Contrast Effects in Estimating Policies of the Federal Government

This article reports analyses of the relation between respondents'attitudes and what they estimated to be the policies of thefederal government on three scales using the 1980 NORC GeneralSocial Survey. Although previous articles have reported theassimilation tendency as stronger than contrast, the resultin the present case was a pervasive contrast effect. The moreconservative the respondents' attitudes, the more liberal thepolicies attributed to the federal government. The effect occurredamong people selected with regard to confidence in the government,party affiliation and prior voting behavior, and various statusand demographic characteristics.     

Federal Government EAPs and Total Quality Management:

In the federal government, total quality management (TQM) principles have been actively supported and encouraged since the Reagan administration. The EAP Consortium administered by Federal Occupational Health, a Division of the U.S. Public Health Service, Region IX, has had unique opportunities to implement total quality improvement principles. In an era of budget constraints and limited resources, it is a never ending dynamic process to achieve a better understanding of Federal agencies and to continually innovate EAP products and processes to remain customer focused. This article explores the challenges of satisfying customer needs and expectations by continuously working across the organization to improve external and internal processes.     

Employee Assistance Program Evaluation in a Federal Government Agency

Demonstrating the efficacy of an Employee Assistance Program is an equally important endeavor in public and private sector work organizations. This paper discusses the cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness evaluation that was conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Employee Counseling Services program. Further, it details the components of the 30 month project relative to evaluation design, data collection processes, and strategies used to maintain employee privacy while analyzing personnel data. Results of the evaluation are also presented.     

Government Organization and Power

We develop a theoretical framework to examine how government organization affects its power and size. The framework abstracts from distortions that arise from the means of government finance and separates government power into two dimensions—pure coercive power and pure pricing power. A government can exert its coercive power to shift the demand for its services outward and grow too large. It can simultaneously exert its pricing power to restrict output along a given demand curve to earn rents. Consequently, neither size nor rents alone are reliable indicators of the extent to which government provision of services is nonoptimal.     

Government/Foundation Relations: A Conceptual Framework and Evidence from the U.S. Federal Government’s Partnership Efforts

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - Interest in collaboration between government and private, grantmaking foundations has grown considerably in recent years...     

The Federal Budget Process

As diminishing government funding becomes a major American preoccupation, federal social policies are often evaluated more in terms of their impact on the deficit than their effectiveness. This article discusses the current state and future projections of the budget and the two processes that affect fiscal policy: authorization and appropriation measures and budget resolution/reconciliation. Knowledge of the federal budget process shows social work students how budget restraints have been used as weapons against social welfare programs. In addition, this knowledge allows the policy practitioner to recognize certain “decision points,” or places in these processes, at which social workers can intervene.     

The Federal GPRA Evaluation Mandate

Abstract

The Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) mandates inclusion of evaluation in federal agency strategic plans, impacting human service programs receiving federal support. Recommended evaluation methods include flexible ongoing and participatory approaches. Yet social work may not be prepared to appropriately respond to the government's demands for accountability. This paper reviews GPRA and its implications for social work practice, evaluation, and research, offering response strategies. The paper suggests that the creation of a National Center for Social Work Research (S. 70/H.R. 663) could help bridge evaluation gaps, offering a centralized mechanism for monitoring evaluation activities and maximizing federal research resources.     

The Federal Constitution as Viewed by the Newspapers of 1787

The purpose of this study was to describe a group of fifth grade students as they engaged in process drama during their social studies class. The author found that students who engaged in process drama learned to combine texts to understand and create new texts. As they became engaged in the material, students collaborated with each other and became leaders in class while honoring the cultures they studied in their social studies textbooks.     

The Intersection of Business, State Government, and Special Interests in Federal Legislation: An Examination of Congressional Votes on the Road to Interstate Branching

The approval of interstate branching in 1994 created a significant structural change in the banking industry. The influences captured by 1991 congressional votes resulting in a red light for interstate branching are examined using public choice variables, state banking law variables, and variables characterizing the business of banking by states. Our research offers a methodology for modeling voting behavior in the presences of intra-industry conflicts and state versus federal government differences. We find that state and industry interests appear to influence votes more than political variables. (JEL G28 , D72 , L51 )     

The social security system of the Federal Republic of Germany.

This article summarizes the major provisions of the West German social security system, briefly outlining coverage, funding sources, and unique features of insurance programs concerned with old age, invalidity and death, sickness and maternity, work injury, and unemployment. The universal program of family allowance and the means-tested program of social aid are also reviewed.     

The Four C's of Government Third Sector‐Government Relations

All over the world, we see trends of increasing interaction between governments and the third sector. Is this the “start of a beautiful friendship” or are they already “too close for comfort”? This article argues that the nature of these complex relationships is poorly understood and often simplified. It proposes a four‐C framework based on institutional interests and preferences for policy ends and means—cooperation in the case of similar ends and similar means, confrontation in the case of dissimilar ends and dissimilar means, complementarity in the case of similar ends but dissimilar means, and co‐optation in the case of dissimilar ends but similar means.     

The gambling market in the Federal Republic of Germany and the helpseeking of pathological gamblers

The development of the gambling market in the Federal Republic of Germany since the middle of the seventies and data on pathological gamblers seeking help are described. The continuously increasing supply, together with increases in turnover, was followed-with some temporal delay-by an increase in the number of gamblers who sought advice and treatment. Preliminary measures taken by the health authorities as well as some consequences of pathological gambling are discussed.This article is a translation of a German article published in: Deutsche Hauptstelle gegen die Suchtgefahren (1990): Jahrbuch '91 zur Frage der Suchtgefahren. Hamburg: Neuland-Verlag.