The science and technology advisor to the President of the United States presents the challenges facing Americans today in the fields of science and technology. The major topics focused on are people and development, agriculture, biomass and bioconversion, and regulation. (SA)

Academics in both the industrial world and developing countries face funding declines, growing state intervention, public hostility, and corporate pressure. Simultaneously, they are experiencing internal wars over policy, curriculum, and nature of scholarly communities. In North America debates about academic freedom center on tenure and free…

Donors to higher education in Sub-Saharan Africa have urged universities to undertake strategic planning, including restructuring of relationships with government. Such plans must have a different structure and focus than traditional strategic plans, and include determination of academic priorities and leadership. It is important for African…

Analyzes institutional responses to homelessness among children and youth in the United States and Brazil as a means of understanding the workings of the neoliberal state, both in developing and developed nations. Highlights a major contradiction of neoliberalism--its promotion of symbolic political and social inclusion, while simultaneously…

Considers the nature of rurality as a social construct and implications for policymakers considering lifelong education in developed economies of the world. Discussion focuses on three key questions: (1) what is rurality?; (2) what effect has rurality on cultural identity; and (3) what are rural and urban young people's perceptions of formal…

Examines literacy campaigns from a literacy educator's viewpoint. Stresses that misassumptions, inaccurate definitions, misused statistics, unrealistic goals, and the failure to listen to literacy students themselves have resulted in frustrated policies. Suggests 10 theses for improving literacy policy in both developed and developing nations.…

Describes two research projects in the United Kingdom to illustrate a social systems approach to the evaluation of computer-based information systems which encompasses organizational, social, and political factors. The relevance of this research to a developing country context is discussed and implications are drawn for research, education, and…

Investigates Japanese efforts to enter a new phase of its postwar technological period with a focus on internationalization of its economy and industry. Analyzes which technologies will dominate the early 21st century and their relationships to each other. (MVL)

Describes the development of centralized library networks and the current factors that make library sharing on a smaller scale feasible. The discussion covers the need to decide the level at which library cooperation should occur and the possibility of linking via the Open System Interface Reference Model. (37 references) (CLB)

Examines the differences in the characteristics of developing and developed countries, the technological framework and projections of economic growth of developing countries, and the features of the engineering educational systems of developing countries. Discusses the compatibility of socially relevant engineering education with that of…

Discusses the so-called third industrial revolution, or the information revolution. Topics addressed include the progression of the revolution in the U.S. economy, in Europe, and in Third World countries; the empowering technologies, including digital switches, optical fiber, semiconductors, CD-ROM, networks, and combining technologies; and future…

Discusses the psychological acculturation of young visible immigrants in Western industrialized countries, examining the psychosocial milieu that parents and society provide them, and the inability to assimilate or acculturate. "Visible" immigrant is a value neutral term for nonwhite or non-Caucasian immigrants. (SLD)

Responses from college students in differing cultural settings contradicted modernization theory (MT). Contrary to MT, education held less importance as a social institution. American society highly valued religion with the reverse holding true in the two Chinese societies. MT tests with cross-cultural data should always consider cultural…

The higher proportion of private school enrollments in developing countries appears to stem from limited public spending, creating excess demand for public schools. Random variation across countries appears because of cultural, especially religious, heterogeneity. (SK)

Attempts to assess the link between economic factors and the private demand for higher education through an investigation of the findings of studies conducted in several countries. Concludes that the perceived rates of return to higher education are realistic and non-economic factors influence the private demand for higher education. Provides…