This article provides a cross-national perspective on successful school principalship in three countries derived from an analysis of case studies in the International Successful School Principalship Project (ISSPP). The ISSPP aims to investigate the characteristics, processes and effects of successful school leadership across eight countries (i.e.…

Where the continuing professional development (CPD) process is being increasingly articulated and circumscribed by policy and central specification, the initial year of teaching may significantly shape career-long expectations of CPD. This article contrasts the early experiences of beginning secondary teachers in Scotland and Hong Kong and the…

The feasibility of centralizing current periodicals in this university library was investigated as a means of providing for greater accessibility to the periodicals, reducing theft, and improving the efficiency of technical services. Highlighted are concerns brought up by eight other academic libraries that have some type of centralized periodical…

The major objective of Project LEEDS (Library Exemplary Elementary Demonstration of Springfield) was to provide a visitation program emphasizing a demonstration of excellent service to the school district. The project had three components: (1) the library program was integrated into the educational program by providing librarians in every school,…

The lead essay in this collection, "Educating a Democracy" by Deborah Meir, rejects the idea of a centralized authority that dictates how and what teachers teach. Standardization prevents citizens from shaping their own schools, classrooms, and communities. Schools teach democratic virtues and provide much of this teaching by example.…

Considers the Aston group's contention that Weber's concept of the bureaucratic type is no longer useful. Concludes that the main variables in the Aston group's research are scalar, not vector, quantities. A number of reinterpretations of the Aston variables are presented, and the abandonment of bureaucratic type is found to be premature. The…

Adaptation of union listing of serials to displace individually constructed public records in contributing libraries is discussed. Standardization in scope, main entry, and input would be necessary. (Author/JS)

A critical examination of the assumptions underlying the selection of certain criteria in The Evaluation of Teaching Performance, Journal of Educational Administration, VII, 2, October, 1969. (JF)

This article concerns some economic concepts which shed light upon the effective and efficient use of information processing facilities" and suggests that centralized computing facilities can produce higher quality outputs than smaller organizations. (Author/AA)

Only those processing centers which serve two or more different jurisdictions" are included in this list. (Author/NH)

Surveys play an important role in many library investigations. However, certain recent trends seem to indicate that the survey method is facing growing problems. Some of these problems are discussed on the basis of the author's own experience, and measures for their solution are suggested. (Editor/JB)

Discusses how California State University's $400-million effort to centralize administrative computing has led to controversy not only over the cost, but also over pressure on individual colleges to change policies. (EV)

Analysis of data from the 1990 National Union Survey showed that organizing effectiveness of unions was enhanced by innovation and diminished by national-level centralization of power. Internal union democracy also enhanced organizing success. (SK)

Correlations between centralization and effectiveness were obtained from 26 independent samples in the organization science literature. Hypotheses were developed and statistically tested. The hypotheses that were supported are reflected in a final theory of the centralization-effectiveness relationship. (75 references) (MLF)