Argues that shifts in government policies can produce unintended consequences for needy students and the institutions they attend, and illustrates how campus units can cooperate to examine the impact of these changes through creation of longitudinal databases and data warehousing techniques. Describes the approach used and results of a study at…

Reports on a study of the diffusion of the Public Library Association's planning process. Two surveys are described: one of state library development agencies that determined techniques used to disseminate planning information; and one of small public libraries that determined the extent to which they had received and were using the planning…

Describes the use of mapping and portfolio assessment by school library media specialists to document changes in student reading, writing, and information use patterns. Topics discussed include new curriculum designs in language arts and social studies; information literacy; comparing earlier and later work; and student reflection. (Contains 37…

Discusses various initiatives in Canadian schools and universities that involve new ways of learning with technology. Teachers today can and should use new technologies, such as online services, to transform their teaching methods and create the desire in young people to be lifelong learners. (Author/CDS)

The case study method (employing direct observation and interviews) has become the primary means of investigating how secondary school and undergraduate students locate and use information in the library. This article examines and illustrates the shift from survey to case study with examples from dissertations and field studies of secondary school…

Summarizes a study where students were not given full access to the Internet, but were exposed to a variety of Internet source material downloaded onto a network fileserver, and encouraged to communicate internally and externally using electronic mail. Recommends controlled use of the Internet for both the lecturer and student. (MJP)

Conducts a scenario-based usability test with 10 data analysts using visual querying (visually analyzing data with interactive graphics). Details a range of difficulties found in visual selection that, at times, gave rise to inaccurate selections, invalid conclusions, and misguided decisions. Argues that support for visual selection must be built…

The effectiveness of the online card catalog at Sailorway Middle School in Vermilion (Ohio) was studied. The library became fully automated in 1991. The participants were 76 sixth, 90 seventh, and 70 eighth graders (102 males and 134 females), ranging in age from 12 to 14 years. A survey determined the degree of effectiveness of the online card…

In conjunction with employers, educators, and experts in employment and training requirements, American College Testing (ACT) selected 12 generic employability skills--skills crucial to effective performance in most jobs--to form the basis of the Work Keys System. They are as follows: reading for information, applied mathematics, listening,…

Implementation of the first U.S. television program rating system based on identifying content that could be viewed by specific age groups began in January, 1997. This exploratory survey examined the context of how young people responded to the ratings system. Participating in the May 1997 survey were 462 students in fourth, eighth, and tenth…

This curriculum guide is intended for Missouri teachers teaching a course in database applications for high school students enrolled in marketing and cooperative education. The curriculum presented includes learning activities in which students are taught to analyze database tables containing the types of data typically encountered by employees…

This study evaluated the current status and utilization of the Michigan Special Education Learning Materials Centers (SELMCs) mandated in 1970 by the State of Michigan 75th legislature and designed to assist administrators in future decision making. Twenty-two SELMC contact persons and 368 special educators were separately surveyed. Major results…

The global imperative is acting on the reality that people's survival, the planet's existence, and the quality of humanity requires change in the relationship between economic development and environmental redevelopment. The destructive patterns of shortsighted global economic development warrant rethinking of the link between the economy and the…

This training package, one in a series of instructional modules consisting of an instructor's guide and a student activity packet, deals with using resources and references. Included in the instructor's guide are general directions for implementing the presentation; a detailed guide for teaching the lesson that includes performance objectives,…

The Fourth International Research Forum in Information Science (IRFIS 4) focused on two themes: user-oriented research in information science and experimental and practical investigations of the mediation and use of information. An opening speech by Bjorn Tell reviewed information research policy in the United States, France, England, Japan, the…