Purposes of evaluation; Formulating the question and measuring the aswer; Design of the evaluation; The turbulent setting of the action program; Utilization of evaluation results.

Purposes of evaluation; Formulating the question and measuring the aswer; Design of the evaluation; The turbulent setting of the action program; Utilization of evaluation results.

This updated edition on evaluating the effectiveness of school programs provides an expanded needs-assessment section, additional methods for data analysis, and tools for communicating program results.

Experts estimate that nearly 60 percent of all U.S. pregnancies--and 81 percent of pregnancies among adolescents--are unintended. Yet the topic of preventing these unintended pregnancies has long been treated gingerly because of personal sensitivities and public controversies, especially the angry debate over abortion. Additionally, child welfare advocates long have overlooked the connection between pregnancy planning and the improved well-being of families and communities that results when children are wanted. Now, current issues--health care and welfare reform, and the new international focus on population--are drawing attention to the consequences of unintended pregnancy. In this climate The Best Intentions offers a timely exploration of family planning issues from a distinguished panel of experts. This committee sheds much-needed light on the questions and controversies surrounding unintended pregnancy. The book offers specific recommendations to put the United States on par with other developed nations in terms of contraceptive attitudes and policies, and it considers the effectiveness of over 20 pregnancy prevention programs. The Best Intentions explores problematic definitions--"unintended" versus "unwanted" versus "mistimed"--and presents data on pregnancy rates and trends. The book also summarizes the health and social consequences of unintended pregnancies, for both men and women, and for the children they bear. Why does unintended pregnancy occur? In discussions of "reasons behind the rates," the book examines Americans' ambivalence about sexuality and the many other social, cultural, religious, and economic factors that affect our approach to contraception. The committee explores the complicated web of peer pressure, life aspirations, and notions of romance that shape an individual's decisions about sex, contraception, and pregnancy. And the book looks at such practical issues as the attitudes of doctors toward birth control and the place of contraception in both health insurance and "managed care." The Best Intentions offers frank discussion, synthesis of data, and policy recommendations on one of today's most sensitive social topics. This book will be important to policymakers, health and social service personnel, foundation executives, opinion leaders, researchers, and concerned individuals. May

Concentrates on the steps vital to program evaluation, including systematically identifying stakeholder needs, selecting evaluation options best suited to particular needs, and turning decisions into action.

The Human Resources Program-Evaluation Handbook is the first book to present state-of-the-art procedures for evaluating and improving human resources programs. Editors Jack E. Edwards, John C. Scott, and Nambury S. Raju provide a user-friendly yet scientifically rigorous "how to" guide to organizational program-evaluation. Integrating perspectives from a variety of human resources and organizational behavior programs, a wide array of contributing professors, consultants, and governmental personnel successfully link scientific information to practical application. Designed for academics and graduate students in industrial-organizational psychology, human resources management, and business, the handbook is also an essential resource for human resources professionals, consultants, and policy makers.

Program Evaluation and Performance Measurement: An Introduction to Practice, Second Edition offers an accessible, practical introduction to program evaluation and performance measurement for public and non-profit organizations, and has been extensively updated since the first edition. Using examples, it covers topics in a detailed fashion, making it a useful guide for students as well as practitioners who are participating in program evaluations or constructing and implementing performance measurement systems. Authors James C. McDavid, Irene Huse, and Laura R. L. Hawthorn guide readers through conducting quantitative and qualitative program evaluations, needs assessments, cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analyses, as well as constructing, implementing and using performance measurement systems. The importance of professional judgment is highlighted throughout the book as an intrinsic feature of evaluation practice.