The goal-oriented approach to evaluation: Critique and case study from drug abuse treatment

The specification and measurement of program goals remains central to most evaluation research strategies, yet procedures for implementing this approach are not well-articulated. It is the purpose of this discussion to describe a stepwise procedure for programmatic goal setting and monitoring used in a demonstration drug treatment program for women. Three implementation steps are described: (a) goal setting, (b) checking for consistency, (c) monitoring and feedback. The advantages and limitations of this approach are discussed and useful complementary measurement strategies are suggested.     

Controlling health care costs: An evaluation of strategies

There has been much discussion about the factors underlying inflation in the health care sector and the means to moderate increases in health expenditures. This paper identifies various costcontainment strategies and synthesizes research findings that may be helpful in evaluating their effectiveness. The review demonstrates the complexity of the issues and relationships that must be confronted and understood in cost containment. The delivery system is shown to be not well-suited to improving efficiency and restraining health care expenditure. Any single strategy, whether it involves restructuring the market or more direct regulation, cannot in itself accomplish the combination of expenditure control and adequacy of services that is socially desirable. A number of mutually reinforcing strategies are required. Finally, more empirical and analytical information on incentives, provider and regulatory decisionmaking, costs of regulation, and the dynamics of negotiation, is essential for the design of an effective costcontainment program.     

Evaluating the impact of utility company billing plans on residential energy consumption

Many utility companies offer their customers the choice of participation in an average payment plan, which enables them to pay a fixed sum for their utility bill each month (with final settlement at the end of the billing year), instead of the conventional “pay as you go” billing procedure. Because customers on average payment plans are protected from paying large bills during peak energy-use seasons and because the information about monthly energy use and its cost is perhaps less salient to them, it was hypothesized that customers on the average payment plan would use more electricity than customers not on the plan. Using a nonequivalent control group design, the electricity consumption of a selection of customers of two utility companies (Ns = 475 and 74) was examined. The results showed that there was no evidence to support the hypothesis. Since the logic of hypothesis testing does not permit the ready acceptance of the null hypothesis, several procedural, methodological, and statistical points were made to buttress the conclusion that the average payment plans had no effect on electricity consumption.     

Resource reallocation under alternative trade regimes: A simulation of Turkey's entry into the EEC

A general equilibrium model that is applicable for simulating the directions in which resources would be reallocated under alternative trade regimes, in particular, a free trade regime, is developed and applied to the Turkish economy. Because of the likelihood that Turkey will gain full entry into the EEC, the model is also used to identify sectors in which Turkey may have a comparative advantage relative to the EEC countries and to estimate magnitudes of static gains from full entry. To provide some tests of important generalizations from the theory of customs unions, these estimates of static gains are compared with some estimates of total welfare effects of the entry of the United Kingdom into the EEC.     

落实“三个代表”的重要思想促进高等教育改革与发展

当前,高等教育已从经济社会发展的边缘走向经济社会发展的中心.落实"三个代表"的重要思想,就要促进高等教育改革与发展.高等教育要充分发挥社会先进生产力策源地的作用,成为"科教兴国"的强大生力军;要充分发挥高等教育继承、发展和创造社会主义先进文化的功能,成为全社会精神文明的巨大辐射源;要以人民的根本利益为出发点,深化高等教育改革.     

走近.NET

本文介绍的是微软提出的新一轮战略目标.NET(读作Dot net),.NET是以分布式计算为框架,打破信息"枷锁",直接访问中央数据库,进行数据的编辑、分析和复制.它是一个全面利用计算与通信技术的软件平台,在为创建新一代因特网铺平道路的同时,也给我们的企业展现了一个消除"鸿沟"的商务世界.     

The Impact of the Therapist's Curiosity on the Treatment Process of Children and Adolescents

Therapists bring their own initiative, interest, and wonder—their professional curiosity—into treatment sessions. Some children and adolescents pull away in reaction to this curiosity, bristling or withdrawing, if only for a moment. This can happen abruptly, even in response to the first hello, but most often it occurs subtly, over the course of treatment. These children and adolescents may be replaying the ruptures in relationships they experienced when they have expressed their own initiative and curiosity to important others in their lives. Therapists need to utilize opportunities to understand the dynamics, explore where the original ruptures may have occurred, and bring the experience into therapeutic focus. Case vignettes illustrate these dynamics.     

农业较发达区域农民纯收入的结构构成及其变化趋势——以广东省高州市为例

在高州农民人均纯收入结构中,来自劳务报酬收入比重呈现上升的趋势,并超过农业经营收入。农民人均收入各个组成部分增长存在较大的差异,其根本原因是三次产业劳动生产率的不同。     

许潮及其《泰和记》

许潮是明代重要的南杂剧作家 ,他的作品题材都取自历史人物故事 ,多借古抒情 ,寄托理想 ,其对杂剧体制的全面革新 ,特别是首创专用南曲创作杂剧的方法 ,确立了他在中国戏剧史上的地位     

论胡风对主观公式主义和客观主义文艺倾向的批判

庸俗社会学和机械反映论对我国新文学尤其是左翼革命文学产生了相当恶劣的影响。胡风将之称为“主观公式主义”和“客观主义”,并同他们进行了长期的不屈不挠的斗争,在斗争中建立了自己的以“主观战斗精神”为核心的现实主义理论体系,为现代文学的健康发展做出了积极的贡献。