About 35 million acres not being cultivated have high potential for crop use and 117 million more have medium potential, according to the 1982 National Resources Inventory (NRI) conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. USDA committees evaluated the economic potential for converting land based on physical characteristics of the soil; size…

Relationships among mothers' beliefs and values concerning their children's health, utilization of childhood preventive health services, and children's health status were examined. Mothers' health beliefs were measured with Parental Health Belief scales developed to explore three factors: (1) mothers' degree of perceived control or internality…

This study considers the theories of impulse buying in an examination of the effects on circulation of library books when books are displayed face front (with all or most of the book jacket showing) as opposed to spine front. Reviews of the literature on consumer behavior and on library displays support the hypothesis of this study, i.e., that…

This paper notes that, although most private health insurance is obtained through the workplace, important gaps remain in the present system of employment-related coverage. National survey data are presented which revealed that more than 9 million persons with employment experience were uninsured, who, with their uninsured dependents, accounted…

Presented are findings from interviews with equal numbers of mothers in one- and two-parent families who arranged for child care with licensed day care centers, licensed family day care homes, or unlicensed family day care homes. After a brief review of the literature on parents as consumers of day care services, discussion focuses on: (1)…

A study of 52 teachers of grades 1 thorugh 4 from 18 schools in an urban setting indicated that teachers functioning at higher conceptual levels did not seek more information and resources than teachers functioning at lower levels, but appeared better able to identify optimal sources of assistance and the most direct routes to resources. The study…

The four papers in this collection consider the attitudes, concepts, and techniques involved in marketing for non-profit organizations, and explore how librarians in higher education can use these ideas to optimize the effectiveness of their service provision in a time of economic constraint. In "Marketing the Academic Library,"…

An evaluation of the Central Michigan University Counseling Center is presented in this document. Parts of the study methods are described, including the questionnaires sent to 1,000 randomly selected students in residence, use of an optical scan answer sheet, and data collection from 112 users and 324 nonusers of counseling services (a 43.6%…

Improving the mobility of older adults has been a major goal of transportation programs and policies for the elderly at both the federal and local levels. To examine reasons why eligible elderly individuals in urban areas do not use available special transport services, 140 elderly persons in the Washington, D.C. area were surveyed on the extent…

A study employed a uses and gratifications approach to determine why people in different demographic groups read supermarket tabloids. One hundred thirty-three readers of the "National Enquirer," the "Star," or the "Globe" returned mail questionnaires distributed in three different demographic locations. The…

In light of the cable television and VCR revolution of the past few years which provides viewers with a greater variety of programs, a study examined the role that reruns play in network programming strategies and the profile of the audience that appreciates such programs. Subjects, 293 households (out of an original 730) in a medium-sized…

Inconsistent use of contraceptives or discontinuance of family planning services places women at risk of unintended pregnancies. Dropping out of family planning clinics also could mean interrupting gynecological care. Nonetheless, approximately 20% of adolescent family planning patients and nearly 25% of adult patients do not return for a second…

The National Environmental Data Referral Service (NEDRES) is being developed in response to a national need to improve the awareness of and access to a broad range of environmental data files. Two studies were conducted in support of this effort: a survey of prospective users confirming the need for and willingness to pay fees for the service and…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is an ongoing effort to obtain comprehensive and dependable data on national educational achievement. Reports and related assessment materials, such as assessment objectives and items used to measure achievement, have been developed to meet the needs and interests of educators. Several…

A study was conducted to clarify some of the ambiguous findings reported in the media dependency literature. Specifically, it sought to establish whether relationships between use of the media and surveillance gratifications obtained from that use were affected by an individual's medium of primary reliance or whether these relationships might be…