Hypermedia-based courseware used at the University of Alabama for optometric education is described, focusing on these key features: uses of graphics; interactivity and navigation options; and capacity for printing course material, including both text and graphics, for handouts. The system has been found effective in both a multiinstructor…

Three approaches to setting the evaluation standards for testing pharmacy practice knowledge of pharmaceutical students are discussed and compared: relative standards; absolute standards; and a compromise approach using various sources of evaluation information. The application of the different approaches to a 120-item assessment previously…

Presents results of empirical research examining job satisfaction among proprietary school teachers in the new Laender in Germany. Identifies three main areas of concern; academic freedom, professional satisfaction, and job-related stress. Suggests significant differences between these findings and those of earlier studies. (MJP)

Describes the evolution of methods used in selecting students for the University of Southern California dental school's problem-based learning (PBL) program, discussing changes in policy based on experience over the program's three years. Comparisons are made with admission processes at some other health sciences schools around the world that are…

Microsituations teaching is a case-based, active learning tool developed from cognitive learning theory to teach problem-solving skills to large classes while conserving faculty and other resources. Since implementing this method in an endocrine pharmacology course at the University of Kentucky, student performance on problem-solving examinations…

Describes the leadership potential and career opportunities available in the child care field by chronicling the careers of: (1) Karen King, President, Children's World Learning Centers; (2) Ophelia E. Givens Brown, Executive Director, Dade County Community Action Agency; and (3) Sue Houweling, owner, Play and Learn. Includes advice for promising…

Argues that the Virginia Community College System must begin to offer partial benefits and more equitable monetary compensation to part-time instructors. Contends that full-time faculty must help find solutions to the exploitation of adjunct faculty. (NB)

Compares the 21st century adjunct faculty member to the 19th century sharecropper. Explains that sharecroppers thought they were getting a chance at equality, but instead they were bound to a revised system of indenture. Claims that the status quo will win out in the educational system, as with the sharecroppers. (NB)

The 1996 welfare reforms narrowed rural-urban differences in employment for both less-educated and more-educated single mothers, and raised the employment rate of single mothers, overall and for all racial/ethnic groups except nonmetro Hispanics. These findings suggest that the aggregate effects of obstacles to employment are no greater in…

Highlights findings from the literature on management development experiences that influence women's advancement. Discusses results of a study of 27 female managers about their participation in management development. Describes four human resource development (HRD) initiatives with the potential to enhance women's management development: training,…

A University of Utah first-professional-year pharmacy course on the social and behavioral aspects of the United States health care system was modified to include opportunities for students to enter service-learning relationships with homebound senior citizens who were clients of three nonprofit agencies. Assignments, evaluation methods, and a…

When physicians ascribe errors to systemic causes, they may be less likely to modify future behaviors and more likely to repeat past errors. Academic medical centers should balance protecting patients from errors that a systems approach can identify against providing optimal education for house officers by teaching them to focus also on personal…

Discusses the medical student characteristics associated with graduates' entering generalist careers, including initial specialty preference, geographic background, gender, age, ethnicity, economic/lifestyle factors, attitudes and personal values, service orientation, and premedical academic performance. Presents strategies medical schools can use…

Modernising the teaching profession has become one of the main goals of contemporary educational system reform. The evaluation of teachers has been integral to the new teacher quality policies and programs. This article provides a comparative and critical analysis of the evaluations that teachers now confront during their professional careers.…

This article presents the results of a study that was conducted as an effort to identify the needs of sex workers as potential beneficiaries of future HIV prevention and empowerment activities. The purpose of this study was to assess the situation and needs of sex workers in the context of HIV/AIDS. Data were collected from one of the small…