A survey of 152 public officials in three rural southwestern Ohio counties showed that when compared to officials who belonged to no professional associations, local officials who belonged to professional organizations were more likely to recognize when local problems required outside help and more likely to know where to get that help. (JHZ)

Presents a model of instruction in which media specialists, in cooperation with teachers, go beyond teaching library skills and work with students to develop critical thinking and information use skills. (CLB)

Examines the role of scientific and technical information in national development in Nigeria and establishes a framework that could enhance the use of this information for development purposes. Factors such as national information policies, government support of research projects, and the role of international organizations in technology transfer…

Legal issues concerning the content and use of the college catalog are reviewed, including the catalog's changing role as a consumer document, misrepresentation, violation of statute, breach of contract, court interpretations, and remedies. Colleges are cautioned to take great care in using catalogs, for legal and administrative reasons. (MSE)

Previous research on student ratings of teacher performance is criticized for design flaws in control of the purpose-of-evaluation variable, and a study of the salience of this variable is reported. Recommendations for design are made and faculty misconceptions about student ratings are discussed. (MSE)

The text of a report written by a Harvard University administrator concerning federal regulation of the flow of research results addresses issues of prepublication review and research contract restraints, a trend toward increased security classification of information, imposition of export controls on research, and restrictions on foreign…

Self-assessment leads to stronger performance in the nation's colleges and universities. That's the premise of "Excellence in Higher Education," a model self-assessment program that has earned accolades from the higher education community. Based on the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award framework, the third edition of this bestseller is the…

This study examined how five high-poverty Texas high schools, which had attained notable achievement levels on selected academic indicators, reached their present levels of performance. The schools shared several characteristics: most students were economically disadvantaged; the location was in a large urban district; there was no selective…

The Interdisciplinary Assessment Model was created out of the need for improved assessment of learning, especially the assessment of critical thinking and problem solving. Development of the model required establishing a common language for library media specialists to cover various curriculum areas, a comparison of current state standards for…

Academic libraries in South Africa are increasingly under pressure to provide Internet-based information services. Due to the historical background (i.e., apartheid policies), however, some postsecondary institutions were better endowed than others in terms of financial resources, library personnel, material resources, and with respect to Internet…

Describes the design and operation of an information scanning system to alert school systems about emerging issues in the areas of social, technical, economic, and legislative/regulatory developments and to enable administrators to anticipate and respond to these issues. (MLF)

Reviews research in computer assisted instruction in areas dealing with communication subject variables as measurable outcomes or effects. These include reading comprehension/skills, composition, and organizational communication and information utilization. A model for future analysis is then proposed. Included in an appendix is a list of…

Five methods of faculty evaluation used at the University of Illinois are described: student evaluations--including questionnaires; written comments, and group interviews; self-evaluation; and evaluation by colleagues. (GDC)

Different instructions accompanied faculty/course evaluation questionnaires distributed in university courses (stratified by level and size). Instructions differed in information conveyed about use and disposition of results. Instructions containing information about administrative or course improvement use produced higher ratings than those given…

A program that uses the clinical librarian as a member of the patient care team has been developed by an obstetrics and gynecology department of a university medical center to keep faculty and hospital house staff knowledgeable about current developments and research. Program objectives, methodology, costs, evaluation, and information utilization…