Reports on a study that examined the preferences of kindergarten children for upper or lower case letters. Concludes that preference for letters may result from the development of an aesthetic sense. (FL)

Elementary teacher candidates were pretested and posttested with the Graves Design Judgment Test. Of five approaches to analyzing change, only one, a transformation of posttest divided by pretest expressed in percentage, yielded significance. The hypothesis that a sculpture workshop and field experience would result in greater gains was not…

Children ages 4, 8, 12, 16, and adults responded to 24 paintings concerning three subject matters and varying in realism and space depiction. Five-factor analysis of variance indicated that the triple interaction of subject matter, realism, and spatial depth was significant for all. Preferences are discussed by age group. (SJL)

Findings from a study of users' multitasking searches on Web search engines include: multitasking searches are a noticeable user behavior; multitasking search sessions are longer than regular search sessions in terms of queries per session and duration; both Excite and AlltheWeb.com users search for about three topics per multitasking session and…

Discusses "pods,""team areas," and "houses" as middle school physical environments that support the type of learning opportunities young adolescents need. Offers examples of such school designs from Cleveland, Tennessee; British Columbia; and Milledgeville, Georgia. Concludes by suggesting specifications for new middle school buildings. (EV)

Human performance technology is a collection of techniques for evaluating and designing human performance systems. It isn't a philosophy, a moral imperative, or a way of life. When technologists promote as more than what it is, they jeopardize their credibility and distort their own roles as performance engineers. (Author)

Examines the interplay of text, illustrations, and book design elements, using examples from children's books. Discusses the impact of book design on young readers' responses, and presents ideas for acquainting children with specific book design elements. Suggests that class activities in book design can improve children's visual and verbal…

Four contributing authors discuss perspectives on current trends in library interior design. Articles include: "Trends in Library Furnishings: A Manufacturer's Perspective" (Andrea Johnson); "Libraries, Architecture, and Light: The Architect's Perspective" (Rick McCarthy); "The Library Administrator's Perspective" (Chadwick Raymond); and "The…

Uses Frank Lloyd Wright's (1867-1959) organic architecture as a metaphor to define the relationship between a part and a whole, whether the focus is on a building and its surroundings or information delivered via hypertext. Reviews effective strategies for designing text information via hypertext and incorporates three levels of information…

Provides suggestions to institutions of higher education that are developing or enhancing World Wide Web sites for use in student recruitment. Explains basic concepts and offers tips from prospective students. Examples are provided from the University of Colorado, University at Buffalo (New York), and Gettsyburg College (Pennsylvania). (DB)

Presents tips on how to create instructional Web sites with accessibility in mind and how to easily check existing sites for accessibility, based on a study of inaccessible Web-based components at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Provides a list of Web sites focusing on accessibility. (AEF)

Questions used in course evaluations should mainly measure the quality of teaching, and students' answers to those questions should not be influenced by other factors. This paper investigates how seemingly neutral rating scales and multiple-choice questions might have an impact on the results of such evaluations. In several studies, it has been…

Although much literature exists on desired qualities of team leaders of IT projects and even desired components of the team, there is a paucity of literature on the desired personal qualities of individuals working within team settings. This research set out to empirically investigate the personal qualities which students believe would be…

This article describes the evolution of computer interface research issues from text-based interface design guidelines to more complex issues, including media selection, interface design, and visual design. This research is then integrated into the Analysis-based Message Design (AMD) process. The AMD process divides the interface design process…