Describes a series of exploratory experiments that investigated information professionals' and geographers' use of geographic materials. Mental models used in the manipulation of geographic data are discussed; the improvement of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is addressed; and Spotlight, a new interactive tool for exploring maps, is…

Assessment of college teaching is viewed broadly as the gathering of information for understanding and improving teaching as well as judging its quality. It is seen to play a crucial support role at each stage of instructional development: problem clarification, instructional design/redesign, and field testing and implementation. (MSE)

For student rating data to be useful in improving college teaching, consultants and faculty need to know how different evaluative purposes effect evaluation results, and they must be able to interpret and use the data at hand. A series of steps should be followed to help ensure valid data interpretation. (MSE)

A sample of 204 Canadians were presented information in 3 formats--matrix table, summary, and combination--with which to choose an appropriate credit card. Summary ratings of credit cards combined with a table of fees, interest rates, and grace periods reduced information processing efforts and led to better consumer decisions. (SK)

A discussion of college guides reviews the older, standard resources briefly, looks at more recent and less well-known guides in greater detail, and discusses the methods used for institutional comparisons. Two surveys of high school seniors concerning their use of the guides are also summarized. (MSE)

Raises the issue of objectivity in the dissemination of information, particularly in places where mass media, rather than other political, religious, or educational institutions dominate. Considers the semantic difficulties related to the ways in which numbers and quantitative categories are used. (DMM)

The challenge for higher education today is to develop better ways to guide individuals through rapidly expanding old and new resources in their search for knowledge. This means helping undergraduates develop skills in information literacy, the effective seeking and packaging of information. (MSE)

Reports on searching behavior of humanities scholars who were given unlimited, subsidized access to DIALOG databases. How much searching the scholars did, the kinds of techniques and DIALOG features they used, and their learning curves are analyzed. Search features studied included commands, Boolean logic, types of vocabulary, and proximity…

Purposes of and audiences for special education research information are reviewed, and dissemination strategies are discussed in terms of the seven factors identified by R. Havelock that account for most of the spread and utilization of knowledge: linkage, proximity, structure, synergy, openness to change, capacity, and reward. (Author/JDD)

A study of the sources of influence for college students (n=162) making a choice of major illustrates how such information can be obtained, analyzed, and used to develop a marketing plan for a college or department. Several potential strategies for recruiting business majors, which resulted from the study, are outlined. (MSE)

Describes a qualitative evaluation that analyzed the processes involved in the authoring of hypermedia applications for education by interviewing both researchers and lecturers from the University of Southampton involved in the development of hypermedia. Considers the quality characteristics of reusability of information, maintainability of…

Examines the history of the information profession, beginning with Melvil Dewey's first library education program. Discusses the concept of a profession; character; authority; power; cultural authority; access to information; the utilization of information as power; public librarianship; and the organization of information. (LRW)

Examines the phenomenon of learning on the Internet in terms of a digital ecology metaphor, proposing that an ecological perspective is consistent with the perspective of distributed cognition. Topics include diverse participation; information production, access, and consumption; representations of knowledge; and experiences. (LRW)

This article focuses on a study of undergraduates writing an essay for a remedial writing course that tested two devices, an uncertainty expansion device and an uncertainty reduction device. Highlights include Kuhlthau's information search process model, and enabling technology devices for the information needs of information retrieval system…

Discusses three issues raised by the Internet: (1) journalists/advisors need to emphasize that more information is not necessarily better; (2) information on the World Wide Web is not useful if it cannot be assimilated or coherently communicated; and (3) students' social skills are not developed by using the Internet. (RS)