Participatory risk assessment: a new approach for safer food in vulnerable African communities

Women play the major role in food supply in developing countries, but too often their ability to feed their families properly is compromised; the result is high levels of food-borne disease and consequent limited access to higher-value markets. We argue that risk-based approaches – current best practice for managing food safety in developed countries – require adaptation to the difficult context of informal markets. We suggest participatory research and gender analysis as boundary-spanning mechanisms, bringing communities and food-safety implementers together to analyse food-safety problems and develop workable solutions. Examples show how these methodologies can contribute to operationalising risk-based approaches in urban settings and to the development of a new approach to assessing and managing food safety in poor countries, which we call ‘participatory risk analysis’.     

Exposing evaluation: Using field projects to teach program evaluation

This paper describes the field prefect component of a program evaluation course. Small groups of students conduct evaluative studies for public agencies. Tech group selects a project, defines the research question, designs and executes a research proposal, gives an oral presentation of its findings to the agency, and writes a final report. The students learn how to cope with limited time and money and to conduct quantitative research that provides an agency with needed information. They also learn how political and administrative concerns affect program, research.     

Playing by the rules: Impact and implementation of children's educational television regulations among local broadcasters

This study explores the institutional process involved in the implementation of the 1997 Federal Communications Commission regulations regarding educational programs for children. Through open‐ended interviews with representatives from twenty‐eight stations, this study assessed local broadcasters' reactions to these new rules in the early stages of policy implementation, examining their understanding of the new regulations; the implementation strategies and structural constraints that guide the selection of educational programs and the implications of these strategies for the success of the rules in achieving their goals as stated explicitly by the FCC. All respondents indicated that they would comply with the regulations by providing the minimum three hours of educational programming per week, along with other reporting and public file obligations. However, the ultimate effectiveness of these rules in ensuring better television for children seems complicated by the institutional constraints on local broadcasters and the widespread belief among broadcasters that educational programs are not viable in the market. The authors argue that future research on national policy evaluation should consider the implementation of the policy within a complex web of institutional and social structures.     

OVERCOMING BARRIERS FAMILY CAMP:A PROGRAM FOR HIGH‐CONFLICT DIVORCED FAMILIES WHERE A CHILD1 IS RESISTING CONTACT WITH A PARENT

Overcoming Barriers Family Camp is an innovative program designed to treat separating and divorced families where a child is resisting contact or totally rejecting a parent. Both parents, significant others, and children participate in a 5‐day family camp experience that combines psycho‐education and clinical intervention in a safe, supportive milieu. This article describes the components of the program, from referrals to intake to aftercare. Evaluation immediately following the camp experience is provided for the camps that ran in 2008 and 2009, and 6‐month follow‐up interview information is provided for the 2008 camp program as well as 1‐month follow‐up about the initiation of aftercare with the 2009 families. A discussion of the strengths and challenges of this approach with entrenched, high‐conflict family systems concludes the article.