Examines ways in which information technology developments have changed academic libraries over the last few decades, and speculates about further changes to come. Discusses computerizing library operations; public access; electronic formats, particularly for journal articles; and information networks, including expectations about services,…

Sources of University of Kuopio (Finland) funding in the context of institutional budgeting are analyzed. The decline in basic public funding is seen to require generation of new income, but new income sources may have unwanted effects on university orientation. The contract procedure between the Ministry of Education and the university is forcing…

Seven plans for financing higher education's expansion in the United Kingdom are described, analyzed, and compared, particularly as each addresses three issues: student loan program design; tuition; and student loan repayment. Criteria for evaluating the plans include efficiency, equity, and implications for stability of public spending. The…

Discusses changes in the Improving America's Schools Act (IASA) and Title I designed to help disadvantaged students meet the higher academic standards of school reform. Changes include emphasizing high-quality teaching and professional development, shifting decision making to the school level, creating a link between Title I and other IASA…

Many school reform initiatives now require school leaders to make curriculum and resourcing decisions on the basis of evidence about their likely impact on student achievement. In this paper, we discuss the implications of this policy demand in the context of a descriptive study of schools' capacity to collect, analyze, and use collective…

The concept of fiscal neutrality seeks to guarantee that a penny of tax effort in any district in the state, no matter how poor, will yield the same number of dollars per student for education as in any other district. Every district, in effect, would draw on the wealth of the state as a whole, but each district can decide for itself how much to…

The issue of Intercom promotes an awareness of the world as a system that poses new possibilities and obligations for educators as well as policy makers. The first part includes interviews with and excerpts from the works of Denis Meadows, joint author of Limits to Growth; Mihajlo Mesarovic, co-author of Mankind at the Turning Point; Robert…

A survey of chief liberal arts academic officers in U.S. colleges and universities gathered information on support to faculty for teaching and research, basic teaching conditions, tenure decisions, and merit salary increases and compared it with institutional characteristics. Findings suggest liberal arts are in poor health on American campuses.…

Ethnographic study of north-central Illinois agricultural county compares entrepreneurial and yeoman farm families and concludes that management strategies reflecting goals and values of these types of families affect susceptibility to financial crisis. Yeoman financial conservatism, family cooperation, modest farm goals, and behavior correlated…

In an interview, Lloyd Hackney, Chairman of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), responds to questions about black higher education and the role of HBCUs, including HBCUs' public image, the effects of Dr. Hackney's own educational experience on his views, the Clinton Administration's actions,…

Discussion of academic medical centers (AMCs) looks at: change due to heavy federal funding in recent decades; adverse consequences, including deemphasis on education in favor of research and clinical service delivery, and discrepancies between AMC internal and external labor markets; and challenges to medical education in research, education, and…

Argues that new patterns of trade and production combined with an emphasis on a knowledge-based economy/society make it imperative that Canada upgrade its educational system. Specifically notes that several growing and dominant industries (microelectronics, biotechnology, telecommunications) require a high-tech skilled labor force. (MJP)

Reviews recent theoretical advances in political geography, particularly those that stress the political conflict behind the production of space. Discusses how this has impacted the study of environmental phenomena such as hazards, human-land relationships, development, and international environmental governance. Suggests ways that political…

Representatives of a consortium of two- and four-year colleges on or near American Indian reservations and serving primarily Indian populations are lobbying Congress to explain their successes and objectives and to claim land-grant status and privileges similar to those of historically black colleges. (MSE)

A recent compilation of educational indicators from 20 industrialized countries in North America, the Pacific, Europe, and Scandinavia shows rates and trends in college enrollment and graduation, education-related earning power for men and women, and public spending on education. Educational attainment rates are charted for the 20 nations. (MSE)