Uses a printed sheet of paper to represent a plant population in a given area. Quadrat sampling is simulated by dropping a square coverslip on the sheet and recording the symbols under the coverslip. Line-transect method is simulated by having a student randomly adjust the sheet under a string. (GS)

A strategy for planning a new training center will help you find out what you want and why. (Author)

The relationship of policy and decision making to statistical data and analyses is discussed. The optimal relationship, in which statistics play a key role in funding allocation and other policy decisions, rarely holds. Most surveys by statistical agencies are on a large scale, with a broad focus, resulting in databases which are difficult to…

The Education Data Improvement Project of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) is described. The conceptual framework that guided its implementation is presented. The Education Data Improvement Project was designed to promote and facilitate the reform and refinement of the Center for Education Statistics (CES) national elementary and…

Although the private sector has the primary role for job generation in the U.S. market economy, local community leaders can play a significant part in creating a growth-stimulating economic environment. A comprehensive economic development strategy appropriate to a community's specific goals and conditions requires careful analysis of the…

Chapter 740 of the Public Acts of 1988 mandated that student needs assessments are to be conducted annually. Needs assessment may be defined as a process for idenitfying the gaps between educational goals (outcomes) established for students and students' actual performance. Whether goals and objectives are explicit or implicit, they play a…

This paper summarizes four reports that comprised a study of ways in which technical and further education (TAFE) curriculum research for curriculum development can be speeded up in the data collection and analysis phases. The reports are "TAFE Curriculum Research: A Review of Group Process Methods" (T. Anderson, N. Jones); "The…

Prepared for cooperative education placement and career service professionals, this paper considers the applications of microcomputers in the development of a comprehensive management information system (MIS) for cooperative education programs. After noting the complicated information needs of cooperative education and common weaknesses of current…

The need for information controls for college records management programs and the elements of program organization, planning, and management are discussed. Conditions at institutions that indicate a flaw in information control are identified, along with the benefits of a sound records management program. The management of an information and…

This report discusses an iterative methodology for logical database design (LDD). The methodology includes four phases: local information-flow modeling, global information-flow modeling, conceptual schema design, and external schema modeling. These phases are intended to make maximum use of available information and user expertise, including the…

In redesigning the data program of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), there is a need for standard definitions, constant vigilance against redundancy and excessive data collection, audits and verification on local school data and continued attention to equity results as well as excellence and achievement. Major test scores, such…

A study investigated how managers in various kinds of organizations make decisions and also examined ways that using the Marble Company simulation (developed by L. C. Lederman and L. P. Stewart in 1985) could enhance, clarify, and extend its findings. Managers were asked to write down what they would say to their subordinates in order to elicit…

A framework for assessing the implementation and impact of office automation (OA) technology within shore-based facilities of the U.S. Navy is provided. Following a list of the assumptions guiding the evaluation plan, a model for data collection is presented which is based on the perspective of a work group, i.e., a small number of individuals who…

The purpose of this planning study about crafts in the United States is to provide preliminary data and information prior to a national crafts' survey by the National Endowment of the Arts. This study reports on: (1) the preparation of a systematic classification of U.S. crafts; (2) attempts to group and classify crafts people and their…