One of the most difficult challenges to effective substance abuse prevention is finding the right balance between maintaining the fidelity of a science-based model prevention program and promoting adaptation of that program to reflect the circumstances of the community where it is being implemented. This state-of-the-art review, prepared for the…

Quality of work life is examined as it applies to a company's decision to implement automation changeover and whether or not employees are involved in design decisions. (CT)

The article reports on the findings of a comparative case study of six projects that operated in Israel between 1980 and 2000. The study findings identify characteristics of the programs, the host organizations, and the social and political environment, which differentiated programs that are sustained from those that are not. The findings reaffirm…

The leadership of Qatar has a social and political vision that calls for improving the outcomes of the Qatari K-12 education system. With this vision in mind, the leadership asked RAND to examine Qatar's K-12 education system, to recommend options for building a world-class system, and, subsequently, to develop the chosen option and support its…

Attention shifted in recent years from design and implementation to use and usefulness of quality assurance. Scientific studies focus increasingly on quality assurance's impact on curricula and individual teachers. Which factors influence follow-up activities and what is their relation to improvement of education? One factor that we single out is…

Building undergraduate and graduate programs simultaneously highlighted the tensions between disciplinary-based undergraduate programs and interdisciplinary graduate programs.

Successful forensic tournaments are educational instruments that foster knowledge in areas of public speaking, debate, and interpretation, and can be an integral part of the process in carrying out program and department objectives and goals. Reasons to host a forensic tournament include: a need for competition in that area of the country; a…

Peer counseling is defined and the rationale for using peer counselors is given in this factsheet. A discussion of the history and research on peer counseling is followed by a list of successful peer counseling program foundations. Other sections discuss the operating components of selection, training, supervision, and evaluation. The professional…

Explores an artificial intelligence expert system authoring tool called EXSYS. Describes the system, which consists of an instruction manual and several floppy disks containing a rule editor for creating, editing, and experimenting with an expert system, a runtime program for running any existing EXSYS expert system, and several tutorial and…

Describes a nursing education model that links education and service. The authors describe the purpose and objectives of the model, research missions, areas of joint responsibility between the assistant deans of the school of nursing and the education director of the medical college, and implementation plans. (CT)

The first step to meeting the fundamental aim of any educational institution is to understand clearly what the students need. Needs assessment is a tool educators can use to help meet this goal. Needs assessment data suggest the basis for plans, strategies, and practices that may ultimately lead to school improvement. This chapter reviews issues…

Discusses the administrative and pedagogical issues related to the establishment and operation of an instructional program for library users in an academic library. (FM)

Attempts to develop a standardized set of program objectives which could be used in designing, implementing, operating, and evaluating postsecondary marketing and distributive education programs and which would ultimately result in a degree of program standardization. (CT)

In collaboration with distinguished scholars and National Institute on Aging (NIA) staff, we designed, implemented, and evaluated a research training program in aging for psychology faculty from 4-year colleges. The goal of the program was to build and sustain a community of college faculty committed to conducting aging research, incorporating…

The Division of Student Affairs at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor engaged in an iterative strategic process to create and implement a set of long-range goals. This strategic journey continues to evolve, uniting a guiding framework of strategic planning steps, a reflective process with an assessment component within each step, and a group…