Politics in evaluation: Politically responsive evaluation in high stakes environments

The role of politics has often been discussed in evaluation theory and practice. The political influence of the situation can have major effects on the evaluation design, approach and methods. Politics also has the potential to influence the decisions made from the evaluation findings. The current study focuses on the influence of the political context on stakeholder decision making. Utilizing a simulation scenario, this study compares stakeholder decision making in high and low stakes evaluation contexts. Findings suggest that high stakes political environments are more likely than low stakes environments to lead to reduced reliance on technically appropriate measures and increased dependence on measures better reflect the broader political environment.     

Land markets and migration trends in Tanzania: A qualitative‐quantitative analysis

While migration has been found to enhance welfare across a range of settings, most of the literature focuses on rural‐to‐urban migrant flows. Using a unique dataset from north‐western Tanzania, this article probes an important, yet overlooked, link between land markets and rural‐to‐rural migration. A mixed‐methods approach is used to discern how these two forces are intertwined in village life. Results indicate that household decisions to migrate are particularly influenced by the ease of market‐based land access in their new communities. This suggests that labour mobility may be facilitated through the development of a well‐functioning land market.     

Overcoming Old in Age-Friendliness

In this article, we explore views on an age-friendly space in the Netherlands by analysing the responses of older individuals (N = 54) in focus groups and by examining the perspectives around an age-friendly zone in the Netherlands, Parkstad Limburg. We found that a central issue in the wishes for living at a later age are adjustments to envisioned physical limitations that come with the ageing process; this includes adjustments to ensure safety, accessibility and mobility, in order to facilitate older individuals' efforts to stay engaged with the world around them. In their wishes, the older participants constructed ideal dwelling places that closely resembled a senior home, but at the same time they rejected wishing to live in a place that was identified as a senior home. We explain this paradox by the representation of such a space as being for old people, i.e. needy older individuals, which was not how the older participants wished to be identified. We conclude that the conception of age-friendly environments will have to face the difficult challenge of overcoming the association with old age, while simultaneously taking into account adjustments that signify and relate to the ageing process and that seem inescapably tied to oldness.     

Childbearing and Marriage: Investigating the Importance of Context for Meaning-Making of First-Time Marriage

Previous research reveals that the temporal ordering of childbearing and marriage can have an impact on the meaning of first-time marriage. This article aims to obtain a deeper understanding of meaning-making of first-time marriage in relation to childbearing. Narrative interviews with 16 brides and grooms in 8 couples in Sweden were conducted. The material was analyzed in relation to the temporal ordering of childbearing and marriage. The study reveals that the construction of meaning of marriage does not only relate to the temporal context. Social factors such as social class or family formation might also be relevant for how meaning is constructed. This article contributes to a deeper understanding of meaning-making as a relational process constructed within particular contexts.     

The African Evaluation Guidelines: 2002. A checklist to assist in planning evaluations, negotiating clear contracts, reviewing progress and ensuring adequate completion of an evaluation

A review of the US ‘program evaluation standards’ (PES), undertaken in a series of workshops and meetings of networks of evaluators in Africa, resulted in modifications to those standards. The result was presented to a plenary session of the Inaugural Conference of the African Evaluation Association in September 1999, attended by over 300 evaluators from 35 countries. The AfrEA Conference decided that a systematic effort should be made to produce a list of African evaluation guidelines, similar to the PES, and that this checklist should be reviewed by national evaluation associations and networks in Africa and field tested in several countries. Ten national and regional networks and associations suggested modifications to the text and endorsed the final version of the guidelines.     

高等数学教学中应用CAI尝试

本文阐明了高等数学自测信息反馈系统的理论内涵 ,介绍了基于数理统计原理制定的新的学生考试成绩评定方法与相应成绩管理软件的基本内容及其在教学实践中的应用功效     

浅析影响因子的局限性

目前大量的机构用论文的被引用率、期刊的影响因子和被 SCI收录的情况作为评价个人、期刊和科研机构之影响力或水平高低的一个重要指标。但却忽略了不同学科的特殊性以及学科的规模、发展速度等非科学的因素对影响因子的局限 ,这就形成了对许多专业的不公平评价 ,因而必须对普通的影响因子加以修正     

晚唐诗歌否定评价的当代反思

从唐末至今 ,论者对晚唐诗大多持否定态度。反思这种带有明显历史惯性的批评现象 ,不难发现 ,不是晚唐诗缺乏思想价值和艺术魅力 ,而是其出现的异于此前诗坛的人生哲学、生活情趣、审美情趣、艺术思维和艺术风格 ,不仅使那些视文学为伦理、政治奴婢的封建文学观念批评者难以认同 ,也使那些对思想文化史发展缺乏认识和分析的批评者 ,难以理解出现在晚唐诗中的种种变化 ,因而导致千余年来的批评失误     

后现代主义对教育评价研究的启示

后现代主义是 2 0世纪末西方社会流行的一种哲学和文化思潮 ,其影响遍及各个领域。强调反思和批判精神、反中心和提升非理性、倡导多元化的方法论和提倡对以及淡化价值判断是其显著特征。自 2 0世纪 90年代以来 ,许多教育学者开始借助后现代主义的有关思想来审视教育 ,笔者通过对后现代主义有关思想的观照 ,展开由后现代主义引发的对当前教育评价研究有关问题的思考。