This brief summarizes a study by the Community College Research Center (CCRC) of community college management practices that promote student success. This study addresses the limitations of previous research on the effectiveness of undergraduate institutions in several ways. It takes advantage of a rich set of longitudinal student unit record data…

Discusses the competence and productivity of American labor which the author ascribes to the effectiveness of training. (EK)

Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) offenders (N=151) identified as alcoholics were coerced to seek treatment for their alcoholism. A follow-up study six months later revealed that these coerced alcoholics did no better or no worse than other alcoholics entering treatment without coercion. (Author/RC)

Didactic group parent training and parent-child interaction training were compared for effectiveness. Children (N=29) were divided into three groups, i.e., one control and the two training techniques. After five sessions, therapist observations revealed improvement in the mothers' facilitative behaviors for those mothers participating in the…

A study of college fund-raising effectiveness involved two stages: to determine the fund-raising potential for each of 200 sample institutions, and to compare fund-raising techniques and policies between overproductive and underproductive colleges. (MLW)

The author was a member of the national advisory group designated to advise England's Secretary of State on results of the comparative study of selective and nonselective secondary schools. Here he reviews this study, published in 1980 as "Progress in Secondary Schools" and discusses some criticisms of it. (Editor/SJL)

A comparison of the Unified Sciences and Mathematics for Elementary Schools (USMES) program with eight major goals for social studies identified in 1971 by the National Council for the Social Studies. USMES is weak in knowledge of a wider world, but is strong in real problem solving, cooperative efforts, and community involvement. (Author/AV)

Students enrolled in a first-year seminar were paired with a matched comparison group, and retention of the 1,853 students in the two groups was compared over a period of 4 years. Results indicated significantly greater retention over a period of 4 years for students enrolled in the seminar. (EV)

A short-term cognitive mediation training intervention program designed to alter the social-cognitive basis for aggressive behavior of adolescent aggression offenders was found to increase social problem-solving skills, reduce endorsement of beliefs supporting aggression, and reduce aggressive, impulsive, and inflexible behavior. (RH)

A comparison of the experiences of 683 surgery students taking preceptorships in community hospitals and 696 taking only university-based rotations found no significant differences in individual characteristics, academic performance, choice of specialty for the first postgraduate year, or program director evaluations. The preceptorships were…

Explores similarities and differences between online education and more traditional methods of distance education. Delineates philosophical foundations of the CyberEd program (at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth) and the attempts made to implement those principles within the constraints of Internet technology. Presents anecdotal examples…

Relapse prevention remains a major challenge to smoking cessation efforts. T. H. Brandon, B. N. Collins, L. M. Juliano, and A. B. Lazev (2000) found that a series of 8 empirically based relapse-prevention booklets mailed to ex-smokers over 1 year significantly reduced relapse. This study dismantled 2 components of that intervention: the amount of…

The authors present results of a randomized clinical trial of the efficacy of extended treatment with bupropion SR in producing longer term cigarette smoking cessation. Adult smokers (N = 362) received open-label treatment (11 weeks) that combined relapse prevention training, bupropion SR, and nicotine patch followed by extended treatment (14…

Given the current childhood obesity epidemic, it is especially important to find effective ways to promote healthful foods to children. School public address (PA) systems represent an inexpensive and a replicable way of reaching children with health messages. To test the effectiveness of this channel, messages were created to promote 2 dried bean…

In this study, the authors employed a novel, dual approach toward the delivery of course material to assess students' satisfaction with distance learning and their perceptions of its efficacy. Students in two sections of an Introduction to Financial Accounting course received instruction that alternated between traditional, live lectures and live…