This paper recounts the establishment of a central bibliographic and processing center for twenty community colleges in Ontario. It presents a case history of the beginnings of this venture, including the basic demonstration regarding costs. (Editor)

Illustrates the financial, administrative, and geographical problems facing both central and local boards in New South Wales, 1848-1880. (Author)

Studies the response of 15 academic departments at Ohio State University to reorganization. Implications of the study deal with methods of introducing change, the importance of group norms, and the link between informal norms and existing formal structure. (MK)

The central admissions systems of Victoria (Australia), Great Britain, and Ontario are outlined and analyzed. It is proposed that although these programs are important and their control is in the hands of the governing bodies, little thought is given to their development and they may become more significant than anticipated. (MSE)

In the West, the community movement emphasizes grass roots control. In developing countries, however, community movements often reinforce the centralizing tendencies of the emerging nation-states. These third world movements must become independent of plans imposed by national governments, and instead, develop networks of ties with other…

Presents information about book publishing in the German Democratic Republic (GDR), drawing on a variety of sources, including a survey sent to the publishing houses themselves. The reading public, organization of the publishing industry, and centralized administration are discussed. An appendix listing GDR publishers and a 33-item reference list…

The centralization of authority in public higher education from a local campus to the multicampus system and from local governing boards to state mechanisms is discussed. Dissipation of staff time in meeting bureaucratic requirements and faculty uneasiness with centralized planning and long-distance decision-making are described. (MLW)

This paper presents and attacks the argument that curriculum decision making is not a sufficiently recondite area to warrant helmsmanship by theorists, as is advocated by the neo-Platonic view that experts in a field should govern it. A different reason for rejecting control by experts is offered. (Author/SJL)

An analysis of advisory councils in France's centralized system also proposes a framework for such councils in policy formation in other countries. The analysis looks at the main features of such groups, how they are placed within the system, and what may be learned from the French experience. (MSE)

The adoption of provincewide collective bargaining in British Columbia is part of a broader trend that includes abolishing school boards in New Brunswick, eliminating traditional religion-based boards in Newfoundland, and amalgamating school districts and centralizing school finance in several provinces. British Columbia's innovation typifies an…

Describes the information systems strategy and network development of the Benetton clothing business. Applications in the areas of manufacturing, scheduling, centralized distribution, and centralized cash flow are discussed; the GEIS managed network service is described; and internal and external electronic data interchange (EDI) is explained.…