Extrinsic and intrinsic motivations are simple concepts that our students seem to quickly understand, yet few of our students grasp the complexity of sustaining intrinsic motivation. This exercise aims to help students better understand that complexity. Students are given a two-part scenario. In Part 1, the individual motives to innovate are…

Calls for evidence-based policy often fail to recognise the fundamentally political nature of policy making. Policy makers must identify, evaluate and utilise evidence to solve policy problems in the face of competing priorities and political agendas. Evidence should inform but cannot determine policy choices. This paper draws on theories of…

Findings of a conference that reviewed and evaluated design decisions concerning the Decision Support System (DSS) Demonstrator are summarized. The DSS Demonstrator was designed by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems as an example of the way in which microcomputer technology can support and make more effective planning and…

That college and university boards should have a policy on trustee conflict of interest is nearly universally accepted. Yet there is little consensus among institutions on just what the policy should be--and broad national consensus anytime soon is unlikely. Boards thus face a host of questions, many of which this document addresses, regarding…

A model for school policy makers is provided to help clarify the process of applying research findings to schools and classroooms. The 10-step model is meant to facilitate the systematic review of research and the planning and implementation of new programs and to illustrate potential university and school district cooperation. (Author/PP)

A Mega Model of Planned Change in education and social development is presented. The Mega Model consists of eight elemental models, which systematically deal with various aspects of complex change processes. Characteristics and applications of the CLER elemental model (configurational relationships, linkages, environments, resources), the basic…

In the past management information systems (MIS) have focused on data relating to the internal operations of the institution (e.g., registration and space utilization). Recently, however, strategic planning as a means of establishing long-range goals is becoming increasingly dependent upon data external to the institution, such as demographics and…

A review and analysis of a report on school practitioner involvement in improvement of educational practice is presented with additional inferences on the ability of schools of education to foster practitioner involvement. In the first section, research is reviewed in three areas of educational practice in which teachers may be involved: (1)…

This report addressed to policy making officials in local government deals with the role of federal assistance in future developments of information systems by local governments through an assessment of the Urban Information Systems Inter-Agency Committee (USAC) Program, which, beginning in 1970, provided grants to five municipalities--Charlotte,…

Describes a curriculum program designed to encourage sixth-grade students to think about issues from a variety of perspectives and make informed decisions. Discusses the incorporation of computer software from the "Decisions, Decisions" series into the instructional process. Outlines the components of the curriculum, provides an evaluation of the…

Issues and problems associated with university involvement in public sector activities and the knowledge transfer process are examined. After a brief statement of the state-of-the-art in knowledge transfer, attention is directed to one of the basic issues presented in the literature: the appropriateness and inappropriateness of university…