Graduate social work students often are required to complete an evaluation or research project. Research instructors work with their students to assure that these projects are rigorous as well as ethical. This study focuses upon the relationship of student projects and the Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB aims to strengthen research…

Federal and state agencies that offer resources and assistance to industrial arts/technology teachers include research coordinating units, curriculum coordination centers--linked by the National Network for Curriculum Coordination in Vocational and Technical Education, state liaison representatives, and the National Center for Research in…

A study determined the extent to which the states and territories used their handicapped and disadvantaged set-aside funds under the Education Amendments of 1976 to support program improvement projects. The population of 57 research coordinating unit directors was surveyed. (Author)

Organizational aspects and implementation of Switzerland's national research program that promote goal-oriented research in the service of the general public are described. The Federal Council of Switzerland decides on the topics to be researched and the National Fund is responsible for carrying out the programs. (Author/SF)

Reports the experiences of the Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies at Portland State University (Oregon), formed seven years ago in an effort to connect higher education resources to critical issues facing communities in a six-county metropolitan area. Eight lessons learned concerning the institute's role, its operation, staffing, local…

Examines the challenges and opportunities faced by the University of Washington's Institute for Public Policy and Management, a university-based applied-research institute that has grown through intellectual entrepreneurship into an organization that shapes policy for the state of Washington and the Northwest. The institute and its specialized…

Examines features of the alternative "new management" and some of the management practices that facilitate a high commitment to basic research in the private sector. Contends that most university research suffers from the use of discredited and inappropriate management practices. Concludes that managed research is essential in the new mode of…

The University of Georgia's Carl Vinson Institute of Government, one of the nation's oldest and largest university-based public-service organizations, provides a case study of the problems and challenges for these organizations, one of which is to mix and match institutional and personal objectives and capabilities to optimize the contributions of…

Describes major events and achievements during TESOL's first 20 years. Outlines three challenges which TESOL and its membership face: administrative, financial, and geopolitical. (Author/LMO)

Proposes the establishment of a Research Foundation for Open Learning, and reflects on the Open University's achievements and the need for change. (Author/AEF)

Recent tendencies that are likely to endanger free and creative research in Austria are discussed. It is suggested that the danger to free, autonomous research may stem from negligence of the state to provide an adequate organizational framework for research. (Author/SF)

Public-policy centers and institutes are a growing, visible part of many universities. A cross between think tanks and academic units that provide public service, they focus on policy research and facilitation of public discourse. A national survey reveals faculty's role in their work, the applied multidisciplinary nature of their activities, and…

The Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois, Chicago is a high-visibility urban-policy research center that is sometimes drawn into controversial issues. University leadership must defend academic freedom vigorously, but that freedom cannot be used indiscriminately for faculty pronouncements; faculty and administrators must ensure…

For 27 years the Florida Atlantic University Florida International University Joint Center for Environmental and Urban Problems has made major contributions to issues associated with rapid urbanization in southern Florida. Maintaining political support, both in the community and within the two universities, has been crucial to sustaining…

Foresight analysis is proposed as an alternative to strategic planning in the scientific community, and its use by individual funding agencies to develop research resource allocation strategies for specific scientific fields is explored through an analysis in the field of cardiovascular research. Methodology is explained, and preliminary results…