THE NEED FOR STUDENT ACCESS TO A COMPUTER FACILITY, THE REASONING BEHIND THIS NEED, AND A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE EQUIPMENT REQUIRED WAS REPORTED IN THIS TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM. THE NEED FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR CAREER CHOICE WAS PRESENTED. DISCUSSIONS OF RESEARCH INTENTIONS INCLUDED (1) A MODEL OF DECISION-MAKING, (2) THE…

Describes the historical development and adoption of Management by Objectives (MBO) in public administration and argues that MBO should be treated as a managerial tactic, and not as a complete management system. (Available from the American Society for Public Administration, 1225 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20036; $30.00 annually) (JG)

Describes Fault Tree Analysis, a tool for systems analysis which attempts to identify possible modes of failure in systems to increase the probability of success. The article defines the technique and presents the steps of FTA construction, focusing on its application to education. (RAO)

Describes an automated system for cataloging nonprint media received by the Copyright Office for registration. Problems in disseminating this unique data base through national networks are considered. The system features automatic inversion of personal names and the use of one entry as a model for the next. (Author/VT)

John Goodlad (1958) stated that "Nowhere in education is there greater need for a conceptual system to guide decision-making than the field of curriculum." This research attempts to explore ways in which systems thinking can provide a conceptual system, to illuminate the study of curriculum and guide the design of curricula. (Author/RK)

Describes a simulation game, IDIOTS (Instructional Development in Ordinary Teaching Situations), which is designed to acquaint potential instructional developers, faculty and/or students, with the various aspects of instructional development. (RAO)

This paper surveys recent conceptual and empirical work related to development of decision-oriented frameworks for management information systems design, particularly as related to improving the management of organizations. (Author)

Some considerations for national library and information service network development. (KP)

This description of the use of IBM Series/1 minicomputers to implement a library automation system includes discussion of current functions of the system, the system configuration, communications capabilities, software, and cost factors. (CLB)

Provides overview of Ergonomics Abstracts Retrieval System (EARS), an online bibliographic search and retrieval system in the area of human factors engineering. Other online systems are described, the design of EARS based on inverted file organization is explained, and system expansions including a thesaurus are discussed. (Author/LRW)

Presents an operational definition of personal information retrieval systems and describes design principles of current applications and existing systems, current trends, and research guidelines for general design principles. (4 references) (Author/CLB)

Addresses some problems associated with technological change and examines the nature of data and technology, organizations, and computer-mediated work. Concepts of sociotechnical systems design are related to library automation, and a set of strategies for facilitating technological change is proposed. (29 references) (Author/CLB)

Discusses the concepts of instructional theory and their application in the design of instructional and training packages, particularly computer-assisted instruction programs. (12 references) (CLB)

Describes design and presents examples of industrial use of small expert systems and guidelines for choosing problems which lend themselves to small tool solutions. Use of microcomputer facilitated decision tables to diagnose and categorize people, things, and issues is suggested, and development of three decision table formats is described. (MBR)

The benefits of prototyping as a basis for system design include better specifications, earlier discovery of omissions and extensions, and the likelihood of salvaging much of the effort expended on the prototype. Risks and methods of prototyping during rapid systems development are also noted. (Author/MLW)