Describes an automated interlibrary loan request routing and referral system made available to U.S. biomedical libraries by the National Library of Medicine. The description covers the databases used and the systems modules that support various functions. The current status of the system and possible future developments are discussed. (six…

The longitudinal evaluation component of the Dutch National Education Priority Programme is discussed. This general policy program focuses on reducing all education arrears based on ascriptive criteria. The evaluation design includes the longitudinal cohort studies and a number of specific projects within the compensatory education program. (TJH)

Discusses the National Research and Education Network (NREN) and the National Science Foundation Network (NSFNET), and the role that interagency cooperation and government-industry cooperation have played in their formation. The role of the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology (FCCSET) and future plans are also…

Reviews the work of the Scottish Vocational Educational Council (SCOTVEC) since 1984: development of a national certification system for vocational education based on unit credits; and replacement of centrally devised syllabuses by a flexible curricular framework decentralized to secondary schools and community education centers and monitored by…

Norwegian participation in the JITOL (Just in Time Open Learning) professional training project provided experience with electronic networks and distribution of learning material. A national project, NITOL (Norwaynet with Information Technology for Open Learning), was established that applies JITOL to higher education. Four Norwegian universities…

Includes "Difficult Metamorphosis of the Social 'Models' of the Nordic Countries" (Goetschy); "Swedish Training System" (Ottersten); "Features of Vocational Education in Finland" (Kyro); "Boom in Apprenticeship Training in Finland" (Vartiainen); "Vocational Training in Austria" (Riemer);…

Examines the ending of reform efforts in the former Soviet Union immediately prior to the establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Indicates that inadequate facilities and resources, lack of trained personnel, promotion on noneducational grounds, economic hardship, and bureaucratic resistance hindered these reforms. (15 references)…

Discusses information issues from the Caribbean perspective including the benefits of national information infrastructures (NIIs), developmental uses of telecommunication and information science, the need for global telecommunication policies, and collaboration of international governments. Reports on creating NIIs and reviews the need for…

Calls for new priorities in U.S. federal government that focus on children and deemphasize military spending. All government efforts to improve education will be worthless unless more attention and funding is devoted to children's readiness to learn. (LB)

Discussion of the evolution of a postindustrial, knowledge-based society addresses the importance of intellectual power and information technology as strategic resources, communications technology, development of the National Research and Education Network (NREN), the need for creative software applications, implications of advanced information…

Children have been casualties of decades of social deterioration in the Soviet Union. The Soviet Children's Fund has made progress in developing diversified forms of foster care and has enlisted both public and government support of programs to protect children. (BC)

Emphasizes link between objectives and quantified outcomes of rural support programs. Synthesizes a hierarchy of objectives based on the state aims of the 40 public institutions active in rural areas in England and Wales and programs they operated in financial year 1987-88. Describes allocation of financial resources between various objectives,…

The 1992-93 directory of programs for children and adults with deaf-blindness lists (1) 27 state or multistate programs; (2) the national headquarters and the 10 regional offices of the Helen Keller National Center for Deaf Blind Youth and Adults; and (3) seven programs for training teachers of deaf blind students. (DB)

Discusses France's 1989 New Policy for Education (NPE), which identifies three ways of preventing academic failure: school policies stressing family involvement and instructional continuity; reorganization of primary education into three training cycles; and assessment of student competencies. Considers NPE's position on knowledge development.…

Examines the involvement of public and village libraries in literacy and postliteracy programs in Africa south of the Sahara during the last two decades. Issues discussed include the extent of illiteracy in Black Africa, populations served by village libraries, African rural strategies of development, and the implications for library services. (44…