Government, Higher Education and the Industrial Ethic

The argument of this paper is that there have always been, and still remain, fundamental differences between the purposes of industry and those of higher education. Industry's concern is to make a profit, universities are concerned with open enquiry and intellectual freedom. The values of the two are incommensurable, and it is important that these conflicts of values are not obscured by ambiguity of language or by external pressures.
For more than a decade the British government has sought to increase the competitiveness of industry, and has initiated many changes in universities which it has linked to this policy. Three such developments are critically discussed: the enterprise in higher education initiative, academic audit and assessment of teaching quality and the recent White Paper on fundamental research. It is argued that the tendency of each of these is to cause the merging of business values with those of higher education. If this tendency proceeds unchecked universities will no longer be able to fulfil their vital rôle in a free society - the advancement of new and controversial ideas and the education of their students to think critically and autonomously.     

The National Standards Scene: NISO and related U.S. standards organizations

Those entering the world of publishing standards for the first time may find it a baffling alphabet soup—with NISO, ANSI, BISG, IEEE, NIST, and ANSC floating on a broth bubbling with activity. Jacob and Rings sort out the acronyms, explaining what each of these groups does and how they interact. Mary Ellen L. Jacob, vice president for library planning at OCLC, is responsible for strategic planning activities regarding libraries and library services. Mrs. Jacob is also the board chair of the National Information Standards Committee. Deborah L. Rings, information analyst for library planning at OCLC, is responsible for identifying trends and factors relative to the library and information science areas, and for assessing their impact and potential impact on OCLC and its strategic planning processes.     

Planning and budgeting in publishing: The link with marketing

Publishing companies have embraced strategic, business, and market planning, but may not fully grasp its potential. This article describes their applications in a publishing environment, focusing on fundamental information required if the process is to have a beneficial outcome, as well as risks for the organization if planning is poorly conceived. This article is adapted from a presentation at a marketing and fulfillment seminar sponsored by the Society for Scholarly Publishing, April 21, 1988.     

Selected roles of information goods and services in the U.S. national economy

The study examines selected roles of the information sector in the national economy. Among the findings are the following: (1) the information sector conducts relatively little international trade, in comparison to its domestic activity. Roughly 12% of U.S. exports are attributable to the information sector; over 97% of the sector's output is sold within the U.S.; and the sector's exports account for only a small fraction of 1% of GNP. (2) The historical pattern of employment shows that the portion of information workers has risen from 8% of the U.S. work force in 1870 to 41% in 1970. Relatively little of this growth is the result of new technological innovations such as telephones, radio, television and, more recently, computers. Rather, the growth of public and private bureaucracies, which now total 26% of our total work force, largely explains the growth of the sector. (3) Unemployment within the information sector has consistently been lower than in either the manufacturing or agricultural sectors of the national economy. (4) Since 1967, the high technology elements of the information sector, such as electronic components, computers and telecommunications equipment have experienced appreciably less price rise than has the economy as a whole. However, over the same time period, the service elements of the sector, including finance and insurance, education and medical care, have experienced greater rates of inflation than has the economy as a whole.