Data Envelopment Analysis for Managerial Control and Diagnosis*

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is a linear programming-based technique that converts multiple input and output measures into a single comprehensive measure of productive efficiency. This is accomplished via the construction of an empirically based production frontier and by the identification of peer groups. Each unit is evaluated by comparison against a composite unit that is constructed as a convex combination of other units in its peer group. DEA has now been applied in a variety of managerial contexts. In this paper we draw on theories of decision making, measurement and control, the mathematical properties of DEA, prior reported applications, and our own experience, to assess the potential of DEA as a general management tool. We first make the distinction between managerial diagnosis and control. We show how measurement requirements differ for these two managerial decision contexts, and argue that DEA has the potential to provide support in each context. Measurement and decision support criteria for each activity are then developed by reference to the literature on diagnosis and control. Based on its mathematical definition and properties, the relevant attributes of DEA are then derived. The technique is evaluated in each capacity by comparison to the appropriate set of criteria. This evaluation is supported with evidence from our experience with DEA in a large public-sector organization. We argue that the structural properties of DEA, critical managerial choices in its application, and situationally specific factors, interact to determine the strengths and limitations of DEA in each decision context. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Curriculum requirements and subsequent civic engagement: is there a difference between ‘forced’ and ‘free’ community service?

Despite figures showing the growth of mandatory community service programmes, there is mixed empirical evidence of their effectiveness. This paper addresses the relationship of mandated community service to one of its purported aims: subsequent volunteerism. It compares current volunteerism among four university student cohorts: those doing no service in secondary school, those volunteering with no requirement, those volunteering both before and after the introduction of a requirement, and those introduced to service through a requirement. The analysis indicates that (1) students who were introduced to service through a mandated programme exhibit current levels of engagement no greater than non‐volunteers; (2) this relationship stems largely from the different service experiences of our four cohorts and relates to the fact that service satisfaction and duration, as well as background variables account for current levels of civic engagement. The findings suggest that mandatory service programmes might well be failing the very population they seek to target, particularly in weaker, less structured programmes.     

Maternal Caregiving Moderates the Relation Between Temperamental Fear and Social Behavior with Peers

Temperament works in combination with a child’s environment to influence early socioemotional development. We examined whether maternal caregiving behavior at infant age 9 months moderated the relation between infant temperamental fear (9 months) and observations of children’s social behavior with an unfamiliar peer at age 2 in a typically developing sample of 155 children. When infants received lower quality maternal caregiving, temperamental fear was inversely related to observed social engagement and aggression. These relations were nonsignificant when infants received higher quality maternal caregiving. Findings indicate that variations in temperamental fear may predict individual differences in future peer interactions, but sensitive, nonintrusive caregiving behaviors can attenuate these associations.     

Exploring Underlying Dimensions of Social Connectedness in the Experiences of Suspended Young People from Ethnically Diverse Populations in the USA

In the USA, out‐of‐school suspension leaves numerous young people in transition, caught between the school and their communities. A limited body of literature neither documents the experiences of suspended young people from ethnically diverse populations nor provides insight into the spaces they occupy. This study used an exploratory mixed methods design to identify psychological, social and spatial dimensions of social connectedness in the experiences of suspended young people participating in a community intervention. The study aimed to explicate social connectedness as a protective factor and how underlying dimensions of social connectedness construct sites of recovery for suspended young people.     

Linguistic Analysis as a Method for Assessing Symptoms After Sexual Trauma Among Female Adolescent Psychiatric Inpatients

ABSTRACT

Using a sample of female psychiatric inpatient adolescents, the current study aimed to extend this literature to an adolescent sample for the first time by examining if linguistic markers and their subcategories (cognitive process words, pronoun use, and somatosensory detail) in a trauma account are related to trauma symptomology and recovery during inpatient care. Results indicated that greater use of body words and fewer insight words were related to increased trauma symptoms at admission. In addition, use of fewer cognitive process words at admission predicted greater symptom change at discharge, extending previous research findings to an adolescent sample. Findings suggest that linguistic analysis may be an important component of adolescent trauma symptom assessment and treatment monitoring.     

Anger and Positive Reactivity in Infancy: Effects on Maternal Report of Surgency and Attention Focusing in Early Childhood

We examined two aspects of temperamental approach in early infancy, positive reactivity and anger, and their unique and combined influences on maternal reports of child surgency and attention focusing at 4 years of age. One hundred and fourteen infants were observed for their positive reactions to novel stimuli at 4 months, and their anger expressions during arm restraint at 9 months. Child surgency and attention focusing at age 4 years were assessed by maternal report. Infants who expressed more anger to restraint were rated higher in surgency during early childhood relative to infants who expressed less anger. The effects of positive reactivity to novelty on attention focusing were moderated by anger to restraint. These findings suggest that infant temperamental approach tendencies are multifaceted and have both unique and combined influences on later maternal report of attention and social behavior.     

Strengthening Resource Mobilization Chains: Developing the Social Media Competencies of Community and Voluntary Organizations in New Zealand

There is potential for nonprofit organizations to increase effectiveness by mobilizing social media to help achieve goals. However, the sector is only just becoming aware of the possibilities for social media and lags behind other sectors in its use. We report a New Zealand initiative to enhance the capability of nonprofit organizations through action research that has implications for nonprofit organizations elsewhere. Borrowing from resource mobilization theory, we introduce the concept of resource mobilization chains to explain the requirements for and obstacles to taking advantage of social media. A survey and two in-depth case studies found that nonprofit organizations demonstrated extremely limited familiarity with and use of social media. Participants were enthusiastic about the potential of mobilizing social media to achieve organizational goals, but struggled to take concrete steps to implement their aspirations. Lack of resources was a key obstacle identified in both survey and case study research.