Chaos theory, which attempts to understand underlying order where none is apparent, was applied to an interdisciplinary rural health training program for health professionals. Similar programs should anticipate systemic flux between order and chaos and pay attention to information flow, degree of diversity, richness of connectivity, contained…

Describes experiences of an alliance of child and youth treatment agencies whose members converted to computer-based networking modalities. A developmental analysis of individual users and telecommunications networks is offered. Side effects, barriers, and unexpected advantages are delineated. (BB)

Explores reasons for organizations' use of groups and the need for groupware systems. Discusses vendors; Electronic Problem Structuring; synchronous and asynchronous communication; four stages of decision-making (intelligence, design, choice, and implementation); the Windows environment; the loss of non-verbal communication; and future groupware…

Of the challenges facing educational leaders, among the most pressing is the need for suitable facilities. School buildings in the US are aging at an alarming rate. The obstacles to acquiring needed resources are formidable. In this document, the authors focus on the importance of consulting with your state department of education regarding…

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…

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.…

A model of organizational analysis and renewal specifically designed for community colleges was developed to take into account internal functioning as well as the demands of external constituencies. The model is based on three elements: differentiation, referring both to the division of labor and the attitudes and subcultures that result from that…

Some of the provocative issues regarding integrated-service efforts arise from questions about how professional service providers are to go about the business of integrating services. This paper presents findings of a study that examined how street-level bureaucrats negotiate boundaries between the community in which they work and the agencies…

Innovations for dealing with large classes (defined as those with over 60 pupils) are offered in this guide for teachers and administrators. Based on a systems approach, this document describes the difficulties with which teachers of large classes must cope and lists solutions that can be introduced by teachers and administrators at various…

The framework of temporary systems theory was the basis for forming theoretical units and propositions pertaining to the outcomes of intensive adult education programs. Empirical indicators and research hypotheses were then developed and applied in the 1972 residential program of the Labour College of Canada. (Author)

A process based on a systems analysis approach to tasks is proposed for developing a curriculum for the study of plastics. The process may be used with any subject area, at any grade level, to validate the concepts selected, the performance objective developed, the time allotted, and the teaching strategies selected. (AG)

Needs assessment is a young and growing field. Needs assessments contribute to effective educational planning and help educators improve services to students. Needs assessment can be used to identify goals and objectives, but probably has the most utility as a problem-focusing strategy that includes the following sequence: (1) identification of…

Loose coupling implies the tying together of subsystems in such a fashion that neither can do without the other but neither has much control over the other. The idea of loose coupling, introduced by Karl Weick, is examined in relation to educational administration and organizational analysis in general. The concept employs both a particular theory…

As part of a larger endeavor to evaluate the impact of communication technology on organizations, this study assesses the accuracy of information diffusion via electronic-mail and courier-mail systems in two large organizations which have implemented electronic-mail systems in the last three years. Data were obtained through the use of…

This paper reviews the services provided by the ERIC system and suggests ways to broaden its scope through coordination with other existing education databases. The first of four major sections chronicles the evolution of ERIC and explains why it has not been able to exercise true bibliographic control over the literature of education. The second…