New Models of Contracting in the Public Sector: A Review of Alliance Contracting,Prime Contracting and Outcome‐based Contracting Literature

The coordination of public services is an enduring challenge and an important policy priority. One way to achieve collaboration across organizational boundaries, which is being considered in public services such as the English National Health Service (NHS), is through the adoption of alliance contracting, prime provider contracting and outcome‐based contracting. This article reviews the cross‐sectoral literature concerning the characteristics of these new contractual models, how they function, their impact, and their relation to public sector governance objectives. These new contractual forms are characterized as models which, in line with the New Public Management (NPM)/post‐NPM agenda, seek to incentivize providers through the transfer of risk from the commissioners to the providers of services. Key findings are that the models are likely to incur high transaction costs relating to the negotiation and specification of outcomes and rely heavily on the relational aspects of contracting. There is also found to be a lack of convincing cross‐sectoral evidence of the impact of the models, particularly in relation to improving coordination across organizations. The article questions the reconciliation of the use of these new contractual models in settings such as the English NHS with the requirements of public sector governance for transparency and accountability. The models serve to highlight the problems inherent in the NPM/post‐NPM agenda of the transfer of risk away from commissioners of services in terms of transparency and accountability.     

实践导向的管理理论研究:内涵、机制与成果评价——2011’“中国·实践·管理”论坛观点述评

2011’中国·实践·管理论坛以直面中国的管理实践为主题,从实践导向的管理研究的内涵、机制和成果评价进行了丰富而有启发性的探讨。论坛强调中国实践导向的管理理论研究的价值,认真探索中国情境理论化的方法和实例,达成了源于中国管理实践的理论研究基本共识,呼吁正确评价实践导向的管理理论研究,强化了直面中国管理实践的学术导向的影响,期望学术界与实践界的合作更加紧密。     

The Impact of Using Personal Learning Audits as a Means of Preparing Students for Practice: A Small‐Scale Evaluation

This paper examines the ‘effectiveness’ of a tool used by students to enable them to reflect upon their skill, knowledge and abilities in order that they can prepare for direct practice. The evaluation of the Personal Learning Audit (PLA) was carried out with a cohort of students on the part‐time BA/DipSW programme at Glasgow Caledonian University and was based on a direct practice placement undertaken between April and August 2005. The research was based on a range of methods that considered both the participants' perception of the PLA and its impact on their written work on placement. The intention of this mixed method approach was to obtain outcomes at a number of levels in relation to the efficacy of the tool. While the findings have to be considered in the context of the small‐scale nature of the research, the evidence of this study suggests that the PLA process is at its most effective when fully integrated into the students' learning structures both within the placement and the university setting.     

Understanding the Determinants of Service Channel Preference in the Early Stages of Adoption: A Social Cognitive Perspective on Online Brokerage Services*

In today's increasingly technology‐mediated world, individuals are often confronted with a decision of whether to obtain services through online, self‐service technologies or traditional, nontechnological alternatives. Understanding the mechanisms by which consumers choose among these competing service channels represents an important concern for organizations, consumers, and Web site designers. This study develops a research model based on Social Cognitive Theory to explain and predict service channel preferences that arise in the early stages of adoption, before a consumer conducts business using a particular channel. The model is subsequently tested in the brokerage services context, using observations obtained via survey. Given the growing popularity of online investing combined with the challenging prospect of making optimal decisions in an inherently risky environment, the context offers insights of practical and theoretical importance. The results suggest that task‐specific self‐efficacy beliefs serve as the activating mechanism kicking off a chain of psychological events that entice consumers to favor a particular service channel. Higher levels of self‐efficacy induce individuals to prefer the online approach. In addition to its direct effect on preference for the online service channel, higher levels of self‐efficacy influence one's propensity to take risks and expectations of performance‐oriented rewards, which, in turn, sway consumers to favor the online service channel. Furthermore, self‐efficacy and perceptions concerning the credibility of online information interact to affect service channel preference. Consumers are more likely to prefer the online service channel when they view themselves as capable and perceive online sources to be credible. Implications for theory and practice are discussed in light of the findings.     

Outcome measurement in work with children: Comparing plans in the UK with experience in the US

The arguments of the Department of Health working party in their publication Assessing Outcomes in Child Care (1992) are reviewed and the proposals in the report compared with the experience of the Community Infant Project (CIP) in Boulder, Colorado. The suggestion that standardized measures are required for comparability of service outcomes is accepted but the working party's decision to advocate a system of schedules which relies upon workers' subjective ratings and the arguments upon which this is based are questioned. The working party's approach is contrasted to that found in the CIP, where standardized outcome measures are employed. Results from the author's research into the outcome of an untreated control group (for the CIP programme) are presented as one example of the benefits of the use of outcome measurement in work with children. The Government should ensure that UK practice benefits from the different approach and philosophy to be found in the US experience.     

论俄语成语的类型及来源

俄语成语是语言中的精华 ,研究俄语成语已视为语言学中的一门独立学科。俄语成语按其构造和组合程度划分为溶合性成语、综合性成语、组合性成语三大类型 ,按其来源大致归纳八大类。通过分析俄语成语的类型和来源 ,说明俄语成语如同其他语言的成语一样 ,是语言社会的时代的产物 ,而且有其自身的发展规律     

Life satisfaction in persons with schizophrenia living in the community

Subjective well-being is an increasingly common indicator of adequacy of psychiatric services. An easy-to-administer assessment tool of subjective well-being that is conceptually sound, valid, and reliable is needed for use in persons with schizophrenia. The purpose of this paper was to validate the 5-item Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS)-Taiwan version for persons with schizophrenia living in the community. Specifically, the internal consistency reliability, construct validity and criterion-related validity were examined. Data were obtained from a total of 443 patients with schizophrenia at multiple areas of Taiwan. Item analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were performed. The results revealed that the SWLS had good international consistency reliability and suggested a single-factor structure in life satisfaction among this patient group. The SWLS has good criterion-related validity with the brief World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment (WHOQOL-BREF). It is concluded that the SWLS is a sound measurement to be used with persons with schizophrenia living in the community.     

黑格尔论古希腊悲剧

黑格尔把古希腊悲剧视为悲剧的辉煌时期。在论及这一时期的悲剧时,他主要探讨了三个问题:古希腊悲剧中的合唱队、冲突和结局。合唱队在古希腊悲剧中的作用比较重要,并且随着古希腊悲剧的发展而发展。关于冲突,黑格尔认为古希腊悲剧偏爱冲突情境中的第三种冲突,即精神伦理关系的冲突。关于结局,黑格尔首先指出了三种不适合古希腊悲剧的结局方式,然后对适合古希腊悲剧的三种结局方式进行了阐释。