means of the multiple-stage sampling method. The research instruments are: (a) a form used for recording operational results of related non-formal and information education; (b) an interview form to observe factors influencing the performance of ONIE; (c) an evaluation form to observe the factors linked to the operational results; and (d) a form to evaluate the relevancy between …

How Do You Measure Up? Finding Fit Between Foundations And Their Evaluation Functions, Julia Coffman, Tanya Beer

The Foundation Review

As the number of foundations has grown, the philosophies and ways of working across the sector have diversified. This variance means that there is no one right model for how a foundation’s evaluation function should be designed. It is imperative for a foundation to think carefully about how the structure, position, focus, resources, and practices of its evaluation function can best fit its own needs and aspirations.

This article focuses on questions foundations can ask to assess that fit, and the specific considerations that can inform these decisions. It draws on 2015 benchmarking research conducted by the Center for Evaluation …

Best Practices In Addressing Autism Spectrum Disorder Reevaluation In Preschool Children, Lyndi Ann Janny

Graduate Education Student Scholarship

This threefold study uses a criterion-based analysis research approach to explore the best practices in addressing the need for reevaluations for preschool children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The study focuses on differentiating the characteristics of preschool children with and without ASD, recognizing indicators of ASD that warrant re-evaluation, and exploring protocols for when the need of a reevaluation is suspected. Data was collected through a literature review and analyzed using a criterion-based analysis grid. Upon completion of the criterion-based analysis an underlying theme, was discovered, namely, that, within the four domains of early childhood, maturation can impact an ASD …

A Functional Analysis Of Leader Behavior In A Behavioral Health Setting, Jason White

All Theses And Dissertations

A requirement for Maine behavioral health organizations to provide all employees with evaluations lacks guidelines on how to evaluate leader behavior; best practices are to provide a multifaceted evaluation process that includes direct observation. A single-case research design and continuous partial interval recording procedures were conducted on a male behavioral health clinician leading clinical supervision in which the dependent variable was the clinician’s delivery of positive reinforcement and the independent variable was the provider’s increased discussion of case shares. The basic findings showed that leader behavior changed as follower behavior changed to manage the group and meet group goals. The …

How Modifiable Is Behavior? Factors Of Influence For Adherence To Provisions To Protect Minors In The Sale Of Gambling Products., Doris Malischnig

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

A major challenge for lottery operators worldwide lies in motivating sales partners to check whether customers meet the minimum age requirement for the purchase of lottery products and thus use this control measure to prevent their sale to minors. Measures used by Austrian Lotteries to raise awareness of this topic range from responsible gaming (RG) training for sales partners and the provision of information materials for staff and customers to restrictive procedures like warnings and contract termination when a sales partner is caught repeatedly selling lottery products to minors.

A recent study based on 1,421 mystery shopping tests and on …

Team Teaching Of Creative Advertising And Public Relations Courses, Pamela K. Morris

School of Communication: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Advertising and public relations are complex practices, and it is challenging for educators to find instructors who can fulfill expertise across disciplines, particularly in creative applications involving technology. Team teaching is one approach to provide multiple proficiencies. This paper describes how two co-taught courses, Design for Advertising and Public Relations and Commercial Production for Advertising and Public Relations, were developed, delivered and assessed. A literature review of team teaching and creative instruction provides a framework for course designs and student surveys. Course evaluations and instructor reflections are the evidence used for evaluation. The study is important, as specialties from multiple …

A Metaevaluation Of The Commission On Fire Accreditation International Accreditation Process, Stacy A. French

Dissertations

Fire and emergency services throughout the country are being required by local governmental authorities to provide efficient and effective services. In 1996, the International City-County Management Association (ICMA) and the International Association of Fire Chief (IAFC) executed a master trust agreement that established the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) to award accreditation to those fire and emergency services that demonstrated efficiency and effectiveness in the services provided. As of this study, no documented research had been published that challenged the current CFAI Accreditation process to ensure the highest level of accountability and usefulness for both the public and fire …

Who Cares What They're Saying: Participation In International Development Analysis, Sari N. Hoffman-Dachelet

Lawrence University Honors Projects

Participatory methods are the established methodology in international aid and development. Within this paradigm things that are more participatory are thought of as being more impactful, however, the actual success or failure of any given international project is measured by its evaluation team. These evaluations are vitally important in regards to funding, both for future programs and continuing programs, and in shaping the methodology of future programs. These evaluations are also non-participatory. Do the evaluations impact the lives of participants and how do they reflect “good” development? The measures of impact differ from the measures of success, this project looks …

Key Ingredients For School Food Systems: An Evaluation Of The Orfalea Foundation’S School Food Initiative, Holly Carmichael Djang, Barbara Andersen, Tatiana Masters, Jan Vanslyke, Blair Beadnell

The Foundation Review

In 2007, the Orfalea Foundation launched a nine-year strategic effort aimed at empowering public school districts in California’s Santa Barbara County. The purpose was to implement food-service operations that offered nourishing meals and to create a culture that prioritized the health and wellness of children and families.

The initiative, which involved 84 schools and more than 50,000 students, assessed the capacity of the county’s school food services, including existing skill levels and equipment needs. Striving to tailor programming to specific needs, the foundation emphasized stakeholder involvement throughout the process.

The foundation took a number of steps to understand the value …

Developing A Framework For Grant Evaluation: Integrating Accountability And Learning, Shelley Scherer

The Foundation Review

Despite broad consensus among foundations on the value of capturing grant outcomes, there is no consensus on what to evaluate and how to define success, which makes it difficult for staff and grantees to navigate and apply multiple interpretations of evaluation “best practices.”

This article presents three questions designed to help foundations develop a framework for grant evaluation that reflects their beliefs about accountability and learning, balances evaluation costs and benefits, acknowledges the diversity of grants within the foundation’s portfolio, and allows their grantees to understand the foundation’s expectations for evaluation reporting.

A key takeaway from this article, drawn from …

2016 The Promise Of A New Day: Support For Service Members Transitioning To Civilian Life In San Diego, Kim D. Hunt, Mary Jo Schumann

Military

This report highlights the first year program evaluation of zero8hundred, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to proactively link transitioning military families to a broad range of resources, helping them successfully transition to civilian life in San Diego County.

Evaluating The Environmental Effectiveness Of Grassroots Environmental Stewardship Organizations In Maryland, Sarah Close, Dana R. Fisher, William Yagatich, Anya Galli Robertson

Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work Faculty Publications

Small organizations that conduct environmental stewardship projects often lack access to the research capacity, funding, or tools needed to evaluate scientifically the environmental effectiveness of the measures they undertake. Still, evaluation of environmental effectiveness, defined here as the implementation of specific local goals, is prudent where projects are carried out with environmental stewardship goals in mind. We propose and test a process for evaluating environmental effectiveness of stewardship programs in a rigorous, yet feasible, approach through analysis of archived documents, program materials, and project inventories, as well as a survey of program participants. Using three franchises of the Watershed Stewards …

Animal Model Research: The Apples And Oranges Quandary, Kenneth J. Shapiro

Kenneth J. Shapiro, PhD

In this paper, I explore the premises underlying the problem of the evaluation of animal models. I argue that the presence of similarities and differences between the model and the modelled, although historically and currently a dominant antinomy framing evaluation, is not a bottom-line consideration. What is critical is 1) whether we learn and 2) whether we improve treatment through the animal model research. Similarity between model and modelled and the closely related concept of validity are not coterminus with these critical evaluative measures. In fact, differences between the model and modelled also can provide impetus to new understanding and …

A Method And A Case Study For The Selection Of The Best Available Tool For Mobile Device Forensics Using Decision Analysis, Shahzad Saleem, Oliver Popov, Ibrahim Baggili

Electrical & Computer Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

The omnipresence of mobile devices (or small scale digital devices - SSDD) and more importantly the utility of their associated applications for our daily activities, which range from financial transactions to learning, and from entertainment to distributed social presence, create an abundance of digital evidence for each individual. Some of the evidence may be a result of illegal activities that need to be identified, understood and eventually prevented in the future. There are numerous tools for acquiring and analyzing digital evidence extracted from mobile devices. The diversity of SSDDs, types of evidence generated and the number of tools used to …

The Unified Outcomes Project: Evaluation Capacity Building, Communities Of Practice, And Evaluation Coaching, Jay Wade, Leanne Kallemeyn, David Ensminger, Molly Baltman, Tania Rempert

The Foundation Review

Increased accountability from foundations has created a culture in which nonprofits, with limited resources and a range of reporting protocols from multiple funders, struggle to meet data-reporting expectations. Responding to this, the Robert R. McCormick Foundation in partnership with the Chicago Tribune launched the Unified Outcomes Project, an 18-month evaluation capacity-building project.

The project focused on increasing grantees’ capacity to report outcome measures and utilize this evidence for program improvement, while streamlining the number of tools being used to collect data among cohort members. It utilized a model that emphasized communities of practice, evaluation coaching, and collaboration between the foundation …

Inquiry: A Participatory Approach For Understanding Stakeholder Perceptions, Matthew Militello, Christopher Janson, Drew Tonissen

The Foundation Review

This article addresses two important and elusive issues for funded projects: quantifiable measures and deep understandings of participant perceptions.

It describes the development of the InQuiry evaluation tool, which combines Q methodology (factor analysis process to quantify perceptions) with a qualitative participatory approach. InQuiry generates both quantified metrics of what participants believe about a given topic and also a rich narrative of why participants think the way they do. These data yield metrics for understanding fidelity, outcomes, and impacts.

Beginning with the history of a program funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, this article also illustrates the tool’s usefulness. The …

Advocating For Technical Services: The Power Of Assessment (Presentation), Rebecca L. Mugridge

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

This presentation reviews the many ways that assessment can be used to advocate for technical services within academic library settings.

A Definition And Ethical Evaluation Of Overdiagnosis, Stacy M. Carter, Christopher J. Degeling, Jenny Doust, Alexandra Barratt

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Overdiagnosis is an emerging problem in health policy and practice: we address its definition and ethical implications. We argue that the definition of overdiagnosis should be expressed at the level of populations. Consider a condition prevalent in a population, customarily labelled with diagnosis A. We propose that overdiagnosis is occurring in respect of that condition in that population when (1) the condition is being identified and labelled with diagnosis A in that population (consequent interventions may also be offered); (2) this identification and labelling would be accepted as correct in a relevant professional community; but (3) the resulting label and/or …

Protocol For A Systematic Review Of Evaluation Research For Adults Who Have Participated In The 'Smart Recovery' Mutual Support Programme, Alison K. Beck, Amanda Baker, Peter James Kelly, Frank P. Deane, Anthony Shakeshaft, David Hunt, Erin Forbes, John F. Kelly

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Introduction Self-Management and Recovery Training (SMART Recovery) offers an alternative to predominant 12-step approaches to mutual aid (eg, alcoholics anonymous). Although the principles (eg, self-efficacy) and therapeutic approaches (eg, motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioural therapy) of SMART Recovery are evidence based, further clarity regarding the direct evidence of its effectiveness as a mutual aid package is needed. Relative to methodologically rigorous reviews supporting the efficacy of 12-step approaches, to date, reviews of SMART Recovery have been descriptive. We aim to address this gap by providing a comprehensive overview of the evidence for SMART Recovery in adults with problematic alcohol, substance …

Evaluation Of A Broadly-Based Control Model Of Fascioliasis (Liver Fluke) In Central Vietnam, T M. Quy, Heather Yeatman

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Fascioliasis (liver fluke) has raised significant public health concerns in the 15 regional provinces of Central Vietnam. However, comprehensive strategies for fascioliasis control are not in place with reliance on chemotherapy as the main control measure. This study implemented a broadly-based control model comprising of five main components: vector control, health education, improvement of local health systems, involvement of concerned bodies, and chemotherapy. Following the intervention, significant reductions in seroprevalence (4.2% vs. 8.8%, p<0.05) was found in the Intervention 1 commune (broadly-based model), but not in the Intervention 2 commune (model comprising of human chemotherapy and animal chemoprevention) or the Control commune (Control commune, human chemotherapy only). Improvements in knowledge and practice of fascioliasis control were found in the intervention communes 1 and 2, although there remained significant differences in the levels of awareness in these two cohorts (80.2% vs. 37.5% respectively, p <0.017). Considerable changes in practices were found in the Intervention 1 commune with all poor practice items reduced significantly in comparison with the baseline level (p<0.017). Findings in this study also supported the effectiveness of the recommended chemotherapy (triclabendazole 250mg, 10mg/kg body weight) for selective treatment of fascioliasis. Having established the effectiveness of the broadly-based control model, it is important to explore the factors that enable, or act to impede, the implementation of a broadly based control model.

Evaluation Of An Australian Alcohol Media Literacy Program, Chloe Gordon, Steven J. Howard, Sandra C. Jones, Lisa K. Kervin

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objective: A 10-lesson alcohol media literacy program was developed, underpinned by the message interpretation processing model, inoculation theory, and constructivist learning theory, and was tailored to be culturally relevant to the Australian context. This program aimed to increase students' media deconstruction skills and reduce intent to drink alcohol. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the program in achieving these goals through a short-term quasi-experimental trial. Method: Elementary schools were assigned to either the intervention group (83 students) or a wait-list control group (82 students). Student questionnaires were administered at three time points (baseline, after the …

Evaluation Of A Personal Data Logger To Measure Real-Time Breathing Cycles Across Varying Work Rates, Jane L. Whitelaw, Alison L. Jones, Brian Davies, Gregory E. Peoples

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Abstract presented at The 18th International Conference of International Society for Respiratory Protection, 7-11 November 2016, Yokohama, Japan.

Can Noisy Gardeners Turn Over A New Leaf? Evaluation Of Landscapers And Gardeners On A University Campus, Laurent P. Maziere, Jane L. Whitelaw, Linda A. Apthorpe

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Abstract presented at AIOH 2016, 3-7 December 2016, Gold Coast, Australia.

Evaluation Of Inorganic Arsenic Exposure At Multi Metal Processing Facility. When Air Monitoring Alone Just Doesn't Work!, Stuart J. Roseberg, Jane L. Whitelaw

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Metals smelting and processing has been associated with exposure to airborne inorganic arsenic and an increased risk of health effects. Biological monitoring on a metals processing site identified urinary arsenic concentrations exceeding corporate and ACGIH guidelines at levels associated with increased risks of health effects. Plant operators considered the inhalation of arsenic trioxide powder (As2O3), used in the process, as the source of their exposure. This study's initial objective was to determine operator exposures to airborne inorganic arsenic. Two groups of plant operators participated in full shift personal air monitoring and biological monitoring over their working weeks. In parallel, wipe …

Development And Performance Evaluation Of A Liquid Desiccant Air Conditioning System With Hybrid Electrodialysis And Thermal Regeneration, Yi Guo, Zhenjun Ma, Ali Hussein Al-Jubainawi, Paul Cooper, Long D. Nghiem

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Liquid desiccant air conditioning (LDAC) systems have gained increasing attention due to the improved energy performance and reduced environmental impacts. This paper presents an LDAC system using electrodialysis (ED) as well as low grade heat generated from a hybrid photovoltaic thermal and evacuated tube (PVT-ET) collector for liquid desiccant regeneration. As ED regenerator is a key component in the proposed system, a modified mathematical model is used to simulate the mass transfer of the ED stack. The performance of the model was validated using the experimental data generated based on a lab-scale experimental setup. It is shown that the model …

An Evaluation Of The Dynamics Of Diluted Neural Network, Lijuan Wang, Jun Shen, Qingguo Zhou, Zhihao Shang, Huaming Chen, Hong Zhao

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

The Monte Carlo adaptation rule has been proposed to design asymmetric neural network. By adjusting the degree of the symmetry of the networks designed by this rule, the spurious memories or unwanted attractors of the networks can be suppressed completely. We have extended this rule to design full-connected neural networks and diluted neural networks. Comparing the dynamics of these two neural networks, the simulation results indicated that the performance of diluted neural network was poorer than the performance of full-connected neural network. As to this point, further research is needed. In this paper, we use the annealed dilution method to …

Large-Scale Investment In Green Space As An Intervention For Physical Activity, Mental And Cardiometabolic Health: Study Protocol For A Quasi-Experimental Evaluation Of A Natural Experiment, Thomas E. Astell-Burt, Xiaoqi Feng, Gregory Kolt

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Introduction 'Green spaces' such as public parks are regarded as determinants of health, but evidence from tends to be based on cross-sectional designs. This protocol describes a study that will evaluate a large-scale investment in approximately 5280 hectares of green space stretching 27 km north to south in Western Sydney, Australia. Methods and analysis A Geographic Information System was used to identify 7272 participants in the 45 and Up Study baseline data (2006-2008) living within 5 km of the Western Sydney Parklands and some of the features that have been constructed since 2009, such as public access points, advertising billboards, …

Evaluation And Comparison Of Job Stress Among Security Workers With Fixed And Shift Work Schedules In Municipality Of Tehran, A Chaichi, Shahnaz Bakand, R Yarahmadi

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Municipality of Tehran with huge number of employees and with the aim to reduce stress and promote the work efficiency, seriously wants to achieve suitable and utilizable studies. Osipow's job stress test is one of the best tools to reach this aim. Data population includes securities building of municipality of Tehran (88 persons from region 18 and 72 persons from region 20), who were randomly chosen to be participated in the current survey. For this purpose three types of working hours schedule such as full time shift ( 24 hrs work, 24 hrs rest ), day-shift and night-shift workers, were …