Describes a project to create a centralized database of digitized sound accessible from distributed personal computers for the study of foreign languages. The system is also comprised of the tools to manage and distribute the sounds, a combination constituting a unique attempt to provide a universal structure to describe, categorize, and listen to…

Discusses state's use of web-based central facilities databases and software to efficiently address capital renewal projects. How to collect data to support the decision process for capital renewal requests is addressed. (GR)

Presents criteria for evaluating and comparing Web search tools designed for children. Highlights include database size; accountability; categorization; search access methods; help files; spell check; URL searching; links to alternative search services; advertising; privacy policy; and layout and design. (LRW)

Presents methodology and findings of an empirical study comparing local citation patterns with the holdings lists of various sources of journal articles in the United Kingdom, including the British Library. Topics include identifying data that indicates researchers' use of journals in academic libraries and identifying data to indicate journal…

Describes a software system that allows teachers and students in practically any subject to make interactive expert systems of quizzes on the Internet. Discusses the design of the system, including building a database of questions and answers; integrating text files of questions and answers with JavaScript-HTML pages; and the JavaScript and HTML…

New, highly flexible accounting software packages have abandoned the rigidity of past systems and are designed to be easily customized to the school district's needs without programming. Process-based software integrates processes and work flow, allowing users to work across application and function boundaries, as well as organizational…

Reports on a usability evaluation of the wide area networked database used in the library system of the City University of New York (CUNY). Describes use of the Software Usability Measurement Inventory (SUMI) criteria in student surveys and interviews that considered affect, efficiency, learnability, control, and helpfulness. Survey is appended.…

Describes the Oregon School Library Information System (OSLIS) project to provide access to online educational resources. An information literacy framework designed to promote a leadership role for school librarians as information experts is provided in addition to the instructional gateway for accessing selected databases. There are also two…

This response to an article evaluating Indiana's early intervention service delivery (EC 628 669) based on the state's comprehensive data system evaluates the amount of services provided, type of services, the service system, and the service delivery model. Analysis indicates continuing gaps between federal law requirements and implementation in…

Men who have sex with men (MSM) are a priority population for HIV care and prevention programs. This report describes HIV and other sexually transmitted disease (STD) trends among MSM in metropolitan Atlanta by analyzing nine databases. We describe the use of the male-to-female (M:F) ratio, a surrogate marker for MSM in databases without…

Recent developments in the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) have produced a national pupil database (NPD) that contains information about the attainments of individual pupils. Every child in the country has been allocated a unique pupil number (UPN), which means that the academic progress of individuals can be tracked over time. It is…

Bioinformatics is one of the fastest growing scientific areas over the last decade. It focuses on the use of informatics tools for the organization and analysis of biological data. An example of their importance is the availability nowadays of dozens of software programs for genomic and proteomic studies. Thus, there is a growing field (private…

The concept of a hierarchy of evidence is useful in rapid electronic searching to answer questions arising during the natural course of clinical practice. The answerable question often begins "What is the evidence that ..." and, when focused on a treatment, usually includes a population, an intervention, a comparison group, and an outcome, often…

During the last decade, standards, assessments, and accountability have emerged as three prongs of a national education reform movement that has asked district and school administrators to think very differently about educational decision making and the use of data. However, research about data-driven decision making is limited, especially…

For some districts, the current obsession with data grows out of the need to comply with No Child Left Behind and additional accountability-related mandates. For others, it dates way back before the phrase "data-driven decision making" rolled so frequently off the tongues of educators. In either case, there is no denying that an integral…