For almost three decades we have optimized our organizations for efficiency and quality. We now look to innovation as the source of competitive advantage--for individuals, for organizations and for society. This paper examines the three components of an innovation ecosystem and their implications for corporations, universities and public policy.…

Over the past three years, knowledge-based practices in higher education have advanced, driving the development of low/no-cost, mass-market tools for knowledge sharing and reducing some barriers to change. New investors in higher education are developing strategies to exploit the knowledge-driven value propositions. Existing institutions, anxious…

Much has been written in recent years about advances in assessment technologies designed to aid decision making in the juvenile justice system. Adoption and implementation of this latest generation of actuarial tools, however, have lagged behind their development. Assessment in juvenile justice exemplifies the "science-practice gap" that…

This report discusses the amount and kinds of Department of Defense (DoD) interactive courseware (ICW) programs that are candidates for transfer to the private sector. Candidates for transfer were identified through an analysis of the Defense Instructional Technology Information System (DITIS). Out of 4,644 ICW programs that have been reported to…

In response to the global outcry for environmental information, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched its International Data Sharing Program in 1989 and began to forge information partnerships with developing nations. The three objectives of the program are to establish EPA as a partner in information exchange, to disseminate…

This report, prepared by the Office of Technological Assessment (OTA) in response to a request from the House Committee on the Judiciary, examines the rapid and complex technological changes and trends in computer software technologies and their possible effects on the nation's intellectual property system. The three policy issues identified are:…

Changes in society and work have led to reconsideration of the role schools should play in preparing students to become technologically literate. Technological literacy is part of cultural literacy. Technologically literate people have common sense knowledge of technology, understanding how technology evolves to satisfy human needs. The role of…

Research and development projects at the AT&T (American Telephone and Telegraph Company) National Teletraining Center (NTC) are geared toward increasing understanding of the various psychological, sociological, ergonomic, and environmental factors involved in teletraining, and toward improving the ability to manage the distance learning…

Technology has the potential to make a significant impact on education at all learning levels, but it will be only as powerful as the degree to which it is integrated effectively into the total instructional program. Educators responsible for effective instruction must assume leadership in achieving this goal. This paper describes the background,…

The first of two volumes in these proceedings contains the text (or, in a very few cases, an abstract) of 157 papers on the use of technology at all levels of education, including elementary, secondary, and higher education. These papers were presented in 54 topic sessions and two plenary sessions. Themes of the sessions include: (1) educational…

This document contains a series of papers on the topic of continuing training for technological change in business and industry. The papers focus on examples of training for technological change in several countries of Western Europe. The five papers included in the report are "Training for Continuing Training and Education" (A.…

It is argued that in order to make computer assisted instruction effective in the schools, educators should pay more attention to implementation issues (including modifying teacher attitudes, changing classroom routines, and offering realistic technical training and support) and to producing understandable product and performance evaluations.…

Policymakers and educators agree that technology education is crucial to the development of a technologically literate society that can compete successfully in the world of the 21st century. Technology education is the study of: the application of adaptive systems, including tools, capital, materials, processes, energy, information, and people;…

This working paper reflects the conviction that three areas of change are needed if America's higher education system as a whole is to make optimal contributions to the economic health of the country; it is based on the premise that at this time higher education is far from fully contributing to the economic well-being of the United States. The…

In an effort to more clearly define the engineering method, this document attempts to draw distinctions between engineering and science. Part I, "Some Thoughts on Engineering," discusses strategies that engineers employ to solve problems, and the characteristics of the types of engineering problems. Part II, "The Principal Rule of the Engineering…