Discusses trends in outsourcing, provision of goods and services to an organization that were previously delivered in house. Addresses outsourcing in the public sector, advantages and disadvantages, implications for human resource development, and the shift to the new "psychological contract" between employers and employees. (Contains…

Examines contributions of academia to widespread underperformance and failure in information technology investments. Cites the dominance of economic-technological considerations over human-organizational ones. Concludes that interdisciplinary collaboration and dialog are needed to integrate the knowledge and expertise of information technology and…

Discusses the McDonaldization thesis that suggests that many aspects of the fast food industry are making their way into other areas of society. Explores whether this thesis is applicable to academic libraries, focusing on efficiency, calculability, predictability, control, user expectations, pros and cons of teams, and creativity and information…

Discusses changes in the location and provision of information services that have resulted from online technologies, particularly the World Wide Web. Highlights include knowledge management in digital libraries; the importance of research on information technology and digital libraries; semantic indexes; concept switching; information analysis;…

Provides an outline account of the development and context of scientific and technical communication during the 20th century. Reviews the main channels and forms of communication, their contributions to the overall pattern of information flow, the increasing volume and diversity of scientific information, and the changes computers have made.…

Utilizing national data about the presence and use of educational computers, the paper explains that computer-based applications still play only modest roles in education. Schools face insufficient quantities of any one technology to make efficient use in classroom-based teaching, and they invest little in supporting teachers' efforts to learn to…

Evaluates the success of the Integrated Information Center (IIC) project at the University of Minnesota. Highlights include the functionalities of the IIC, the impact of the IIC on the work life of the end-users, and the IIC as a model for information delivery. (MES)

Presents a heuristic, attribute-based, noise-tolerant data mining program, HCV (Version 2.0) based on the newly-developed extension matrix approach. Outlines some techniques implemented in the HCV program for noise handling and discretization of continuous domains; an empirical comparison shows that rules generated by HCV are more compact than the…

Considers the need for specialization in library and information science education as opposed to a more generalized entry degree, and presents two case studies to further discuss the issue, one in archival science and one in information systems and technology. Convergence and divergence is also discussed. (LRW)

A study examined students' thinking processes when using database applications to solve an ill-structured business problem and compared six students using command language with six using menu selection computer interfaces. Students used a subgoal analysis method for problem solving. Command language group was more likely to skip relevant factors…

Contends e-business is particularly the domain of college and university business officers, with today's officers facing an unprecedented opportunity to exercise a critical leadership role in the deployment of advanced information technology solutions on campus. Describes relevant issues and advances, and presents ten initiatives that business…

Considers issues involved in the change process within organizational culture. Highlights include adopting an appropriate management style; evaluation of performance; aspects of change; implications of change for people management; degrees of change; resistance to change; and an example of planning and implementing a new information technology…

Public policy rhetoric depicts information/communications technologies as a means of transforming lifelong education, freeing individual learners, broadening social inclusion, and improving competitiveness. However, concerns about social exclusion are predominantly economic, and increasing participation does not mean the same thing as widening…

Online and paper instruments were used by 159 learners to evaluate 5 computer-based learning materials requiring information technology skills. Top factors influencing perceptions of quality were as follows: user friendliness, presentation, graphics, engagement, information, knowledge, understanding, level, learning mode, and language. (SK)

Investigates the types of problems students need to be able to solve in order to succeed in a technology-based age of information and the abilities and understanding that success requires. (Contains 16 references.) (Author/ASK)