Reports on a teacher's eight-month sabbatical trip through south and southeast Asia. Asserts that the people of this area are accepting globalization and proceeding to participate successfully in the international marketplace. Describes political, social, and economic characteristics of the eight nations visited on the trip. (CFR)

Erie, Pennsylvania's Total Quality Management Institute has successfully applied total quality management concepts and techniques in businesses, a nonprofit hospital, and a school district as part of a long-term economic development plan. School district strategies have included distributing children's books to new parents, involving teachers in…

Argues that urban policy should entail a unifying mix of economic, physical, and social initiatives that emphasize job creation and retention and social equity. The author explores a proposal for urban policy involving neighborhood-based planning, regulation of capital flight, local development funding, human capital formation, physical…

The Canadian city of Lloydminster created an agency to promote import replacement by matching consumer needs of schools and other institutions with local suppliers via monthly newsletters, open houses, reverse trade shows, and a computerized database of regional businesses. Dollars retained in the community, new jobs, and development of local…

Examines recent initiatives of state governments and boards in developing economic development policy with community colleges as active partners. Places the policy discussion within a human capital framework, considering the state role in building human capital, and the building of human and physical capital through technical training. (DMM)

In sub-Saharan Africa, aggregate data show that female literacy is associated with higher agricultural productivity and is more strongly correlated than GNP with mortality and immunization rates of young children. A case study of Gambia confirms these relationships, with high female illiteracy apparently impeding both human and economic…

Examines development of rural communities and regions that depend on extractive industries (involving removal of raw materials from nature). Discusses "addictive activities" in such communities characterized by rising operation costs and declining commodities' prices. Discusses community and regional characteristics contributing to…

Suggests a strategy for sustainable living that stresses the need for both national support and international cooperation. Proposes that the goal of creating a "sustainable society" includes improvement in the quality of human life and conservation of the Earth's vitality and diversity. (MCO)

Discussion of development literature in Africa highlights DEVSIS Botswana, which was created to facilitate the collection, organization, and dissemination of socioeconomic development literature, and reports on an analysis of its annual index, DEVINDEX Botswana. Producers of development literature in Botswana are described and problems with…

In rural China, the reform movement's goal was to universalize basic education by making education more compatible with local needs. This meant decentralizing school authority to increase local governments' involvement in school administration and revising curriculum content to increase schools' relevancy to specific communities' future economic…

Describes the historical background of the National Library of Sri Lanka; explains the National Library Services Board; outlines the functions of the National Library; discusses library standards for school and public libraries; describes library development projects at local levels; and considers the public library's role in the government's…

Offers guidelines on evaluating services provided by Advanced Technology Centers on an ongoing basis. Discusses the meaning of impact; strategies for measuring impact; evaluation variables; examples of possible measures (e.g., total wages paid by service area industries); and the need to invest time and resources in evaluation. (DMM)

Discusses problems in meeting the goal of education for all in developing countries. Includes lack of teachers and instructional material. Describes financial requirements, trends in resource allocation, and external aid for primary education. Suggests external donors concentrate on support for building national capacity, weighting funding for…

University-industry relations are examined in the context of countries in which universities are seen as potential resources for regional development. Issues discussed include different forms of cooperation, pricing of research, competition, intellectual property rights, choice of company for developing a discovery, and the broader issue of…

Discussion of the role of public libraries in socioeconomic development focuses on an evaluation of the existing library system in Istanbul (Turkey) and proposes a plan for its balanced development with respect to population distribution and technological advances. Highlights include building design, library automation, and financial…