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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Marshall University, 2006. / Title from document title page. Includes abstract. Document formatted into pages: contains Includes bibliographical references

The study was designed to identify the information sources utilized by school board members to secure factual data and background information essential to the making of decisions; to discover the perceived degree of satisfaction with information sources so identified; and to identify other sources of information with potential for providing a knowledge base to school board members. The study population included presidents of Indiana boards of school trustees who held membership in the Indiana School Boards Association during 1973.Specifically, the study was designed to:1. Identify sources of information utilized by school board members to gain needed data and/or facts essential to support decision-making in selected areas.2. Determine the degree of satisfaction with information sources utilized as perceived by school board members.3. Identify the various factors and/or conditions which tend to restrict or hamper more complete utilization of available information sources by board members.4. Secure suggestions as to how information services currently available through identified sources and agencies might be more adequately and completely utilized.5. Secure suggestions relative to possible additional information sources and agencies through which helpful and needed information and data should or might be made available.Data for the study were secured by means of a questionnaire instrument relative to six problem areas of common concern to Indiana school districts. Out of the291 questionnaires sent a total of 49 questionnaires were returned, initially. A follow-up letter was sent to all study population members regarding responses. A total of five questionnaires were returned from the follow-up. Thus, a total of 54 questionnaires were received. Review of research revealed no studies dealing directly with information sources identified as used by school board members. As a result, none of the instruments utilized in closely related studies were considered appropriate for use in the current study. An information gathering instrument was designed especially for the study utilizing the ten step criteria by Hillway for instrument construction. Validation of the questionnaire instrument was accomplished through field testing. The instrument was refined into final form following field testing procedures. The data were presented as raw responses, as percentages relative to the relationship between the mentioned frequency responses and the "N" number of total responses, and as weighted satisfaction means. Utilization o f weighted satisfaction means permitted the quality and value of each main identified information source to be determined regarding each of the six areas of concern.A summary of findings was organized concerning the six problem areas of common concern and the information obtained relative to the five specific aspects of the study.Study Findings1. Boards of education have need for in-depth information.2. Depending upon the type of problem faced by school board members, many governmental, public, industrial, and social agencies are utilized as information sources.3. Problems of specialized concern to board members may require specialized information sources.4. In terms of use and reported value of information some sources are consistently utilized regardless of the problem. Three such sources were the Superintendent, Indiana School Boards Association, and Professional Journals and Magazines.5. Though widely used, Mass Media was lacking in creditability, and information, when finally received, was too fragmented and too late to provide information of use to boards of education.6. Two general restricting factors for obtaining information were a lack of accurate information and difficulties involved in securing dependable information at the time needed.7. The need to improve upon fiscal responsibility relative to new programs or modifications of current programs exists at the state education level.8. State agencies need to improve channels of communication relative to supervising and coordinating programs for local school districts.9. An apparent need exists for improvement of relationships between Legislators and the Indiana State Department of Public Instruction.

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The purposes of this study were to identify the problems and issues encountered in the development of an educational information and counseling brokering service for adults and to determine their relative significance to the success of an educational brokering service. To accomplish this, the relevant developmental issues were identified by a search of the literature. These were sent to a consultant of the National Center for Educational Brokering who selected forty issues and problems as salient. These statements were formulated into a questionnaire to determine their significance in each stage of development. The initial questionnaire was submitted to four additional consultants for recommendations. The questionnaires were then mailed to the directors of 135 educational brokering centers listed in the Directory of the National Center for Educational Brokering. Based on the findings of the study, eleven issues were considered very significant by the total population of respondents. The three most significant issues were: flexibility and responsiveness in service, maintaining clarity of purpose while attempting to meet diverse needs, and insuring continuing financial viability.

This study aimed to investigate the role of academic libraries in Saudi higher education in supporting distance learning (DL) in the country. Two cases, known for their history of offering DL programmes in the country, were selected. These were Imam Mohammad Bin Saud Islamic University (IMBSIU) in Riyadh and King Abdul-Aziz University (KAU) in Jeddah. A mixed methodology, which included both qualitative and qualitative approaches, was used. Triangulation of data collections methods was achieved by implementing a document analysis, interviews and questionnaires. The results indicated that DL in the country is transforming traditional approaches into fully automated techniques through the implementation of e-learning via the Internet; the Saudi government is supporting this approach. However, the results also showed that policies of academic libraries lack rules which recognise DL stakeholders right to be served and supported. Little or no co-operation was found to exist between academic libraries and DL deanships in both case studies; this could hinder the efforts made by academic libraries to serve and support DL stakeholders. In addition, textbooks were found to be the main source of learning and teaching in DL, thus reducing the desire of DL stakeholders to use their academic library. The lack of DL guidelines was found to be responsible for making distance learners less likely to use information resources other than textbooks. Official interactions were weak between DL stakeholders, especially learners with their instructors, and with academic and non-academic support such as academic library services. This was found to be responsible for a lack of academic library support specifically designed for DL stakeholders, and many other factors relating to the existing condition of academic libraries were also found to be significant in failing to recognize the right of DL stakeholders to be served. However, overall, participants attitudes toward the importance of academic libraries in supporting DL stakeholders were positive. Moreover, participants expressed a desire to find solutions as soon as possible to overcome the current lack of information services designed for DL stakeholders. According to this study s results, several recommendations have been formulated related mainly to the importance of building co-operation between academic libraries and DL deanships in the country. It is concluded that there is an urgent need for DL stakeholders needs and rights to be recognised and supported by any means in order to improve the quality of DL. Hence, several models/solutions, which can be implemented in either the short or the long term, are proposed here in order to provide solutions for the current lack of information services being offered to DL stakeholders by both academic libraries and DL deanships.

Staff of the Cooperative Extension Service develops and distributes educational publications to inform the public of practical applications of research information. However, many of these publications are written in a technical style that makes them difficult for the average 4-H member and adult leader to understand the subject matter presented. The purpose of this study was to investigate a systematic process for improving the understanding or comprehensibility of these educational publications. A model of a publication development process based on learning principles was created. This study investigated the effectiveness of the model with Extension subject-matter specialists developing publications for 4-H youth. Specifically, this study was conducted in three parts: the model of the text-development process was taught to subject-matter specialists; the specialists in turn used the model to develop educational texts for 4-H youth; and finally comprehensibility testing of the text passages produced by the specialists with 4-H youth members and adult leaders was conducted. This study confirmed that the utilization of learning principles within the text-development process can improve the comprehensibility of subject matter information presented in Extension educational publications. / Ph. D.

M.Bibl. (Information Science) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

This study is concerned with the availability and adequacy of environmental information resources to support field workers at the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa's (WESSA) four environmental education centres in KwaZulu-Natal. It begins by examining the environment, the environmental crisis and environmental education as a response to the crisis, before giving an overview of the history of WESSA. To provide a wider context within which to view the study, literature dealing with environmental education, environmental education centres in South Africa and environmental information was examined. A study population consisting of 18 field workers and eight management staff, based at the four environmental education centres, was surveyed by means of interviews. This allowed for selected attributes such as length of employment at the centre, highest education qualification and previous environmental education experience to be elicited from field workers. Other information asked ofthe population concerned available environmental information resources, the environmental information support required by field workers and the adequacy of this support to field workers. Results were then analysed. With the responses to the open-ended questions, content analysis was used to determine categories which were subsequently tabulated, together with the responses from closed questions. The results revealed that WESSA provides a number of ongoing, in-house training opportunities which expose field workers to environmental information resources; WESSA publications dominate the environmental information resources used during the training offield workers and consequently, during the preparation and conducting of courses by field workers; booklets, books and colleagues are considered valuable information resources by field workers; and there is a recognised lack of environmental information by both field workers and management staff. Recommendations for improving the environmental information resource support to field workers are made in light of the results of the survey and the literature review. / Thesis (M.I.S.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2000.