Virtual education is moving into that intersection where rising popularity meets calls for greater accountability. How the virtual education movement responds to those calls will have a significant impact on how it evolves in K-12 over the next five to 10 years. This report tackles this shift in the virtual education landscape. It examines the…

This study examines the content of press releases from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Science and Technology Centers (STCs) to determine how public information officers (PIOs) presented the outcomes of centers to journalists and the public. A total of 68 press releases were analyzed for type of news covered, visibility of centers and their…

Pamela Moran, superintendent of Albemarle County (Virginia) public schools, sees ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) as a once-in-a-lifetime chance. "I don't think that in the history of public schools--certainly since I entered them in the 1970s--there has been an opportunity such as this," she says. "The last time there…

The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) is the national indicator of customer evaluations of the quality of goods and services available to U.S. residents. Since 1994, it has served as a uniform, cross-industry/government measure of customer satisfaction. A total of 10 groups, composed of eight program offices, EDFacts Coordinators, and…

Technological study is the driving force of our military-industrial society. Millions of dollars are appropriated for projects such as the space shuttle, breeder reactors, and Trident submarines whose merits are questionable. Most programs seem only to perpetuate the agencies involved. Informed citizens are needed to change priorities. (MR)

If the resort city of Anaheim, California, home of Disneyland and its "imagineers," marked a departure from the urban reality of the typical American Library Association (ALA) annual conference, it was impossible, at this 2008 meeting, to avoid urgent library issues. How do libraries maintain their value and cultural presence as users…

American Enterprise Institute (AEI) has launched a study exploring the role the United States government should play in industrial science and technology policy. Highlights various aspects of the study and provides a list of fundamental questions the AEI science policy agenda has raised. (JN)

Researchers have begun tracking a group of high ability high school students from high school into college study. These students indicated an interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) content areas, and specifically ocean sciences, through participation in a regional or national academic competition in high school--The…

In recent years, the National Council on Disability (NCD) Progress Report has been a retrospective review and analysis of Federal programs for people with disabilities. For this Progress Report, NCD members have chosen to depart from a retrospective approach, and, instead, will focus on the current status of the quality of life of people with…

Described is the Research Applied to National Needs (RANN) program of the National Science Foundation, a program of problem-oriented research, both applied and basic, in search of knowledge for solutions to societal problems. Four divisions are encompassed: advanced technology applications, environmental systems and resources, social systems and…

The report discusses findings and policy options of a study of technologies for handicapped individuals. An introductory section reviews definitions and demographic aspects of disabilities. Disability-related research and development is addressed in terms of the federal role and private sector involvement. Evaluation of technologies is said to be…

The text of an interview with Erich Bloch, National Science Foundation (NSF) director, is provided. Among the topics/issues explored are NSF's role in policy research, mission and goals of NSF, establishment of NSF Engineering Research Centers, and national security issues involving access to supercomputers in universities that NSF is funding. (JN)

This directory brings together in one volume an index of the programs, resources, and contact points at the federal level which can be drawn on in achieving transfer of technology and knowledge. The document shows the extent to which federal commitment has brought results of research and development investment to effective application throughout…

Reports the results of a three-day workshop sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. Social and physical scientists discussed some of the broad questions regarding the role of science and technology in national goals. (Author/TS)

In-house and extramural research being conducted under the Federal Interagency Energy/Environment Research and Development Program was described at the recent National Conference on Health, Environmental Effects, and Control Technology on Energy Use. Programs to develop control technology and survey health and ecological effects are now underway.…