The research reported in this paper focusses upon the following concern: the participants and procedures followed by the central office of boards of education in Ontario in the…
Abstract
The research reported in this paper focusses upon the following concern: the participants and procedures followed by the central office of boards of education in Ontario in the process of making policy decisions; the size of the central office staff responsible for administering the edcuational system; the changes that have occurred in the organizational structures of school boards in the past ten years. Twelve boards were selected taking into account such variables as size, type, structure, language, urbanization and location. Within each board, the director, the senior business official, and at least one supervisory officer were interviewed. In addition, directors' reports to governmental and professional agencies were analyzed. The findings illustrate that the complex, delicate process of “making policy” proceeds through a series of stages during which the influence of key actors shifts. Boards with a medium number of students enrolled were found still to have the lowest number of administrators—a pattern noted earlier by Hickcox. Finally, it is suggested that the delivery of education has undergone much experimentation, adaptation, and change during the 1970s and while the description of the administrative structure of boards developed earlier still tends to hold, it may also mask significant organizational configurations that have developed more recently.
The term “library management” covers many different aspects of the way that a library is operated and conjures up different concepts in the minds of different people, depending on…
Abstract
The term “library management” covers many different aspects of the way that a library is operated and conjures up different concepts in the minds of different people, depending on their own interests, agendas and requirements. Research into the subject is even more difficult to define because the application of research in one field can be vital to the development of another. Some researchers would not consider their research central to library matters at all, whereas the practising librarian might well see it as casting new light on a difficult area of understanding or development.
The last Fiscal Currents examined the challenges represented by budget cuts. This column will look at some of the ways that libraries have responded and suggest further action if…
Abstract
The last Fiscal Currents examined the challenges represented by budget cuts. This column will look at some of the ways that libraries have responded and suggest further action if libraries are to emerge from the present fiscal crisis in shape to continue their role as information providers to society.
The administration's fiscal year 1993 budget proposes a 76 percent cut in Department of Education library programs. The only program remaining is $35 million for the Library…
Abstract
The administration's fiscal year 1993 budget proposes a 76 percent cut in Department of Education library programs. The only program remaining is $35 million for the Library Services and Construction Act Title I, adult literacy activities. The same approach has been taken to the Higher Education Act, where all library programs receive zero funding, and the library fellowship program has been consolidated with other graduate fellowship programs. This follows last year's proposals, and Congress may act to restore funds.
The following is an annotated list of materials dealing with information literacy including instruction in the use of information resources and research and computer skills…
Abstract
The following is an annotated list of materials dealing with information literacy including instruction in the use of information resources and research and computer skills related to retrieving, using, and evaluating information. This review, the twenty‐first to be published in Reference Services Review, includes items in English published in 1994. A few are not annotated because the compiler could not obtain copies of them for this review.
Jerssica Hu, Kuan‐Tsae Huang, JKazashi Kuse, Geng‐Wen Su and Ko‐Yang Wang
Information quality has become the number one issue a knowledge worker faces in today’s environment, due to the high noise‐to‐signal ratio of non‐essential content in knowledge…
Abstract
Information quality has become the number one issue a knowledge worker faces in today’s environment, due to the high noise‐to‐signal ratio of non‐essential content in knowledge repositories and the lack of quality measurement for the information. This paper discusses information organization and retrieval technologies for improving the quality of knowledge by reducing the noise‐to‐signal ratio, and focusing on techniques to abstract data from search results into comprehensible knowledge for users. A case study concerning a customer management system is used to illustrate the ideas.
Details
Keywords
The launch of both Euronet and the British Post Office two‐way data service to the US has been delayed. Due to become operational in December 1978, Euronet is now unlikely to be…
Abstract
The launch of both Euronet and the British Post Office two‐way data service to the US has been delayed. Due to become operational in December 1978, Euronet is now unlikely to be open until June 1979. As reported in the March 1978 issue of Online Review, Euronet — the European data transmission network was due to interconnect customers through packet switching exchanges in London, Frankfurt, Paris and Rome and remote access points in Amsterdam, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dublin and Luxembourg. The network is based on technology developed for the French Transpac domestic network and it seems that delays in starting up Transpac are the major cause for postponing Euronet until next year. However, arrangements with host computers are progressing ‘very satisfactorily’ according to Dr. Georges Anderla, Director for Information Management, in Luxembourg. Five hosts — Blaise (London), Corte di Cassazione (Rome), CTI (Ministry of Economic Affairs, Brussels), FIZ4 (Karlsruhe) and Infoline (London) — have signed statements regarding their connections to the network . Another 15 are still due to sign and Dr. Anderla seemed to welcome the delay by stating that “…the extended pre‐launch planning period gives us the opportunity to introduce the facility with a broader range of host and databases and a greater number of users than would otherwise have been the case.” Meanwhile both Switzerland and Spain — two non‐European Community countries — have made formal application to join Euronet.