The Pinnacle awards are presented annually by the Association of School Business Officials International to four members who have created an outstanding practice, proposal, or publication that enhances the school business management profession. Presents summaries of each of the 1994 recipients' award-winning projects. (MLF)

Presents recipients of the 1995 American Institute of Architects/American Library Association Library Buildings Awards Program. Most descriptions contain: names of the library, library director, and architects; library location; historical background; and building description including photographs, site plans, square footage, collection and…

Describes the cash award system Indiana developed to reward schools for relative improvement in language arts proficiency, mathematics proficiency, overall achievement performance, and attendance. The article looks at problems with the program, how the program was implemented, how money was used, and positive and negative rhetoric. (SM)

Reports on the American Library Association (ALA) 1992 Annual Conference. Highlights include awards given; libraries' futures; bibliographic instruction; NREN (National Research and Education Network); telecommunications; lack of status in librarianship; proposed guidelines for patron behavior; interlibrary loan; the Americans with Disabilities…

Examines the Total Quality Management (TQM) activities at a federal government agency (i.e., the Defense Fuel Supply Center) using the following criteria established by the Federal Quality Institute: top management leadership and support; strategic quality planning; customer focus; training and recognition; employee empowerment and teamwork; and…

Announces the winners of an annual software contest for innovative software in physics education. Winning entries include an application to help students visualize the origin of energy bands in a solid, a package on the radioastronomy of pulsars, and a school-level science simulation program. Also includes student winners, honorable mentions,…

Reports on the Santa Clara County Library (CA) and its director, Susan Fuller, who was named Librarian of the Year for 1999. Highlights include use statistics; budgets; a new governing and funding plan; first amendment challenges; staff solidarity; and political awareness and skills. (LRW)

Eve Bunting is an award-winning author of 167 books for children and young adults. After a series of interview questions and responses, activities are suggested to accompany several Bunting picture books. (AEF)

A profile is presented of Michael Flachmann, professor of English at California State University at Bakersfield and one of four 1995 Professors of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The discussion includes his teaching philosophy, professional and personal activities and interests, and students' comments. (MSE)

In award programs designed to honor exemplary college teaching, common problems include selection procedures and criteria, bias toward popularity, competition versus collaboration, questionable incentives, and use of special awards to replace continuing rewards. An effective teaching awards program will pass three tests of selection validity,…

Discusses what is known about cooperative performance incentive (CPI) plans, which are award programs that offer teachers and other school staff pay bonuses for achievement of specific schoolwide educational objectives. The paper describes and compares existing CPI models worldwide, analyzes their impact on student learning and school practices,…

Profiles and contact information for 14 candidate programs for the 1999 Australian Rural Education Award. Programs feature tree planting, transportation to boarding school, community development, business awareness, early childhood services, GIS technology, community-based curriculum development, reading resources, environmental service learning,…

Reviews psychological research on learning by doing, noting the role that learning-by-doing can play in education and training. Discusses how one University of Pittsburgh professor/researcher and his colleagues and students implemented this approach and describes lessons learned from the experience, explaining how improved forms of…

The authors read all of the books that received Caldecott Medal and Honor status awarded between 1938 and 2005 and found that 11 included a character with a disability. For each book, they analyzed characterizations of those with disabilities and generated tips for using the book to teach about disabilities. They argue that accurate portrayals of…

Networks of trust relations often emerge under conditions of uncertainty or risk to facilitate social exchange. Under some conditions, such networks represent a form of social capital that can be mobilized in support of general social cooperation in the society. Under other conditions, however, such networks may have negative effects on the degree…