Assessing the impact of manufacturing extension center

This article summarizes results from the authors' evaluation of the first five years of operation of one of the first MEP centers—the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center. The evaluation utilizes the Performance Benchmarking Service's proprietary database of quantitative measures of performance in 3000 smaller manufacturing plants. The results suggest that while clients are satisfied with MMTC services, nany of the center's projects are less than effective at achieving desired client outcomes and policy objectives. The article considers the implications of this finding both for program operation and future evaluation approaches.     

Issues in higher education for law enforcement officers: An Illinois study

The issue of whether criminal justice education, or education in general, has had an impact on the quality of policing in the United States has been studied since the mid-1960s. The results have been mixed. This study considers the value of education as it relates to the progress educated officers have made within the ranks of police departments in the state of Illinois. The results indicate that the majority of veteran police officers, particularly those with a college education, strive for promotion but are frustrated when they are not able to achieve it. This may be a factor in another finding, which indicates that a sizable group of subjects reported the strong opinion that promotion is based on politics, not on merit or education. For whatever reasons, it is obvious that in municipal police work, there is never going to be much room at the top. Most officers will serve their entire careers at the level of patrol officer, and those who want to be promoted beyond that rank will continue to seek out any positive enhancement that might distinguish them.     

Policing Schools: Examining the Impact of Place Management Activities on School Violence

The present study examines whether the presence of school resource officers (SROs) and their level of involvement in place management activities are associated with higher or lower rates of school-based serious violence. This study uses data from the 2010 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS) conducted by National Center for Educational Statistics. Propensity score matching is used to create a quasi-experimental design and isolate the influence of SROs and their level of involvement in place management activities on school-based serious violence. The analysis reveals that schools with a school resource officer are associated with higher rates of reported serious violence and those schools with SROs that participate in more place manager duties are also associated with higher rates of reported serious violence. These findings do not support the notion that SROs are acting as effective place managers and through this place management, reducing reported serious violence. Rather, it appears that the presences of a SRO and their execution of place manager duties is associated with an increase in the reporting of serious violence. Policy implications and limitations of the current research are also discussed.     

SMPIL Comments on the Long Island Nitrogen Action Plan

In early 2016, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, in conjunction with the Long Island Regional Planning Council, released the Conceptual Draft Scope for the Long Island Nitrogen Action Plan (LINAP).¹1 N.Y. State Department of Environmental Conservation, Long Island Nitrogen Action Plan, http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/103654.html (accessed February 23, 2016).View all notes Pursuant to standard administrative procedures, the planners sought public comment in response to the Draft Scope Plan. SMPIL Consulting assessed and identified numerous areas for improvement and, therefore, submitted comments to the LINAP planners. These comments incorporated scientific and legal suggestions on a myriad of topics including upland land use, modeling, climate change, and adaptive management. The following article details these comments and notes the responses of the Department of Environmental Conservation as published on their Web site.     

How the Indashyikirwa Intimate Partner Violence Prevention Programme in Rwanda Influenced Parenting and Violence against Children

There is increasing interest in working at the intersections of intimate partner violence (IPV) and violence against children (VAC), especially in the family, yet few programmatic strategies exist or have been evaluated to assess the combined impact of strategies on both types of violence. This paper addresses this gap by exploring the influence that Indashyikirwa—a programme designed to reduce IPV in Rwanda— had on VAC in the families of couples participating in the programme. Indashyikirwa included a 21-session couples’ curriculum, safe spaces for IPV survivors, and community activism against violence. In addition to reductions in IPV, a randomized control trial found significant reductions in parent’s reports of children witnessing IPV, parents’ attitudes condoning harsh physical punishment of children, and parents’ use of corporal punishment as discipline. This paper uses qualitative data to better understand how and why the couples’ curriculum influenced parenting and VAC. Twenty-eight participants (fourteen male-female couples) were individually interviewed at three time points, once before and twice after the couples’ curriculum implementation. Six men and six women who completed the curriculum and subsequently carried out activism were also interviewed at two time points. The data were analyzed thematically. Pathways motivating couples’ attitude and behavior changes towards children included reflecting on the consequences of IPV for children and appreciating the benefits for children of non-violent, gender equitable households. This analysis suggests that working with co-habiting couples presents a viable strategy for working to prevent IPV, VAC and promote more gender equitable family dynamics.

     

Revictimizing the victims? Interviewing women about interpersonal violence

Research on women's experiences of interpersonal violence has grown dramatically and, as a result, the ethical issues surrounding this research are a concern. Although regulatory procedures ensure that research participants are protected from undue risk, little is known about the impact of victimization research on participants. In this study, the authors examine the differences in the abilities of a "vulnerable" population (142 incarcerated women) to complete interviews about the extent and nature of their violent experiences. Using quantitative and qualitative analysis, the authors assess whether the prevalence and incidence of women's victimization experiences, other stressful life events, and personal backgrounds are related to response rates to specific questions and completion rates. The authors find that the cumulative effect of violence over the life course has a significant relationship to women's disclosure of sensitive issues and that providing multiple avenues for disclosure of prior victimization is critical for facilitating a positive outcome for research participants.