714,877 research outputs found
Towards Systemic Evaluation
Problems of conventional evaluation models can be understood as an impoverished âconversationâ between realities (of non-linearity, indeterminate attributes, and ever-changing context), and models of evaluating such realities. Meanwhile, ideas of systems thinking and complexity scienceâgrouped here under the acronym STCSâstruggle to gain currency in the big âEâ world of institutionalized evaluation. Four evaluation practitioners familiar with evaluation tools associated with STCS offer perspectives on issues regarding mainstream uptake of STCS in the big âEâ world. The perspectives collectively suggest three features of practicing systemic evaluation: (i) developing value in conversing between bounded values (evaluations) and unbounded reality (evaluand), with humility; (ii) developing response-ability with evaluand stakeholders based on reflexivity, with empathy; and (iii) developing adaptive rather than mere contingent use(fulness) of STCS âtoolsâ as part of evaluation praxis, with inevitable fallibility and an orientation towards bricolage (adaptive use). The features hint towards systemic evaluation as core to a reconfigured notion of developmental evaluation
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Determinants of social and institutional beliefs about internet acceptance within developing countryâs context: A structural evaluation of higher education systems in Pakistan
This study aims to extend a model of technology acceptance to suit in developing countryâs context.
The model attempts to identify relationship between social and institutional factors over behavioural
intention and usage. Recently, âacceptance and adoption of information technology (IT) in
multicultural settingâ is becoming topic of interest for IS researchers. In this line, numerous theories
and models are proposed to contribute in examining factors of IT acceptance and reluctance. It is
argued that the models in published literature are found culturally biased, which successfully present
results in only American and European context, however, their validity became questionable when
they were tested in south Asian countries context. Additionally, lack of research is observed to predict
individualâs cognitive behaviour of acceptance, which are influenced by social factors (i.e. peer
influence and superior influence, voluntariness, experience) and institutional factors (i.e. local
institutional management influence and top-level governmental policies influence). This study used
Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) based on Partial Least Square (PLS) method to analyse the
data. The results reveal that the proposed conceptual model achieves acceptable fit and the
hypothesised paths are valid
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Co-Operative Inquiry as a basis for Evaluation of Knowledge Management Tools
This paper highlights the changes needed in the practice of IT evaluation when directed towards IT used to support knowledge management. The paper addresses the need for evaluation to recognise the increased emphasis on IT supporting the work of communities of practice in contrast to simply automating organisational processes. A framework that uses a form of action research (co-operative inquiry) is suggested that attempts to widen participation within the evaluation process and to enrich the purpose to which evaluation is put, especially in regard to the IS practitioner and IS users
Towards Age-Friendly Work in Europe: A Life-Course Perspective on Work and Ageing from EU Agencies
[Excerpt] The European population is ageing owing to decreasing birth rates and increasing longevity. Population ageing is associated with a decrease in the size and ageing of the workforce. The majority of the EU Member States have reacted to this development by, among other measures, increasing retirement ages and limiting early access to pensions. Nevertheless, a large percentage of workers in the EU do not stay in employment until the official retirement age. The reasons for this are diverse, and will be examined in more detail in this report. Policy-makers are faced with the challenge of addressing this demographic change and its implications for employment, working conditions, living standards and the sustainability of welfare states. The working conditions of older workers and their participation in the labour market are affected by various policy areas (see also Table 1). This report aims to outline various aspects of the working conditions of the ageing workforce and related policies
Do tolerant societies demand better institutions?
The increasing ethnic heterogeneity that many societies are experiencing could be interpreted as a detrimental phenomenon, since empirical literature exists that indicates that higher levels of ethnic fractionalization induce higher levels of corruption. This paper aims to show the role of tolerance in overcoming this harmful effect of ethnic heterogeneity. To this end, a sample of 86 countries is tested for a positive association between ethnic fractionalization and corruption. It is then shown that tolerance offsets
this effect through both direct and indirect effects on corruption. In order to analyse the
indirect effects, the level of income and the freedom of the press are selected as channels, since these represent two determinants of corruption that are linked to tolerance.
Moreover, tolerance and corruption have been modelled as composites. Consequently,
Partial Least Squares path modelling (PLS-PM) has been used. For our sample, an index of tolerance towards immigrants and people of different race and an index of corruption are constructed, for which several sources are jointly utilised.
Our results appear to indicate that the adverse effect of ethnic fractionalization on corruption is offset by tolerance, which reduces corruption not only directly but also indirectly through the level of income and the freedom of the press
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Equity-focused developmental evaluation using critical systems thinking
Developmental evaluation questions the ethical basis of an intervention in terms of whether itâs âdoing the right thingâ rather than merely âdoing things rightâ. But developmental evaluation invites a space for exploring not only ethical but also political issues associated particularly with equity-focused evaluations. Drawing on ideas from critical systems thinking (CST) and critical systems heuristics, an evaluation framework with a pro-equity focus is suggested. The framework addresses issues of complex interrelationships, invites theory of change associated with philosophical ethics, and provides a means of surfacing, and potentially transforming, debilitating relations of power in a complex evaluand. A case study of the long-standing Narmada project in India is used to illustrate the workings of proposed framework. The paper describes how the underpinning methodological ideas of CST incorporating triple-loop learning can enhance the practice of developmental evaluation
Developments in Dutch Environmental Policy: Target Rationality or Cultural Shift?
In this article we have discussed developments in Dutch environmental policy from a certain 'rational' and a certain 'cultural' perspective. Both perspectives appear to be satisfactory only to a certain degree. The interpretation of the development of policy as a consequence\ud
of a learning process leaves important questions unanswered. The changes towards a consensual approach and standards that are based more on group ties can only be understood on the basis of cultural theory if a shift in orientation within the various subcultures is assumed. This is contrary to theory, however. After all, according to theory such situations are not 'viable'
Trust Management Model for Cloud Computing Environment
Software as a service or (SaaS) is a new software development and deployment
paradigm over the cloud and offers Information Technology services dynamically
as "on-demand" basis over the internet. Trust is one of the fundamental
security concepts on storing and delivering such services. In general, trust
factors are integrated into such existent security frameworks in order to add a
security level to entities collaborations through the trust relationship.
However, deploying trust factor in the secured cloud environment are more
complex engineering task due to the existence of heterogeneous types of service
providers and consumers. In this paper, a formal trust management model has
been introduced to manage the trust and its properties for SaaS in cloud
computing environment. The model is capable to represent the direct trust,
recommended trust, reputation etc. formally. For the analysis of the trust
properties in the cloud environment, the proposed approach estimates the trust
value and uncertainty of each peer by computing decay function, number of
positive interactions, reputation factor and satisfaction level for the
collected information.Comment: 5 Pages, 2 Figures, Conferenc
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