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An important motivation for the institutionalization of evaluation culture in countries around the world is the belief that accountability and transparency will thereby be enhanced. We subject this narrative about evaluation's contribution to good governance to empirical analysis. We also argue that the meaning and relevance of this general narrative differs across national contexts. We build on data from a systematic assessment of evaluation culture in 19 countries (Jacob et al., 2015), add one country using the same systematic approach, and combine these findings with an indicator of transparency in government provided by Transparency International. We find a positive correlation between evaluation culture and transparency, and discuss threats to a causal interpretation hereof. We go into depth with two particular countries at either end of the transparency scale. We argue that the meaning of the link between evaluation culture and transparency differs whether the chosen perspective is generally comparative or situated in particular national, historical, and political contexts. In countries where transparency is high already, there might be diminishing marginal returns on evaluation, at least regarding its contribution to accountability and transparency.

Abstract:Social scientists are increasingly approaching the World Heritage Committee itself as an entry-point to understanding global heritage processes and phenomena. This article explores the subject of human rights in the operations of the World Heritage Committee—the decision-making body established by the 1972 UNESCO World Heritage Convention. It seeks to address the epistemological and methodological implications of approaching the World Heritage Committee as a point of departure for understanding global heritage and rights dynamics. It builds on an "event ethnography" undertaken by the authors to understand how rights discourse appeared in multiple contexts during the Thirty-Ninth World Heritage Committee session held in Bonn, Germany, in June 2015.In this article, we discuss the methodological and ontological implications of studying rights discourses in the context of World Heritage events and processes. We have a particular interest in the interplay of formal and informal dynamics, revealing the entangled and multi-sited processes that shape and are shaped by the annual event. While much of the debate and analysis in heritage studies is understandably concerned with formal decision-making processes and position-taking, this work demonstrates the significance of a range of informal dynamics in appreciating future possibilities.

AbstractOne way to understand the context of evaluation is in terms of its interaction with political culture. That culture includes citizens' views of the role of government and of evaluation and the history of the polity. This chapter illustrates the relationship of political culture and evaluation by means of two accounts of Danish political culture. The chapter also draws on this analysis to stimulate our thinking on the very idea of how context can be studied. © Wiley Periodicals, Inc., and the American Evaluation Association.

Based on experiences from two evaluation projects, the two partners in the following dialogue discuss the meaning of 'resistance' to evaluation, or more specifically, resistance to evaluation touching upon values that are central in some communities. Step by step, the dialogue identifies a tension between evaluation as a modernist undertaking and the traditional values of these communities. Through the dialogue about this tension, the 'rough ground' in evaluation is revealed, then the implications for evaluation practice are discussed.

Mill by-products such as mud, ash and mud/ash mixtures are known to increase cane and sugar yields. Traditionally, Australian growers broadcast these by-products in the fallow at rates greater than 150 t/ha. However, growers are now banding by-products at less than 100 t/ha, with few guidelines on how to maximise their returns from this practice. Eight commercial size replicated, randomised strip trials were established in bare fallows between Ingham and Proserpine to investigate the impact of by-products banded between 35 and 100 t/ha and broadcast between 140 and 200 t/ha on cane yield, CCS and grower net revenue compared to standard grower fallow practices. The trials were harvested each year over the crop cycle using a commercial harvester. Tonnes of cane harvested and mill CCS provided by the receiving sugar mill were used to calculate tonnes of cane per hectare and grower net revenue per hectare using the Australian cane payment method for each plot in a trial. The application of mud, mud/ash and ash increased cane yield with ash ≥ mud/ash >> mud. The greater the quantity of by-product applied, the greater the cane yield. Conversely, CCS decreased linearly with the quantity of mud, mud/ash, or ash applied. CCS was lowest in mud << mud/ash ≤ ash. Cumulative grower net revenue at the end of the crop cycle was greatest in ash > mud/ash >> mud and was greatest at application rates of 35–50 t/ha > 70–100 t/ha > 140–200 t/ha. Broadcasting mud at 200 t/ha resulted in the growers not recovering the cost of application. Banding by-products containing mud/ash and ash at 100 t/ha or less resulted in the grower recovering the cost of the product by the second or third ratoon. By-products applied at rates as low as 50 t/ha reduced CCS, and further research is needed to improve guidelines on nutrient and water management so that growers using these by-products can maximize their profitability.

AbstractShould the public sector become more like the private sector? This is a key question in debates about public management. However, the public/private distinction includes many elements. Two of these are ownership and competition. These aspects are not always sorted out empirically. Another challenge is that dissimilar functional areas are studied which makes it difficult to isolate effects of privatization as such. We respond to these challenges by carrying out an empirical analysis of job satisfaction among teachers who teach Danish to immigrants. The teachers work in comparable schools, carry out the same task, and are subject to the same performance management system, but some of the schools are public, some are private, and some have been subject to competitive tendering. We demonstrate that competition has a greater impact than ownership upon job satisfaction. We also show that one of the key mechanisms which translate competition into reduced job satisfaction relates to changing relations between managers and employees. Advocates and opponents of privatization alike should pay more attention to specific aspects and mechanisms related to privatization, in particular the element of competition.