Discussion of information retrieval in the humanities focuses on a study of 10 graduate students at Indiana University as they conducted literature searches using databases on CD-ROM. Highlights include a review of related literature, search strategies, relevance assessments, human-computer interaction, and databases and indexing. (LRW)

The 1987 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study was used to compare four alternative approaches for assessing the influence of price subsidies on within-year persistence by graduate students. Conclusions include tuition charge has a substantial negative influence on persistence; and comprehensive packages (grants, loans, plus assistantships)…

Contends that, in recent years, over half of the Ph.D.s awarded in economics in the United States have gone to foreign students. Asserts that the time-to-completion for the economics Ph.D. degree also has increased. Explores this relationship along with why foreign students study in the United States. (CFR)

Discussion of the use of full-text CD-ROMs in libraries focuses on a study of graduate students at Penn State University's Great Valley campus who used Business Periodicals Ondisc. Highlights include a user satisfaction survey, user profile, impact on interlibrary loan requests, cost effectiveness, and impact on subscriptions. (LRW)

Judy Gobert (Blackfeet/Salish) struggled with racism and sexual abuse in childhood and with substance abuse and family violence in adulthood. Traditional spirituality, belief in education, and support groups have helped her to heal herself and create a better life for her children and herself. Describes her doctoral research on drug-resistant…

An Asian Pacific American professor, D. T. Nakanishi, describes his decision to fight the University of California Los Angeles' initial denial of tenure, including the legal and tactical considerations involved, his sense of generational duty, the case's importance for other Asian Americans, and the personal pain and suffering involved. (JB)

A study investigated issues concerning use of nonnative English-speaking teaching assistants (TAs) for undergraduate instruction at a large midwestern university. Data were drawn from surveys completed by 79 course supervisors, 153 native English-speaking TAs, 101 international TAs, and 540 undergraduates. Increased training for international TAs…

During a practicum teaching experience, preservice English-as-a-Second-Language teachers provided narrative statements on their beliefs about second-language teachers and teaching, teaching intentions, and perceptions of instructional practice. Images from prior experiences within formal language classrooms significantly affected teachers' images…

A University of Pennsylvania economics professor was denied an administrative post supervising graduate students because he dated a graduate student. Opinion on campus is divided, with many faculty and students supporting the professor. The institution's policy on student-faculty dating is unspecific. (MSE)

A study of 723 doctoral students investigated the relationship between time taken to complete the degree and economic factors, including employment hours, study hours, household income, indebtedness, amount and type of aid, and part-time student status. Field of study and foreign/domestic student status were also considered. (Author/MSE)

Presents a study of the effect of differences in reading strategies on the construction of meaning from novel length text. Discusses relevant psychological theory. Hypothesizes effects of differing strategies in reading the book "Animal Farm." Concludes that teacher-directed reading provides a depth of meaning not found when students…

In the University of California (Davis) Program in College Teaching, graduate teaching assistants develop and fulfill contractual agreements for faculty-guided investigations into their disciplines, with supporting individualized activities about practices and issues of college teaching. Aspects of the program's development and effectiveness are…

An annual study on higher education trends finds that as institutions limit enrollment, hire less faculty, and downsize programs, minority faculty and students are hurt most. Data on trends in enrollment (by college type and student demographics), faculty hiring (by region), and budgets (by institution type) are charted. (MSE)

A study of 28 graduate teaching assistants' socialization experiences identified 171 salient experiences signaling and intensifying identification with the departments and their roles as fledgling academicians. Experiences are categorized as (1) changes in intellectual self-evaluation; (2) encounters with students, peers, and superiors; and (3)…

Describes study conducted at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto that investigated graduate education students' use of audio conferencing (AC) in distance education. Evaluation results of student questionnaires are discussed, including effects of absence of visual cues; student attitudes; and role of…