Discussion of using Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) to read electronic text focuses on a study that evaluated the use of PDAs for reading course materials in an Open University (United Kingdom) master's course. Considers activity theory and how the PDA changed reading, including portability, screen display, navigation difficulties, and…

Explores issues associated with developing Web sites for large organizations based on experiences at AECT (Association for Educational Communications and Technology). Topics include examining the audience, establishing guidelines, design issues, user expectations, Web site load time, legibility, navigation issues, and recommendations for future…

Discusses results of a usability study at the University of Illinois Chicago that investigated whether Internet search engines have influenced the way students search library Web sites. Results show students use the Web site's internal search engine rather than navigating through the pages; have difficulty interpreting library terminology; and…

The University of Kansas record management system using optical disk storage in a network environment and the selection process used to meet existing hardware and budgeting requirements are described. Viability of the technology, document legality, and difficulties encountered during implementation are discussed. (Author/MSE)

Describes the function of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) Z39.50 protocol, which allows for construction of information "servers"--i.e., resources attached to a computer communications network that can be accessed by client machines to retrieve information. The relationship of Z39.5 to other OSI protocols is explained. (23…

A computerized fund-raising office relies on two software capabilities: word-processing software (to create, edit, store, and print text) and database software (to store, organize, and sort large numbers of facts). These capabilities handle: mass-producing personalized letters, maintaining records of gifts and acknowledgments, and generating lists…

The results of an adaptation to a community college of Simpson's (1987) model for tracking student persistence within major and at the institution is presented. The software used is described and a discussion of the issues that arise in looking at persistence within a community college setting is provided. (Author/MLW)

The development of teacher-made "program pyramids" is recommended to organize individualized educational sequences for special needs students. The process involves analysis of the student's strengths and weaknesses, identification of general program domains, specification of program subdomains, statement of long-range goals, development of…

School districts need a strategic, comprehensive, electronic data processing resources plan that would include the following major elements: (1) systems; (2) hardware; (3) software; (4) staffing; (5) control; and (6) projected budgets. (MLF)

Alumni research does not yet have its own body of literature and resources. Readings are selected from related areas, such as fundraising, marketing, survey research, and other resource books. (MLW)

The paper reviews a decade's efforts to influence Pakistan's disability policies towards greater involvement of existing community resources, rather than heavy government investment in institutional development. Differences between progressive Western views and pragmatic Third World planners are described. An information systems approach is…

Describes the planning, development, implementation and impact of online information systems at three academic libraries. Some of the issues discussed include the campus computing environments, factors affecting the selection of databases and search systems, the impact of the system on library staff and users, and future considerations. (CLB)

The use of prototyping and simulation at St. Louis University to evaluate the implementation decisions and design of a student information system are described with regard to their impact on, and interaction with, institutional policies and procedures. (Author/MLW)

The University of Rochester's experience with online analytical processing (OLAP), part of its executive information system, is reported. The server, a multiuser, local area network (LAN)-based database loaded from legacy systems or a data warehouse, can rapidly manipulate and display data, and allows quick creation and changing of analytical…

Discusses similarities and differences between knowledge acquisition in expert systems and requirement acquisition in others kinds of information systems (particularly decision support systems). Examines role-limiting methods for automated knowledge acquisition and their integration from the problem-solving perspective. Suggests a feasibility…