Discusses the efficient use of energy. Compares reserves and pollutants generated by natural gas, oil, and coal. Points out some alternative energy sources and ways for improving energy efficiency in buildings, industrial processes, and transportation. Describes some problems in developing and developed countries. (YP)

Describes government funding of university-based research in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Examines problems in research evaluation and related public policy, particularly the link between evaluation and funding, issues of efficiency and incentive compatibility, and impact of performance evaluation on researcher behavior. Appendix…

U.S. education faces productivity and efficiency crisis. Because local, state, federal budgets are limited, schools must accomplish more with less. Few U.S. youngsters see themselves as workers or their school performance as greatly affecting later life. Teacher and student expectations are unreasonably low. Because schools cannot provide social…

Reviews effective schools research and discusses the theories behind it. Both the "empirical" approach and the multiparadigmatic approach have limitations. An evolutionary epistemology that interweaves qualitative and quantitative aspects of school effectiveness is preferable. People need realistic change models allowing them to balance…

The primary-secondary (S1 and S2) "divide" is one contentious area in restructuring education in Scotland. Education is caught between the forces of culture fragmentation and the centralizing tendencies of government. Articulation of education levels in a national framework reflects the influence of cultural and economic trends on…

South Africa's black universities face declining interest among black students, who now have more options than under apartheid. The crisis comes as South Africa considers ways to restructure its postsecondary-education system to cut costs and avoid duplication. While black enrollments are rising at other institutions, the numbers of all students…

The governance of Canadian schools is undergoing change. Provincial ministries of education are pursuing contradictory policy initiatives: local school boards are being consolidated to become more "efficient," and individual schools are developing school councils to become more "democratic." This paper applies Jurgen Habermas's…

Studied efficiency differences in Finnish senior secondary schools by Data Envelopment Analysis, using four variant models. Average efficiencies in the most extensive models were 82% to 84%. Considering parents' educational level increased average efficiency to 91%. Tobit analysis showed school size did not affect efficiency. Input and output…

Instructional-time analyses illustrate how school management, social/cultural welfare programs, high-stakes testing, system policies, and "organizational efficiencies" combine to cripple enormous blocks of annual instructional time in Chicago Public Schools. Administrators should rethink allocated time and schedule tests, special events,…

Rapid growth of private secondary schools in Tanzania in the 1990s was fueled by excess demand and looser government policies. Longitudinal data on secondary school characteristics and student performance suggest that the expansion was accompanied by declining access for disadvantaged students, high teacher turnover, and narrow interschool…

The University of California San Diego replaced its manual staff merit-increase-recommendation process with an online computer program to reduce workloads and improve the quality of the final recommendations. The highly successful system has been enthusiastically embraced by the campus community and recognized by the National Association of…

This paper aims to examine current nationwide youth fitness test programs, address problems embedded in the programs, and possible solutions. The current Fitnessgram, President's Challenge, and YMCA youth fitness test programs were selected to represent nationwide youth fitness test programs. Sponsors of the nationwide youth fitness test programs…

All teachers probably want to save hours of planning per week, as well as create innovative lesson plans that connect with kids. This article presents several teachers who have saved hours of planning by embracing technology in their classrooms. This article also provides several strategies that teachers can use to save a great amount of…

University staff members play a key role in the college articulation process. They implement articulation agreements and shepherd college transfer students through the academic and cultural changes encountered at university. Based on in-depth interviews with university staff, the paper describes five major themes including: transfer credits--the…

To cut costs, some administrators are contracting with the private sector for such services as pupil transportation, facilities maintenance, and cafeteria operations. Proponents of competitive contracting assert that it can provide public schools with the kind of expertise, flexibility, and cost efficiencies not always available with inhouse…