A survey of 120 top independent national liberal arts colleges ranked in "U.S. News and World Report" compared the structure of their financial reports to those of publicly held corporations. Results indicate that the colleges' forms strongly resemble those of corporations, but are not as readable as the corporate forms. (MSE)

This study investigated the social network structure of booking officers at the Honolulu Police Department and how the introduction of an online discussion tool affected knowledge about operation of a booking module. Baseline data provided evidence for collaboration among officers in the same district using e-mail, telephone and face-to-face media…

Camps offer a unique opportunity to inform parents of the psychological workings of their child through information based on a large repertoire of situations. Camps can be interpreted to parents as a better way to observe, record, and report how their children: (1) reacted to "on-hand contact"; (2) accepted duties and responsibility; (3)…

This excerpt from a book outlines data needed in an information profile of a special needs child. It advises parents to keep records of the mother's pregnancy and delivery, the child's development, school forms, medical forms, schoolwork examples, immunizations, current photograph, and the child's strengths/weaknesses and skill development. (JDD)

Data were gathered at nine academic and research libraries to study processing components of nine integrated systems for support of bibliographic and item-record creation and maintenance. System support for basic processing functions, flexibility, ease of use, and effect of system design on work flow are examined and results are charted. (CDD)

Developed by Unesco in 1984 for non-library agencies, the Common Communication Format (CCF), offers a simple basis for machine readable bibliographic data for developing nations. Unlike MARC, CCF specifies no rules for description, permitting minimal records; and groups of fields called record segments permit relationships between fields and…

This study tested the hypothesis that 15- to 21-year-old educable mentally retarded students could successfully interact with microcomputers and show interest in using them as a learning tool. High interest levels and attention spans and positive microcomputer attitudes displayed by subjects suggest there may be unrealized potential in…

Describes how the Educational Software short course produced by the Open University Micros in Schools project trains inservice teachers to select suitable educational software for classroom use. Findings of a formative evaluation of an activity in the course in which teachers examined three commercially produced educational software packages are…

Examines creation of Archives and Records Retention Center in school district's Library Media Services department. Highlights include production of policies and procedures manuals, definition of archives and records, functions of library consultant/archivist, functions of center (receiving, processing, researching, protecting, destroying,…

Certain historical aspects of the biology of elderly people may be obscure to the medical observer and must be incorporated in medical case histories. History forms from 10 facilities and interview techniques were evaluated. Results from the Boston study show medical education is incomplete in this area. (Author/MSE)

Describes a nine-step instructional sequence for teaching older disabled readers how to complete job application forms. Provides research findings in support of the program, as well as a sample employment application that includes items frequently appearing on actual job applications. (JT)

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a complex form completed annually by millions of postsecondary students applying for federal financial aid. Errors frequently require resubmission. It is suggested that cognitive psychology principles that help describe how people understand text and complete forms be applied to a redesigned…

Describes how sixth-grade students in a computer and math project at the Ralph Bunche Computer Minischool in New York City collected and entered penny tossing data on spreadsheets for a unit on probability, and how they were encouraged to collect more data by setting up a World Wide Web-based form. Includes a copy of the Web form. (PEN)

Examines common sources of error for scholars using mission registers to study California Indian history. Draws examples from mission register studies of the Chumash tribe to illustrate problems resulting from missing entries, name changes, linguistic errors, and cross-cultural confusion about naming taboos and kin relationships. Contains 34…

The Cost Proposal System, a menu-driven computer program designed to help Pennsylvania State University faculty and staff prepare proposal budgets, accommodates novice and experienced computer users and requires users to provide only basic information. It calculates personnel costs, tuition, indirect costs, and cost sharing automatically and…