Presents guidelines for a National Learning Infrastructure Initiative based on higher education's experience in national networking and telecommunications, including a systemic approach to instructional technology; precompetitive, object-oriented technologies and standards; prototypes that exhibit educational advantages; and leadership for change.…

The "postindustrial" environment for higher education, with shrinking revenues and enrollments and increasing competition, demands that all colleges and universities become more integrated organizations. Planning can be a powerful instrument for achieving better integration in highly differentiated academic organizations, and good organizational…

Discusses the history of Cherokee stickball, a ball game dating back at least to the 1500s that was once used (as an alternative to war) for resolving grievances between tribes and townships. Describes traditional aspects of Cherokee stickball and notes the steady decline of the game and its traditional rules and ceremonies. (LP)

Discusses three major consumer online services--America Online, CompuServe, and Prodigy. Topics include: Internet and Web browsers, alliances with cable and telephone companies, competition from Microsoft and other companies, and CD-ROM technology. A sidebar includes an interview with CompuServe's Barry F. Berkov. (JKP)

Nonpublic school educational choice proposals are largely derived from monetarist economic and social theory and exemplify right-wing privatization goals. The U.S. health care system has plenty of competition among insurers, hospitals, and doctors; but it is the most expensive, least equitable system in the industrial world. The mystical belief…

Discusses four truths about high school sports: rules of the game are unassailable, the purpose of the game is winning, teammates are people who depend upon one another, and coaches are people to trust. The educational value of school sport is the pursuit, not the attainment, of excellence. (SM)

Six case studies were conducted on the use of business games and simulations in higher education. Results showed that cognitive learning was greatly affected by particular approaches of students; competitiveness tends to have a negative effect on cognitive gains; and learning is enhanced by advance briefing and tutor involvement during the game.…

Rejecting the voucher concept for promoting unequal education, this article endorses the "public/private partnership" model of reinvented school governance. Under this system, teachers and administrators remain public employees but are managed by a private company. Jay P. Goldman's sidebar criticizes privatization schemes as unworkable…

Examines the vulnerability of distance teaching universities (DTUs) around the world to competition both from campus-based universities that are initiating distance teaching and from dual mode universities that have traditionally offered a range of teaching methods. Costs are considered, and the future feasibility of single mode universities is…

Triads composed of a mother and two children from either a nonadoptive or an adoptive family were observed in play settings in the home. Genetic factors were found to influence differences in sibling interactions and maternal interactions with siblings. Environmental factors also had an influence. (BC)

Suggests which perceptions and realities of the complex economic relationship between the United States and Japan are most important. Questions the use of opinion surveys to understand perceptions of U.S. and Japanese citizens about the economic relationship. Discusses characteristics of each nation's economy that inhibit successful economic…

A total of 87 children, 3- to 7-years old, were examined in a study of children's play and reasoning in games of mathematical logic and social logic. Children's sophistication in reasoning was positively related for two games, suggesting a common three-level progression from mastery of procedures to a competitive attitude to advanced strategy. (SH)

Despite high costs, bringing fiber optics telecommunications to every doorstep would be as revolutionary as the rise of printing technology. School leaders concerned with costs, equity, and instructional effectiveness should understand the roles of two key players: the telephone industry and state governments. Sidebars advise about planning…

Discussion of the need for strategic planning in public libraries highlights a case study of a small resort town library, the Crawford Memorial Library, in Monticello, New York. Deciding on specific library roles and planning their implementation are described, and the importance of environment and competition in strategic planning is explained.…

Discusses the change to a choice-based school system in Great Britain under the Education Reform Act of 1988. Compares the British system with proposed changes in the United States. Describes the changes that have placed budgeting and management in the hands of the individual schools that have the power to "opt out" of school district…