Search

Background: Evaluations are a useful tool to learn more about the effectiveness of public measures. In the era of evidence-based policymaking, recent research suggests that quality is an important determinant of the utilisation of evaluations. Despite this claim, hardly any empirical study has investigated whether the quality of an evaluation -- measured by a meta-evaluation -- influences its perceived utilisation by decision makers. Aims and objectives: This article asks how the quality of an evaluation study is related to its perceived use, and investigates the relationship between the quality of an evaluation, assessed through a meta-evaluation, and how the evaluation is perceived and accepted by the parties concerned. Methods: The basis for the empirical analyses were 34 external evaluations, conducted from 2006 to 2014, of upper secondary schools in the canton of Zurich, as well as a standardised survey conducted among 307 representatives of these schools (teachers, administrators, members of quality development teams, and the heads of school oversight commissions). Findings: We conclude that the quality of the evaluation, as assessed in a meta-evaluation, is not particularly associated with the perception of evaluation quality and the perceived use of the evaluation. The perceived quality, however, is related to the perceived impact of an evaluation. Discussion and conclusion: These findings are relevant for evaluation research and practice, since they show that the quality of an evaluation and evaluation use do not necessarily go hand in hand.

The western tree hole mosquito, Aedes sierrensis (Ludlow) (Diptera: Clucidae), is a pestiferous mosquito with a range extending over the entire pacific seaboard and into portions of the intermountain west. As a peridomestic heartworm vector, it demands at least some level of surveillance to understand its abundance. However, the species is refractory to a majority of conventional vector surveillance approaches for tracking mosquitoes. To find more options for Aedes sierrensis surveillance, a variety of oviposition attractants were evaluated in arena-style choice assays using colony reared adults. A range of infusion treatments (e.g. alfalfa, oak, and beetroot) were examined and then combined with investigations of liquid color as well as ovicup color and entryway position. These studies revealed that Ae. sierrensis have an affinity for purple coloration, plain water, and larger entryway sizes for oviposition cups. A prototype ovicup was 3D-printed using purple filament and multiple types of entryways, and used to re-test infusion waters. No particular attraction differences were detected after normalizing for purple color. Comparisons to black 3D-printed cups yielded surprising observations that male mosquitoes also aggregated on purple cups while females sheltered, but not necessarily oviposited, in black cups. Although this was only a laboratory-based assessment, these studies provide useful information for future field trials of potential oviposition traps for surveillance of Ae. sierrensis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence-based policy-making and other recent reforms in public steering emphasize the role systematic evidence can play in improving decision making and public policies. Increasing deficits heighten the pressure on public authorities to legitimate public spending and to find savings. Existing studies show that the influence of research-based information on decision making is shaped by several factors, but they typically do not distinguish between different types of information. Our contribution aims to compare the influence of efficiency analysis to information about performance effectiveness. We do so by looking at 10 cases in which public policies are being revised at the federal level in Switzerland, and do so by tracing the entire policy reform process. This qualitative analysis sheds light on which actors use efficiency information, how and under which conditions, and highlights the contribution of efficiency analysis for evidence-based policy-making. (Contains 10 tables and 2 figures.)

For many years, the European evaluation community did not recognize evaluation standards as a relevant tool for quality assurance. References to the developments in the United States were exceptionally rare in the European evaluation literature during the 1970s and 1980s. One of the first articles on evaluation standards to appear in the European literature was Wolfgang Beywl's discussion of the Evaluation Standards of the Evaluation Research Society and the Standards for Educational Evaluation. Another early example of the standards discussion in Europe was the translation of the ERS Standards into German. In the past decade, however, discussion about evaluation standards has accelerated in Europe. Based on the cultural diversity of the region, national evaluation organizations have taken distinct approaches to activities in the field of quality assurance in evaluation. This article examines the domain of evaluation standards since the beginning of the 1990s in Western Europe. It looks specifically at Switzerland, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom because they are the European front-runners in this domain. Although the focus of this article is on evaluation standards, it also discusses documents with other labels, specifically principles and charters. The argument underlying this decision is twofold. First, despite their names, these documents play similar roles as nominal evaluation standards. Second, in the author's view, their existence has an unavoidable relevance for the future of evaluation standards in Europe. (Contains 2 tables.)

This article investigates how concepts from the field of public policy, in particular the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) initially introduced by Sabatier and Jenkins-Smith, can be applied to the study of foreign policy analysis. Using a most similar comparative case studies design, we examine Switzerland's foreign policy toward South Africa under apartheid for the period from 1968 to 1994 and compare it with the Swiss position toward Iraq after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990, when the Swiss government imposed--for the first time--comprehensive economic sanctions against another state. The application of the ACF shows that a dominant advocacy coalition in Swiss foreign policy toward South Africa prevented a major policy change in Swiss-South African relations despite external pressure from the international and national political levels. Actually, quite the opposite could be observed: Swiss foreign policy increased its persistence in not taking economic sanctions against the racist regime in South Africa during the 1980s and early 1990s. The ACF, with its analytical focus on policy subsystems and the role of external shocks as potential triggers for change, provided a useful framework for analyzing the factors for policy change and stasis in Swiss foreign relations toward the selected two countries. KEY WORDS: Advocacy Coalition Framework, comparative case study, foreign policymaking, Switzerland, South Africa, Iraq, Introduction This article investigates how concepts from the field of public policy, in particular the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) initially introduced by Sabatier and Jenkins-Smith (1988), can be applied to [...]

Abstract Almost everybody would welcome at least in a general sense--a transportation policy designed in accordance with the principle of sustainability. But there appears to be insufficient support for moving [...]

Presented is a political survey of the country of Switzerland for the year 2009. It is noted that the make up of the Swiss cabinet is determined by both formal means, such as the number of cabinet members, and informal determinants such as a quota system for cabinet seats based on linguistic and regional origin of cabinet members. A number of other events and developments are discussed including the 2009 resignation of politician Pascal Couchepin from the cabinet, the lack of parliamentary elections in 2009, and a series of referendums.

As part of a larger research project about right-wing extremism and its causes and countermeasures, this article assesses the quality of existing evaluation studies in Switzerland, Germany, the US and other countries in order to synthesize their results. It presents the results of a meta-evaluation of measures against right-wing extremism in areas including education and social work. The meta-evaluation follows the professional evaluation standards of the Swiss Evaluation Society (SEVAL Standards). Analysis of the quality of selected evaluation studies in the field of measures against right-wing extremism allows for an assessment of the value of their results. The meta-evaluation covers 12 evaluation reports, enabling a description of the current practice of evaluation of measures taken against right-wing extremism in selected countries. The article also presents evidence about the usefulness of the SEVAL Standards in an applied setting. Thus the article provides background information on both evaluation of measures against right-wing extremism and the applicability of evaluation standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Almost everybody would welcome - at least in a general sense - a transportation policy designed in accordance with the principle of sustainability. But there appears to be insufficient support for moving toward sustainability in transportation policy. The main question this article poses is therefore: How can the acceptance of sustainable transportation policy be improved? We investigate this question using three clusters of measures: transportation management in agglomerations, infrastructure financing for large-scale projects, and combined freight transportation. A comparison of the three clusters in Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland shows mixed results: The acceptance of regulatory measures depends more on political administrative traditions in each country than on the particular policy instrument. Measures designed in a comprehensive manner are not necessarily less accepted, as we had theoretically assumed. On the other hand, our theoretical assumptions regarding the time perspective of the measures were largely confirmed. The main challenge for the acceptance of a sustainable policy is to reconcile specific short-term measures with a long-term sustainable strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Politische Vierteljahresschrift is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Federalism belongs to those institutions that usually attract more admirers than critics. This study investigates whether decentralized decision making in the asylum domain undermines the principle of equality in the handling of individual cases. The externalities that power delegation creates are examined, and a principal/agent framework is developed to show how state discretion in the implementation of a unifying federal measure arises. The model distinguishes between positive and negative discrimination in the acceptance of asylum applications. The empirical analysis of approximately 180,000 cases demonstrates that the probability of negative discrimination is partly a function of the organizational principles that characterize the asylum policies of the 26 Swiss states (cantons). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluates the controversy about the importance duly attributed to domestic and international sources of the end of the Cold War. Our quasi-experimental research supports the hypothesis that Gorbachev's accession to power was largely responsible for the historic improvement in the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union. The leadership change also enabled the Soviets to pursue unilateral initiatives although conflictual behavior supplanted the effect of such GRIT measures. The coercive diplomacy of the United States in the 1980s seems to have contributed to the moderation of Soviet foreign policy to a lesser ex- tent. The Box-Tiao models focus on the period between 1948 and 1989 and rely on an updated version of the Conflict and Peace Data Bank (COPDAB). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]