Ways to make instruction more individualized and personalized even if class size cannot be reduced include modifying the following: (1) distribution of teachers; (2) instructional methods; (3) distribution of students; and (4) exacerbating factors such as interruptions. (MLF)

Reviews results of a survey by the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) of 3,835 scholars in the humanities and social sciences who are working both in colleges and universities and outside the academic community. Areas highlighted include professional reading, authorship patterns, computer use, and library use. (LRW)

A survey at the University of Houston examined factors related to subject searching success in online catalogs, including: extent of subject searching; response to unsuccessful searches; reasons subject search is not used; users' awareness of sources of subject terms; and suggestions from users for improving subject searching capabilities. (CLB)

Argues that community college vitality is directly proportional to the integration of the comfort and confidence levels of personnel involved in public relations, institutional research, and college leadership. Considers Miami-Dade Community College's use of data on student demographics, achievement test results, student satisfaction, and…

Low status is associated with being older, being female, and being a teacher. Both professional scholarship and popular opinion hold negative views on the "feminization" of education in general and on older female teachers in particular. Schools need to be more aware of these sources of stress for midlife and older female teachers. (BJV)

There is a lack of admissions literature about the "people serving people" concept. Although there is much information about marketing and recruitment, there is little about student satisfaction or using an institution's people in creative ways. (MLW)

An investigation of motivations for and satisfactions obtained from political electronic bulletin boards surveyed system users via telephone. Surveillance and curiosity were most commonly mentioned motivations for use. Overall political use was motivated equally by surveillance, personal identity, and diversion motives. System was evaluated most…

Reasons for traditional faculty development programs' neglect of middle-aged, disillusioned faculty are explored. A plan is presented for involving colleagues, including department chairpersons, in efforts to reestablish communication and reinvolve these faculty in meaningful activities and rewards. (MSE)

Librarians should become more active in designing information systems so that their extensive knowledge of how people articulate their information needs and evaluate their findings can be incorporated into new systems. These systems would be more responsive to user needs than those driven by the machine or data processing mindset. (EM)

Reviews the literature on user studies in both online catalogs and bibliographic retrieval systems. User problems with both mechanical and conceptual aspects are reviewed and potential sources of problems due either to individual characteristics or system variables are discussed. Possible solutions and areas that need further research are noted.…

Examines impact of farm women's paid off-farm work experience on their marital adjustment and stability. Finds survey of Louisiana farm households does not provide clear support for either status competition or status enhancement models. Discusses implications of findings in context of recent increases in part-time farming. (LFL)

Discusses informational books for children, how they have improved, and how to teach children to select the book best suited to their purpose and gather pertinent information from it. Notes that well-designed books have an attractive format, adequate white space and margins, and thoughtful placement of illustrations and text. (SRT)

Discusses management by objectives (MBO) as a sound organizational process that has great potential as an administrative tool in education systems. Provides definitions, stresses the participative nature of the process, cites successful examples of MBO in schools, and describes six conditions for the successful implementation of MBO. (JHZ)

A questionnaire designed to identify problems encountered by novice principals was completed by 69 Montana principals completing their first or second year. Curriculum and instruction and professional personnel relations were identified as the most difficult areas. A significant discrepancy existed between actual time spent on instructional…

Presents a study on attraction of students to an open-university distance education program and their commitment to remain in the program over time. In this study, commitment is conjectured to be a function of program satisfaction, availability of educational alternatives, and investment of time, energy, money, and ego. (MBR)