Australian higher education institutions must recognize the areas in which responsibility for decision making rests with collegiality and where it rests with faculty unions. Both have valid roles within the university community, but they should not overlap. Salary decisions should also be decentralized to preserve institutional autonomy and…

Discusses some misconceptions relating to location and to the earth's hydrosphere, atmosphere, and lithosphere. Provides correction and explanation of various phenomena. Includes ocean names and sizes, sea level, coriolis effect, greenhouse effect, lightning, magma, and mass wasting. Suggests that myths can be dispelled by exposure combined with…

Boston College's (Massachusetts) vice president of information technology remarks on the elements contributing to his success on the occasion of receiving a professional award. He credits talented and energetic employees and an improved administrative structure for making innovation work. An interview about personnel changes at Boston College is…

Discusses the causes and symptoms of burnout among bibliographic instruction (BI) librarians in academic libraries. Highlights include the content of BI sessions; criticism of BI; a review of pertinent literature on burnout; sources of stress for new professionals; burnout in human service organizations; coping strategies; and high expectations…

The issues universities must address in developing technology transfer policies and activities are examined, including definition of academic, financial, and economic objectives; identification of available resources; creation of a favorable institutional environment; appropriate arrangements for research administration and industry liaison; and…

Both public and private higher education institutions say the recession is prompting increased enrollment in part-time training programs as adults prepare for new jobs. A danger is seen in institutions relegating continuing education to the role of surplus revenue generation. Greatest growth is in computer training, human-resource management,…

The University of North Carolina responded to escalating waste disposal costs and shrinking landfill space with a structured program of recycling, including a mobile recycling drop, student family housing recycling, a newspaper drop-off site, high-volume glass pick-up, high-volume newspaper pick-up, and cardboard recycling. Campus-wide cooperation…

A study developed and tested a model that examines the relative powers of support and work stress indicators in explaining faculty research productivity. Empirical examination indicates the model is most influential in physics, least in education, and that different indicators are significant in determining publication in hard and soft sciences.…

The experiences of Emory University (Georgia) and other institutions with surveying faculty for opinions on the institution and its internal information systems suggest specific techniques for planning and carrying out a campus study and for using the results to improve organizational communication and climate. (MSE)

Restructuring demands an organizational and cultural break with the past. Because goals are ambiguous and new roles are required, decision makers must relinquish sequential, goal-driven planning for sustained dialogue, inquiry, and risk taking. Principals enhance the process by educating parents and the community and by establishing a…

Leader-succession research is refocused on its interactive roots whereas the advances of recent succession inquiry are explored in this synthesis of the literature. The approach capitalizes on efforts to understand leader-succession research from a multidimensional and social viewpoint. Organizational socialization is used to frame the discussion.…

Funding trends in Australian higher education are examined over a 12-year period, with analyses for the system as a whole and for 2 sectors: the old, established universities and the newer, emerging institutions. The effects of funding shifts on program emphases and student populations (undergraduate vs. graduate) are discussed. (MSE)

Researchers examined foreign language teachers' perceptions of their work environment, specifically how teachers in differing school contexts defined instruction and how contextual definitions related to classroom behavior. The social organization determined how teachers' daily experiences affected their beliefs, cognitions, and behaviors and the…

Trust, like leadership, communication, and collaboration, is a necessary element of successful strategic planning in colleges and universities. If constituencies are given an opportunity to participate in planning and, as a result, believe that their interests have been protected, they will consider the overall process to be fair, even when a…

Like other organizations, camps need creativity, which breeds originality, improvement, inspiration, and renewal. Explains three broad types of creativity, describes characteristics of organizations that encourage creativity, lists barriers to creativity, and discusses ways that administrators can foster creativity in staff. A sidebar lists…