3.6 Collecting and interpreting data In many projects it can be difficult to make comparisons with anything similar. However, there may be quality standards that can be used for one of more of the outcomes, perhaps alongside different targets for time-scales and resource use. Benchmarks are another possible source of comparative data; they have been established for many processes, and data are available from industry, sector and professional support bodies. 3.4 Evaluation at the end of a project Different types of evaluation may take place at the end of a project. A common one is determining the extent to which the project outcomes have been achieved. This is often done in a meeting of the sponsor, key stakeholders and project team leaders, and sometimes informed by reports from key perspectives. An evaluation of this nature may be the final stage of the project, and the main purpose might be to ensure that the project has met all of the contracted expectations and can be ‘signed o 3.3 Evaluation during implementation of a project At this stage the project activities are monitored to determine how their timing, quality and cost match the plan. The results of this monitoring are reviewed to see whether the plan needs to be modified. New environmental conditions may indicate the need to change the organisation's strategic direction. It might be necessary in that case to re-align the project, so that the outcomes relate to the new direction. In some cases it may be necessary to abort the project, if it is no longer approp 3.1 Evaluation while developing the vision A project is often shaped through discussion among those developing the vision and direction of the project. They may agree in general terms about what is to be achieved, but have to make a number of choices before deciding how to proceed. It may be important to allow time for different views to be heard and considered, and for attitudes to change and – hopefully – converge. 3.3 Task breakdown chart The task breakdown technique is a very logical approach to identifying the tasks involved in a project. Some people may find it suits them better than using mind maps; other people may find the techniques complement each other. To do a task breakdown chart, first draw a box at the top of a page with the project title inside it. Then mentally identify the main elements that go to make up the project as shown below. Introduction This course examines life stories. It looks at the way in which objects, trends, cultures or disabilities may contribute to a person's identity. This course also considers the contribution that our own life stories make to who we are, and how remembering and revisiting our past may help us to move forward with our lives. This OpenLearn course provides a sample of Level 1 study in Author(s): Introduction The course explores what it means to become a critical social work practitioner by using a series of activities and readings to guide you through some new and important concepts. An understanding of ‘critical perspectives’ will help you take a positive and constructive approach to the challenging problems that arise in social work practice. You will be introduced to a critical understanding of the nature and boundaries of personal and professional discretion and judgement in the del 8.1 Overview Following the Scottish Parliament elections in May 2007, the balance of power and system of government in Scotland has changed significantly, giving rise to Scotland's first minority government, led by the Scottish National Party. The first three courses in this section consider issues of nationalism, political devolution and the role of nation-regions in the European Union. The final two courses consider social issues such as geographical identity and poverty in Scotland.  5.5 Science in the Scottish Enlightenment This course is concerned with science in Scotland, one of the most dynamic centres of Enlightenment thinking. Writers speak of the mid-eighteenth century as Scotland's ‘Golden Age’. In order to get a flavour of this age, it is necessary to take a very broad view of what we mean by ‘science’. Staying within the boundaries recognised by modern science faculties misses most of what is distinctive about eighteenth-century Scotland. The interconnections and cross-fertilisation between disc 4.2 John Napier For many years, John Napier (1550–1617) spent his leisure time devising means for making arithmetical calculations easier. Just why a Scots laird at the turn of the seventeenth century should have thus devoted the energies left over from the management of his estates remains a puzzle. Up to the publication of his description of logarithms in 1614, three years before his death, Napier was best known to the world for his Protestant religious treatise A plaine discovery of the whole Revelat 3.7 Finding information in science and nature This course will help you to identify and use information in Science and Nature, whether for your work, study or personal purposes. Experiment with some of the key resources in this subject area, and learn about the skills which will enable you to plan searches for information, so you can find what you are looking for more easily. Discover the meaning of information quality, and learn how to evaluate the information you come across. You will also be introduced to the many different ways of or 3.4 Forth Road Bridge This course focuses on the Forth Road Bridge that connects Edinburgh with Fife. It is a suspension bridge and continues to face a number of problems regarding its deteriorating condition. A short video illustrates some of the major structural issues facing the bridge as well as examining some of the proposed changes to the use of the bridge to help increase its lifespan. Edinburgh reaches over the Firth of Forth with two great bridges – the photogenic Victorian Forth Rail Bridge and t 3.1 Overview This section of OpenLearn Scotland introduces learners to both ancient and modern Scotland, from the geological history of the Scottish Highlands right up to the creation of the semiconductor transistor by two Scottish computer engineers and the global dimension of the Scottish oil industry. A further two courses in this section focus on famous bridges in Scotland: the first is about the Tay Bridge and the legacy of its failure on bridge building ever since; the second is about the envi References 2.1 The development of gender identity In this section we are going to look at where we come from in terms of childhood experience and the development of gender identities in childhood. Gender identity involves the construction and use of gender categories. Children's gender categories are at first rather simplistic; but, as we shall see, children refine their categories so that they become more reliable and useful for their social lives. Studying the development of gender identity in children reveals that this is a story of a sea 1.1.1 Summary Identity involves: a link between the personal and the social; some active engagement by those who take up identities; being the same as some people and different from others, as indicated by symbols and representations; a tension between how much control I have in constructing my identities and how much control or constraint is exercised over me. Keep on learning   There are more than 800 courses on OpenLearn for you to 2.1 Photographs as documentary evidence As the discussion of context makes clear, we can begin to ask many questions about the role that images may play in the social sciences. Photographs are documents and like other documentary records they are a physical trace of an actual event. However, as with all documentary evidence, their meaning is not fixed. Other examples of documents used by the social sciences can demonstrate this point. Documentary evidence can come from official records such as a marriage certificate, a census Acknowledgements This free course is an adapted extract from the course DD305 Personal lives and social policy, which is currently out of presentation. The material acknowledged below is Proprietary (see terms and conditions) This content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCom 7.2 The importance of the market and the state: neo-liberalism and neo-Marxism To begin with neo-liberalism, it is a key premise that the market is the primary means of coordinating economic activity, including the allocation of people to jobs. This assumes that rational actors make judgements about their earnings prospects to decide their best options – training to improve employability, as in Mandy's case, or accepting subsistence-level earnings, as Tamarla Owens did. To neo-liberals, both Mandy and Tamarla Owens would have used information they gleaned in their eve
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