Higher level vocational education and training (VET) programmes are facing rapid change and intensifying challenges. What type of training is needed to meet the needs of changing economies? How should the programmes be funded? How should they be linked to academic and university programmes? How can employers and unions be engaged? The country…

One of a series prepared for the International Commission for the Study of Communication of Unesco, this report elucidates the principal reasons supporting reform of the international information system. Following an introduction that outlines the role of information in developing countries and explains why the current media are inadequate, the…

Government and private agencies in Alberta, Canada, have voluntarily joined to establish the Alberta Disability Database, to bring statistical order out of the numerical chaos of disability data. This paper discusses the program's financing, confidentiality, definitions, access, archiving, consultation, and coordination. (JDD)

This two-part article outlines the provisions and limitations of the positivist and phenomenologist views of information science and describes the United Kingdom (UK) Education Management Information Exchange (EMIE), a 4-year experimental project aimed at developing and testing a range of information services for education officers and advisors in…

This paper, which is intended for individuals responsible for information management at British further education (FE) colleges, describes the attempts by a number of FE institutions to manage their information effectively and provides guidelines for FE institutions to follow when developing their own information management strategy. After a brief…

This paper is the result of an effort to compile general information that has been gathered during the last few years in connection with an ongoing cross-national study of preschool systems, and to add to this data other cross-national statistics. Sections of the paper concern: (1) family characteristics relating to preprimary children; (2)…

Although the formal extension work in Canada has been patterned after the United States Cooperative Extension Service to a considerable degree, there are some important differences between the extension education systems in the two countries. The public, private, and voluntary sectors all play significant roles in Canada's extension and technology…

This paper outlines the need for a more substantial and publicly available base of information and analysis of initial teacher education in Australia, so that the school teaching profession, school authorities, and the Commonwealth can join with teacher educators in developing optimal programs, policies, and strategy. The paper then describes a…

Computerized school administration has become one of the most crucial innovations in vocational education in Taiwan in the Republic of China. As these educators begin to design or purchase computerized information systems for their own schools, they must first define their specific information needs. Next, they should pay attention to…

The study is intended to begin the process of collecting, coordinating, and disseminating basic information about adult literacy projects and classes in England. Spanning the years 1950 to the present, the data are based on questionnaires sent to all listed adult literacy projects in England. Following a review of the history, background, and…

A Virtual Research and Extension Communication Network (VRECN) is a set of networked electronic tools facilitating improvement in communication processes and information sharing among stakeholders involved in agricultural development. In developing countries, research and extension personnel within a ministry of agriculture, in consultation and…

Issues in distance education at the tertiary level in Australia are addressed in three papers. The need to provide mature students with information before course attendance is discussed by Edward R. Reid-Smith in "Why Educational Advisory Services for Mature Students?" During 1982-1984, new external students at Riverina College of…

Selected papers from the 1980 World Congress of Rehabilitation International Meeting on the participation of disabled people are presented. The papers address the rights of the disabled, the organization and functions of consumer groups, the impact of consumer involvement on rehabilitation and related services, social implications of the consumer…

The need for establishing a teaching and learning services unit at the University of New England (UNE) in Australia, and information on tertiary education units in nine Australian universities are examined. Among the reasons for establishing a services unit at UNE are the following: the idea of a service center has found acceptance within the…

The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) in Edmonton, Alberta, has undertaken a project called LOGging Our Curriculum. The goals of the project, which involves creating a fully outcomes-based curriculum across the institution and housing that curriculum in a database that is accessible to NAIT instructors over the World Wide Web, are as…