The Telephone Conference Network, sponsored by The Pennsylvania State University's Coordinating Council for Health Care, is designed as a cost-effective format for providing inservice training in geriatric mental health for individuals who serve the elderly. Institutions which subscribe to the Telephone Conference Network are equipped with a…

Social network analysis suggests that there may be important interactions between the source of support and the type of support offered. An alternative scoring procedure was designed for the Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ) to examine the relationships betwen social network structure, types of social support, and determinants of support…

This report describes educational applications of slow-scan television (SSTV) teleconferencing, which uses a video signal generated from a standard, low-cost, industrial television camera and compressed to a bandwidth suitable for transmission over telephone lines. Following a brief explanation of the capabilities of SSTV and the required…

A set of instruments was developed to study children's social networks. Mothers and their preschool-age children were interviewed with regard to (1) the composition of each child's social network and (2) the performance of support functions by network members. To determine the reliability of measures, a pilot sample of mothers and children was…

This newsletter discusses the evaluation of environmental education (EE) in schools, highlighting an introductory chapter of a proposed Unesco-United Nations environmental program guide on evaluating such programs. The benefits of evaluating an EE program (including program improvement, growth in student learning, better environment, and program…

Social, technological, and economic factors relevant to informed decision-making are presented to provide policymakers with an understanding of factors involved in national entry into videotex and/or teletext technologies. It is assumed that the policymaker has a basic knowledge of computers, but little or no knowledge of the videotex-related…

Computer networks connecting members of a class can provide an effective, efficient means to exchange commentary, field and answer questions, submit and grade assignments, and post class information. Mainframe networks--large computers used by universities before the advent of microcomputers--serve the needs of many users at once. Mainframe users…

A small team of teachers and administrators at Boonsboro Middle School (Maryland) planned staff development activities for the implementation of a networked laboratory of 32 computers. Primary concerns were educating faculty members to develop computer awareness, select and evaluate appropriate software applications, and use computers as tools to…

Developments in EUDISED (European Documentation and Information System for Education) during the period 1986-1987 in Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Italy, the Netherlands, and Switzerland are outlined in this report, and information is provided on both online use of the EUDISED database and the distribution by country of contributions to the database.…

This paper discusses an approach to educational improvement through collaboration between schools and universities. It develops the concept of symbiosis between unlike institutions in which each recognizes need for the other in seeking to fulfill its self-interest. The first section defines the essential characteristics of successful renewal: that…

A serials cancellation pilot project was conducted by the Pittsburgh Regional Library Center (PRLC) from August 1981 to December 1983 in order to demonstrate the utility of using a large online union list of serials for making and reporting collection management decisions. A total of 21 academic libraries and one public library from Pennsylvania,…

It is argued in this discussion that, in order to attain a higher level of excellence in education, American business can and must play a far more important role than simply sponsoring or supporting individual projects on a rather sporadic and ad hoc basis. Ten suggestions are offered concerning ways American business can set the climate for…

This document explores the various issues and concerns related to the development of online systems in libraries and, in particular, online catalogs. Following a preface, foreword, and introduction, chapters are devoted to each of the following topics: (l) providing for special interests including the disabled; (2) authority control; (3) subject…

The interconnection between personal computers and other personal, mini, or mainframe computer systems is discussed. The following topics relevant to college personnel are addressed: hardware techniques for tying computers together, advantages and disadvantages of available software, the prospects for sophisticated micro/mainframe links with major…

This report presents a comprehensive delineation of the principal issues in the field of international telecommunications and information, as well as an overview of United States policy in this area. The first part discusses international trends in protectionism and the politicization of international forums; it also outlines United States goals,…