Two lines of research have emerged to study the causes and prevention of student failure in virtual (K-12) schools: studies of learner characteristics and studies of learning environment characteristics. To develop a useful model for predicting failure and promoting success in virtual school environments, a study was designed to measure the…

A state task force was organized to identify health or environmental deficiencies existing in Kentucky penal institutions. Based on information gained through direct observation and inmate questionnaires, the task force concluded that many hazardous and unsanitary conditions existed, and recommended that immediate action be given to these…

At two of the Smithsonian Institution's museums in Washington, D. C. special places have been designed for children to enjoy the rich experiences that works of art can provide and to investigate a room filled with touchable exhibits. (CS)

The organizational environment of the library deserves greater attention by librarians and library administrators concerned with internal changes taking place within their organizations. This paper examines four approaches to assessing library/environmental impacts and identifies those areas for which an analytical model could be developed.…

The purpose and theoretical design basis of PUSH (Play Units for the Severely Handicapped) are described. The typical unit with accompanying peripheral equipment and its uses is explained. The PUSH concept has evolved into an architectural design process to fit the needs of institutionalized individuals. (Author/CL)

Ratings from the Institutional Functioning Inventory (IFI) by faculty and administrators at the University of Northern Colorado were compared with group norms in the article; two tables of statistical data were included. (BB)

Ways in which public secondary schools resemble total institutions and the effects of their encompassing tendencies on the individual are discussed. (DB)

Study results support previous findings which indicate a difference between expectation and perception. Tables included. (CJ)

Presented at the summer 1969 advanced seminar on Aesthetics in Education held at the Boston University School of Education. (EJS)

A former employee of the World Bank discusses the logic behind multilateral development banks and how they operate, bank ideology and the nature of policy formation, educational and other reforms as loan conditions, the inability of development banks to enforce implementation of their policies in countries receiving loans, and whether the banks…

Acoustical characteristics of 18 residences for people with mental retardation were evaluated and compared to ratings of room photographs for apparent homelikeness. Reverberation times in living and dining rooms were negatively correlated with mean homelikeness ratings. High reverberation rates were the result of insufficient sound absorption by…

The decoupling argument--that schools respond to pressures from the institutional environment by decoupling changes in structures from classroom instruction--has been a central feature of institutional theory since the early 1970s. This study suggests the need to rethink this argument. Drawing on a study of the relationship between changing ideas…

This article discusses the changes in Russian higher education policies and the role of international organizations--the World Bank and OECD--in promoting education reforms in this country. General and specific recommendations offered by the World Bank and the OECD expert teams to improve Russian higher education are analysed to determine if any…

Universities currently face new environmental demands and significant internal complexities that appear to challenge their traditional modes of work and organization--and thus their very identities. In this essay, Mark Considine argues that the prospect of such changes requires us to reflect carefully upon the theoretical and normative…

Purpose: It is argued in this paper that opportunities for learning manifest themselves in the form of frictions between the structure-as-experienced by actors and the structure-as-preferred. These frictions are considered as potential triggers of learning processes. The concept of friction promises to contribute to our understanding of factors…