The history of the United States is one of the contradictory traditions of human rights and intolerance. Although human rights, diversity, and dissidence are inherent concepts in our constitution and in the Supreme Court system, this tendency has been invariably accompanied by intolerant uses of power. The Salem witchcraft trials, the Alien and…

This document contains three poster presentations from a conference on human resource development. "Intrinsic and Extrinsic Work Motivators: Implications for the Incoming Air Force Officer Workforce" (Stephanie K. Johnson, Jason J. Davis, Christopher Rate) reports on a study that explored the literature relating to work motivators to…

The extent of electronic learning (eLearning) was examined in an online survey to which 650 individuals responded. Of the responses, 84% were from European Union countries; 9% were from elsewhere in Europe; 5.5% were from the rest of the world; and nearly 2% did not specify a country. The types of responding organizations included…

Ideas about what constitutes work, the ways work is organized, the tools used in work, and the relationship between work and the other components of life are all changing rapidly. The implications of these changes for vocational education and training (VET) in Australia and elsewhere were examined. The following issues were considered: (1) the…

This document contains three symposium papers on advances in distance learning. "The Adoption of Computer Technology and Telecommunications: A Case Study" (Larry M. Dooley, Teri Metcalf, Ann Martinez) reports on a study of the possible applications of two theoretical models (Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations model and the Concerns-Based…

This booklet, which was produced as a follow-up to the Fifth International Conference on Adult Education, examines communication among minorities and nonminorities in adult education programs. The booklet begins with a sketch of the situation of minority group members around the world and a list of 10 ways education policy and legislation can…

The methods used by Australian farm managers to obtain the skills and knowledge needed to manage their businesses were examined. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 85 farm owners/managers from South Australia, the Northern Territory, Queensland, Tasmania, and New South Wales. The farmers interviewed identified a wide range of…

An inventory of business-linked charter schools operating in the United States was developed. The data collection methods used to develop the inventory were as follows: soliciting nominations from key contacts in each state having charter school legislation; comparing the nominations with lists of charter schools from selected state education…

This paper describes the context that has encouraged the emergence of more than 100 employer-linked charter schools throughout the United States and examines the efforts of the employers and educators who are involved in employer-linked charter schools. The paper begins by explaining how the following business changes have promoted development of…

In recent years, thanks to the evolution of the Internet, wide availability of classroom computers and increased broadband access, blended learning is emerging as a new tool in the K-12 educational toolkit. Defined as learning that combines online and face-to-face approaches, blended learning is accomplished through the combined use of virtual and…

The professional development activities in which trainers and vocational teachers are engaging to acquire new expertise in e-learning were examined through a survey that was completed by 446 individuals. Nearly 80% of the respondents were from within the European Union (EU). The rest came from other European countries, North American, Australia,…

Of the 477,800 students reported to Australia's national vocational education and training (VET) data collection in 2000, 237,900 were enrolled in a vocational adult and community education (ACE) program. More than 70% of the latter individuals undertook informal training. Vocational ACE programs accounted for 49.8% of all ACE students and nearly…

The continuous transformation of career and technical education (CTE) practitioners' roles that has resulted from reforms, technological advances, and new certification requirements has necessitated the creation of learner-centered professional development (PD) programs. Numerous schools nationwide have succeeded in developing high-quality,…

This document contains three papers on distance learning and human resource development (HRD). "An Exploration of Perceived Differences in Teaching Roles between On-Site and On-line Instruction" (James J. Kirk) reports on a study in which 144 online instructors at selected institutions across the United States were asked to share their…

The possibility of creating an appropriate online learning environment for distance adult students was examined in a study of 22 Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) students' attitudes regarding the online version of a course offered as part of Penn State's masters of education program. The students completed surveys before, during, and…