Despite the increasing popularity of systematic risk assessment models by child protective services agencies, relatively few are empirically based. Reviews the empirical literature on 10 risk assessment models and concludes that although each model contains generally sound psychometric properties, there is still a need for further model…

Practices in needs assessment are reviewed since 1981, the year the federal government changed the role it plays in promoting needs assessment in the public sector. The review is based on reports published to 1993 and indicates that needs assessment is flourishing in a variety of settings. (SLD)

Decentralized regulation has become increasingly important in many areas; examples range from school vouchers to workplace safety committees to alternative dispute resolution procedures replacing courts. Consistent with this trend, in 1993 California permitted construction unions and employers to "carve out" their own workers'…

Many educational initiatives have been and continue to be based on a macro-social system understanding of communal roles, values, norms, interactions, perceptions, and realities. This practice neglects the unique impediments and social norms that exist within the myriad of micro-social systems in the United States. This work draws attention to the…

Increasingly, organizations find that they need to integrate large number of information systems in order to support enterprise-wide business initiatives such as e-business, supply chain management and customer relationship management. To date, organizations have largely tended to address information systems (IS) integration in an ad-hoc manner.…

The Philippine school system is considered as one of the largest in the world with 41,989 public elementary and secondary schools and 7,790 private schools under the supervision and regulation of the Department of Education [DepEd Fact Sheet, 2005]. On top of this statistics are 40 duly-registered educational institutions called the Philippine…

Since the late 1980s, support has been growing for a "systemic" vision of reform that would pair ambitious, coordinated state policies with professional discretion at the school site. Policymakers at all levels of government, as well as associations, foundations and national agencies, support this approach. This paper highlights issues and…

Systems analysis is about problems and their solutions. Analysts are warned that in a field of constant change, this text can only provide some of the needed tools and information, not all of the answers. Wise systems analysts never become fixed on one technique or technology, knowing that they will change, but instead focus on learning…

World Wide Web page projects offer both opportunities and limitations as hands-on projects for students in systems development classes. This paper outlines common pedagogical goals for systems analysis and design courses and then maps the advantages and disadvantages of Web projects over more traditional systems development projects. An example…

The role of governments in the operation of education research and development systems is under critical scrutiny throughout the developed world. The introductory chapter presents the main themes of a seminar held in 1992 and outlines challenges for further work. The next 10 chapters focus on education research and development issues: (1)…

An introduction to the use of computers for educational administrative purposes is offered in this book, which presents basic systems methodologies which can be used for selecting and designing computer applications. Traditional systems analysis techniques are used to illustrate the design of microcomputer applications at the school and district…

Designed to improve the long-term operational efficiency of the Montgomery County, Maryland, Public Schools (MCPS) payroll system, this study begins with an executive summary, including a set of recommendations and a chapter-by-chapter synopsis. Following an introduction to the study and a general description of the payroll system in chapters 1…

Competence is one of the outcomes of learning. Competence embraces both specific task skills and the understanding, knowledge, attitude, and personal skills required to carry out that task effectively. An education and training system built on a broad definition of competence would give greater control to the users of the system (the individuals…

This report examines and evaluates the application of prototyping methodology in the design of a microcomputer-based online library catalog. The methodology for carrying out the research involves a five-part examination of the problem on both the theoretical and applied levels, each of which is discussed in a separate section as follows: (1) a…

Based on responses solicited from 26 Association of Research Library (ARL) members reflecting a variety of systems office configurations, this report describes the configurations at several ARL institutions and presents some major organizational patterns for systems offices and their relationship to the larger library organization. Original…