Agreed-upon Standards Research Articles

Clinical decision making: from theory to practice. The individual vs society. Resolving the conflict

Eddy argues for reform of the American health care system. In seeking health coverage, he explains, there are two positions: the first, that of society, seeks to allocate services efficiently; the second, that of the patient, seeks to optimize individual patients' care. Using his illustration of breast cancer coverage from a previous JAMA article (1991 Mar 20; 265 (11): 1446+), Eddy contends that a tradition of decision-making from the second position is the root of present health care inefficiencies. Eddy's ideal would be complete information to physicians and patients about service costs, benefits, and financial feasibility, and an agreed-upon standard of fair resource allocation, based on the threshold of a specific measure of benefit per resource. To approach this ideal, he concludes, we must recognize the problem, pursue education about service costs and benefits and people's desires of the system, and identify and review services that presently are inefficiently utilized.

THE MONOGRAPHIC CATALOGER AND THE ARTIST'S BOOK: THE IDEAL READER

THE MONOGRAPHIC CATALOGER AND THE ARTIST'S BOOK: THE IDEAL READER

The Role of Unesco in International Scientific Communication

By its constitution, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (Unesco) is concerned with information matters. Under its programs known as UNISIST and the General Information Program, it assists the flow of scientific and technical information across national boundaries, facilitates access to published information and data, and enhances member states' capacity to store, exchange, and use information needed for their development. The main thrust of Unesco's action is along five lines: development of internationally agreed-upon methods, standards, and tools to facilitate systems interconnection and exchange of information; the application of new technologies and the creation of data bases; the establishment of regional cooperative schemes, information programs, and networks; support for the creation of national information policies and infrastructures; and the development of specialized labor.

Direct-measurement ion-selective electrodes: analytical error in hyponatremia.

Using two commercial direct ion-selective-electrode sodium and potassium analyzers, we found lower sodium values in cases of hyponatremia as compared with those by flame emission spectrophotometry or indirect ion-selective-electrode analyzers. It is shown that these errors can be eliminated by modifying the calibrant, and that there is a requirement for internationally agreed-upon reference standards for use by manufacturers and laboratory personnel to assess analytical performance of these analyzers.

National Examinations in Art

The concept of examinations as they are currently practiced in various countries did not directly derive from art teaching practices or from a particular need by the art world to make assessments of their own students. Examinations in art were eventually deemed important following general concerns for normalizing instruction toward agreed-upon standards. These concerns were first directed toward general literacy in reading and writing and the growing recognition that certain pedagogies seemed superior to others in instructing increasingly diverse abilities. When serious interest began in establishing a way of identifying individuals capable of pursuing university studies, the form and content of general examinations had been set by academic areas concerned with the political and social interests of established governments such as those of England, the United States, and France. Of these three, only England and the United States could be said to have remained resolved in their social interest in art instruction for more than 75 years. Some countries, such as Germany and Denmark, have never established national examinations in art at the pre-college level. Until recently the United States had also avoided any concerted effort at nationally standardized art instruction. Such reservations against examinations which systematically remove local control over curricula are not uncommon, even in countries where such examinations have a long history. These reservations continue to be centered in the art education world itself, despite external educational pressure to fall into the more acceptable and general pattern of the examined pedagogy. I shall attempt to briefly describe national examinations as they currently exist in several countries and then to discuss specific examples of the differing emphases exhibited in the references contained herein.

INTERNATIONAL SERIALS CATALOGUING

The importance of employing international standards for serials cataloguing is outlined. Using computer systems in cooperative programs increases the benefits and produces economies, but mutually agreed-upon standards must be used in order to share efficiently and successfully the work of recording bibliographic data. Progress in revising AACR to accommodate ISBD(S)andISDS is reported, and the most significant expected changes in serials cataloguing pinpointed. A period of instability is foreseen but the major national libraries are now making plans to implement AACR II, including assisting librariesi n the transition to the new rules.