The Taj Mahal, the Eiffel Tower, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Great Pyramids of Gaza and the Great Wall of China--all are architectural symbols of a national, proudly shared identity of the people who live near these structures. A country's unique architecture can be a form of art to study as well as a symbol of pride and unity. The author of…

In June 2004, the Scottish Executive published guidance on evaluating completed school building projects, "Building Our Future: Scotland's School Estate," as part of the School Estate Strategy; the guidance included a case study evaluation at an Edinburgh primary school. The Executive is continuing to support evaluation work on the school estate…

In the field of construction, most structures are supported by several groups of truss systems working together synergistically. A "truss" is a group of centered and balanced elements combined to carry a common load (Warner, 2003). Trusses provide strength against loads and forces within a structure. Though a complex field of study, structural…

As the nation's school buildings age and deteriorate, spending on maintenance and operations (M&O) remains paltry, especially when compared with historical figures. This article presents the findings of "American School & University's" 35th annual Maintenance and Operations Cost Study. According to the M&O Cost Study, the median school district…

The present study intends to examine the overall situation and the environment of Aqaba University College (AUC) in relation to industrial-educational interaction, and to discuss existing and possible future industrial linkage strategies. This article presents observations from AUC, as well as suggestions for action on industrial linkage. The…

This discussion considers a new pre-service teacher education initiative at the University of Western Sydney, called "Classmates". "Classmates" aims to prepare pre-service teachers to work in diverse and challenging schools. The paper argues that the neo-liberal industrial model of mass teacher education may be limited in its…

What is the best use for tests? Testing should provide insight and information to educators and students. The primary purpose of testing is to inform teaching and learning. Yet, for too many schools, testing has been perverted to accommodate only measurement. Lesson plans are built around helping students pass the tests. In many instances, schools…

The government of New Zealand delegates property expenditure decisions to each individual school. Such a decentralised environment creates a challenge for school boards and principals to obtain advice on the complex issues around designing schools. To inform schools, the Ministry of Education provides numerous publications related to design and…

Hungary's "Belvarosi Tanoda" Secondary School offers an informal, flexible environment and alternative teaching methods for students who have had problems in other schools. The "Belvarosi Tanoda" (which translates as downtown school) is a second chance school for students who have dropped out of upper secondary education. It…

This study explored whether students benefited from an immersive panoramic display while studying subject matter that is visually complex and information-rich. Specifically, middle-school students learned about ancient Egyptian art and society using an educational learning game, "Gates of Horus," which is based on a simplified three…

Some of the problems of renovating school buildings and in particular the modernization of mechanical services in existing facilities are discussed. According to school management publications, approximately 42 per cent of our elementary and 59 per cent of our secondary schools are 15 years old or older. School plants, which were built 12 to 15…

The effervescent progress of technologies in the modern era demands new pedagogical techniques in the process of effective and successful teaching and learning. The prospective teachers who are competent with technical skills and have command over language alone can produce articulate students. Prospective teachers, when they enter the real…

In 2011, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley signed into law the South Carolina Higher Education Efficiency and Administrative Policies Act, maintaining the transparency and accountability that lead to increased academic quality and affordability at colleges and universities. It is in this context that ACTA (American Council of Trustees and…

The problems of deferred maintenance and decaying campus infrastructure have troubled higher education for the past two decades. This book, designed to be a tool for facilities managers, describes a process for inspecting and reporting conditions of buildings and infrastructure. The audit process is meant to be a routine part of maintenance…

This publication is intended to supersede the Higher Education and Facilities Inventory and Classification Manual (FICM) first published in December 1972. Like the earlier manual, this revised and updated version provides a common framework and coding structure to be used in collecting and reporting inventory data on college and university…