Evaluating Social Service Agencies: Fuzzy Pictures of Organizational Effectiveness

This article presents a case study of how members of three funding organizations evaluated the same two agencies in Canada. The research on which the article is based sheds light on the organizational effectiveness construct, on the ways in which the evaluators use it to reach conclusions on agency effectiveness, and the relation between these conclusions and funders' decisions on agency funding. The authors describe a framework for understanding evaluation processes, describe three funders in terms of this framework, set out predominant patterns in evaluation processes the funders used, and show the effects of these patterns from the agency's perspective. They then discuss the implications of the findings for agency managers and how the findings relate to theories of organization.     

The superstore format in Australia: Opportunities and limitations

This article outlines the development of both food superstores and non-food superstores (referred to as category killers) in Australia. Ten retail categories have been identified where there is a moderate to high rate of adoption of the superstore format (more than 20 outlets). These ten categories have been analyzed to identify the success factors in superstore development, which include accurate assessment of consumer one-stop shopping needs, sufficient finance, good store design skills and a balanced program of store expansion. The article explores the managerial implications for traditional retailers, for existing superstore retailers (especially the issue of optimal store size), for existing convenience store operators, department stores and for manufacturers and wholesalers. There are limitations of the superstore format in categories which are fashion orientated or where consumers require close distance convenience. These limitations actually provide opportunities to a myriad of retailers in fast food, dry-cleaning, banking, florists and the like, to reassess their locational and service delivery strategies. The superstore concept is clearly a revolution in itself, but its shock waves are provoking and stimulating second order mini-revolutions in traditional specialist stores, department stores, convenience stores, warehousing and manufacturing.     

The senses and virtual environments

Designers and developers of immersive 3D virtual environments typically aim to faithfully recreate real-world scenarios yet, traditional emphasis is placed on recreating the visual, and to a much lesser extent, auditory scenes, while ignoring the other senses despite their importance in the real world. However, simulation all of the senses in real-time with a high level of fidelity is still not feasible and recent work has shown that high fidelity reproduction of the real world doesn’t necessarily lead to the greatest user experience and outcomes. In the real world, senses interact with one another and alter each other’s processing and ultimately perception. An understanding of this multi-modal interactivity can, therefore, inform our development of virtual environments. Through perceptual-based rendering, we can exploit multimodal effects to reduce computational requirements while creating more compelling scenarios that take advantage of current technology. In this article, we provide a brief review of fidelity, multimodal interactions and perceptual-based rendering in the virtual domain. We emphasize the perception of reality in the virtual world is subjective and not necessarily a reproduction of reality, but rather a combination of personal experiences including those pertaining to media consumption, which can ultimately lead to better user experiences.     

Knowledge translation strategies in a community–university partnership: examining local Quality of Life (QoL)

There is a growing interest in quality of life as an integrated approach to addressing key social, environmental and economic determinants of health. The University of Saskatchewan’s Community-University Institute for Social Research, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (grant #410-2004-0669) has examined the process and results of a multi-stakeholder approach to the ongoing sustainability of Saskatoon, Canada as a healthy city with an improving and a more equitably distributed quality of life. Using quantitative and qualitative analysis, together with GIS technology, this research has examined the quality of life across three locales in Saskatoon—representing Low, Middle and High socio-economic status in both 2001 and 2004. The participatory action research approach used in this work ensures the value of the outputs to the stakeholders. Given the strong recognition of the importance of interfacing policy, research and community, and the growing impatience with the limited application of research findings to social and health practices and policies, this project has undertaken four major knowledge translation/transfer strategies, above and beyond the traditional academic channels: (1) engagement of local media on a consistent basis, (2) implementing community policy forums to ensure continued community readiness and uptake, (3) facilitation of and successful functioning of a steering committee, and (4) employment of an action researcher to operate as a policy entrepreneur. This paper will review and discuss each of these strategies and outline the evaluative research being done to document the success of these strategies.

The Disqualification of Childminders: A New Form of Assessment?

SUMMARY. Amongst the many new statutory Regulations introduced with the Children Act 1989 are the “Disqualification for Caring for Children Regulations 1991‘. The Regulations outline, for the first time, exactly which previous criminal convictions may lead to a person being disqualified as a childminder, day care worker or private foster parent. The paper describes the background and implications of the Regulations and suggests some possible implications.     

Exploring Accessibility in DOAJ: A Case Study

Abstract

This study explores the accessibility of HTML articles indexed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). The researchers tested a random sample of journals that possessed the DOAJ seal of approval, added content in 2019, were published in English and had 50 or more indexed articles. From this sample, HTML full-text articles were randomly selected for accessibility testing, using the W3C Easy Checks. 131 journals on 22 platforms were reviewed. All content reviewed provided unique web page titles. The majority of articles reviewed allowed for increases in text size and had meaningful heading structure. The application of alternative text tags for images and form labels was inconsistent, as was the ability to use keyboard controls for page navigation. Further, most content did not clearly indicate cursor location. The most egregious accessibility issues came from design choices, which generated a variety of contrast errors. More in-depth studies of DOAJ and other OA indexes and content providers are recommended, as is requiring adherence to WCAG 2.0 accessibility criteria as a condition of article submission.     

A Feminist Critique of Japanization: Employment and Work in Consumer Electronics

The debate over lean production and Japanization has now matured, with a broad range of perspectives and analysis. Through analysis of the central role women’s labour plays in Japanese‐owned enterprises, this article will provide a critical discussion of Japanization. Japanization is neither a sufficient explanation of the nature of workplaces in which women work, nor a necessary goal for labour management in Japanese‐owned enterprises. Using extensive ethnographic field research drawn from studies in Japan and the UK in Japanese‐owned enterprises and a European‐owned enterprise engaged in television assembly, this article argues that there is no aspect of it which it would be appropriate to label Japanization.     

Poll finds physicians very wary of pay-for-performance programs

A new poll sheds light on how physician leaders across the country view the rapidly expanding pay-for-performance movement. Some take a dim view; others see it in a positive light.     

News of the societies

The following is excerpted from a letter by Bill L. Jett, President, NFSCSW, to Estelle Gabriel, Chairperson of the NASW Committee on Private Practice. It was written on 11/8/73 in response to the NASW proposal for a Registry of Clinical Social Workers and represents Mr. Jett's views on the subject after informally discussing this proposal with the Executive Board of the NFSCSW in Los Angeles during the Biennial Conference of the California Society for Clinical Social Work.