20世纪中期英国双轨核政策的困境--以取消“蓝光”导弹项目为中心的考察

二战后英国一直奉行双轨核政策，即坚持发展本国独立核威慑力量与保持对美国的核依赖并举，但1960年英国取消“蓝光”导弹项目是英国双轨核政策陷入困境的临界点。英国双轨核政策面临本土核威慑力量的规模、独立核威慑力量的存在价值以及在野党和民众对核政策的质疑和对抗等问题。正是英国双轨核政策内在矛盾的激化与美英核“依存”关系的不对称与不对等导致英国核政策走向失衡。面对此，麦克米伦政府依然选择沿袭双轨核政策，其主要原因是：继续与美国进行核合作可以节省英国的核研发成本，密切美英特殊关系；继续保持一定程度的独立核威慑，可使英国避免成为美国的“卫星国”，并有利于加强其与欧洲的关系，为欧洲防务作出自己的贡献。     

国家公派留学人员的在外教育管理———法国高水平大学公派研究生实例研究倡

采用案例研究的方法,以高水平大学项目在法国的公派留学人员为样本,对国家公派留学人员在外教育管理问题进行探讨.研究表明,在法国高水平大学公派研究生的在外管理工作中存在三大特点与问题并存的状况.面对这一状况,在实践的基础上提出了“六位一体”的管理理念,即在管理主体上实现留学基金委、驻外使馆教育处和接收院校的三方共同管理,在管理工作上遵循“制度化,程序化,人性化”的三化管理理念     

中美大学本科新生教育比较研究--以工程类专业为例

在2014年美国大学排名 Top100的大学中选取10所工程类专业表现突出的大学，介绍其工程类专业“新生年教育计划”的主要内容。比较中美两国大学工程类专业本科新生教育在教育理念、教育内容和实施有效性的差异，提出我国高校工程类专业新生教育应以学生为中心，增加服务理念，增强工程类专业特色，延长实施时间，并进行实施有效性评价，依据评价结果持续改进完善新生教育等建议。     

Applying national survey results for strategic planning and program improvement: The National Diabetes Education Program

Since the 1970s, the federal government has spearheaded major national education programs to reduce the burden of chronic diseases in the United States. These prevention and disease management programs communicate critical information to the public, those affected by the disease, and health care providers. The National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP), the leading federal program on diabetes sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), uses primary and secondary quantitative data and qualitative audience research to guide program planning and evaluation. Since 2006, the NDEP has filled the gaps in existing quantitative data sources by conducting its own population-based survey, the NDEP National Diabetes Survey (NNDS). The NNDS is conducted every 2–3 years and tracks changes in knowledge, attitudes and practice indicators in key target audiences. This article describes how the NDEP has used the NNDS as a key component of its evaluation framework and how it applies the survey results for strategic planning and program improvement. The NDEP's use of the NNDS illustrates how a program evaluation framework that includes periodic population-based surveys can serve as an evaluation model for similar national health education programs.     

The exclusion from welfare benefits: Resentment and survey attrition in a randomized controlled trial in Mexico

Public policy programs must often impose limits on who may be eligible for benefits. Despite research on the impact of exclusion in developed countries, there is little evidence on how people react to being excluded from benefits in developing societies. Utilizing repeated waves of data from an experimental evaluation of Mexico’s foundational PROGRESA antipoverty program, we examine the impact of exclusion and distinguish two separate forms. “Statistical exclusion” occurs where determination of benefits is based on randomized assignment to a treatment and control group. “Needs-based exclusion” occurs when benefits programs are designed to be selective rather than universal, basing eligibility on characteristics, like relative poverty, that are difficult to measure simply and accurately. Focusing on temporal variation in survey non-response as our behavioral outcome, we show that needs-based exclusion has much greater negative effects on continued participation than statistical exclusion. We also show that these effects are concentrated among the wealthy, that is, those furthest from the eligibility cut-off line. These findings reinforce general concerns about the validity of evaluation studies when incentives are at work. We discuss both the behavioral explanations that might underlie these findings as well as some potential approaches to reduce threats to evaluation validity.     

Providing context to the implementation of health promoting schools: A case study

PurposeIssues related to program context are important components of population health interventions and particularly among complex, adaptive initiatives in schools. Health Promoting Schools (HPS) is a global approach to support early development of healthy behaviors among children and youth. The purpose of this study was to explicate the practical and contextual processes that influenced implementation of HPS in schools in Nova Scotia (Canada).MethodsUsing a case-study approach, data was collected using interviews (n = 14) with principals, teachers and parents, observations collected during school visits and document review in five diverse schools.ResultsCase study schools reported a variety of HPS practices and three key themes emerged that provided context to the processes that facilitated their implementation. The results suggest that although school characteristics (theme 1), like staff allocation, physical location and resources, are important, these barriers can be mitigated by building organizational capacity (theme 2) and establishing a supportive school community culture (theme 3).ConclusionsThe study provided insight to the variability in implementation by describing how contextual barriers were experienced and mitigated by schools. Establishing a broad system to support HPS, with collaboration across health and education sectors, could help to progress adoption, implementation and sustainability of HPS.     

And then the internet happened: Thoughts on the future of concept mapping

Over 25 years ago, in the late twentieth century, concept mapping emerged as a mixed method approach to inquiry that enables a group of people to conceptualize their thinking about a specific topic. Since then, the application of concept mapping has spread widely and an easy prediction for the future is that this trend is likely to continue; a more important and greater challenge is to think about the ways in which concept mapping may and should evolve. Discussed here are thoughts about the future of concept mapping including some predictions of likely directions and suggestions for new possibilities. Thoughts on the future are grounded in concept mapping applications that have emerged and gained ground in recent years; these include exploring wicked problems in communities and integrating concept mapping with other methods of inquiry. Thoughts on the future are also grounded in the social and cultural milieu in which we find ourselves at this time. The influence of social media and internet technologies has led to the emergence peer production and crowdsourcing as approaches to co-create information, knowledge, products and services. These tactics may create fertile ground for the further spread of concept mapping. This same collaborative milieu has produced the open software movement which in turn, offers opportunities to enhancing the methodology of concept mapping.     

Perspectives on the strategic uses of concept mapping to address public health challenges

We examine the adaptation of approaches used to plan and implement the steps of concept mapping to meet specialized needs and requirements in several public health projects. Seven published concept mapping projects are detailed to document how each of the phases were modified to meet the specific aims of each project. Concept mapping was found to be a useful tool to complement public health roles such as assessment, program development, and priority setting. The phases of concept mapping allow for a blending of diverse perspectives, which is critical to public health efforts. The adaptability of concept mapping permits the use of multiple modalities such as the addition of face-to-face brainstorming; use of qualitative methods, including structured interviews; and review and use of published literature and guidelines. Another positive aspect of concept mapping for public health practice is its ability to identify program elements, provide a visual map of generated ideas and their relationships to one another, and assist in identifying priorities. Our reflections on the adaptability should help inform another generation in designing concept mapping projects and related products that may benefit from unique adaptations and the rapidly expanding social media technology and platforms.