Presents a case for using benefit-cost analysis to structure evaluations of child-abuse prevention and intervention programs. Presents the basic concept of benefit-cost analysis, its application in the context of assessing these types of child welfare programs, and limitations on its application to social service programs. (Author)

Provides data on the financial gains accruing to government, both federal and state, from increased support of dental education, especially in private schools. Tables and calculations are offered to show that the net present value for government averages $292,103 per graduate from private dental schools and $116,1888 per graduate from public…

How much do noninstructional minutes in a school day cost? Principals can figure out how many "mission minutes" it takes to hold an assembly or other activity, what it costs, and whether it is worth it. For instance, using clerical labor for registration is cheaper than having students do it. (MLH)

Critical review of the literature on problem-based learning (PBL) in medical education focuses on: (1) the credibility of claims (both empirical and theoretical) about the ties between PBL and educational outcomes and (2) the magnitude of the effects. Concludes there is no convincing evidence that PBL improves knowledge base and clinical…

Illustrates the possibilities of freely or inexpensively connecting a library to the Internet. Discusses the advertising-supported approach; local resources for free or budget Internet resources; public access catalogs; examples of free Web materials and of libraries that have achieved a low-budget Web presence; building an effective planning…

Describes the Ohioview Research Consortium, composed of university libraries and government agencies, which was formed to promote the low-cost distribution of government civilian satellite data for public use. Discusses the strong leadership role that the university library component has been called upon to play. (LRW)

Discusses how to determine whether computer-based training (CBT) is appropriate for particular training needs, based on the experiences of one company that needed an orientation program for new employees available on demand at a variety of locations. Highlights include criteria for selecting vendors, outcomes of CBT, and comparing costs. (LRW)

Service learning represents a relatively low-cost strategy for enhancing youngsters' educational experience. Research at Brandeis University suggests that payback to communities substantially outweighs moderate costs involved in integrating service learning into the curriculum. Lower overhead helps districtwide initiatives achieve lower ($27)…

Discusses ways in which to attract entry-level employees for high-demand jobs. Encourages the use of benchmarking to keep salaries rational, the use of incentives beyond the base salary, a careful review of compensation philosophy, the use of performance-based incentives and continual training, and the problems with salary compression. (RJM)

Owners of public building projects are increasingly turning to Interdisciplinary Coordination and Constructibility Reviews prior to going out to bid. The ICCR is a methodical quality-assurance process designed to make building projects more cost effective, constructible, and of better quality. This article describes the Preconstruction ICCR…

Discusses privatization of noneducational services to help schools and universities cut costs, and presents survey results from public schools and colleges concerning their level and type of outsourcing. Included are reasons for and against privatization, the most common contracts involved, and indications of whether the outsourcing trend will…

This chapter discusses a conceptual framework for measurement of the private and social benefits of education. It relates recent major theoretical and empirical contributions concerning the measurement and valuation of these impacts on economic development to that framework. The intent is to arrive at monetary and nonmonetary rates of return…

Discusses issues that arise when conducting costs analyses for child language-disorder treatments. Clinicians are urged to recognize the importance of cost-effectiveness studies to maintain control over the integrity of the studies and ensure that responsible decisions are made regarding the development and use of treatments and technologies.…

Discusses the use of laserdiscs in the K-12 classroom and outlines their benefits. Addresses the issue of whether laserdiscs might be replaced by other technologies such as CD-ROM and CD-interactive, and argues that videodiscs are still a good investment because they can be used in a non-linear way, which is convenient for many learning…

Describes a broad framework for examining economic aspects of the Internet; the framework consists of four sets of processes, services, and participants, including information creation, use, communication, and value-added information processes. Each process involves several economic measures and relationships among these measures. Examples are…