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AbstractThis chapter describes two projects and develops from them a set of five factors that facilitate multicultural validity. The chapter also includes a discussion of some limitations of these case examples and suggestions for further testing and refinement of multicultural validity in the more general context of validity within the evaluation field.

AbstractThis chapter explores one particular interdisciplinary graduate evaluation course, discussing its content, products, strengths, and weaknesses.

AbstractWe expect to need heightened cultural sensitivity in designing international evaluations, but we may actually need to work harder at recognizing cultural variations in domestic evaluations, because we often are blind to cultural effects in our own familiar domestic settings.

AbstractIs it ethical to select clients at random for a beneficial social service, then deny the benefits to a control group for the sake of science?

This study examines the randomization process in twelve different social reform projects in the fields of health, education, and law. All of the programs used the same type of evaluation plan: a true experimental design involving randomization of clients to treat ment and control conditions. The implementation of this plan is discussed for each project. In addition, the projects are analyzed in terms of five aspects of the assignment process. The relationships between these aspects and the successful or unsuccessful implementations of the twelve evaluation designs are discussed. Finally, recommenda tions are made about issues which should be considered by program administrators and researchers before planning and implementing a true experimental evaluation.

AbstractA response to the American Evaluation Association Guiding Principles from the perspective of evaluators working in settings outside the United States is presented here.

Citizen dispute processing programs are becoming more common in the United States as an alternative to expensive, time-consuming litigation in court. Although no empirical evidence has been presented to date on the effectiveness of this type of mediation program, policy makers are calling for an increase in the number of such programs. This article reports on the results of an outcome evaluation of the Orange County (Florida) Bar Association's Citizen Dispute Settlement Project. The results indicate that complainants, respondents, and hearing officers are generally very satisfied with the hearings. In a three-week follow-up, complainant satisfaction increased, while respondent satisfaction stayed at the original high level. A quasi-experimental comparison of hearing and no- hearing groups of disputants indicated that mediation programs of this type may not be particularly effective for long-term solutions of underlying problems. The implications of these results are discussed for public policy-making and for theoretical refinement of the mediation concept.