This report provides basic information on patterns and trends of research and development (R&D) performance in the United States itself and in relation to other countries, as well as data on public attitudes toward science and technology. Major areas addressed in the report's eight chapters include (1) the international science and technology…

After conducting a comprehensive evaluation of its curriculum, staff at the Westinghouse Nuclear Training Center in Zion, Illinois, undertook a research and development project aimed at upgrading the center's curriculum to the competency-based format. Included among the main activities of the curriculum development process were the following:…

The relationship between high technology firms and educational institutions in the Boston metropolitan area was studied. Attention was focused on the responsiveness of public schools, community colleges, and four-year colleges and universities to the demands of the industry for technically trained personnel. The influence of companies on…

This combination progress record and course outline is designed for use by individuals teaching a course in signals and communications. Included among the topics addressed in the course are the following: matter, the nature of electricity, dry cells and batteries, Ohm's law, power, magnetism, measurement instruments, Kirchoff's laws,…

This combination progress record and course outline is designed for use by individuals teaching a course in automobile repair. Included among the topics addressed in the course are the following: shop safety, engines, fuel and exhaust systems, electrical systems, crankcase lubrication systems, cooling systems, power transmission systems, steering…

Technological advancement has both facilitated and necessitated the development of distance education programming. In developing nations, distance education is often used to provide traditional education like that usually available in conventional institutions in the Western world. Whereas distance education in the Soviet Union focuses on…

This guide describes the requirements for courses in computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) that are part of engineering technology programs conducted in vocational-technical schools in Georgia. The guide is organized in five sections. The first section provides a rationale for occupations in design and in production,…

Sixty-six descriptions of notable programs and promising practices related to specific problems, practices, and goals in American postsecondary education are presented in this study, a continuation of Volume I. The programs are the result of searches made by the staff of the National Commission on Excellence in Education, although neither the…

Ninety-five papers from an international conference on improving university teaching are presented. Topics, which relate to the theme of the conference, "The Social Dimensions and Demands of Teaching and Technology," include the following: computer-based teaching and information exchange, the usefulness and cost-effectiveness of computer-assisted…

The Mechanical Engineering Section at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy has developed a comprehensive activity based course to introduce second year students to mechanical engineering design. The culminating design activity for the course requires students to design, construct and test robotic devices that complete engineering challenges. Teams of…

In this article, the author describes the current state of research on web-based instruction and posits new directions to expand the current paradigm. Issues of faculty attitude and support toward distance education, instructional immediacy, and the Seven Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education (Chickering and Gamson, 1986) relative…

This overview focuses on the work of Applied Linguistics in North America with an emphasis on publications in the past 6 years. Follow a brief interpretive section on the nature and status of Applied Linguistics, the article reviews a number of major areas of research in Applied Linguistics. These areas include second language acquisition (and its…

This paper draws on data gathered from a five-month phenomenological study of middle school students' perceptions of the effects of computer-based technologies on a learning community in an online synchronous environment. Twenty-four eighth-grade students participated in the Web Pen Pals project, a university-secondary telecollaborative…

To analyze income inequality in 32 nations, the research tested hypotheses based upon eight socioeconomic variables. The first seven variables, often tested in income research, were: political participation, industrial development, population growth, educational level, inflation rate, economic growth, and technological complexity. The eighth…

The nature of society, technology, and education is related to the future and there is a need to explore the implications that each has upon industrial arts education. The incredible advanced technologies that have affected society are starting to affect education and are sure to change many characteristics of industrial arts education. As…