This study introduces the concept of Fault Tree Analysis as a systems tool and examines the implications of Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) as a technique for isolating failure modes in educational systems. A definition of FTA and discussion of its history, as it relates to education, are provided. The step by step process for implementation and use of…

The methods, procedures, and results of a sensitivity test on NETMAN, a stochastic digital computer model designed to simulate the information collection and scoring control systems used in tactical warfare training exercises, are described. NETMAN enables its users to obtain information such as personnel requirements, training requirements, and…

This study examines automatic indexing performed with a manually constructed thesaurus on a document collection of titles and abstracts of library science master's papers. Errors are identified when the meaning of a posted descriptor, as identified by context in the thesaurus, does not match that of the passage of text which occasioned the…

This report describes an experimental system for drawing simple pictures on a computer graphics terminal using natural language input. The system is capable of drawing lines, points, and circles on command from the user, as well as answering questions about system capabilities and objects on the screen. Erasures are permitted and language input…

This paper describes the SIGGS Theory Model as it applies to educational systems. This model, designed to simulate a wide variety of systems, uses sets (S), information (I), graph theory (G), and general systems (GS). The educational system is viewed as a set; in one example this set consists of teacher, student, curriculum, and setting. This…

This report describes the background, selection, planning, conduct, and evaluation of the ten research training presessions, serving 402 educational researchers, conducted by the American Educational Research Association from 26 February to 2 March 1970 prior to its annual meeting in Minneapolis. Topics of the sessions were 1) Survey Research in…

Long-range planning involves the identification of priority programs and services and the detailing of the necessary resources (staff, equipment, facilities and materials) required to implement these programs and services. This report discusses what is involved in this process and provides a fundamental understanding of the following three basic…

Systems concepts are useful in rethinking and reorganizing the structure of education. The author presents a popular interpretation of the systems approach to problem solving. He uses a general systems theory to compare the attributes of a school system and a computer system. He uses the idea of a critical subsystem to prepare a table of…

General systems theory is a set of related definitions, assumptions, and propositions which deal with reality as an integrated hierarchy of organizations of matter and energy. In this paper, the author defines the concepts of space, time, matter, energy, and information in terms of their meaning in general systems theory. He defines a system as a…

The constructive phases of system design are discussed with particular reference to information systems design. A preliminary attempt is made at definition of terms and an initial organization of research presented. A synopsis of work to date is presented within the framework of three thrust areas (1) creative and intuitive design methods, (2)…

This paper posits that it is necessary to evoke the development of an adequate federal KPU (Knowledge Production and Utilization) program in education which will command broad-based support within and outside the profession and that this demands a reformulation of the conceptual structure on which the program is built. Section 1 offers a…

This paper introduces the concept of educational systems analysis, shows how it can be applied to the teaching-learning process, and indicates how the teaching-learning process, as a system, can be optimized by using operations research techniques. The teaching-learning process is viewed as a highly complex learning control system with the purpose…

In Phase 1 of this four-phase cycle, requests for new systems or for evaluation of current systems are reviewed. Those seeming to have the most promise in terms of improved instruction, increased efficiency, and economy will be assigned priorities subject to constraints of material and manpower resources. In Phase 2, a detailed definition of the…

Systems analysis has the advantage for the study of communications relations of incorporating both the interactive relations and the broader context in which the relations occur. Applying this approach to the coorientation model led to the development of a set of transformations of the relations between individuals A and B and object X, from which…