Abstract: This paper attempts to operationalize the concept of a foreign policy system and to test the utility of one path to empirically oriented theory: The approach is designated “structured empiricism.” The research design incorporates some of the recent innovations in political science—the concept of system, the distinction between operational and psychological environment, the notion of issue-area and the attitudinal prism or lens through which decision makers' images are filtered. The focus is on one of the most significant Israeli foreign policy decision clusters—German Reparations 1950–2. Following the designation of the decision-making group, the dissection of their psychological environment, and the analysis of the decision-making process, the critical dimension of feedback is examined. The decision flow and feedback flow illustrate the dynamic character of a foreign policy system in action. Finally, a selection of hypotheses on the behavior of decision makers is tested, and the findings summarized.

Abstract: Health planning theory has failed to operationalize the concept of rationality into terms useful for theory building. The concept of rationality has also generally not been translated into a useful tool for the health planning practitioner. In order to decrease the mystique associated with rationality and to aid in refinement of the concept, four attributes of health planning rationality are proposed: (1) Health planning rationality is “bounded” due to the magnitude of problems and man's limited problem-solving abilities; (2) Health planning rationality has multiple dimensions (technical, social, legal, political and economic); (3) The multiple dimensions of health planning rationality interact as complements and substitutes; and (4) Health planning rationality may be conceived of as the exposure of problems to cognitive processes.

Abstract: THIS exploratory research seeks to develop and operationalize role perceptions of politicians vis-a-vis public administrators for an increased understanding of the public policy process. The traditional concept, the fact/value dichotomy, that politicians formulate public policy while administrators implement it, is of course realistically untenable, for empirically the roles of both overlap and to some extent coincide. The Weberian notion of a policy neutral administrative function is invalid when we view the overall political process. Even if it were not, the perceptions each has of the other would help determine the policy function. Thus, the values, attitudes or perceptions that each holds of the other and toward their interaction can have important implications for their relationships to policy. However, while substantial evidence has been gathered on the attitudes and perceptions of politicans on the one hand and public administrators on the other, little systematic empirical knowledge exists on their matched perceptions of each other and perceived roles and priorities in the policy process. Previous studies dealing with administrators per se have found attributes such as a drive for autonomy and security, rigidity, rule obeisance, empire building, and attitudes ranging from ambiguity to hostility toward politicans.' Eldersveld suggests that political leaders differ from bureaucrats in these attributes, which he suggests include (in the latter) strict devotion to rules and regulations, discipline and sanctions, precise allocation of obligations, duties, and roles, and depersonalized human relations; whereas the politican is involved in a "stratarchy or reciprocal reference structure." Kirkpatrick believes that politicians are more incrementalistic in their decision-making approach to policy,3 and Meller also writes that administrators are more long-range policy oriented while politicians are more concerned with specific short-range results.4 Other studies have asserted that the roles of public administrators and elected politicans lead to mutual conflict and hostility and that there is an underlying current of non-cooperation between administrative and political leadership which has been increasing in recent years and may yet result in "open defiance.""5

Abstract: An effort to develop a classification of various kinds of disadvantegement is aimed at the efficiency that can be gained by providing only those services to those clients who can use them in order to increase their chances of successful placement. The report details some of the elements of the recommended approach: analysis of manpower situations in terms of inputs to clients and process objectives; identification of those client, responses which delay or preclude achievement of those objectives; and construction of a classification of strategies for dealing with such "ineffective" responses so as to facilitate goal attainment. The proposed classification scheme is illustrated, and its potential for efficiency of service and staff accountability for goal achievement is discussed. Finally, the report discusses cha'racteristics of an organizational structure for manpower agencies necessary for implementation of the scheme, and the research questions which must be answered to operationalize the system. (Author) "S ISEP:.RTMENT OF HEALTH EDUCATION WELFARE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF COLIC/. TON

Abstract: I HERE have been more attempts at fostering change in education during the past decade than have occurred in the past century. Ask any superintendent, principal, or teacher, and he or she can reel off the many changes in the school district with great enthusiasm. Unfortunately, most of the changes have been concerned with alter ing organization and/or methodological styles, with little concern given to the critical variable the people implementing the inno vation. Although our intentions have been admirable, all too often the change has not affected the learning of children our entire purpose for existence. The impetus behind these changes has stemmed from public dissatisfaction as par ents feel they are paying more and getting less in return. Consequently, legislatures, school boards, and concerned parents are bringing pressure to bear on the schools for improvement not just change. The leader ship, reacting to this pressure, has instituted a multitude of changes in program, structure, and methodology, with little difference in the public perceptions of schools. The failure of such changes rests not in the merit of their content, but rather in the process used to implement them, particularly the absence of concern for motivating the people charged with the responsibility for making them work. Leadership is a process, and it is the conten tion of the authors that the process or haw of change is as important as the content or what of change, if not more so. It is the purpose of this article to offer a process for motivating people for change based upon specific strategies. In essence, this article attempts to operationalize the vast amount of theory and rhetoric concerning group process, involvement, and decision making. It is not a "fail-safe" process for all people; it is a strategy found successful by the authors in effectively improving services to children. The strategy or process to motivate staff members can be illustrated by the model shown in Figure 1.

Abstract: ONE difficulty encountered by nurses is that of developing a theoretical framework upon which nursing can be based. A concomitant problem is operationalizing the theoretical model. This paper describes how one college programme dealt with the problem. As explained by Schumacher the programme assumed a core of nursing applicable to all clinical areas. The goal was to recognize relationships among general concepts of the phenomenal field, specific concepts within a phenomenal field, and the symptoms of illness (l). How could learning experiences be provided that would result in concept learning and recognition of relationships among concepts? Bruner states: Jerome S. Bruner. The Process of Education" To learn structure, in short is to learn how things are related. Grasping the structure of a subject is understanding it in a way that permits many other things to be related to it meaningfully (2). The Webster dictionary defines structure as the arrangement of parts or elements; it defines concept as a mental image or impression of an object, person or event, an abstract notion (3). If the learner was provided with experiences representing a variety of parts (structure) of an abstract notion (concept), then relationships should be recognized among general concepts of the phenomenal field and specific concepts within that field. This became the rationale for the organization of nursing courses.

Abstract: In this study of 318 school teachers and 395 hospital employed nurses, commitment to profession or organization is operationalized as the willingness to leave each system when offered slight increases in pay, status, job freedom, and friendliness of co-workers Contrary to previous research by Ritzer and Trice, study results lend support to the concept of "side-bets" as a structural phenomenon important in understanding individuals' commitments to organization or occupation

Abstract: The concept of commitment has received ever-increasing attention from social scientists during the past fifteen years. Its usage occurs in several seemingly disjoint problem areas, but it is typically introduced when available explanations fail to describe the tendency for individuals to persist on a given course of action, once started, without obvious motive for doing so. Until recently its theoretical status has been as a primitive term, often appearing in ad hoc explanations, and accepted without question. In sociology, the first major query into the nature of commitment was Howard Becker's “Notes on the Concept of Commitment” (1960), a particularly influential article in stimulating research on commitment. However, most subsequent empirical work has dealt with the correlates and effects of commitment rather than with its genesis. Regrettably, what was once a problem in ad hoc theorizing has come to be matched by ad hoc operationalization of the concept. The present paper is a response to a perceived need for a formal model of commitment whose features might make the concept amenable to uniform theoretical and empirical usage.