AUDIT OR EVALUATION? A NATIONAL AUDIT OFFICE VFM STUDY

This article presents a case study of an important but relatively neglected aspect of the British policy process - the Value for Money (VIM) studies undertaken by the National Audit Office. It analyses in detail the conduct of one particular study, including the reactions of the audited bodies and the parliamentary activity which followed the publication of the NAO report. The case is then used to illuminate what appear to be some more general characteristics of the NAO's approach. It is concluded that NAO VFM work marks an important step beyond traditional audit for regularity and/or economy, and that it significantly enhances democratic accountability. Yet at the same time this work falls short of a full-blooded evaluation. Indeed, it appears to take place within quite prominent constraints, some of which were built into the legislation setting up the NAO but others of which could conceivably be eased, even without new statutory authority.     

THEY IS CLOWNING TOUGH: 911 AND THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF REALITY*

This article examines the interaction of 911 operators with callers. The study is based on 36 hours of participant observation and an in-depth analysis of 265 randomly recorded telephone contacts between citizens and police emergency operators over a 24-hour period. Call processing is only partially explained by the in formation-gathering function of operators. Initial data from callers are used by operators to help the caller and the operator together construct a definition of an event that makes sense organizationally. Thus, the article describes the interpretive work of 911 operators and the consequences of such work for demand processing within police agencies.