This personal reaction to Cummings'"Comparison of Three Algorithms for Analyzing Questionnaire-Type Needs Assessment Data to Establish Need Priorities" specifically questions Cummings' use of the Mean Difference Analysis for comparison with Weighted Needs Index, and his focus on characteristics of the statistic that are of secondary…

Introduces a new methodology for studying the effects of term selection and postings overlap on retrieval, under the assumption that pooling results for several searchers or questions may obscure important relationships. Based on the findings of a case study, several tentative conclusions and hypotheses, are posited and suggestions for future…

Describes a fast algorithm for comparing the lists of terms representing documents in automatic classification experiments. Complexity and running time for the algorithm are compared to other procedures, and a short algol-like routine is presented in the appendix. Eight references are included. (Author/BK)

The critical role of computers in scientific advancement is described in this panel report. With the growing range and complexity of problems that must be solved and with demands of new generations of computers and computer architecture, the importance of computational mathematics is increasing. Multidisciplinary teams are needed; these are found…