A new study of endowments by the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) and the Commonfund Institute has brought good news to college and universities: While endowment returns dropped precipitously in fiscal year 2009 as a result of the financial crisis and accompanying slide in equity markets, they climbed to an…

Responds to a 1993 article in this journal. Places that article's general conclusion (that profitable corporations have more readable narrative texts than unprofitable ones) within the broader context of the readability research and corporate reporting literature. (SR)

Various genres of writing, such as corporate annual reports, do not evolve fully adapted to the purpose for which they were created. A historical review of use to professionals and students shows that annual reports have gradually developed from modest beginnings to become elaborate, slick, and purposeful documents, bending in time to economic…

Responds to an article in this same issue (which commented on these authors' 1993 article in the same journal). Suggests cultural context as another possible factor that may have caused results in the various studies under discussion to be different. (SR)

Top administration needs data on which to formulate or change policies. That data often lies dormant in the personnel files. This suggests the need for proaction of the personnel officer in the form of a series of "mini-reports" to top management on a variety of subjects. (MLW)

This collection of essays addresses the challenges of technical communication and provides detailed information for instructors and researchers who wish to further their knowledge of particular areas within technical communication. The essays in this collection also address the problems of a large, complex, and growing academic endeavor. The…

It is argued that annual reports required of Australian higher education institutions by the national affirmative action agency are inadequate to remedy the problem of employment discrimination. It is proposed that the problem is more complex, and more relevant information and detailed analysis is needed to make meaningful policy changes. (MSE)

The 1983-84 annual report of the President of Harvard University to members of the Board of Overseers addresses the advantages and disadvantages of the utilization of new technologies by a university, comments on the instructional uses of computers (including computer assisted instruction (CAI)) and video technology, and cites specific examples in…

This theme issue of "The Bookmark" provides 1991 perspectives on several library service developments, including papers by three New Yorkers who played an important role in the White House Conference on Library and Information Services: Thomas Sobol, Commissioner of Education; Robert Wedgeworth, Dean of the School of Library Service at…