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Contrasts the experiences of most adolescents during social and psychological development with the special challenges faced by those developing an awareness of their homosexuality. Emphasis is placed upon the interplay between societal prejudices and discrimination toward homosexuality and personal development and risk-taking behavior in gay adolescents. Implications for mental health policy and treatment are discussed. (MKA)

Comparisons were made between the use of microfiche materials and conventional printed materials for individualized instruction in two short military courses on aviation and ground maintenance. One group of students in each course used printed instructional materials and microfiche for course achievement tests, while another group used microfiche for instructional materials and tests. In both courses a control group used printed materials and tests exclusively. There were no test score differences among any of the three groups in each course; however, while results indicated that microfiche materials had an initial adverse effect on training time in the first course, this effect decreased rapidly in the second course. Before commitments are made to an extensive use of microfiche materials, it is recommended that their long-term effects be evaluated in a study with sufficient power to assure potential users that real differences in training time as large as those found in this study do not exist. Appendices include a list of course modules, sample learning guides, tables showing cell means for interactions and correlations between attitude and training time, and two student attitude questionnaires with results. (Author/CMV)

In order to provide detailed descriptions of instructors' activities in courses taught by individualized instruction and to identify some of the factors responsible for variations in those activities, records were made of instructor behavior in two computer-managed Navy courses. Within each course, jobs differed considerably in kinds and patterns of activities and total demands on the instructor. Most of the specialized jobs in one course had nominal parallels in the other, but the activities observed in these parallel jobs were quite different. Most instructors spent the major part of their time in brief, relatively routine interactions; complex tutorial interactions were rare. Findings suggest that differences in course design affect demands on the instructor and that systematic tradeoffs have not always been made between such demands and training effectiveness. It is recommended that a single set of student-instructor ratios not be used to compute instructor authorizations for all such courses and that instructor training courses avoid creating unrealistic expectations of actual job performance. Since instructor roles vary so widely, considerable caution should be exercised in selecting a common core curriculum for such courses. (Author/LMM)

A study evaluated the efficiency of job-specific training in military technical areas other than electronics. It sought to determine whether individualized, computer-managed instruction (CMI) can be used to avoid some of the administrative difficulties common to more conventional forms of job-specific training, and it sought to determine the cost-effectiveness of this form of instruction. Individualized, job-specific courses were developed for three organizational-level billets in an A-7E squadron--power plant maintenance technician, structures/hydraulics maintenance technician, and plane captain. The courses were supported by the Navy's CMI system. Students, trained in the job-specific courses, tended to do better than conventionally-trained counterparts on a series of written and performance tests. They were rated about the same by supervisors on the job. Training time for the power plant and structures/hydraulics maintenance technicians were reduced by about one half. For plane captains, the reduction was only about 10 percent. Use of CMI alleviated many administrative difficulties. It was suggested that the initial high cost of material development could be offset in the future by training time reductions. Appendixes include outlines of course content and results of tests and questionnaires. (YLB)

Because the Navy's computer-managed instruction (CMI) system has experienced problems with prolonged system response times (RT) and excessive downtime (DT), a survey of Naval personnel was conducted to determine current and near-term CMI system instructional requirements. Questionnaires were sent to instructors, training program coordinators, system management personnel, instructional program developers and evaluators, and computer personnel. Based on information collected, five system upgrade alternatives that would satisfy instructional requirements and cost estimates for these alternatives were developed. It was recommended that the CMI upgrade effort should include adding automated support for group-paced instruction, which should result in a system with no more than 5% DT; a systems analyst should identify precise causes of system malfunctions and provide computer specifications for group-paced instruction; the Chief of Naval Education and Training (CNET) should coordinate all CMI computer programs; and training program coordinators should be knowledgeable about CMI reports for their courses. A seven-item bibliography, a sample questionnaire, lists of areas requiring empirical verification and preliminary instructional system specifications, descriptions of general instructional system functions, and a report distribution list are provided. (ESR)