In this scholarly commentary, the author examines the major reasons U.S. charter schools have closed since 1992. The commentary provides examples of charter school failures in high-frequency areas, such as financial and organizational mismanagement, and academic underperformance; it further identifies two subcategories of academic risk:…

The collection of articles in this special issue on relational aggression gives a glimpse into the complex social networks, first, of children's relational aggression and, second, of the collaborators who develop and validate children's prevention programs. The programs described in this special section are among the first to address relational…

Based on the experiences of the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) library in employing dial access to the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) Acquisition Subsystem (ACQS), this paper presents an overview of dial access systems as an alternative to the use of OCLC dedicated terminals. Dial access into online systems is briefly described,…

Issues in the evaluation of the virtual law library are examined, including technological considerations, finance, and accreditation concerns. Conventional library evaluation and development of standards for virtual libraries are discussed. It is proposed that evaluation focus on information service outputs and access rather than library…

As research on social support and informal helping has increased, there have been more calls for consultation efforts that might strengthen informal helping networks. Many support-oriented consultation interventions attempt to bolster informal helping systems by modifying informal caregivers' attitudes toward their helping role, building their…

In order for health program evaluation to keep up with the evolution of disease patterns and epidemiology, a systems approach is proposed. Recommendations are made for the essential element in such an approach, namely, an integrated, comprehensive data base. (Author/AL)

Describes the first phase of an Internet overview training program presented to academic staff at the University of Sydney (Australia). The use of locally created Hypertext Markup Language documents is explained, and an evaluation of the program indicated the success of using World Wide Web browsers as an aid in training. (Author/LRW)

Program evaluation is seen as an organized process of collecting and disseminating information to assist administrators and faculty in making judgments about the value of academic departments and programs. The decision-making process depends upon the network of people designed to implement the system of program evaluation. (MLW)

To marshall the resources needed to deal positively with current and emerging issues, the Cooperative Extension System must use networks skillfully to establish necessary connections with other agencies and individuals. The process of developing cooperative and productive interconnections among individuals, groups, or organizations is networking.…

Based on analysis of the current system and comparison with existing and possible alternatives, this report evaluates the effectiveness of the Indiana library cooperative network, a de facto network based on the activities of individual libraries, Area Library Services Authorities (ALSAs), the Indiana Cooperative Library Services Authority…

This report of the proceedings of the 50th anniversary year of the International Council for Distance Education (ICDE) includes: (1) the text of the address given by Kevin Smith, the outgoing president of the organization; (2) a review by the outgoing president of activities of the ICDE during its first 50 years (from 1938 to 1988); (3) the text…

Forecasts of the future of the public library highlight measures of success (quick information provision); service to remote users; an information infrastructure which includes smaller branch libraries; levels of service based on staff time required; fee-based, interactive research services; a new job title of "information specialist"; and book…

To improve bibliographic access to the individual works contained in "Landmarks of Science" and "Landmarks II," two comprehensive microform collections of materials related to the history of science, the staff of the University of Utah Libraries cataloged the individual titles. Staff members with backgrounds in Renaissance…

Evaluation of Tanzanian experiences in developing nationwide public library system under conditions of limited resources and unlimited user demands discusses six principles as basis for alternative strategy: liquidating irrelevant librarianship theories; establishing valid performance measures; adopting cost-effectiveness; giving primacy to…

General session, small group activities, and on-site visits are represented in these papers from a conference which had the objectives of defining alternatives for systematic curriculum development, providing for the interchange of experiences in determining needs and instructional specifications for material production, and developing a plan for…