This study describes a current attempt to design a comprehensive guidance system which will be an integral part of a program of individualized education and which serves the needs of all students at each academic level. Preliminary investigation has led to tentative specification of 12 components comprising the guidance system, five involving…

The study attempts to specify and verify the decisionmaking processes utilized by groups when faced with a multistage rating task. It is also designed to upgrade group efficacy by introducing some procedural guidelines which group members are asked to follow in resolving differences. This "structured" intervention encourages members to…

Papers in this special issue of "Speech Monographs" focus on the communicative aspects of conflict as an important but neglected area of research. John Waite Bowers introduces the publication with "Beyond Threats and Promises," while David W. Johnson analyzes conflict literature in the longest paper, "Communication and the Inducement of…

Decisionmaking in organizations is examined from the perspective of open systems organization theory. Employing this perspective, this paper represents a critique of the views held by planners and systems analysts and the conflicting assumptions of their critics. The conclusion reached is that neither the assumptions held by planners, nor those of…

Network-based management procedures serve as valuable aids in organizational management, achievement of objectives, problem solving, and decisionmaking. Network techniques especially applicable to educational management systems are the program evaluation and review technique (PERT) and the critical path method (CPM). Other network charting…

Meant to serve as a guide to literature concerning program planning and evaluation, the format of this bibliography is a simple planning and evaluation model. The bibliographic material cited is related to one of the four model components, as follows: 1. Clientele Analysis and Need; 2. Establishing Objectives; 3. Program Planning (Models,…

This guide discusses the need for decision making expertise, and the steps to attain it. First, human beings are forever encountering the necessity to make choices, because they are constantly striving to adapt to their environment and to co-exist with others, Second there is an expectation that individuals will be independent. Third,…

Twelve groups of five to seven college students each were randomly formed and assigned one of two decision-making tasks as part of a study of the relational, or control, dimension of interpersonal communication. Group discussions were recorded and transcribed for analysis of act, interact, and double interact patterns. Results indicated…

College students, ranked as high, medium, or low ability, were assigned to homogeneous or mixed-ability groups of two through five members for a test. Performance proved proportional to the number of high ability group members. The underlying group process was inferred through social decision scheme analysis. (Author/SJL)

Discusses strategies to improve policy makers' utilization of research based on the "two-communities" theory that social scientists and policy makers live in two different worlds. Notes that for high level decision making, collaboration must involve more general problems and a decision to use either data-based or nonresearch knowledge for solving…

Reviews current resource materials available to help educators, counselors, and others who work with rural families in an effort to support them in crisis, to facilitate their decision making and long-range planning, and to foster their problem-solving efforts. (Author)

Recognizing problems in state universities involves a critical analysis of both internal and external environments, as well as a simplification of the complex factors to help people understand the problems and marshall the forces necessary to address them. (MSE)

Discusses problems related to staff selection in student affairs, including (1) lack of clarity about hiring authority; (2) inappropriate requirements; (3) lack of affirmative action; (4) impersonal procedures; (5) inadequate reference checks; (6) lack of clear evaluation criteria; (7) inadequate interview preparation; and (8) failure to provide…

In this lesson, junior high students consider two instances of exponential population growth--one at the local community level and one at the world level--as a way of illuminating some of the problems posed by growth and the limits that may curtail it. (RM)

The structure and the development of an internal medicine clerkship designed to promote proficiency in the process of clinical reasoning is described. A "student ward" offers a structured environment where the emphasis is on in-depth clinical exposure and the acquisition of clinical knowledge. (Author/MLW)