Considers some foundational, historical issues that led to the formation of a technical-communication pedagogy in the first place. Evaluates shifts in an engineering curriculum from roughly 1850 to 1960 that made possible the development of a technical-communication curriculum. (SC)

Describes the evolution and implementation of the Summer Institute on College Teaching, a faculty development program created by the Virginia Tidewater Consortium as part of a foundation-funded exercise through the Kansas City Regional Council for Higher Education. Guiding principles in program development and lessons learned are discussed. (MSE)

Defines return on investment (ROI); describes the individual articles included in this special section of the journal which focuses on the process of ROI in organizations. Together, this collection of articles displays a wide variety of views about the necessity for ROI and the quality and quantity of its use. (AEF)

Presents a strategic consultancy model for establishing a business communication center. Discusses its application in two stages at the University of South Carolina in proposing and establishing such a center. Discusses identifying principles; identifying stakeholders; defining goals; analyzing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats;…

Identifies five key issues to be addressed by college programs attempting to involve commuter students in learning: (1) development of a more commuter-friendly campus environment; (2) support of institutional mission and goals; (3) demonstration of the effectiveness of involving commuter students in learning; (4) cross-functional collaboration;…

Presents a heuristic, attribute-based, noise-tolerant data mining program, HCV (Version 2.0) based on the newly-developed extension matrix approach. Outlines some techniques implemented in the HCV program for noise handling and discretization of continuous domains; an empirical comparison shows that rules generated by HCV are more compact than the…

Forming a strong and diverse team and putting together a comprehensive technology game plan are key to smooth classroom implementation. It is important to look at the big picture while not overlooking important details. (Author/JOW)

Oregon extension faced challenges in presenting programs in the wood products industry. Several traditional tactics, revised to suit a new audience, have proved successful: personal coaching, building partnerships, and providing a high level of service. Newer methods, such as database marketing and distance learning, are also proving to be…

The history of child protection in the United States is marked by an unresolved tension between rescuing young children from abusive homes and strengthening the care their families can provide. The structure of the typical child protective effort is described against this backdrop. Deciding when intervention is necessary and mobilizing community…

Describes an enrichment program for gifted primary-grade students using parent volunteers in Akron, Ohio. Twice a month, a parent provides enrichment activities for a group of six to eight students. The gifted coordinator provides the lesson plans and the classroom teacher provides the supplies. Informal evaluation has been positive and the…

Describes several innovative after-school enrichment programs, including their specific focus and activities. Notes concerns about "burn-out" for some children after a full day of school work. Includes tips for getting such a program started. (HTH)

The Killarney Experiential Education Project was established in 1997 to provide residential outdoor learning experiences to the 184,000 students north of Parry Sound, Ontario. Operated by the town of Killarney in cooperation with the Catholic District School Board and Killarney Provincial Park, the center will set up the infrastructure to provide…

Friends University in Kansas turned its program around by offering more programs during the evening. Success of the adult programming is attributed to business-industry support, pioneering attitudes of faculty and administrators, and adult-learner population needing flexible scheduling. (JOW)

Discusses the collaboration of six Missouri higher education institutions to offer improved access to doctoral education and statewide preparation of educational leaders. Describes unique aspects of the program, challenges such as creating a culture of collaboration and establishing and meeting high standards, the program's outcomes, and lessons…

Planning to offer master's degrees online requires examining mission and philosophy, locating human and fiscal resources, and addressing political challenges, faculty and student expectations, and changes needed in organizational culture, such as the reward structure. (SK)