Review of major information providers on the Internet that offer business resources focuses on U.S. government, United Nations, and European Community information and suggests sources for keeping current with new information offerings. Electronic bulletin boards, LC MARVEL, university Gophers, and TECnet are described; and access and subscription…

Describes the NPRA/SCHOLE network that links the parks and recreation community worldwide by computer. Special network features are discussed, such as access to Delphi Network and Internet. Also discussed are the requirements for accessing the system and the subscription cost. Results from a subscriber survey are included. (GLR)

Reports on two stages of an investigation into the perceived quality of online databases. Presents data from 989 questionnaires from 600 database users in 12 European and Scandinavian countries and results of a test of the SERVQUAL methodology for identifying user expectations about database services. Lists statements used in the SERVQUAL survey.…

Suggests that writing centers should become campus leaders in the development and use of computers for writing, and should form reciprocal partnerships that require trust, commitment, and open communication. Argues that through successful collaborative projects like computer writing classrooms and online writing labs, writing centers help to shape…

Offers an overview and schema for understanding frequently used network technologies available for Online Writing Labs (OWLs)--electronic mail, gopher, World Wide Web, newsgroups, synchronous chat systems, and automated file retrieval systems. Considers ways writing centers' choices among these technologies are impacted by user access, network…

Illustrates how a three-person collaboration facilitated introduction of computer technology into a writing center. Discusses how an ongoing and constantly developing understanding between the writing center director, an instructional designer, and the technical coordinator allowed the introduction of computers to be an intentional process.…

Describes the WorldClass Network, a fully interactive, inexpensive two-way distance-learning education program developed at the University of Minho (Portugal). The system is based on interactive broadcasting technology that links live television video with the instantaneous distribution of multimedia information through an integration of…

Discusses constructivism and its integration of theory and practice, especially as it relates to online courses using interactive software. Highlights include situated-learning theory, cognitive-flexibility theory, and the design and implementation of two online courses. (LRW)

Investigates how to improve the performance of an Arabic Information Retrieval System (Arabic-IRS) by imposing the retrieval method, Mixed Stemming, over individual words of a query depending on the importance of the word, the stem or the root of the query terms in the database. This method computes term importance using a Term Frequency and…

Offers insights about online conferences from a participant's perspective. Topics include the development of computer-network technology that has improved online conferences; advantages, including early access to conference papers, participants' degree of control, increased interaction, convenience, and cost effectiveness; and suggestions for…

The Dublin Core metadata community and the INDECS/DOI community of authors, rights holders, and publishers are seeking common ground in the expression of metadata for information resources. An open "Schema Harmonization" working group has been established to identify a common framework to support interoperability among these communities.…

Explores similarities and differences between online education and more traditional methods of distance education. Delineates philosophical foundations of the CyberEd program (at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth) and the attempts made to implement those principles within the constraints of Internet technology. Presents anecdotal examples…

This product evaluation reviews two of the most popular online Internet service providers, America Online and CompuServe, and describes their advantages and disadvantages for synthetic speech-users compared to services that offer Internet access only, such as Concentric or Netcome. It concludes that CompuServe is a better choice for individuals…

Reports the results of a study on the usefulness of four online electronic journal directories and two online union catalogs in accessing electronic journals. Findings point to different functions served by directories and catalogs and highlights difficulties in maintaining these sources in the Internet environment. Strategies for improvement are…

Examines integration of on-line technology into graduate counseling course and student reactions. No student indicated that computer experiences had negative effects on motivation. Challenges include a better understanding of how behavior is affected when mediated by technology, understanding of how human interaction is affected by on-line…