Organizational learning in non-governmental organizations: What have we learned?

Learning is considered to be an essential component of organizational effectiveness in all sectors—private, public and non-governmental. All NGOs aspire to be ‘learning organizations’, yet few have reflected systematically on the success in this regard. This article summarizes the experience to date of international NGOs that have prioritized learning as an objective, drawing out areas of both success and failure, and reflecting on whether there are any features that distinguish learning in NGOs from learning in other types of organization. A simple typology and set of tests of NGO-learning are presented, along with a series of challenges for the future. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Public Admin. Dev. Vol. 17 : 235–250 (1997). No. of Figures: 0. No. of Tables: 0. No. of Refs: 48     

Evaluating the Probative Value of Child Custody Evaluations

It has previously been argued that a competent forensic work product is defined, in part, by the evaluator's use of conventional forensic methods and procedures applied to child custody evaluations (Gould, 1998) and that the more judges and other legal professionals understand about forensic methods and procedures, the better they are able to critically weigh the substance and merit of a child custody evaluation (Gould & Bell, 2000). These forensic methods and procedures have their foundation in the behavioral sciences and are characteristic of competent and comprehensive forensic evaluations conducted for other legal purposes. In this paper, we provide a more detailed model for critiquing the forensic competence of a child custody report. Such a model better assists courts and lawyers in understanding how to assess the substance and admissibility of custody reports.     

Partisan Turnout Bias in Midterm Legislative Elections

Abstract: Lower salience elections present greater opportunities for representational bias at the polls than do elections with higher levels of political interest. We hypothesize that turnout bias is most likely to occur during midterm congressional elections in which there are clear short‐term forces that exploit the low turnout setting. The effects of these forces are more likely to be observable among registered nonvoters than citizens who are not registered to vote because registrants have access to the polls and are likely to have voted in previous presidential contests. Using midterm National Election Study data from 1978 to 1998, we find that registered nonvoters are frequently more Democratic than midterm election voters, particularly in 1994 and 1998. The historic 1994 congressional election seat losses for Democrats may be partially explained by the finding that voters going to the polls were clearly more conservative than registered nonvoters.     

Crawford v. Washington One Year Later: Its Practical Effects in Child Abuse and Domestic Violence Cases

A year after the United States Supreme Court decided Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004), the maelstrom that many legal scholars anticipated has failed to materialize. Crawford's abrogation of Ohio v. Roberts, 448 U.S. 56 (1980), and its articulation of the new standard for determining when the Sixth Amendment's Confrontation Clause applies to out‐of‐court statements, has had less effect than some predicted, regarding which statements are admissible and which are excluded. This article explores Crawford's practical effect as courts around the country have applied it, particularly in the context of child abuse and domestic violence cases.     

Achieving Timely Permanency in Child Protection Courts: The Importance of Frontloading the Court Process

Timely permanency for foster children has been an unrealized goal in our nation's juvenile courts. The goal of timely permanency is a legal mandate, it serves the needs of families, it is consistent with evolving case management standards, it is required by the Canons of Judicial Ethics, and it serves the best interests of children. Judges must take a leadership role within their courts to reduce delays in child protection courts. Through a series of changes including legislation, court rules, case management techniques, and judicial control, timely permanency for foster children can be achieved.     

Family Conferencing: A Success for Our Children

Model Courts, assisted by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, employ innovative best practices to better achieve permanency of children in the dependency system as required by the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA). Family Group Decision‐Making Conferencing has been used in the Miami Model Court since 1998. The judge chooses cases at the initial detention hearing, and parents must agree to the procedure. A Department of Children and Families social worker facilitates a well‐planned meeting between parents and their families and friends where parents' case plans are developed for the court to approve. In an evaluation of 87 such conferences, the National Council determined that the process has assisted families in identifying strengths and resolving problems. Satisfaction rate of participants was high, and parents became highly motivated. Conferencing produced more timely case processing times and more stable placements. In addition, within Miami's multi‐ethnic and multi‐cultural community, the conferences developed good communication between the generally middle‐class court staff and the primarily poor, immigrant, and native‐born parents.     

Alice Havergal Skillicorn,Principal of Homerton College,Cambridge, 1935-60: a study of gender and power

This article sharpens our understanding of the intersection of the discourses of gender and power in the woman principal's role by an in-depth study of Alice Havergal Skillicorn, Principal of Homerton College, Cambridge, 1935-60. Like previous principals, Skillicorn constructed a subjectivity which was dual gendered. In her public life as principal, she adopted a masculine discourse of power which subordinated feminine discourse into the private sphere. But this marginalisation of feminine discourse in her public role made her unable, except in her most intimate emotional relationship, to enact an appropriate femininity in her private life. After a theoretical and contextual introduction, it is shown how Skillicorn marginalised and negated her femininity through her body, by failing to adopt feminine standards of attractiveness in her appearance and clothes. She successfully wielded autocratic power in the public sphere with a masculine discourse of political skill, financial acumen and, most importantly, an instrumentality in her dealings with staff and students, which was entirely devoid of a feminine desire to be liked. The difficulties she faced in the private sphere - difficulties which were assuaged but not overcome by homoerotic friendship - are also discussed.     

Disproportionate Representation: Communities of Color in the Domestic Violence,Juvenile Justice,and Child Welfare Systems

A number of State and Federal surveys show that communities of color are involved with the domestic violence, child welfare, and juvenile justice systems at rates that are disproportionately higher than their population size. As courts are responsible for decisions that could propel families into these systems, it has become increasingly critical that judges become aware of these trends. This article will provide an overview of the current statistics on the disproportionate representation of communities of color in the domestic violence, child welfare, and juvenile justice systems. It will discuss the factors that are contributing to these trends and present preliminary recommendations for judicial leadership and decision making.