Centennial Symposium Paper: The Need for Outcome Rather Than Process Evaluations

Author Institution: College of Education and Neoucom, The University of AkronThis paper presents a theoretical model which discusses the value of and need for the use of outcome rather than process evaluations of programs for the elderly. The theoretical framework is based on the highly successful philosophical model of statistical quality control used in industry, which assumes the best way to improve quality is to look at the outcomes. Most accreditation associations, such as the Joint Committee on the Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHCO), tend to emphasize process evaluations. It is the position of this paper that a change is needed which would shift that evaluation emphasis to assessing program outcome. The authors identify how outcome evaluations can be developed, taking into consideration need assessment, procedures, and multiple stakeholder concerns within the design of the evaluation. Also included is a discussion of the value of a learning and motivational approach rather than one that is punitive and judgmental

How Long Can We Live and What Do We Know About the Aging Process?: An Interview with Longevity Expert S. Mitchell Harman, M.D., Ph.D.

Author Institution: The University of Akro

Categorical or Continuous Interaction?

McClelland and Judd (199 3) concluded that many interactions have been found with categorical variables, but few with continuous variables. Using a mathematical point of view, they concluded that investigating interactions with continuous variables was less powerful than with categorical variables. This article analyses the issue from three other points of view: design of the study, measurement of the independent variable, and nature of the question asked Our present conclusion is that the choice of either categorical or continuous interaction depends upon the research hypothesis being posed and the desired conclusions

Qualitative-Quantitative Research Methodology: Exploring the Interactive Continuum

Rejecting the artificial dichotomy between qualitative and quantitative research strategies in the social and behavioral sciences, the authors argue that the two approaches are neither mutually exclusive nor interchangeable; rather, the actual relationship between the two paradigms is one of isolated events on a continuum of scientific inquiry

Interview Feature: Interview with Frank N. Kelley, Dean, College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, and Professor of Polymer Science, June 1996

Author Institution: Department of Educational Foundations and Leadership, The University of Akro

The Use of Multiple Regression Models to Determine if Conjoint Analysis Should Be Conducted on Aggregate Data

Conjoint analysis is a statistical procedure often used by marketing researchers to measure the relative importance of various characteristics of a product or service as perceived by consumers. During the past ten years, conjoint analysis has been used to estimate consumers\u27 preferences for many different types of products and services including educational services. In a conjoint analysis study, a researcher must determine whether the product factor estimates, which are used to measure consumer preferences, should be calculated and interpreted for each respondent or the respondents collectively. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how a researcher can use multiple regression models to determine whether it is appropriate to analyze and interpret the aggregate data by examining the factor-respondents interaction effects. A hypothetical example is used to clarify how this technique can be used

Mentoring Education: An Interview with Carolyn M. Evertson

Carolyn M Evertson will be a featured speaker at the 1996 annual meeting of the Mid-Western Educational Research Association. In this brief interview she discusses teacher education, educational research and policy, mentoring, and teachers and classrooms. Carolyn M Everts on is Professor of Education and Chair of the Department of Teaching and Learning, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University. She was named Harvie Branscomb Distinguished Professor in 1992. She has published numerous books, chapters, and articles about teacher education, learning to teach, managing learning environments, and the culture of the classroom. Her texts, Classroom management/ or elementary teachers and Classroom Management for Secondary Teachers, (co-authored with Edmund Emmer, Barbara Clements, and Murray Worsham) are soon to be published in their fourth editions

Value Added Methods: Moving from Univariate to Multivariate Criteria

The authors describe five value-added methods (VAM) used in school assessment as the backdrop to their main thesis. Then they review the assumptions underlying measurement and evaluation, the foundation of all assessment systems, including value-added. They discuss the traditional criterion variable used in VAM: a standardized test score. Next, they challenge the univariate assumptions of VAMs, and argue that a multivariate paradigm of VAM is more advantageous for educators and stakeholders. Finally they describe a potential scenario whereby a multivariate VAM might be implemented

Regression Effects When the Assumption of Rectilinearity is Not Tenable

Author Institution: Department of Guidance and Educational Psychology, Southern Illinois University; Department of Educational Foundations, University of AkronWhen analyzing data which deals with repeated testing, one may find that extreme scores are regressing away from the mean, contrary to what one would expect based on the regression effect. This paper discusses the regression effect and presents the argument that when these contrary results occur, they are indicative of the violation of the underlying assumption of rectilinearity. One should be required to look for non-linear relationships when interpreting such data. In addition, three methods for determining whether or not non-linear relationships exist in data are suggested and briefly discussed

Understanding Board Leadership: Adventist Hospital Board Chair Behaviors and Effectiveness and Organizational Outcomes

Each month, millions of board members meet to provide leadership to thousands of churches, hospitals, schools and other nonprofit organizations. Their decisions impact tens of millions of jobs and billions of dollars of allocation. However, there is very limited research on the leadership provided to these boards. This article reviews data collected from 123 board members serving 34 Adventist Health System hospitals. It asked them to provide their perceptions of their chair\u27s leadership behaviors and effectiveness and compared that data to hospital outcome data in the form of patient satisfaction, clinical and financial data. Findings suggest that transformational behaviors and, to a lesser extent, transactional behaviors are central to members\u27 perceptions of chair leadership effectiveness. To the contrary, chair laissez-faire leadership behaviors were viewed as ineffective. In addition, those chairs with more education were perceived as more effective and a higher level of chair education was a predictor of larger financial margins. Findings also suggest that younger chairs are a predictor of financially sound hospitals