This ESEA Title III report describes fault tree analysis and assesses its applicability to education. Fault tree analysis is an operations research tool which is designed to increase the probability of success in any system by analyzing the most likely modes of failure that could occur. A graphic portrayal, which has the form of a tree, is…

In this study, a systems methodology was devised for determing knowledge and skills common to piloting tasks required by differing aircraft missions to form a data base for developing a task oriented flight training program. The general approach was to identify and classify specific tasks performed by Air Force pilots, with the required level of…

Computer-assisted instruction (CAI) has become sufficiently widespread to require attention to the relationships between its costs, administration and benefits. Despite difficulties in instituting them, quantifiable cost-effectiveness analyses offer several advantages. They allow educators to specify with precision anticipated instructional loads,…

A model for program planning in adult basic education is presented, the prototype having been produced by 40 coordinators, teachers, and adult learners. It was designed to meet the need, in adult education programs, for stabilization through systematic planning. A systems approach is defined with systems analysis, anasynthesis, and planning…

This volume describes an automated procedure for multiyear enrollment forecasting in the Trenton, New Jersey, public schools. Enrollment forecasts generated by this procedure will provide enrollment estimates in each district's instructional program. Data required to operate the forecaster will be collected during the second year of its operation.…

Any general systems approach has five basic elements, which serve as the tasks for the researcher using systems analysis. The five are (1) the objectives, (2) the alternatives, (3) the costs, (4) the model (or models), and (5) the decision rule. With these five steps, the researcher should be able to specify the objectives, select alternatives,…

Containing articles published in recent issues of "Educational Technology" magazine, this volume in the review series provides an introduction to the systems approach. Included are articles which cover management demands and prerequisites, systems concepts and computers, personnel training, accountability, systems models for educational functions…

This manual presents a self-instructional program designed to acquaint educators with general systems theory as it applies to instructional development practices and the diffusion of instructional innovations. It is also intended to provide an intellectual and emotional frame of reference for individuals undertaking instructional development…

This paper outlines an array of categories that denote kinds of influence variables operative in organizational systems--including structures, relationships, and technology. This allows us to synthesize literature from a variety of system levels and sources by addressing the question: What variables influence a communicator's behavior at any given…

Information systems are becoming more than computer systems, with new equipment and techniques combining with data processing to form a new field called information technology. The emerging discipline of systems engineering is discussed along with nine systems engineering techniques. An organization chart of an information services department is…

This field guide provides a look into education in relation to a concept that has already been established in science, business and therapy. This book will encourage and educate readers about systemic thinking through examples and ideas pertinent to education and its reform. Following a Foreword (Michael Fullan) and Introduction (Blane Despres),…

To meet public scrutiny and increased demands for quality public education, schools must plan. Developing legitimate plans depends on the ability to recognize the patterns that guide current practice and uncover those that will create change. Educators need to understand the planning concepts that have helped business meet new challenges. To bring…

Systems theory and its application to educational administration are discussed in this paper. An extensive literature review concludes that systems analyses are based on the concept of interdependence and on the assumption that the whole may be greater than the sum of its parts. Applications to educational administration include model building,…

In the present day market scenario of intense competition, organizations need to know what they know and be able to leverage on its knowledge base to gain competitive advantage. In this knowledge era, organisations can create and sustain competitive advantage through initiation of appropriate knowledge management processes. The organisations that…