A synoptic framework for school program evaluation

A broad-based conceptual schema, termed the Synoptic Evaluation Framework (SEF), is discussed in relation to providing school program evaluation services. Derived from evaluation theory and practice, the SEF allows for the design and conduct of a range of program evaluation studies within the school context. Moreover, the SEF has been used as a basis for training doctoral school psychology students in program evaluation. The SEF consists of the three constituent dimensions: (a) Evaluation Unit, (b) Evaluation Purpose, and (c) Evaluation Service. An understanding of the interactions among these dimensions enables an evaluator to identify the specific programmatic concerns of a decision maker and to design and conduct a responsive evaluation.     

A university-based incentive program to increase safety belt use: Toward cost-effective institutionalization

A cost-effective incentive program to increase safety belt use was implemented by the campus police of a large university. For each of the 3-week intervention periods during three consecutive academic quarters, the 22 campus police officers recorded the license plate numbers of vehicles with drivers wearing a shoulder belt. From these numbers, 10 raffle winners were drawn who received gift certificates donated by community merchants. Faculty and staff increased their belt usage markedly as a result of the "Seatbelt Sweepstakes," whereas students increased their belt use only slightly. A cost-effectiveness analysis indicated that the sweepstakes cost an average of $0.98 per each newly buckled driver. During each sweepstakes intervention, officers' belt usage increased significantly, but diminished to initial baseline levels after the final withdrawal of the program. Surveys of officers' opinions indicated that the police would accept the program demands as a regular task requirement. This result and the fact that program promotion and coordination were eventually taken over by two student organizations suggest that institutionalization of the "Seatbelt Sweepstakes" is feasible.     

A program for assessing body image disturbance using adjustable partial image distortion

Body image disturbance has been one of the most widely studied areas in the literature on eating disorders. Some of the tasks designed to assess it have been used to estimate the sizes of specific parts of the body, whereas others have served to make estimations of overall body size. In recent years, the introduction of innovative computing procedures has allowed the two approaches to be combined and has made their application more straightforward. The program we describe here (Body Image Assessment Software, or BIAS) evaluates body image distortions and body dissatisfaction via the on-screen presentation of a scale image, the different components of which can be modified by the patient. The program was developed using Microsoft Access 2000 and Visual Basic for applications. It can be run on any computer with Windows and Microsoft Access 2000 or Microsoft Access 2000 RunTime, which makes it particularly easy to use and enables direct analysis of the recorded data through the use of applications such as SPSS.     

Body Image Testing System: A microcomputer program for assessing body image

An interactive computer program, the Body Image Testing System (BITS), was developed to assess different components of the body image construct. The BITS program displays a frontal and side view of a human body. Subjects can change the size of each of nine body parts independently (face, neck, shoulders, arms, chest, breasts, stomach, hips, and thighs). Subjects interact with the program until satisfied that the image created matches the instructions. Subjects also provide satisfaction ratings for the nine body segments. To validate BITS, a variety of body image and eating disturbance measures was obtained from over 500 subjects. A factor analysis of actual-ideal differences and a perceptual distortion measure, derived using multiple regression, resulted in five orthogonal factors. Factor 1 measured actual-ideal discrepancy for weight-sensitive body parts. Factor 2 measured the perceptual distortion of weight-sensitive body parts. Additional factors measured perception of face and neck, shoulders, and breasts. The five factor scores plus the satisfaction ratings were strongly associated with actual body size, body fat percentage, and circumference of specific body parts. In addition, there were strong associations between the BITS and other measures of body image. Finally, BITS scores accounted for between 15 and 60% of the variance in measures of eating disturbance.     

A Macintosh and Windows program for assessing body-image disturbance using adjustable image distortion

Body image is one of the most important concepts in the study of eating disorders. The assessment and treatment of body-image issues are considered to be integral aspects of assessment and clinical management of eating disorders (Thompson, 1996b). The program, BodyImage, is software for the assessment of body-image disturbance. It uses an image-distorting technique to estimate body size. The image of the whole body or parts of the body can be captured as a digital image by a digital camera. Response data from participants are recorded as ASCII files so that other computer programs such as spreadsheets or word processing programs can handle the data. BodyImage works on personal computers, both Macintosh and Windows. It is available at no cost, and it can be obtained from the following URL: http://homepage2.nifty.com/s_shibata/softwares/bodyimage.html.     

Organizational control and treatment program design as dimensions of institutionalization in settings for juvenile offenders

The relationship between organizational control and normalization in treatment program design was examined in 30 community-based settings for juvenile offenders. Although these two dimensions were hypothesized to be converging indicators of the institutionality of a setting, the findings indicated that they are only marginally related. More hierarchical models of decision making were not associated with more depersonalized, isolating programming, and involvement of residents and line staff in decision making did not covary with autonomy and personalization in programming. The results are discussed as evidence that institutionality is a multidimensional construct, and that future investigations must distinguish between organizational decision making and characteristics of treatment program design when assessing the institutional quality of residential service settings.     

A program for constructing SVT tests: An alternative way of assessing text comprehension

The sentence verification technique (SVT), developed by Royer, Hastings, and Hook (1979), provides developmental and educational researchers with an alternative way of assessing text comprehension based on all of the information contained in a passage. Students must decide if test sentences have the same meaning as sentences that appeared in an original passage. The program described here automates the more laborious aspects of constructing SVT tests. The user must create a passage using a word processor. The program will prompt the user for information as needed. Finally, printable text files (SVT test and answer key) are generated. The program is written in BASIC for IBM and IBM-compatible computers.     

IMINCE: An unrestricted factor-analysis-based program for assessing measurement invariance

In this article, a Windows program for analyzing measurement invariance in two different populations is described. Factor analysis is a common way of assessing measurement invariance, and restricted factor analysis is now the most popular method. However, applied researchers have usually found that the theoretical advantages of restricted factor analysis do not always apply in practical situations. For example, when the participant sample is large, as is the case in Internet-based questionnaires, the available software for restricted factor analysis might fail to converge on a solution. Our program is based on unrestricted factor analysis and considers the three parameters that define factor invariance: difficulties, discriminations, and residual variances. The statistical significance of the tests for evaluating invariance is obtained using Bootstrap resampling procedures. A real-life example demonstrates the usefulness of the program.     

A strategy for assessing closure

This paper looks at an argument strategy for assessing the epistemic closure principle. This is the principle that says knowledge is closed under known entailment; or (roughly) if S knows p and S knows that p entails q, then S knows that q. The strategy in question looks to the individual conditions on knowledge to see if they are closed. According to one conjecture, if all the individual conditions are closed, then so too is knowledge. I give a deductive argument for this conjecture. According to a second conjecture, if one (or more) condition is not closed, then neither is knowledge. I give an inductive argument for this conjecture. In sum, I defend the strategy by defending the claim that knowledge is closed if, and only if, all the conditions on knowledge are closed. After making my case, I look at what this means for the debate over whether knowledge is closed.     

A framework for counseling women

“The goal is to develop human beings who are free to act in ways that are appropriate to their interests and their values—not their sex.“     

A formal framework for quantum non-individuality

H. Post's conception of quantal particles as non-individuals is set in a formal logico-mathematical framework. By means of this approach certain metaphysical implications of quantum mechanics can be further explored.The authors would like to thank Prof. Newton C. A. da Costa and the anonymous referee for their comments and suggestions. S. French would also to thank his colleagues at Southeast Missouri State University for their support during the preparation of this work.