This three-part article introduces a population dynamics model of an information processing system. The first part describes the general model and defines the terms used, the second describes the functional relationships between components, and the third explores the hypothesized emergence of increasingly complex, hierarchical information systems.…

This manual on microcomputer-based database management programs provides a description of the key characteristics of database software as well as guidelines for designing a database, uses of database programs, and selecting the right software. Three sets of concepts related to database management are listed and explained: creating a database,…

Curriculum administration and evaluation require specific information on such curriculum components as content, time, teaching methodology, materials, evaluation, and scheduling. Without such information, planning, coordination, resources allocation, and other decision-making activities are severely handicapped. Furthermore, evaluation of the…

Suggests new method of external distribution called tree partitioning that involves use of binary tree to split incoming file into successively smaller partitions for internal sorting. Number of disc accesses during a tree-partitioning sort were calculated in simulation using files extracted from British National Bibliography catalog files. (19…

Review of office filing facility filing and retrieval mechanisms for unstructured and mixed media information focuses on free text methods. Also discussed are the state of the art in handling voice and image data, problems with searching text surrogates to implement free text content retrieval, and work of Project Minstrel. (Author/MBR)

This workshop investigated how managers can evaluate, select, and effectively use information resource management (IRM) tools, especially data dictionary systems (DDS). An executive summary, which provides a definition of IRM as developed by workshop participants, precedes the keynote address, "Data: The Raw Material of a Paper Factory,"…

An information society is one in which the expression "to earn one's daily bread by the sweat of one's brow" appears decidedly anachronistic. People have been seduced by the rhetoric of novelty and confused by the surface significance of terms which have become accepted parts of everyday speech. What do rubrics such as information society,…

Describes the concept of an integrated environment which allows managers to evaluate and measure the performance of computer based information systems. Both system efficiency evaluation and user interaction evaluation are addressed, and MADAM, a system currently operational at the University of Southwestern Louisiana, is briefly described.…

The policy papers included in this package address various facets of the topic of data-based accountability for education in California. Guy Benveniste of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Education explores the underlying issue of accountability and describes the implications of different types of accountability measures. In…

Recent changes in the structure of curriculum and the instructional system in Texas have required a major reorganization of teaching, evaluating, budgeting, and planning activities in the local education agencies, which has created the need for a database. The history of Richardson Instructional Management System (RIMS), its data processing…

The use of an integrated student information system (ISIS) to conduct institutional research at Trinity University is discussed. The types of data contained in the system, which has 59 files, include: student characteristics, recruitment, financial aid, registration, faculty load, and class scheduling. The data for students, faculty, departments,…

Reviews the development of information resource management philosophies, methodologies, and techniques over the past five years. Areas that need improvement are discussed, including information resource management techniques, methodologies, research and educational bases, and professional associations. (13 references) (CLB)

This paper describes the approach taken by the Office of Compensatory Education of the Michigan Department of Education to provide microcomputer training to Chapter 1 administrators. It reports on the two objectives of the study to evaluate the effects of the training program: (1) to assess the short term effects of teaching administrators to use…

The process of planning the role of the microcomputer in higher education administration is investigated through a survey of a sample of universities and colleges in California engaged in such efforts, and through a review of literature in education as well as computing. A major objective of the study was to systematically investigate the…

This guide is intended to assist states and service delivery areas (SDAs) in addressing the new oversight responsibilities and opportunities stipulated by the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) with respect to management information system (MIS) issues in evaluating JTPA programs. The first chapter discusses the general requirements of a JTPA MIS…