Student ratings of classroom social environments were related to absenteeism rates and average final grades. Classes with high absenteeism rates were seen as high in competition and teacher control and low in teacher support. Classes in which teachers gave higher average grades were seen as high in involvement and low in teacher control.…

Given the highly visible character of intercollegiate athletics, there is a dangerous confusion about who makes decisions, suggests this university president. It ought to be the president, with the board's backing, who deals with intercollegiate programs, including financing women's athletics and breaking down all sports into levels of emphasis,…

Examines the effect of the proportion of women administrators on both men's and women's salaries in colleges and universities. Identifies four theoretical predictors: economic competition and crowding, demographic group power, group interaction, and institutionalization. Increasing the proportion of women actually decreases salaries for both…

As research equipment becomes more sophisticated and expensive, and as the number of scientists and engineers choosing academic careers shrinks, the start-up costs for recruiting researchers are skyrocketing. The cost typically includes money to provide equipment, facilities, and support needed to set up laboratories and begin research. (MLW)

Defines incremental product development and discusses how this style of innovation effects technology industries. Cites examples of Japanese competition which emphasizes quality and speed in product development. Makes recommendations for the improvement of product development in the United States. (CW)

The fourth-year courses selected by the classes of 1982 and 1986 in the Brown University Program in Medicine were compared. The data support the contention that medical students' perception that residency positions were more difficult to obtain led to changes in selecting courses in the fourth year of medical school. (Author/MLW)

The family-school relationship was analyzed using an ecological/systemic model incorporating an ethnographic perspective. Five family-school relationship patterns were examined: avoidant, competitive, merged, one-way, and collaborative. Case studies were included to describe the patterns and illustrate strategies for changing dysfunctional…

Teaching hospitals are caught between two modi operandi of the 1980s--cost containment and competition. The major area of conflict faced by medical school faculty are the demands of clinical practice and research. Medical students originally motivated by idealistic concerns are seduced by the specialties and subspecialties. (MLW)

Many of the issues concerning assessment in higher education are really issues of values, philosophy, and theory, rather than practical, nuts-and-bolts issues. Excellence as the development of human talent, competition or cooperation, outcomes, and improving assessment practices are discussed. (MLW)

A survey of applicants accepted by a major research university found that among the most sought-after applicants, academic scholarships and other forms of forms of financial aid were more likely to have influenced college choice, putting the institution with minimal non-need-based financial aid at a competitive disadvantage. (MSE)

A research network called the European Institute of Technology will be created by major European technology companies. The institute will seek to encourage greater collaboration among academic and industrial researchers in Europe by financing research in fields relevant to long-term needs of sponsoring companies. (MLW)

The impacts of computer-assisted cooperative, competitive, and individualistic instruction were compared on student achievement and attitudes. Results indicated that computer-assisted cooperative instruction promoted greater quantity and quality of daily achievement; more successful problem solving; and higher performance on factual recognition,…

The development of competitive markets for health services and the shift to the provisions of services through large-scale organizations are having a profound effect on academic health sciences centers. The teaching programs based at the University of Minnesota Hospital and Clinic are threatened as health maintenance organizations restrict…

Offers pointers for establishing a college-sponsored essay contest for public school students in grades five through twelve and enumerates the benefits of such a program. (NKA)