scholarly journals Contextualising Youth Justice Interventions: Making the Case for Realist Synthesis

2022 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 854
Author(s):  
Charlie E. Sutton ◽  
Mark Monaghan ◽  
Stephen Case ◽  
Joanne Greenhalgh ◽  
Judy Wright
Keyword(s):  
Critical Review ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Evaluation Framework ◽  
Youth Justice ◽  
Intervention Evaluation ◽  
Realist Approach ◽  
Context Sensitive ◽  
Intervention Selection ◽  
What Works ◽  
Justice Practice

This article examines the problematic reductionism and decontextualising nature of hegemonic youth justice intervention evaluation and offers a way ahead for a realistic, context-sensitive approach to intervention evaluation in the youth justice field. It opens by considering how the development of risk-based youth justice interventions in England and Wales flowed from and fed into the modernisation and resultant partiality of the ‘evidence-base’, which shaped youth justice practice. It then moves to a critical review of the emergence and continued influence of risk-based interventions and the ‘What Works’ intervention evaluation framework in youth justice. In the closing discussion, this article envisages the potential of taking a realist approach to the evaluation of youth justice interventions to mitigate the limitations of current approaches to intervention selection and the evaluation of their ‘effectiveness’.

scholarly journals Bridging the edtech evidence gap

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-40 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Rapid Change ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Realist Evaluation ◽  
Evaluation Framework ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Reference Models ◽  
Realist Approach ◽  
Community Contribution ◽  
Complex Technology ◽  
Evaluation Approaches

Purpose – There are five factors acting as a barrier to the effective evaluation of educational technology (edtech), which are as follows: premature timing, inappropriate techniques, rapid change, complexity of context and inconsistent terminology. The purpose of this paper is to identify new evaluation approaches that will address these and reflect on the evaluation imperative for complex technology initiatives. Approach – An initial investigation of traditional evaluative approaches used within the technology domain was broadened to investigate the evaluation practices within social and public policy domains. Realist evaluation, a branch of theory-based evaluation, was identified and reviewed in detail. The realist approach was then refined, proposing two additional necessary steps to support mapping the technical complexity of initiatives. Findings – A refined illustrative example of a realist evaluation framework is presented, including two novel architectural edtech domain reference models to support mapping. Practical implications – Recommendations include building individual evaluator capacity; adopting the realist framework; the use of architectural edtech domain reference models; phased evaluation to first build theories in technology “context” and then iteratively during complex implementation chains; and community contribution to a shared map of technical and organisational complexity. Originality – This paper makes a novel contribution by arguing the imperative for a theory-based realist approach to help redefine evaluative thinking within the IT and complex system domain. It becomes an innovative proposal with the addition of two domain reference models that tailor the approach for edtech. Its widespread adoption will help build a shared evidence base that synthesizes and surfaces “what works, for whom, in which contexts and why”, benefiting educators, IT managers, funders, policymakers and future learners.

Lost in Translation or a Work in Progress? Developing Desistance-Informed Youth Justice Practice in the Welsh Context

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Deering ◽  
Jonathan Evans
Keyword(s):  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Youth Justice ◽  
Practice Model ◽  
Case File ◽  
Justice Practice ◽  
Lost In Translation

Abstract This article draws upon empirical research conducted within a Welsh Youth Offending Service (YOS) in 2017–2018. It captured staff responses to the introduction of AssetPlus, an assessment tool intended to complement a corresponding move to desistance-informed practice. Given that YOSs are now expected to develop practice underpinned by desistance theories, the article focuses on how desistance theories were interpreted and translated into one YOS. It was concluded that the introduction of the new practice model suffered from inadequate planning and AssetPlus assessment did little to enhance this shift. In an exercise in Utopianism, the views of practitioners and managers were sought on what constituted ‘ideal’ practice with children in conflict with the law. The researchers found some evidence of support for holistic child-centred social work practice that addressed contextual factors. The study was conducted with a small sample of practitioners and operational managers, involving seven semi-structured interviews, two focus groups (a total of eighteen respondents), case file analysis, document reading and observation. Given the size of the sample, the findings are not regarded as generalisable, but rather as raising important issues and pointers for further research.

scholarly journals The effectiveness of probation supervision towards reducing reoffending: A Rapid Evidence Assessment

2018 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 407-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Smith ◽  
Kim Heyes ◽  
Chris Fox ◽  
Jordan Harrison ◽  
Zsolt Kiss ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Evidence Base ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Future Research ◽  
What Works ◽  
Research Designs ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Probation Supervision ◽  
Methodological Considerations ◽  
Meta Analyses

In response to the lack of universal agreement about ‘What Works’ in probation supervision (Trotter, 2013) we undertook a Rapid Evidence Assessment of the empirical literature. Our analysis of research into the effect of probation supervision reducing reoffending included 13 studies, all of which employed robust research designs, originating in the USA, UK, Canada and Australia, published between 2006 and 2016. We describe the papers included in our review, and the meta-analyses of their findings. Overall, we found that the likelihood of reoffending was shown to be lower for offenders who had been exposed to some type of supervision. This finding should be interpreted cautiously however, given the heterogeneity of the studies. We suggest future research and methodological considerations to develop the evidence base concerning the effectiveness of probation supervision.

Evidence-based skills in Welsh youth justice settings

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela Ugwudike ◽  
Gemma Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Research Evidence ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Positive Finding ◽  
Youth Justice ◽  
Relationship Skills ◽  
Supervision Practice ◽  
Justice Practice ◽  
Integrate Research

This chapter presents the findings of a study that examined supervision skills within three youth offending teams. The study focused on youth justice practice in Wales and its objective was to explore how best to integrate research evidence into frontline practice. It found that participating practitioners employed mainly relationship skills. This is a positive finding but there was limited use of evidence-based skills embedded in what is described as the ‘structuring principle' of effective interpersonal interactions (Bonta and Andrews 2017). The skills are change-focused and they impact on what young people learn during interactions with practitioners and the quality of the influence the practitioners exert over them. This chapter examines the factors that impede the application of structuring skills and concludes with a discussion of the ways in which gaps between research and supervision practice can be bridged to enhance the quality of youth justice practice.

Anatomy of an Evidence Base

2016 ◽  
Vol 45 (8) ◽  
pp. 454-459 ◽  
Author(s):  
David B. Malouf ◽  
Juliana M. Taymans
Keyword(s):  
Education Policy ◽  
Research Evidence ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
Intervention Effect ◽  
What Works ◽  
Policy Goals ◽  
Education Interventions ◽  
What Works Clearinghouse ◽  
Adequate Research

An analysis was conducted of the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) research evidence base on the effectiveness of replicable education interventions. Most interventions were found to have little or no support from technically adequate research studies, and intervention effect sizes were of questionable magnitude to meet education policy goals. These findings painted a dim picture of the evidence base on education interventions and indicated a need for new approaches, including a reexamination of federal reliance on experimental impact research as the basis for gauging intervention effectiveness.

What Can Feminist Epistemology Do for Surgery?

Hypatia ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 404-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Jean Walker ◽  
Wendy Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Feminist Epistemology ◽  
Cultural Barriers ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Surgical Practice ◽  
Lack Of Fit ◽  
What Works ◽  
Based Medicine ◽  
Contemporary Health Care

Surgery is an important part of contemporary health care, but currently much of surgery lacks a strong evidence base. Uptake of evidence‐based medicine (EBM) methods within surgical research and among practitioners has been slow compared with other areas of medicine. Although this is often viewed as arising from practical and cultural barriers, it also reflects a lack of epistemic fit between EBM research methods and surgical practice. In this paper we discuss some epistemic challenges in surgery relating to this lack of fit, and investigate how resources from feminist epistemology can help to characterize them. We point to ways in which these epistemic challenges may be addressed by gathering and disseminating evidence about what works in surgery using methods that are contextual, pluralistic, and sensitive to hierarchies.

scholarly journals A conceptual evaluation framework for the water and sanitation for health facility improvement tool (WASH FIT)

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 380-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Weber ◽  
Molly Patrick ◽  
Arabella Hayter ◽  
Andrea L. Martinsen ◽  
Rick Gelting
Keyword(s):  
Health Facility ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Good Health ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Facility Management ◽  
Evaluation Framework ◽  
Health Systems Strengthening ◽  
Infection Prevention And Control ◽  
Water And Sanitation

Abstract Healthcare facilities (HCFs) in low- and middle-income countries frequently lack water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services that are adequate to implement infection prevention and control (IPC) practices, decrease healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial resistance, and provide quality healthcare. The Water and Sanitation for Health Facility Improvement Tool (WASH FIT), initially published in 2017 and updated in 2018, is a risk-based, continuous improvement framework. The tool aims to improve WASH and related facility management and may contribute to quality of care (QoC) efforts. To date, there is no guidance available on how to monitor and evaluate the use of this tool nor is there rigorous evidence on its effectiveness. We developed a conceptual WASH FIT evaluation framework by drawing from the broader WASH, health systems strengthening, and QoC evidence base. This framework provides a common basis to plan, implement, monitor, and evaluate potential inputs, outputs, outcomes, and impacts from applying WASH FIT. Routine use of the tool, coupled with WASH infrastructure improvements as guided by the tool, can lead to better IPC practices, and may support improvements in occupational safety, QoC, global health security, and ultimately progress towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals 3 (good health and well-being) and 6 (clean water and sanitation).

Corrigendum to “Dietary carbohydrate restriction as the first approach in diabetes management: Critical review and evidence base” [Nutrition 31 (2015) 1-13]

Nutrition ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 62 ◽  
pp. 213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard D. Feinman ◽  
Wendy K. Pogozelski ◽  
Arne Astrup ◽  
Richard K. Bernstein ◽  
Eugene J. Fine ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Critical Review ◽  
Diabetes Management ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Carbohydrate Restriction ◽  
Dietary Carbohydrate
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