Common pitfalls in technical writing and how to avoid them are outlined. These pitfalls include goobledygook words and phrases, plodding style, failure to follow the prescribed format for publication or proposals, misuse of words, inconsistencies, and failure to edit or proofread adequately. (MSE)

Suggests that faculty advisers to student literary magazines attend to three areas (fiction content, feature materials, and page layout) to ensure a more balanced and successful student publication. (RL)

The self-study has been increasingly used as an aid to accrediting reviews but has rarely been used as a tool for ongoing systematic internal quality assurance. Attention to the purposes and functions, the processes, and the dynamics of self-studies so used can yield great benefit for modest cost. (Author/MLW)

A major effort by higher education institutions to raise standards is required. Changes in accrediting, in informing consumers more effectively, and in the internal processes of self-monitoring will be needed to support the press toward improved teaching and learning. (Author/MLW)

North Carolina has begun a comprehensive, systematic approach to the reevaluation and assessment of the teacher education process. (Author/MLF)

A system for grading student work based on contracts is examined. Types of contracts, methods for controlling quality as well as quantity of work, advantages of the contract grading system, and the results of research into the use of grade contracts--including student reaction to the system--are some of the topics discussed. (JMP)

Reviewing training and performance support materials ensures quality and builds the developer's skills. Examines the review process, reviewing to build skills, self-reviewing, technological aids, and feedback; provides guidelines for reviewers and developers; and suggests techniques for development improvement. Outlines suggested review stages and…

The author argues that, in a team-based business culture where good service is a minimum and professionalism is a given, information experts need to move beyond the service era and distinguish themselves by creating an "information experience." Describes how corporate information experts can adapt to what John Naisbitt has called the…

Discusses outsourcing in the information industry. Highlights include information technology; special libraries; outsourcing in Australia; public librarians; benchmarking and quality control; online searching; and outsourcing as a threat to information professionals. (LRW)

Reviews research showing that there is a level of quality below which children's development is compromised. Uses analogies of options available to consumers when buying cars to designate features of quality child care. Argues that high-quality care should be available to all children. (AMC)

Disconfirmation models of online service measurement seek to define service quality as the difference between user expectations of the service to be received and perceptions of the service actually received. Two such models-inferred and direct disconfirmation-for measuring quality of the online experience are compared (WebQUAL, SERVQUAL). Findings…

Discusses educational technology in light of the recommendations by the Expert Panel on Educational Technology. Topics include overcoming basic cultural features of elementary and secondary education that will work against designing effective educational technology programs; and improving learning from the learner's perspective, rather than doing…

Suggests there is a crisis in educational leadership, especially as it affects information technology. Highlights include educational leaders as managers; the commercialization of education; management strategies on campus; students as customers; quality control, online distance education, and the business model; and the future of online distance…

Strong Memorial Hospital, Rochester, New York, initiated a hospital-funded applied-research program linking patient care and academic interests of clinicians with hospital management to improve patient outcomes while lowering costs. The program is projected to produce substantial cost savings while improving patient care quality. (GLR)

Use-oriented approaches to evaluation have been challenged by contentions that the responsiveness of such evaluations undermines their technical quality. This discussion analyzes purported conflicts between these evaluation criteria of utility and accuracy by examining underlying assumptions related to evaluation's purpose and politics. (TJH)