ERIC Number: EJ1108492
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016-Sep
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1098-2140
EISSN: N/A
Impartiality and Hierarchical Evaluations in the Japanese Development Aid Community
Maemura, Yu
American Journal of Evaluation, v37 n3 p408-424 Sep 2016
This article presents a discourse analytic study of how the concept of impartiality is socially constructed by members of the development aid community through an examination of linguistic traits and patterns within (a) inter- and intraorganizational interactions and (b) relevant aid evaluation policy documents. A qualitative analysis of unstructured and semistructured interviews with development professionals in Japan and a content analysis of relevant evaluation policies and documents have revealed observable evidence of distinct institutional practices of impartiality via project evaluations. Most notably, in contrast to a notion of evaluator impartiality that is strengthened through the principle of independence, development professionals in Japan perceive evaluations ("hyouka") to be a fundamentally hierarchical construct in which evaluator impartiality can be strengthened or legitimized through authoritative or hierarchical means.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Discourse Analysis, Economic Development, Financial Support, Language Patterns, Organizational Communication, Qualitative Research, Interviews, Content Analysis, Policy, Program Evaluation, Justice, Evaluators, Professional Personnel, Semi Structured Interviews
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Japan
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A