Explains a model of drop-out from distance education courses and illustrates it with quotations from case studies of students in Australia; Papua, New Guinea; and the United Kingdom. Topics discussed include individual student characteristics, home and family circumstances, employment situation, educational background, motivation, and cost benefit…

Five articles present the views of editors, publishers, librarians, and distributors on the future of book publishing and libraries. Some of the issues discussed include the potential for electronic publishing and ordering systems; marketing strategies; the status of the publishing industry; the quality of published books; and federal…

Trends over the past 25 years calling for accreditation, program evaluation, and outcomes assessment for higher education institutions are briefly reviewed. The cooperative market model of institutional research and self-study is outlined, which involves cooperation among institutions, accrediting bodies, state departments of education, and state…

Discusses how the lack of information infrastructures supporting scientific and technical research hampers attempts to transfer certain information technologies, such as online database searching, to developing nations. It is argued that laserdisk information storage technologies, such as CD-ROM, conform more closely to the prevailing conditions…

School districts should have a records management system through which student, employee, and related documents are maintained. Explains the meaning of records management, the implications of choosing not to establish an ongoing program, and how to be a leader in the program. (eight references) (MLF)

Discusses some of the main considerations that relate specifically to the head librarian of a public library as an individual in the role of administrator. These considerations include personal attributes of the head librarian, the internal administration of the library, and external relations with the trustees, local government, and general…

Describes research that identified possible uses for general interest magazine articles online in full text. It is concluded that, as no one search strategy works best for all uses, databases and online systems should offer a full range of proximity operators, display features that facilitate browsing, value added fields, and diverse cost options.…

An overview of some fundamentals and issues of concern related to networking projects and their payoffs are presented. There is currently no available single product to monitor and diagnose problems within a complex network, so network management must utilize many tools from multiple vendors to troubleshoot and manage network resources. (MLW)

Students participated in a videotaped feedback session. Issues addressed included preceptors' and students' expectations, integration of the students into the office practices, definition of responsibilities, feedback from preceptors, involvement in activities outside the physicians' offices, etc. The videotape was later shown to preceptors. (MLW)

Reports the results of a study comparing the performance of commercial document suppliers with the performance of traditional interlibrary loan. The discussion covers comparisons of speed, cost, the effect of publication characteristics on speed and cost, and success rates, as well as implications of the findings for interlibrary loan services.…

Examines Free-Net, and discusses its development and usefulness in delivering the information and services typically provided by community information centers. Discussion includes 10 characteristics of Free-Nets; and sidebars include selected examples of Free-Nets, how to try out a Free-Net, and a sample of Cleveland Free-Net=FEs main menu. (24…

A study of applicants to an urban public university investigated the effect of scholarship size on attendance and persistence, impact of scholarship students on the school, and potential effects of different distributions of scholarship funds. Results suggest institutions using large scholarships should examine yield and persistence rates. (MSE)

An overview of adult basic education within six regions of Scotland compares the costs and benefits from different forms of provision including public, private, and voluntary organizations. A cost-benefit analysis of six case studies shows that a high cost per learner hour is necessary to achieve quality outputs. (KS)

The greatest American educational transformation in the next few decades is likely to occur in higher education, which has been both enormously successful and immensely expensive. Ways in which the extensive retrenchment to be expected will be implemented are discussed, as is the projected impact on research. (SLD)

This paper describes financing, utilization, and outcomes of the Developmental Disabilities Center at Morristown (New Jersey) Memorial Hospital, to demonstrate the cost effectiveness of a managed health care program for individuals with mental retardation. The paper discusses costs, funding sources, hospital financing, resource allocation,…