Discusses the money saving practice of small communities contracting with neighboring communities for special government services like firefighting. Using fire protection as an example, provides practical information for negotiating a fair price. Stresses establishing a bargaining range within which negotiations can take place--setting upper and…

The authors focus on the organizational context of training evaluation and discuss the following main themes: What organizational factors need to be considered? What sort of objectivity can evaluation studies aspire to? What can training gain from approaches to evaluation originating outside the training literature? (CT)

Describes a study of the computer searches performed by 14 education specialists on the ERIC database. Interviews with users indicate they felt retrieved materials were relevant, the database provides access to materials not obtainable through other sources, and the proportion of irrelevant items in the output is not significant. (MBR)

Historical background, methodological aspects, and results of educational planning are discussed. (RM)

To offset declining enrollments, financial constraints, younger faculties, and high tenure ratios, some institutions are considering early retirement programs to facilitate faculty turnover. A University of Virginia faculty committee reviewed several early retirement options and selected a cost-effective bridging program with ample incentives and…

Discussion of past, present, and future of computer-based teaching at the undergraduate level addresses psychological, economic, and political barriers to progress; educational potential and objectives; technological developments and new organizing principles in software fostering computer-based teaching; and correct environment, support,…

Training and interpersonal skills can greatly improve school maintenance and food service operations. Innovative examples include an energy management program and a food service "focus on success" action plan. (MLF)

The cost-effective "wellness" health care approach, emphasized by many corporations, will soon be emphasized by school districts. Wellness programs, beneficial for employees, can be launched by utilization of community resources and by knowing employees' health needs. (CJH)

Presents highlights from a panel discussion by well known San Francisco Bay area documentation writers, instructional designers, and human performance technologists. Three issues on user performance and documentation are addressed: whether people avoid reading user manuals and why; major human factors influencing documentation use; and…

A summary and analysis of research in marketing education published since 1980 is provided and critiqued methodologically. The results of a survey of leading researchers in marketing education on the question of future directions for research is presented. (CT)

This article defines the place that the videodisc can assume in health science education, particularly in light of the explosion of information and technology, the better understanding of adult professional learning, the era of cost containment, and the need for educational methods and technology to address areas other than the dissemination of…

Focuses on alternative paradigms to experimental inquiry useful to instructional systems researchers, including quasi-experimentation, meta-analysis, case study and ethnography, systems-based evaluation, and technique and model development. Each is discussed in terms of how it generally applies in the field and how it has been employed by…

Case studies provide evidence as to why Third World employers generally prefer male workers and consider certain jobs to be more suitable for men, and other jobs, much less numerous, to be more suitable for women. The authors also draw a number of distinctions between stereotype and fact. (Author/CT)

The increasing popularity of health promotion and lifestyle management techniques call for a careful look at the misuse and costs of suasion, imposition of values as science, social inequities and individual consequences, and biases in communication of health risk information. The application of more systematic cost-benefit analysis is…

A Vermont high school has developed a series of graduate-level inservice courses to introduce teachers to computers in a systematic, cost-effective way. Course offerings include software evaluation, computer literacy, educational uses of the computer, LOGO, and BASIC. (TE)