This introduction to Database's annual review issue highlights trends covered in the 1991-93 reviews; lists 13 trends described as a continuation of the trends of the past 2 or 3 years; and discusses the World Wide Web and America Online's innovative development of a database that combines text, images, sound, and commentary. (KRN)

Describes a scalable, parallel, relational database-drive information retrieval engine. To support portability across a wide range of execution environments, all algorithms adhere to the SQL-92 standard. By incorporating relevance feedback algorithms, accuracy is enhanced over prior database-driven information retrieval efforts. Presents…

ArtShow is a digital image database that employs sophisticated features for interactive presentations of data. To demonstrate the program, an example database was prepared, based on the collection at the National Bank of Greece with names, comments and keywords in the Greek language. Discussion includes: the database platform and internal…

Student information systems, one of the first applications of computer technology in education, are undergoing a significant transition yet again. The first major shift in SIS technologies occurred about 15 years ago when they evolved from mainframe programs to client-server solutions. Now, vendors across the board are offering centralized…

In this article, the author describes his experience when Kathy Nichols contacted him seeking suggestions, recommendations--really anything he could think of--that might help her seize control of a bewildering and rapidly surging torrent of digital image files. The challenges that Nichols described interested him, and he felt they might be…

School nurses and health office employees are the creators and caretakers of legal documentation. School nurses have an ethical and legal obligation to protect the integrity of electronic student health records. Although there are many threats to data integrity, from inadequate hardware to electrical surges, one of the most pervasive threats to…

One size does not fit all. For anyone who has ever tried to make something fit (especially when it won't), it's best to realize that the word "all" does not really mean "everyone." The same thing is true for subscription databases. While it might seem that all students in grades K-12 can benefit from the use of the database contents, in reality,…

This article describes the affordances of social media and networks for online Elementary German courses that have been taught at the University of Pennsylvania since 2010. These online courses were created to provide students the opportunity to take Elementary German as part of the language requirement for Penn credit during the summer months…

The present study is based on the theoretical assumptions that frequency of characters and their structural components, as well as the frequency types of structural components, are important to enable learners of Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) to discover the underlying structure of Chinese characters. In the CFL context, since reliable…

This report provides national estimates on the availability of alternative schools and programs for students at risk of educational failure in public school districts during the 2007-08 school year. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) previously reported results from a similar survey of alternative schools and programs conducted…

The partnerships, especially university-community partnerships, that sustain globally networked learning environments often face challenges in mobilizing research to empower local communities to effect change. This article examines these challenges by describing a university-community partnership involving researchers and graduate students in…

Documents and journal articles acquired by the ERIC Clearinghouses are processed (cataloged, indexed, abstracted/annotated) for retrieval and use by the educational community. The bibliographic data resulting from this processing are provided by the ERIC Clearinghouses on a regular basis to the ERIC Processing and Reference Facility. The ERIC…

The objectives of the Washington Library Network (WLN) are 1) statewide sharing of resources among all types of libraries, 2) economically meeting the information demands of all citizens of the state, and 3) centralized computer-communication systems for bibliographic services. (Author)

A study was conducted of the users of the Indiana University PROBE computer retrieval program using the Resources in Education ERIC data base. The critical incident survey identified the PROBE user characteristics, needs, and satisfaction. (Author)

Describes the development of Interfile, a computerized data bank of sources of information on all phases of international business and trade. (Author/PF)