This document contains four papers from a symposium on research issues in human resource development (HRD). "Data for HRD Research and the 1997 Human Performance Practices Survey" (Laurie J. Bassi, George S. Benson), describes two research projects undertaken by American Society for Training and Development (ASTD): publication of the…

This document contains four papers from a symposium on assessing the learning organization. "Measuring Organizational Learning: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis of an Organization Survey" (Jamie Callahan Fabian, Ralph O. Mueller, Dail L. Fields) compares two models for measuring four constructs inherent to Schwandt's model of…

Prairie State 2000 began as an Illinois initiative to guarantee dislocated workers access to training funds from a pool of employer and employee contributions. Although its rationale was sound and the need was great, it was beset with a number of difficulties: there was no real market for the training, its grants and loans were not worth the cost…

As businesses are remodeling their workplaces into "high-performance work organizations," states must reorganize their education systems to accommodate the changing world of work and to produce citizens able to compete in the global economy. This paper is the first in a series of reports by the Investing in People (IIP) Project, which is…

This document explores the changing U.S. office, from its expansion in the 1830s due to the railroad industry to its dominance in the U.S. economy of the late 20th century. This examination of the office provides a way to study the U.S.' growth from the industrial revolution to the information age. Chapter 1 provides a brief historical overview of…

One legacy of the United States' emphasis on individualism is a system of vocational education disconnected from employers. Collaboration is an attempt to replace hostility with closer relations between the public and private sectors. The movement for partnerships comes as the "system" of work-related education and training is becoming…

This document contains a letter report and supporting materials prepared in response to a request for an investigation of the desirability of creating a forum for the discussion of the broad problems that confront the manufacturing sector. The letter report, submitted by Frank Press, president of the National Academy of Sciences, and Robert White,…

A study group meeting was convened by the World Health Organization to enable participants to share their expertise and experience in the areas of research and health personnel information systems, and to identify strategies for the better use of information and research in decision-making for human resources for health (HRH) development. This…

In an effort to explore the relationship between employed students and community colleges, this paper provides a extensive review of the literature on business and industry connections to higher education. First, introductory material examines the lack of comprehensive training programs in U.S. business/industry and the dearth of evaluative…

Lawrence Livermore Laboratory (LLL), California, has begun a pilot project in career counseling for its employees, recognizing that management has much to gain from providing growth opportunities for its employees. The needs, employee concerns, program rationale, and the major elements of the career guidance program are discussed. (Author/MW)

Project Baseline is a national study reporting on the status of vocational education and manpower training in national and State programs. State reports are sifted to see how Federal funds were spent. The need for inter-agency cooperation and a national data system are among its recommendations. (MW)

Existing research evidence on the ability of several kinds of public policy used to increase labor force attachment among the disadvantaged indicates that (1) policies for reform of the U.S. welfare system do not substantially help the problem; (2) increasing child support payments would have essentially no effects on the work effort and earnings…

Changes in the workplace have raised the level of literacy needed by workers to full twelfth grade at least and outstripped manufacturers' ability to retrain workers. Even workers with high school diplomas may not be able to read. Although defined as literate, 40 percent of workers cannot meet the demands of the new technology. In order to achieve…

Work force issues regarding technological change, international trade, and changes in job skills were the subject of a series of studies of work force changes in U.S. industries. The studies examined the characteristics of employees in 61 manufacturing industries in 1960, 1970, and 1980 through data obtained from the Labor Demographics Matrices…