Summarizes recent advances in computer simulation and "reverse engineering" technologies, highlighting the Human Genome Project to scan the human genetic code; artificial retina chips to copy the human retina's neural organization; high-speed, high-resolution Magnetic Resonance Imaging scanners; and the virtual book. Discusses…

Discusses educational technology as a form of technical rationality and considers the conflict between practitioners' epistemological position as constructivists and technical rationality. Topics include cybernetics; autonomous systems theory; enactive constructivism; representation versus effective action; mind and memory; enaction in artificial…

Starting in the late 1960s, data networks were created to connect supercomputers and, later, other intelligent devices. A revolution in communications was in the making. By the late 1970s, computing and communications technologies were leading us from a world of local markets trading in capital goods to one of global markets trading in capital…

With the advent of web-based programs that automate the scoring of exercises, materials are now being developed from the outset with the capabilities of the web in mind. Materials developed without consideration of the web's capabilities, on the other hand, must be retrofitted. Texts that are retrofitted to the web have the advantage of being…

This annotated bibliography presents annotations of 31 books and journal articles dealing with systems theory and its relation to organizational communication, marketing, information theory, and cybernetics. Materials were published between 1963 and 1992 and are listed alphabetically by author. (RS)

Though cognitive science has given psychology a new, more detailed and specific way of expressing models of cognition, correspondingly detailed and precise arguments analyzing and supporting those models have not been forthcoming. Consequently, the new models often fail to meet the traditional criteria of scientific theories. Tools are available…

Starting with the conceptual framework of man as a living system, the author addresses the problem, "What is the essence of counseling?" The essentials of systematic organization and the importance of information are discussed as related to living systems. It is suggested that facilitating information flow is an important part of therapeutic…

TO COUNSEL ADULTS WITHIN THE NEXT 20 YEARS, ADVANCED PLANNING AND ACTION BASED ON LONG-RANGE ASSESSMENTS MUST TAKE PLACE NOW. HIGHLY RATIONALIZED MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGIES, CYBERNATION, SOCIAL ENGINEERING, AND BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING CAN POTENTIALLY AFFECT THIS PLANNING. SOCIAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC CONDITIONS INTERACTING WITH THESE TECHNOLOGIES WILL…

A research plan for identifying and acting upon constraints that impede the development of knowledge-based intelligent systems is described. The two primary problems identified are knowledge programming, the task of which is to create an intelligent system that does what an expert says it should, and learning, the problem requiring the criticizing…

PROGRAMED TEXTS MUST BE COORDINATED WITH TEACHING MACHINES TO RAISE THE QUALITY OF INSTRUCTION IN HIGHER EDUCATION. THUS, CYBERNETICS CAN BE USED TO INDIVIDUALIZE THE TEACHING PROCESS BY PRESENTING NEW, DISCRETE INFORMATION UNITS TO STUDENTS ONLY AFTER CONTINUOUS FEEDBACK FROM STUDENT TO INSTRUCTOR HAS VERIFIED KNOWLEDGE OF PREVIOUS INFORMATION.…

THE APPLICATION OF CYBERNETICS TO PEDAGOGY CAN CREATE A PRECISE SCIENCE OF INSTRUCTION AND EDUCATION THROUGH THE TIME-CONSUMING BUT INEVITABLE TRANSITION FROM IDENTIFICATION OF QUALITATIVE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG PEDAGOGICAL OBJECTS TO QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF THESE OBJECTS. THE THEORETICAL UTILITY OF MATHEMATICAL MODELS AND FORMULAE FOR EXPLANATORY…

This study is designed to develop a checklist of teacher competencies (TECOMP I) based on an analysis of teaching tasks in keeping with a cybernetic model, to secure and analyze critical responses to the checklist items, to relate these judgments to the characteristics of the several items, and to clarify issues regarding the construction and…

The development and application of the idea of microteaching in research and education is described in this report. It examines the use of different feedback devices for self-control and self-direction. The main conclusions reached are: (1) externally mediated self-confrontation via CCTV/VR is a therapeutic treatment; and (2) microsetting models…

Can the laws of learning be applied in the classroom? The issue is whether control over the stimulus affords management-control over the learning processes within the student. The S-R (stimulus-response) position in psychology, most notably associated with Skinner, tends to accept and assert the affirmative. However, accumulated experience with…