Resources Information Center Research Articles

Customer focus: obtaining customer input

The overall emphasis of Total Quality Management is on making a product or service match the requirements of its customers. Therefore the service provider must find ways to obtain information regarding both customer needs, and their perception of the current level of performance. Given the limited resources available to information services, it is also important to determine priorities for action by identifying those issues that need improvement and that customers see as being important.This article describes the three main, formal methods used by Telecom Australia's National Information Resource Centre to obtain customer input and to regularly review its products and services.

DEVELOPING HMIC: THE HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT INFORMATION CONSORTIUM

A Strategic plan developed by the King′s Fund Centre Information Resources Department highlighted the need to collaborate with other national health care management libraries in order to, respond to the pressure of an increased demand for services and to undertake projects beyond the means of one institution. Two partners were found and in 1992 the Healthcare Management Information Consortium (HMIC) was established. The other HMIC partners are the Department of Health Library and the Information Resource Centre of the Nuffield Institute for Health Services Studies. The objectives are to ensure comprehensive coverage of all non‐clinical subjects relevant to the National Health Service among the three constituent information centres, to facilitate the most efficient use of infformation resources within these centres, and to encourage the development of a national healthcare information strategy which is responsive to local and regional information needs. After one year, HMIC has made some progress towards these objectives but more time and financial resources are needed for planning consortium activities.

Building an information resource center for competitive intelligence

The creation, operation and maintenance of information resource facilities for competitive intelligence must be responsive to the dynamic relationships among users and sources that support the organization's business goals. Such an information center must be managed to accommodate evolving competitive intelligence needs. A further challenge is developing an integrated information resource that can simultaneously serve the needs of diverse communities of users. Traditional information representations are only the starting point. Solutions integrating innovative methods such as hypertext and expert systems are increasingly relevant.

Establishing the United States Asylum Officer Corps: A First Report

This article discusses the establishment and operation of the United States Asylum Officer Corps (AOC). It begins with a brief review of asylum processing since the passage of the Refugee Act of 1980, including interim arrangements, plans for change, and adoption of a final asylum rule on 27 July 1990. Controversies of that first decade are discussed, and attempts at promulgating a final rule are noted. The establishment of the Asylum Officer Corps mandated by the 1990 final rule is detailed, including the creation of an interim Designated Asylum Officer Corps (DAOC) which operated from 1 October 1990 through 1 April 1991. The training of the Corps and the development of background and reference materials are reviewed. The creation of the INS Resource Information Center (RIC), also mandated by the July 1990 final rule, is detailed, as are the kinds of information being collected, the types of reports being developed, and the modalities of Asylum Officer access to these important resources. The article details the two goals of the U.S. asylum programme, and the qualitative and quantitative indicators for measuring programme productivity. The three major components of the asylum programme workload are reviewed, together with current plans for each of them. The article concludes with an assessment of some of the initial public and official reaction to the work of the Asylum Officer Corps.

Reproductive Health Hazards in the Workplace

On June 27, 1990, the US Supreme Court announced that a decision will be made at its next session as to whether federal laws prohibiting sex discrimination in employment prevent companies from barring women of childbearing age from some hazardous jobs. This announcement points to but one of the issues in a complex subject of interest to obstetricians, pediatricians, urologists, and occupational medicine specialists. This book, a hard copy reprint of the report prepared by the Science Information Resource Center in response to a congressional request, is an excellent background document. It attempts to catalog all types of environmental hazards—chemical, physical, and biological—that are thought to have deleterious effects on the human reproductive cycle measured from preconception to adulthood. Also included are reviews of the human reproductive process and child development, methods for control of hazards, and related economic, ethical, and legal problems. Options for congressional legislative remedies are suggested.

Street-Linked Therapy

The following paper outlines an approach to working with young people (age 16–25) who are living “on the streets”, that is, with a history of homelessness and transience. This group is generally not prepared or able to attend a conventional counselling centre so the approach is designed to be appropriate for such loosely structured settings as a drop-in centre for the homeless, or a walk-in information resource centre. A model for this work is presented which draws upon ideas from family therapy and systems theory. Practical details and case examples are also presented.

Families U.S.A. (United for Senior Action) Foundation.

Families U.S.A. (United for Senior Action) Foundation.

The availability and use of international documentation in Yugoslav libraries

As a part of the information activity of the Information Resource Centre for International Studies of the National and University Library in Zagreb, a research project was carried out in 1983/1984 (with amendments for 1985/1986) on the documentation of international organizations as a source of information for academic, business, and political research in Yugoslav libraries. The status of international documentation was explored using variables of availability and use. Registered possibilities presented great variation in library and information services for international organizations documentation, and this situation is certainly reflected by the availability and use of international documentation. Simultaneously, data were collected for a catalogue and Guide to the international documentation collections in Yugoslav libraries. One-hundred thirty collections (deposits and other large or exclusive collections) in 25 libraries, are located for the Guide, a portion of which is appended to this article.

Removing Barriers to the Participation of Adult Learners in Higher Education

The effectiveness of open admissions and delivery of educational services at a distance in serving adult learners enrolled at Athabasca University, Alberta, Canada, was studied in 1979-80 through an analysis of demographic and geographic information on 2,491 students. Information was gathered on the following characteristics: sex, age, number of people in the household, educational preparation, occupations, reason(s1 for pursuing a university education, geographic location, preference for various learning situations, and reasons) for studying at Athabasca University. The malority of the university's students were 25 to 44 years old: 63 percent of its students were female and 37 Percent were male. It was found that approximately 50 percent of the students .attending the university benefited from the open admission policy. Eighteen percent of the students applied for advanced credits toward an undergraduate degree based on credit earned elsewhere. Less than one percent were able to take advantage of the absence of a residency requirement and earned enough credits through advanced credit assessment to be granted a bachelor of general studies degree. Thirty percent of the students were from geographically isolated regions. The fact that many of the students reside in large cities and big towns indicates that adult learners prefer the convenience of taking home, study courses. The data suggest that distance education with new media and methods serves a new student population, including women and working people. A bibliography is appended. (SW) ** ** * ** **** ** * *. * ****** *** *** ** * Reproductions supplied by EDES are the best that can be made from the original document. ****4* ********************** * -PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INEIMATION CENTER (ERIC).REMOVING BARRIERS TO TIE PARTICIPATION OF ADULT LEARNERS IN HIGHER EDUCATION Petra Hammer & Douglas Shale U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION NATIONAL INSTITUTE OE EDUCATION EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) Thy% tiocurriunt hoo boon redroduced To rootoodd tour.. ihi. pitmen Or Woar11/0110r, Ottitmalloci tt. Ma nor 0.-Irvivs haw been noide to tfripft)we roroodoi bin /wain, * Points dt vonA or opinions stated in that (1000 mont do not rvocc.s&jhly repreSot otticoi NIE pool di policy. Association for the Study of Higher Education The George Washington University / One Dupont Circle. Suite 630 / Washington. D.D. 20036 (202) 296-2597 This paper was presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education held at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C. March 3-4, 1981. This paper was reviewed by ASHE and was judged to be of high quality and of interest to others concerned with the research of higher education. It has therefore been selected to be included in the ERIC collection of ASHE conference papers. Annual Meeting March 3-4,1981 Washington Hilton Washington, D.C. Removing Barriers to the Participation of Adult Learners in Higher Education

Some Services Available To Hospitality Educators Through the National Restaurant Association's Information Resource Center

Some Services Available To Hospitality Educators Through the National Restaurant Association's Information Resource Center

The distribution of community information: the role of the computer and computer‐based networks

The concept of community information or social information is defined and related to other forms of information. The sources of information for residents of a specific community are determined. A ‘computer assistant’ (CACTIS) for a local community information centre is described. Different types of information networks are presented and related to regional characteristics. A networking study for community information centres, resource centres, and constituency offices in southwestern Ontario, with CACTIS as its focus, is described.

Information From The Clearinghouse On Educational Management

The Clearinghouse on Educational Management is one of 19 units in the Educational Resources Information Cen ter ( ERIC ) network funded by the U.S. Office of Educa tion. Specializing in educational administration at the elemen tary and secondary levels and facilities at all levels of edu cation, the Clearinghouse has two major functions. It processes research reports and journal articles for an nouncement in the monthly ERIC catalogs Research in Education and Current Index to Journals in Education. In addition, it prepares a variety of publications-reviews, state-of-the-knowledge papers, and other research studies— that analyze and interpret the latest research findings in educational management.

Information From the Clearinghouse On Educational Management

The Clearinghouse on Educational Management is one of 19 units in the Educational Resources Information Cen ter (ERIC) network funded by the U.S. Office of Educa tion. Specializing in educational administration at the elemen tary and secondary levels and facilities at all levels of edu cation, the Clearinghouse has two major functions. It processes research reports and journal articles for an nouncement in the monthly ERIC catalogs Research in Education and Current Index to Journals in Education. In addition, it prepares a variety of publications—reviews, state-of-the-knowledge papers, and other research studies— that analyze and interpret the latest research findings in educational management.

Information From the Clearinghouse on Educational Management

THE CLEARINGHOUSE ON EDUCATIONAL MANAGEMENT The Clearinghouse on Educational Management is one of 19 units in the Educational Resources Information Cen ter (ERIC) network funded by the U.S. Office of Educa tion. Specializing in educational administration at the elemen tary and secondary levels and facilities at all levels of edu cation, the Clearinghouse has two major functions. It processes research reports and journal articles for an nouncement in the monthly ERIC catalogs Research in Education and Current Index to Journals in Education. In addition, it prepares a variety of publications—reviews, state-of-the-knowledge papers, and other research studies— that analyze and interpret the latest research findings in educational management.

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The Clearinghouse on Educational Management is one of 19 units in the Educational Resources Information Cen ter (ERIC) network funded by the U.S. Office of Educa tion. Specializing in educational administration at the elemen tary and secondary levels and facilities at all levels of edu cation, the Clearinghouse has two major functions. It processes research reports and journal articles for an nouncement in the monthly ERIC catalogs Research in Education and Current Index to Journals in Education. In addition, it prepares a variety of publications-reviews, state-of-the-knowledge papers, and other research studies— that analyze and interpret the latest research findings in educational management.

Information From the Clearinghouse of Educational Management

The Clearinghouse on Educational Management is one of 19 units in the Educational Resources Information Cen ter (ERIC) network funded by the U.S. Office of Educa tion. Specializing in educational administration at the elemen tary and secondary levels and facilities at all levels of edu cation, the Clearinghouse has two major functions. It processes research reports and journal articles for an nouncement in the monthly ERIC catalogs Research in Education and Current Index to Journals in Education. In addition, it prepares a variety of publications—reviews, state-of-the-knowledge papers, and other research studies— that analyze and interpret the latest research findings in educational management.

Inforniation From the Clearinghouse of Educational Management

The Clearinghouse on Educational Management is one of 19 units in the Educational Resources Information Cen ter (ERIC) network funded by the U.S. Office of Educa tion. Specializing in administration at the elementary and secondary levels and facilities at all levels of education, the Clearinghouse has two major functions. It processes research reports and journal articles for announcement in the monthly ERIC catalogs Research in Education and Current Index to Journals in Education. In addition, it prepares a variety of publications that analyze and interpret the latest research findings in educational management.