Discusses processes involved in development, operation, and utilization of bibliographic databases--design, data collection, processing, access, and use--and assesses their relevance to developing countries. Utilization of other countries' databases, use of services of organizatons in other countries, and participation in a cooperative system are…

Reports the results of a survey designed by the Council of Chief State School Officers that provides an overview of geography instruction in U.S. public schools. Suggests that the high response rate indicates strong interest in geography instruction. Finds a great need for state and district level workshop training. (KO)

Government and private agencies in Alberta, Canada, have voluntarily joined to establish the Alberta Disability Database, to bring statistical order out of the numerical chaos of disability data. This paper discusses the program's financing, confidentiality, definitions, access, archiving, consultation, and coordination. (JDD)

This article presents the concept of knowledge discovery, a process of searching for associations in large volumes of computer data, as an aid to creativity. It then discusses the various techniques in knowledge discovery. Mednick's associative theory of creative thought serves as the theoretical foundation for this research. (Contains…

This paper discusses the role that the Office of Institutional Research and Strategic Planning played in providing data support, planning, and cohesiveness as Utah Valley Community College worked to become Utah Valley State College. The two tier model adopted at Utah Valley State College aspires to describe a cost-effective four-year college with…

Pupil files are accumulating increasing amounts of sensitive data. Yet parents have been barred from seeing their children's files while law enforcement officials and other public agencies have been given virtually free access. However, a national law in regard to student records is a real possibility. (Author/WM)

Guidelines for evaluating the public relations activities of nonprofit organizations are presented. Evaluation methods frequently include one of three major forms: (1) comprehensive audit conducted by a new staff member or an outside consultant; (2) regularly scheduled administrative review; or (3) short-term review following every activity. The…

Evaluability assessment is a descriptive and analytic process intended to produce a reasoned basis for proceeding with an evaluation of use to both management and policymakers. It was jointly developed by the members of the program evaluation group of the Urban Institute between 1968 and 1978. The approach begins by obtaining management's…

Diversion projects in California (Los Angeles and Orange Counties) were monitored using client tracking, a simple and basic evaluation procedure. Client tracking was used to provide information about three points in the diversion process: referral to the project, service delivery, and the outcome of the diversion services. The data provided an…

Eighty-six persons representing vocational education, the Employment Service, the Labor Department, and community colleges attended the conference designed to develop an understanding of the cooperative planning and techniques needed to conduct manpower surveys and to analyze and implement their findings. The conference, coordinated by the Labor…

In the process of planning for the needs of all students, local school officials could use a linear planning guide. Such a procedure calls for moving through several phases: preparation for planning, analysis of the situation, development of alternatives, selection of a plan, implementation of the plan, and evaluation of the plan and of the…

Dealing with the organization and activities of one section of the International Biological Programme (IBP), the Conservation Section (CT - Conservation of Terrestrial Communities), this handbook provides an overview of one scientific effort within the worldwide conservation movement. Requirements for a World Conservation Program are described to…

The article examines: (1) the relationship between group membership and the production of knowledge; (2) comparative versus non-comparative research; and (3) the structure of data interpretation for Afro-Americans versus Euro-Americans. At issue is the lack of blacks involved in the National Research Council's study of blacks. (PS)

The National Research Council's study on the status of black Americans risks enhancing negative policy attitudes towards the black community for the following reasons: (1) its perspective, choice of explanatory variables, and analysis will reflect a majority perspective and conservative viewpoint; (2) it lacks focus; and (3) it is concerned with…

This report describes s a study that examined how seven groups in Edmonton, Alberta, used a community development model called Community Capacity Building and Asset Mapping. The first three sections discuss the model's development and purpose and the methodology used to examine its application in community planning. Presented next are the results…