Editorial: Where should we go from here?

The Analysis of Verbal Behavior -     

Governmental response to juvenile fruit machine gambling in the U.K: Where do we go from here?

The U.K. Gaming Act of 1968 prohibits young people under the age of eighteen years from all commercial gambling except on slot machines, commonly known as fruit machines and officially known as amusements with prizes. The U.K. Government responded to growing public concern, that some children are becoming addicted to this form of gambling and committing crime to fund their play, by directing the Home Office to undertake its own investigation. The researchers found no evidence of an association between the playing of amusement machines, dependency and delinquency. The Home Office study is critically assessed both on its own merit and in the light of research undertaken before and since. Suggestions are made for future sociological research initiatives.The author would like to thank the Economic and Social Research Council for funding this work through a Research Studentship Grant. The author would also like to thank David Dunkerley and Mark Griffiths for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of this paper.     

Research on stalking: what do we know and where do we go?

Findings of the article in this two-volume series on stalking are reviewed. Building on the findings of the National Violence Against Women Survey (Tjaden & Thoennes, 1998), this series of studies adds to the literature in defining and measuring stalking behaviors. Repeated stalking victimization is reported by up to 62% of young adults, although frequencies depend on the sample and the precise definition used. Self-definitions of stalking victimization may be quite different from legal definitions. Although the majority of legally defined stalkers (where victim fear is a key component) are men stalking women, studies utilizing other definitions find many more women as stalkers, with no significant gender differences in many studies. In many cases, it does appear that stalking is one part of a larger pattern of relationship physical and psychological abuse. Data on emotional reactions and coping strategies of victims are also reviewed, along with findings on characteristics of stalkers.     

High quality private long-term care insurance: can we get there from here?

The private long-term care insurance market has undergone rapid change in the last several years. Although the quality of policies has generally improved, problems remain. Consumer protection issues include the lack of adequate inflation protection features, how activities of daily living are measured, potentially high lapse rates and lack of nonforfeiture values, how home care benefits are defined, and the appropriate loss ratio standards. The concerns of consumer and elderly advocates about the quality of private long-term care insurance have prompted congress to consider the need for federal intervention. While there are numerous approaches that the federal government could take, mandatory standards substantially higher than the current model standards of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners may prove the most effective in improving the quality of policies on a nationwide basis.     

What do we call post-apartheid?

In this paper, the author examines the different uses and meanings of the usual expression “post-apartheid.” It has been used extensively in the social sciences, political discourse and the media since the mid-1980s. But what does it refer to, and has it always meant the same thing over the last 20 years? To answer that question, the author reviews the different ways she has used the notion in her research into workers’ forms of thinking and political subjectivities in South Africa since 1996. She distinguishes between its use as a chronological marker, an academic concept open to various problematics and epistemological decisions and a notion used by interviewees under various acceptations. She concentrates more specifically on the sequential implications of the adverb “post” in her work and argues that there have been political sequences in what she (with others) has named “post-apartheid.” She concludes that she intends to stop using this term in order to concentrate on identifying the current political sequence in South Africa.     

What do we mean by evaluation?

The popularity of evaluation research has increased markedly in recent years. Although initially associated with experimental and quasi‐experimental methods, current practices and methods have become much more diverse. This paper provides a brief overview of the recent history of evaluation research – its meanings and purposes – and asks whether the current emphasis on ‘evidence‐based policy’ heralds a brighter future. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Why do we still need participatory technology assessment?

The paper contributes to the current discussion on the role of participatory methods in the context of technology assessment (TA) and science and technology (S&T) governance. It is argued that TA has to be understood as a form of democratic policy consulting in the sense of the Habermasian model of a ??pragmatist?? relation of science and politics. This notion implies that public participation is an indispensable element of TA in the context of policy advice. Against this background, participatory TA (pTA) is defended against recent criticism of procedures of lay participation which states that pTA is lacking impact on S&T decision making, that pTA instead of opening S&T policies to new perspectives is used as a means to support mainstream S&T policy and that in pTA procedure the authentic lay perspective is systematically contorted by dominant expert knowledge.     

What shall we do with the cyclic profile?

A Condorcet method for a single-seat preferential election is defined by the way it handles cases without a Condorcet winner. Such cases are described in terms of cyclic candidate triples. Sometimes election theory considers intricate patterns of intersecting cyclic triples. In practice, cyclic triples are rare, but they may be created as part of strategic voting against a Condorcet winner. This strategy, often called burying, is difficult to apply, but critics will detect a missed opportunity and regard it as a punishment for honest voting. A new Condorcet method, SV, lets a cyclic triple be won by the candidate with the smallest opportunity to defeat a Condorcet winner this way. A new geometric model allows visual comparison of the opportunities under various methods.     

U.S. ratification of the CRC and reducing child poverty: can we get there from here?

If the United States finally ratifies the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC), will it improve the country's to effectively combat child poverty and thereby improve child well-being? This article addresses this and related questions in two ways. First, the authors examine how ratification of the CRC has influenced the efforts of other wealthy Anglophone countries to reduce child poverty. Second, they draw on lessons learned from these other countries' efforts to generate predictions about America's postratification future. The authors conclude that, while the CRC is a compelling, practical tool, a communications strategy and business plan are necessary complements to achieve desired results.     

How did we get here? The career paths of higher education fundraisers

University‐based fundraisers have career paths that are unique in that most do not come to their careers through traditional training programs that are available to other professions, which may impact their expectations of and experiences in their work. Using the conceptual framework of person‐in‐environment fit, this study uses qualitative data from semistructured interviews of 44 higher education fundraisers to understand factors influencing their career trajectories. While formal educational backgrounds do not necessarily provide specific skills necessary for a fundraising career, findings show that many rely on on‐the‐job training, which was at times inadequate. Findings also counter common reports of fundraisers as “falling into the profession” when choosing to join the fundraising field and demonstrate how organizational factors can influence recruitment and retention.     

Theory-based evaluation in practice. What do we learn?

Theory-based evaluation (TBE) explores the how and why of program success or failure. Advocates of TBE claim that it produces information unavailable in traditional process and outcome studies. This article examines six published papers of TBEs. It finds that the authors of the papers do not always make explicit the relation of their data to the theory of the program. Nevertheless, it was evident in one or more cases that TBE identified unnecessary program components, located intermediary changes, raised new questions, contributed to a paradigm shift, highlighted the difficulties of taking successful pilot programs to scale, and provided clarity and focus for the evaluation. Interestingly, in none of the studies was the original theory completely right. Lessons for the future of TBE are drawn.     

What do we mean by Human-Centered Design of Life-Critical Systems?

Human-centered design is not a new approach to design. Aerospace is a good example of a life-critical systems domain where participatory design was fully integrated, involving experimental test pilots and design engineers as well as many other actors of the aerospace engineering community. This paper provides six topics that are currently part of the requirements of the Ph.D. Program in Human-Centered Design of the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT.) This Human-Centered Design program offers principles, methods and tools that support human-centered sustainable products such as mission or process control environments, cockpits and hospital operating rooms. It supports education and training of design thinkers who are natural leaders, and understand complex relationships among technology, organizations and people. We all need to understand what we want to do with technology, how we should organize ourselves to a better life and finally find out whom we are and have become. Human-centered design is being developed for all these reasons and issues.     

Where do we stand? Recent AEA member views on professionalization

The professionalization of evaluation continues to be debated at numerous conferences in the U.S. and abroad. At this time, AEA member views on the potential benefits and negative side effects of professionalization are essential as the discussion evolves. This study provides recent views on major topics in professionalization, including potential benefits, negative side effects, processes, competencies, and procedures. Results from in-depth interviews and an online survey demonstrate that AEA members view potential benefits of professionalization to be stakeholder trust, evaluator reputation and identity, while concerns about a potential negative side effect known as the “narrowing effect” (i.e., some evaluators will be alienated based on their background, competencies, etc.) were expressed by participants. These recent findings can inform the ongoing discussion of professionalization, and suggest new directions for future research on evaluation.     

What do we really know about usual care child protective services?

The term “usual care” is often used in clinical research to refer to a comparison or control group that is receiving whatever normal services an organization may provide. In the US child protection system, “usual care” is the practice from the point of screening in a report, to assessment and possible in-home services or a decision to place a child in out of home care. Policy and practice variations across states and counties, as well as changes in policy over time, make research on normative child welfare practice services challenging but necessary. The service delivery mechanism in child protection is understudied, limiting our ability to inform decision-making at the local, state and federal levels. Gaps in knowledge also confound intervention research because a clear understanding of a given service platform is key when interpreting effect sizes against usual care controls. This article overviews what is known about “usual care” in child protective services and seeks to encourage more research in this area by reviewing six key factors related to measuring the impact of usual care from the point of initial report through the provision of services.