Describes an undergraduate economics course experiment designed to teach the concepts of comparative advantage and opportunity costs. Students have a limited number of labor hours and can chose to produce either wheat or steel. As the project progresses, the students trade commodities in an attempt to maximize use of their labor hours. (MJP)

A general equilibrium schooling model shows that greater school efficiency is complementary with more equal opportunity, increased overall learning, more integration, stable teacher salaries, and fewer course preparations per teacher. Transferring students to area schools with curricula suited to their abilities would secure these ends. (Contains…

The Northeastern Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center and the Mount Rogers Regional Adult Education Program (Virginia) cross-train and upgrade workers' skills to adapt to changing workplaces and keep companies and communities competitive; customize curriculum to meet employers' needs; and provide GED and other adult education programs. (SAS)

This report documents the central role of the college-educated workforce in improving labour productivity across the economy and supporting an innovation culture in the workplace. It describes critical "enabling occupations" that play a key role in allowing companies to build a culture of innovation in the workplace which they need if…

The contemporary academic labor market is examined using concepts from labor market economics and sociology to elucidate why teaching, universally acknowledged to be at the center of American academic life, is not at the center of the academic labor market and is only modestly rewarded. First, tenets of the neoclassical labor market model are…

This book, which is intended for managers responsible for training and managing employees, outlines an approach to employee management and training that is based on the premise that, if managers are to enhance employees' commitment to the organization and improve productivity, they must first stop managing their employees and start coaching them.…

This book explores the problem of developing a framework for rethinking human capital information and decision making in light of the economic changes that are currently occurring in many Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries. It examines human capital information and decision making in the context of recent developments…

Employee absenteeism is a problem faced by all library and information service managers as it erodes both salary budgets and productivity. It can have an undermining effect on staff morale, and may be an indicator of low staff motivation levels. There are two types of absence, unavoidable and avoidable, which can be measured using lost time and…

Education is an important contributor to productivity growth and has a major influence on the standard of living of the U.S. population. Economic productivity depends on human as well as physical capital. This report is the first in a series of indicator reports recommended by the congressionally mandated Special Study Panel on Education…

This volume documents two program sessions that reported on the Association of American Universities' (AAU) Research Libraries Project. This project was initiated by the AAU in collaboration with ARL and with the support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; interim reports from the AAU task forces were presented in October 1993 and have been…

Small and mid-sized businesses must change their production and service delivery methods if they are to remain competitive in a global economy. According to businesspersons, service providers, and employees who participated in 18 focus groups in 10 cities throughout the United States, businesses are being forced to change their ways of doing…

This paper addresses difficult issues in evaluation of college faculty for scholarship, teaching, and service particularly noting areas that trouble faculty themselves. A section on evaluation of teaching notes long standing debate and disagreement. This section then lists many of the central questions around evaluation of teaching and notes that…

This almanac contains seven articles on current issues in higher education and a report on current faculty salaries. Part 1 includes the following articles: (1) "Faculty Salaries, 1993-94" (John B. Lee), which tracks national and state salary trends; (2) "Workload and Productivity: Case Studies" (Henry L. Allen), which presents…

The U.S. workplace needs to be transformed. Corporations should replace an approach to production and service that pits labor against management with an approach that unites management and labor in the pursuit of enhanced quality, enhanced responsiveness to the customer, and enhanced productivity. Human resource development is critical to this…

A project demonstrated that a workplace literacy model can be replicated in large and small businesses with significant learner outcomes and used to improve worker productivity. It served 938 employees of 4 partners at 12 sites, including 2 large and 1 small manufacturing plants, major health care system, and multiple small businesses. Diverse,…