Describes three graduate distance education programs: the virtual campus of Walden University, the University of Phoenix Online Campus in San Francisco, and the television-based National Technological University. The programs demonstrate how a wide range of delivery methods satisfy the need for rigor, collaboration, and assisted autodidaxy in…

At the turn of the century, William Rainey Harper's concept of continuing education fostered correspondence study, a precursor of distance education. History shows the need for practices that move from emphasis on classroom instruction to appropriate and fully integrated use of new technologies that will realize the true potential of distance…

Identifies pathways to electronic resources on distance education, including the databases of the International Centre for Distance Learning, ERIC, and OCLC First Search; course offerings; gopher sites; and news, organizations, and discussion groups. (SK)

Increased turbulence in the workplace is affecting the careers of an aging workforce: changed skill needs, relations with employers and coworkers, and attitudes toward retirement and aging. Study of careers beyond midlife should bear in mind that retirement is an individual decision and the aging process is unique to the individual. (SK)

Of five approaches to studying older workers (chronological/legal, functional, psychosocial, organizational, and life span), the life-span approach accommodates individual differences in career patterns. Middle-age and older adult workers need to be considered as individuals in terms of career choices and employment policies. (SK)

The new "career contract" moves from organization-based careers to protean or self-based careers. The contemporary work environment demands the metaskills of identity development and heightened adaptability. Career stages now involve cycles of continuous learning rather than retraining, a way to tap the potential of older workers. (SK)

In 1987 and 1993, 676 business administration graduates (49% men, 51% women) completed surveys showing the following: fewer women remained in full-time work in midcareer; those still employed full time earned 19% less than men, worked fewer hours, and were promoted less. Although women were just as satisfied as men in midcareer, they had been more…

Study of 72 displaced engineers in a retraining program showed that better training performance led to more successful employment outcomes; higher career motivation was related to lower training behavior and outcomes; and more experienced workers were less able to cope with change and had less positive outcomes. (SK)

Survey of 429 Scottish secondary students found girls were less experienced with computers at school, but played computer games as much as boys; boys were more likely to own and use computers outside school. In a subsample of 196, boys had more positive attitudes and were more likely to have sex-stereotyped views about computer use; older students…

Responses from 327 of 340 English secondary students identified the following 2 factors associated with preference for using/not using calculators: (1) degree of enjoyment of number work and confidence in calculation; and (2) degree of skepticism about the legitimacy of calculators or lack of confidence in using them. Primary schools had great…

Data from 102 of 108 local education authorities in England showed a trend toward earlier admission to school (age 4). Provision of appropriate conditions for four-year olds had been a low priority in many districts. Factors influencing the trend included government policy, funding changes, and lack of high-quality preschool facilities. (SK)

Observation of 20 English physical education teachers giving lessons showed that they frequently used behaviors associated with positive psychosocial development (positive reinforcement, encouragement, technical instruction) and infrequently used those associated with negative development (nonreinforcement, punishment, ignoring mistakes, keeping…

One primary class moved from seating in rows to groups to rows, the other from groups to rows to groups. In both, on-task behavior was higher in rows. In a second study using rows for individual work, time on task increased substantially and, for a target group of three disruptive pupils, it increased dramatically. (SK)

The Learning Objectives Questionnaire was completed by 287 of 600 distance education students. The majority perceived learning objectives to be useful and an integral part of learning strategy. A need to integrate student dispositions with the current shift toward constructivist learning was identified. (SK)

Finite element analysis (FEA) enables industrial designers to analyze complex components by dividing them into smaller elements, then assessing stress and strain characteristics. Traditionally mainframe based, FEA is being increasingly used in microcomputers. (SK)