The background and function of a Student Opinion Survey Program at the University of Kansas are described, and suggestions for the development and implementation of polling programs are offered. At the University of Kansas, the technical expertise of staff and students was tapped to provide a credible survey program. Departments and other offices…

The question of whether or not the mass media can successfully be used as a vehicle for creative social and individual change is discussed and brief descriptions are given of successful and unsuccessful campaigns that attempted to improve public attitudes toward certain health problems. Ten recommendations are made for using the mass media…

Mental health professionals and the general public have generally held differing attitudes toward mental illness. As part of a needs assessment survey, 102 persons (20 service providers, 20 referral persons, and 62 potential consumers) were interviewed concerning their views of mental health problems and services. Respondents first listed examples…

An initiative was undertaken to introduce technology-enabled and distance learning to the Defense Information School (DINFOS), Ft. Meade, Maryland. The effort to introduce instructional technology reflected the need to find a creative solution to Armed Forces requests for increased student quotas, reduced pool of military instructors, and an…

This report presents the progress on the development and early testing of two applications of a modular multi-media attitude assessment system. Built using a template created in "Authorware," a dual platform interactive multimedia development tool, these systems employ visuals, audio, and text to discern attitudes and elicit reactions regarding…

This paper discusses the results of a randomly selected standing poll panel implemented at Saint Mary's College at Notre Dame, Indiana, called PRISM (Prompt Response to Improve Saint Mary's). PRISM is designed to quickly ascertain the attitudes and opinions of a panel of 120 college students. Sample topics of PRISM surveys have included campus…

This essay discusses methodological and ethical problems in the implementation and evaluation of home-based intervention programs for young children and their families. Part I notes the difficulties in (1) selecting an appropriate research design to evaluate a program (e.g., preventing sample bias), (2) specifying precisely the intervention method…

While the financial survival of postsecondary institutions is being stressed, continuing education operarions are facing increasing difficulties in surviving and competing. Strategies are needed for the significant survival of continuing education operations at the small college. The Lifelong Learning Center and others like it need to be concerned…

The intent of this paper is to examine the issues, problems, implications, rationale, and basic assumptions behind the reexamination of the need for a generally accepted national policy for vocational education. The paper is divided into seven chapters. Chapter 1 establishes a framework to use in dealing with the main issues. The second chapter…

Three papers discuss the needs, interests, and participation of adults in learning activities. Generally, the papers deal with influences upon the possible demand for lifelong learning in the future. In the first paper K. Patricia Cross synthesizes findings from thirty-one state and national studies concerning the patterns of participation and…