MAJOR PROBLEMS IN VOCATIONAL EDUCATION RELATING TO PERSONNEL, CURRICULUM, STUDENTS, OPERATING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES, AND FINANCING WERE STUDIED BY 20 REPRESENTATIVES FROM EDUCATION, INDUSTRY, AND STATE AGENCIES AT A REGIONAL CONFERENCE. CONFERENCE OBJECTIVES WERE TO (1) IDENTIFY URGENT PROBLEMS IN VOCATIONAL EDUCATION, (2) SUGGEST FEASIBLE…

Problems in the usefulness of current financial assessment methods are examined and specific suggestions are made for assessment methodology and validation procedures. Expert ratings, if improved, could be a meaningful validation criterion. Self-assessment, while useful for individual schools, is not as useful for multiple institutions as…

Describes problems in Middle Eastern studies, focusing on: (1) the problem of access for students and faculty conducting research due to countries being completely closed or highly restrictive; (2) declines in Middle Eastern and American corporate donations to language and area studies as oil prices decrease; and (3) the difficulties inherent in…

Reviews the state of South Asian studies in American universities. Focuses on language instruction, a trend toward specialization in particular countries or regions, and the decline of popular interest in South Asia. Reports on the need for new funding to replace the Federal Program, PL 480, whose excess currency fund of rupees is almost…

The author addresses five issues important to the development of cross-cultural research in arts education: the state of such research; its potential utilities; kinds of topics which might be studied; potential problems in conceptualizing, implementing, and interpreting such research; and the prospects for cross-cultural research in arts…

The variety of languages spoken in Southeast Asia complicates the promotion of Southeast Asian studies in American universities. Increased funding for language study abroad and more intensive summer language programs might lessen the problem. Other problems are limited access to field research and the issue of the humanities' role in Southeast…

Describes current funding problems in the field of Russian and East European studies. Focuses on the needs of younger scholars, who face a shortage of academic positions, and the research institutes, which are hard pressed to develop offerings of many of the Eastern European languages. (KH)

Several problems in reporting and presentation of Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS) data that might affect data comparability are outlined and recommendations of a HEGIS study group are presented. Suggestions range from increased institutional involvement and increased feedback to institutions, to improvements in data storage and…

Describes some of the basic types and patterns of social constraints on intergroup relations research; the essay is organized into four broad patterns of constraints: (1) theoretical, ideological and professional; (2) occupational and situational; (3) governmental, institutional and monetary; and, (4) positive constraints. (Author/JM)

Paul Ciotti's monograph "Money and School Performance" exposing the "desegregation debacle" in Kansas City (Missouri) Public Schools is an improperly aimed salvo in the "money matters" debate. Actually, money should not be thrown at politically dysfunctional schools with incompetent teachers, administrators, and board…

Presents marketing as a form of comprehensive planning and considers its value. Stresses the difficulty of obtaining data about the external environment and the probability that external group demands will conflict among themselves and with legislative preferences. Questions the ability of colleges to expand in the face of fiscal restraints. (DD)

This first of three articles in a symposium on the research effort of the International Association of the Evaluation of Educational Achievement is an historical portrait of the IEA studies providing insights concerning the methodological and political aspects of a large-scale, multinational research project. (Editor/SJL)

Summarizes a National Research Council report indicating that the Department of Energy (DOE) underfunds basic, exploratory scientific research. Presents a matrix to provide DOE with perspectives for assessing the potential impact of chemistry-focused, basic, long-range, and pioneering research on various energy technology areas. (Author/SK)

To comply with federal law, the Institutional Review Board at the University of Texas Health Science Center is charged with the review of protocol involving human subjects in research. Documentation indicates that the cost of operating the review board and complying with additional federal regulations is a heavy financial burden. (Author/JMD)

This report, addressed to graduate students who intend to enter into field research in inner-city settings, details some of the personnel and community relations problems and logistical and financial challenges encountered by a research team, which undertook an evaluation of early education programs, basic research on child development, and social…