The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has been progressing over the past 5 years toward the institution of Direct Broadcast Satellite Radio (DBS-R) which would institute a new type of radio service. The FCC refers to the service as Satellite DARS (Digital Audio Radio Service), and it would provide reliable, high-fidelity satellite-delivered…

This paper discusses the use of ontologies and their applications to assessment. An ontology provides a shared and common understanding of a domain that can be communicated among people and computational systems. The ontology captures one or more experts' conceptual representation of a domain expressed in terms of concepts and the relationships…

This paper is an initial examination of prime time television's response to the events of September 11, 2001. Based on a review of the 2001-2002 television season's prime time programs, the study identifies 15 programs (out of 65 that ran the entire season) that incorporated September 11th elements. Themes of these programs are discussed as are…

Schools in two New York State counties are creating Web home pages with little money or technical expertise. Approaches to Web page construction include using commercially developed software (like Pagemaker or Claris Works); trying out downloaded shareware programs; using an online service (America Online, Prodigy, or Compuserve); and programming…

Developed a method based on 0-1 linear programming to stratify an item pool optimally for use in alpha-stratified adaptive testing. Applied the method to a previous item pool from the computerized adaptive test of the Graduate Record Examinations. Results show the new method performs well in practical situations. (SLD)

Presents a method for augmenting a Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) document repository with database functionality. Introduces an implementation method for a complex-object modeling technique, and describes interface techniques tailored for text databases and concepts for a Structured Document Database Management System (SDDBMS)…

Discusses how to translate your data from Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) to other formats. Explores key features and concepts of tools that address this problem and relates the problem to the Document Style Semantics and Specification Language (DSSSL) standard. Also investigates translation problems and the roles of SGML and DSSSL in…

Briefly describes four different electronic learning options available from the private sector: Off-the-shelf courseware, authoring tools and learning content management systems, virtual classrooms, and custom content. (PKP)

Describes a Web site called Nifty Assignments that offers assignments for computer science education. Topics include programming assignments; student appeal; appropriateness for high school classes; and links to other related Web sites. (LRW)

States that contrary to previous reports of "grazing," most viewers only used their remote control devices (RCDs) once or twice every half hour. Claims that the dominant RCD operation was direct channel punching, as opposed to dial turning. Concludes that most RCD activity did not take place during a program, thus voiding industry…

A multiobjective programming method is proposed for determining samples of examinees needed for estimating the parameters of a group of items. This approach maximizes the information functions of each of three parameters. A numerical verification of the procedure is presented. (SLD)

Presents the principles of a development methodology for software design based on a nonlinear, product-driven approach that integrates quality aspects. Two examples are given to show that the flexibility needed for building high quality systems leads to integrated development environments in which methodology, product, and tools are closely…

Discusses problems of diagnosing and repairing infeasible linear-programming models in computerized test assembly. Demonstrates that it is possible to localize the causes of infeasibility, although this is not always easy. (SLD)

Proposes an algorithm for the assembly of multiple test forms in which the multiple-form problem is reduced to a series of computationally less intensive two-form problems. Illustrates how the method can be implemented using 0-1 linear programming and gives two examples. (SLD)

Catalogues the various diacritics that are used for spelling different languages, describing what they look like and what they are used for. Also analyzes the problems of using accented letters in a multilingual computing environment and discusses the extent to which these problems have been resolved, with particular reference to Unicode.…