Incountry Resource Centers (IRC) are vehicles for sharing technical information among persons working to further development goals, and the workshop described in this trainer's manual is designed to help local Peace Corps staff and/or volunteers to establish, expand, or improve an IRC appropriate to the needs and conditions of their country.…

Visual literacy encompasses the ability to generate and make use of visual images to develop or clarify ideas, as a tool both for conveying information and for creative expression. The usefulness of visual thinking in study skills, problem solving, and living in an increasingly visual society is stressed. (Author/JDD)

Reports the results of a study of the communication patterns of geophysicists in India, with emphasis on the role of foreign journals. The results are analyzed in terms of information transfer (publication) and information use (citation). (CLB)

The Inter-cultural Network is an electronic communication network connecting faculty and upper elementary through graduate students in the U.S., Mexico, Japan, and Israel. The students address the problem of water shortage, while learning science concepts and transferring learning. A new form of instruction, teleapprenticeships, is suggested. (GDC)

This paper discusses how the authority control performed by libraries can help the World Wide Web and suggests some next steps in making this resource of authority records available and used internationally. Topics addressed include: (1) characteristics of the Web; (2) precision and recall; (3) connecting international authority files, including a…

This article provides strategies for improving parent information sessions and engaging parents in the support of their children's (including children with disabilities) education. Strategies include using parent-friendly teaching materials, scheduling meetings for family convenience, maintaining a comfortable atmosphere, and providing…

Discusses the reliance of developing nations on technologically advanced countries to provide information--especially in the areas of science and technology--to aid in technology transfer and research development, and examines the advantages of using optical data disk technology to store and retrieve this information. (22 references) (CLB)

Until juvenile records are uniformly shared among professional educators, law enforcers, and social workers, youths will continue to beat (and get beat by) the system. Discussed is the mission, target population, and method of the Juvenile Information Exchange Project approved by the Indianapolis Public School Board. (SI)

Discusses the response of journalists and scientists for overcoming the suspicion of scientific research among the general public. Provides some recommendations and lessons from successful national initiatives. (Author/YP)

Describes a study that examined the flow of information to and from small- and medium-sized public libraries. The findings reported concern the relationships between library size and perceptions of library directors with respect to the effectiveness of various information sources, communication channels, and feedback methods. (seven references)…

Compares compact discs (CD-ROMs) and online services in terms of cost of information delivery; system advantages and disadvantages; future possibilities; and role in the National Information Infrastructure. Analysis reveals that CD-ROMs have the lowest information delivery cost and are endorsed by the marketplace as a cost-effective way to deliver…

Identifies barriers to production and dissemination of information that can contribute to environmental knowledge. Discusses information and the role of Universities and Research Institutes, the attributes of information, characteristics of "barriers," limitations context, and the special problems of environmental information…

A nontechnical overview of electronic data interchange (EDI) and of the SPEEDE/ExPRESS Project, which uses EDI to transmit transcripts between schools and colleges, is presented. It explores the fundamental value of the technology, specific costs and benefits, and its potential to transform the delivery of academic support services. (Author/MSE)

Describes and compares several exchange/transfer formats used to upload records into software host programs, including unstructured or plain ASCII; fixed field; delimited ASCII; tagged; MARC (Machine Readable Cataloging); and graphic. It is concluded that CD-ROM producers should strengthen the built-in output management of programs and offer…

Discusses information retrieval standards as tools for interoperability among systems and traces the development of de jure and de facto standards in the U.S. and international telecommunications environment. Implementation of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) and Z39.50 standards is described. (EA)