The Bureau of Mines studied the application of the concepts and methods of cost-benefit analysis to the problem of ranking alternative applied research projects. Procedures for measuring the different classes of project costs and benefits, both private and public, are outlined, and cost-benefit calculations are presented, based on the criteria of…

This document provides an agenda for investment by the National Institute of Education and identifies the problem areas and functional activities that require a greater commitment of resources to provide an effective national program of research and development in higher education. Fifteen major problem areas have been identified, including:…

A generalized methodology is presented for calculating university departmental academic, supporting, and administrative staff for various subject classifications and geographical regions. Emphasis is placed on flexibility to accommodate different types of programs and parametric data are presented to facilitate numerical assessment. The complete…

A study was designed to explore what cost-effectiveness methods are being used, determine what differences exist between the methods, and recommend the most appropriate cost-effectiveness analysis method for instructional design. Analysis of questionnaires sent to appropriate institutions led to the finding that cost-effectiveness analyses differ…

Discusses five factors usually associated with the concept of project management which can facilitate the creation and operation of an effective production team, including (1) analyzing available resources, (2) defining roles of specialization and generalization, (3) establishing communication networks, (4) determining rules of team operation, and…

A simple algebraic method of compensating for inflation while allocating the book budget by funds is presented. The results of attempts to generate library-resource unit cost figures based on internal measurement of buying patterns are described. (Author)

Seventy-four second and third graders were tested for their understanding of proportions and asked to allocate rewards varying in sufficiency for three pairs of children working in either team or nonteam conditions. (Author/JMB)

If economies of scale are important in secondary education, a greater degree of resource specialization and curriculum comprehensiveness should occur in larger secondary schools. Using New York State schools data, this study shows that scale economy sources are exhausted at relatively small enrollment levels, allowing only trivial gains in…

Discusses Judith Hackman's article (published in "Administrative Science Quarterly," in March 1985) theorizing about how colleges and universities allocate resources among units--an important issue in an ongoing era of budget cuts and resource reallocations. Affirms the importance of departmental centrality in resource allocation and…

The Swedish curriculum is a centrally issued and government approved document that covers goals, content, and a framework for the use of educational resources. Despite the centralized educational system, teachers make decisions about teaching practice on their own. (RB)

The components of a priority-setting system are input (clearly defined items), process (people involved, judgment, criteria), and output (listing the items in rank order). (SK)

By using the total resource approach, we have focused attention on the need to integrate human resource planning with other business plans and highlighted the importance of a productivity strategy. (Author)

Good resource management (and policy analysis) will enable us to reshape the accountability demands and questions of external forces such that both the questions and their answers can become meaningful. (Author/IRT)