Reviews the potential relationship between visualization and effective instruction. Highlights include the use of graphical user interfaces for enhancing visual communication, integrating visual communication into courseware design, theoretical principles of visual communication, empirical research needs, AIME (amount of invested mental effort),…

Discusses educational uses of the Internet in light of experiences with previous implementation efforts for the use of computers in education. Topics include access problems; identifying educationally relevant uses of the Internet; cost effectiveness; funding; and the role, needs, and influence of the teacher. (LRW)

Discusses seven propositions underlying the strategies that insurance pools can, will, and must pursue: (1) risk management versus risk financing; (2) elimination of windfall advantages; (3) the maintenance of market-dominant status; (4) cost leadership; (5) client focus; (6) innovation and diversification; and (7) leadership challenges. A sidebar…

Presents an introduction to current equivalence methodology, a preferred alternative to usual power analyses when one wishes to determine if performances on given outcome measures for different samples are equivalent (could have come from the same population). Examples of the approach are presented. (SLD)

Explores the option of using distance education courses as a viable alternative to building classrooms and facilities. Distance education could be one solution to the financial and physical facilities problems universities may have in dealing with the predicted economic and enrollment conditions. (AEF)

Discusses issues relevant to librarians implementing an intranet, including time and cost savings, training and technology, sharing information, information policies, and promoting Intranet services. Outlines the following roles for the proactive librarian: knowledge manager and World Wide Web administrator; promoter and committee member; editor,…

Describes "Self-Serve Reserve", an electronic application developed at the library of Norwich University (Vermont) to handle reserve reading and be easy to use, reduce or eliminate the need for paper copies, deliver imaged documents, require modest start-up costs, and be scalable from a stand-alone workstation to network access.…

Describes an integrated computer library system installed at Lilydale Adventist Academy (LAA) in Melbourne (Australia) in response to a limited budget, increased demand, and greater user expectations. Topics include student workstations, cost effectiveness, CD-ROMS on local area networks, and student input regarding their needs. (Author/LRW)

Addresses the usefulness of the World Wide Web in education by answering the following questions: does it make learning more accessible; does it promote improved learning; and does it accomplish the first two while containing or reducing the per unit costs of education? Examples are provided of what individuals and institutions are doing on the…

Presents results from a study of the status of distance education in community colleges. Discusses the design, support, and administration of telecourses; staffing and teacher training practices; course offerings; and existing assessment and evaluation studies. Addresses criticisms of distance education and cites research results on its…

This article discusses self-employment as an employment option for individuals who are blind. Analysis of trends indicates the total number of facility managers who are blind in the Randolph-Sheppard Program declined from 3,524 in 1994 to 2,711 in FY 2001 and that self-employment outcomes typically cost less than competitive outcomes. (Contains…

Considers the cost of employing student temporary workers in academic libraries and suggests they be replaced with fewer full-time staff. Topics include the trend toward contingent, or temporary, employment; management problems; core employees; cost effectiveness of student employment, including poor productivity and training needs; and evaluating…

Begins with a discussion of cost and efficiency in education. Presents an empirical model to estimate school-level economies of scale. Applies model to expenditure data set by school from 17 Wyoming school districts. Finds that it costs more per student in a small school than in large schools to achieve similar educational outcomes, thus…

Discusses the validity of automated, or computer-based, scoring for improving the cost effectiveness of performance assessments and describes a study that examined the relationship of scores from a graduate level writing assessment to several independent, non-test indicators of examinee's writing skills, both for automated scores and for scores…

Offers a brief synopsis of the unique characteristics of the following roof membranes: (1) built-up roofing; (2) elastoplastic membranes; (3) modified bitumen membranes; (4) liquid applied membranes; and (5) metal roofing. A chart compares the characteristics of the raw membranes only. (MLF)