A procedure was developed for gathering objective data on specific reading behaviors, to assist multidisciplinary teams in comparing the effectiveness of large and regular print for low-vision students. Case studies of six elementary-aged students with low vision found that the procedure was useful in making decisions concerning print size.…

Describes the Public Library Effectiveness Study (PLES), which was designed to apply models and methods of organizational effectiveness research to public libraries. Indicators of public library effectiveness are described, factor analysis results are presented, implications for evaluating library performance are discussed, and further research is…

Discussion of the role of instructional technology in education focuses on a futures study that was conducted to investigate possible technology futures for Australian secondary education. The Delphi panel used is described, and it is reported that microcomputers, computer-assisted instruction, and databases were thought to have the most…

Description of a Canadian research and development project that involved the development of a library information system which would satisfy the needs of a variety of libraries focuses on the technological aspects of the system. Data manipulation is discussed, software is described, standards are considered, and customer requirements are examined.…

Describes the results of three surveys that were conducted in 1982 and 1986 to determine the availability and use of microcomputers in public schools in Texas and Pennsylvania. Library use of microcomputers is examined as well as classroom use, trends are examined, and hypotheses for a planned future study are given. (17 references) (LRW)

Describes a study in the United Kingdom that explored children's comprehension of television police dramas and the impact of the television shows on their perceptions of the police. Relationships between television viewing and beliefs about crime are discussed, and treatments for the experimental and control groups of children aged 10 to 16 years…

Reviews "The American Indian: A Multimedia Encyclopedia," Version 1.0 (New York, Facts on File, Inc., 1993). This electronic product (compact disk) presents a great amount of material on American Indians from various formats, but its effectiveness is limited by the dated nature of some materials. Software design and searching features are…

Describes a study conducted at Del Mar College (Texas) to provide the college with baseline data on its nonreturnees and to test the feasibility of gathering interview information over the phone. Defines relevant terms, outlines the data-gathering process, and presents study findings and recommendations regarding data collection and the focus of…

Describes an experiment comparing the performance of an automatic full-text indexing software for personal computers (i.e., the Quick-Finder facility in WordPerfect 6.1 for Windows) with the human intellectual assignment of indexing terms to each document in a collection. Results are discussed in terms of ease of use, the time factor, and recall…

This study investigated the predictive relationship between student attitudes and their subsequent achievement in a freshman composition course. Results indicated that academic background and student attitudes were significantly correlated with subsequent grade performance. Attitude variables were more closely related to overall grade performance…

Describes services offered at the Dag Hammarskjold Library at the United Nations (UN). Highlights include adopting new technology for a virtual library; the international law collection which is now accessible through the World Wide Web; UN depository libraries; material available on the Internet; the Optical Disk System, a storage/retrieval…

Describes two studies that investigated the impact of three features of educational software (aggressive distracters, competition, and underrepresentation of female characters) on girls' attitudes toward software. Results of studies with sixth- and and seventh-grade female mathematics students are discussed based on the Computer Game Attitude…

Discusses knowledge organization tools in the context of seven challenges facing library classification systems. Highlights include revisions to the Dewey Decimal Classification, the Windows-based CD-ROM version of Dewey, support for machine-assisted classification, multilingual use of Dewey, use of Dewey as a general knowledge organization and…

Describes Project Performing Arts Teaching Resources Online (PATRON) that was designed at the University of Surrey (United Kingdom) to deliver digital audio, video, music scores and dance notation across a high speed network to the desktop. Conversion, scanned images, system components, user interface, and user reactions are discussed. (Author/LRW)

Describes a program that introduces students to hands-on, minds-on science and provides an opportunity to work on a project with a scientist-collaborator who uses their data in ongoing research. Introduces students to the rigors of science through the focus on data quality. Contains 21 references. (DDR)