This guide offers a straightforward method for gathering and reporting student survey data on substance use-related problems. It will be of particular interest to program directors for AOD prevention programs on campus, or to members of a campus-based task force or campus and community coalition that is charged with assessing the need for new…

Presents arguments against most objections to merit pay programs and presents three approaches to merit programs that are based on the assumption that for every employee there is a correct salary that is externally competitive and internally equitable. (IRT)

Describes an eight-step bid-analysis procedure that includes comparing bids with specifications, listing options offered by the bidders, assigning costs to each option, and comparing the bids without desired options. Presents a sample bid-analysis chart. (RW)

This guide summarizes "Effective Programs in Elementary Mathematics: A Best-Evidence Synthesis" and "Effective Programs in Middle and High School Mathematics: A Best-Evidence Synthesis," two research reviews conducted by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Research and Reform in Education. The purpose of the reviews was to evaluate the…

This technical report and user's guide is designed to provide researchers with an overview of the design and implementation of the 2009 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), as well as with information on how to access the PISA 2009 data. This information is meant to supplement that presented in Organization for Economic Cooperation…

Three methods employed to price and sell computer equipment are discussed: computer pricing, hardware pricing, system pricing (system includes complete computer and support hardware system and relatively complete software package). Advantages of system pricing are detailed, the author's system is described, and 10 systems currently available are…

Discusses how an examination of the 1988 Presidential Debates offers important insights for debate coaches and participants, noting that weaknesses in the debates highlight debate community values. Urges debate coaches and critics of public argument to use the links between those two roles, and make more contributions to public arguments. (MM)

Compares revenues, debts, investments, and profit margins of for-profit publicly and privately owned day care centers. An evaluation tool was developed through analysis of financial statements of seven privately owned child care businesses and six publicly owned child care chains. (RJC)

Discussion of performance improvement focuses on work processes. Highlights include a definition of process; types of process steps, including operational and nonoperational; desired process characteristics, including high reliability and low variability; a comparison of two different processes; and suggestions for process improvement, including…

This general user guide to the Educational Information System for Ontario (EISO) deals with the simple logistics of acquiring material from the system. Since EISO was developed as a way for Ontario citizens to use the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) data base in the United States, a preliminary description of ERIC is provided.…

Comparison of conventional book stacks, moving aisle book stacks, and industrial storage techniques shows that the industrial technique is the least expensive to build, maintain, and operate. Characteristics of automated storage and retrieval systems are discussed, and formulas for calculating the size and costs of a library system are presented.…

Provides an overview of CD-ROM technology and local area networking focusing on NetWare Loadable Modules (NLMs) which provide network access to CD-ROMs, using Novell's NetWare operating system. The characteristics and benefits of various products and concerns in choosing one are discussed, and comparative specifications and vendors are listed.…

The effectiveness of a teacher depends on students' social, economic, cognitive, psychological characteristics; grade level; and subject area. Failure to recognize these variables can distort research findings and recommended methods for good teaching. (Author/MD)

Outlines practical searching techniques in seven core behavioral science databases accessing psychological literature: Psychological Abstracts, Social Science Citation Index, Biosis, Medline, Excerpta Medica, Sociological Abstracts, ERIC. Use of individual files is discussed and their relative strengths/weaknesses are compared. Appended is a list…

Discusses and differentiates between four commercially available versions of the online source of chemistry information, "Chemical Abstracts": Lockheed, SDC, BRS, and NLM. Disadvantages/advantages of the vendors are considered, and tables are used to show the different print formats and data elements of each version. (JD)