Speaking on the operating policies and procedures of computer data bases containing information on students, the author divides his remarks into three parts: content decisions, data base security, and user access. He offers nine recommended practices that should increase the data base's usefulness to the user community: (1) the cost of developing…

Examines the use of lighting, both artificial and natural, that can enhance the aesthetic quality and functionality of areas with indoor swimming pools. Discusses glare and shadow-reduction measures that aid competitive events, including lighting above and below water levels, and highlights lighting issues during televised events. Descriptions of…

Describes Project DL whose goal was to provide a Web site where diverse information sources on digital libraries are available. Discusses the Web site design at the University of Missouri-Columbia that includes three sections: digital library collections, digital library resources, and digital library Web sites. (Author/LRW)

Explains how to make a well-designed signage package that is effective and enhances visitor first impressions of an institution. Examines questions to ask when planning traffic-pattern signage and the significance of the different hierarchy of signs; concludes with advice on signage design. (GR)

Presents three college residence halls that show how administrators are working to provide students with all the comforts of home. Photos and floor plans are included. (GR)

Distance learning generally separates students from educators, and demands that interventions be put in place to counter the constraints that this distance poses to learners and educators. Furthermore "Increased number of students in Higher Education and the corresponding increase in time spent by staff on assessment has encouraged interest…

In today"s economy, public university administrators need to reflect on current practices for reporting and projecting space requirements to government entities as the cost of constructing new facilities or renovating space rises while income from legislative appropriations diminishes. As stewards of public buildings and funds, institutions…

The Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA) includes a central city of at least 50,000 people in an area of metropolitan character where at least three fourths of employment is nonagricultural. Settlements in which a majority of persons live are "contiguous civil divisions" radiating from the city and having densities of no fewer than 150…

Outlines procedures for the application of data processing technology to media center functions, and explains four steps in designing a database: preliminary design, selection of software, detailed design, and design evaluation. (LRW)

In planning the first building of a proposed $80 million facility, Florida International University combined the classical open-space design with some modern cost-cutting measures. (Editor/PG)

The need for a fundamental sense of people in architectural practice and pedagogy is expressed by three architecture professors from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The word "client," a historically and socially specific concept with which to discuss the issues of people-oriented architecture, is defined. (MLW)

Offers a composite, based on the responses from five publishers, of what yearbook advisers should include in the requests for bids that they send to yearbook publishers. (RL)

Presents four articles that provide suggestions for teaching document design: (1) "Teaching the Rhetoric of Document Design" (Michael J. Hassett); (2) "Teaching by Example: Suggestions for Assignment Design" (Marilyn A. Dyrud); (3) "Teaching the Page as a Visual Unit" (Bill Hart-Davidson); and (4) "Designing a…

Explains how daily maintenance and design planning can reduce the potential safety hazards found in athletic-facility locker rooms. Topics include designing locker rooms for visual openness and traffic control, providing non-slip surfaces and proper drainage, installing ventilation systems that can handle the moisture produced in locker rooms,…

Discusses locker-room design standards and common challenges when complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Accessibility and safety considerations for shower, toilet, and locker areas are addressed, as are entrance vestibules, drying and grooming areas, and private dressing rooms. (GR)