Customer Service is important for a myriad of reasons, such as retaining customers, building customer loyalty, getting customer referrals, improving employee happiness, and remaining competitive. However, as a company grows, the focus may be on sales and production, with customer service efficiency and effectiveness being seen as an overhead…

The launch of HealthCare.gov, the website of the Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare), was a major public relations disaster for the Obama administration. This case examines some of the factors that contributed to the failure of the launch and then details how Optum, an information technology service provider, considered the opportunity provided by…

In today's world, Web-Based Distance Education Systems have a great importance. Web-based Distance Education Systems are usually known as Learning Management Systems (LMS). In this article, a database design, which was developed to create an educational institution as a Learning Management System, is described. In this sense, developed Learning…

Students, policymakers and institutions all need to have high quality data about how today's students access and pay for higher education--and what contributes to their success. But the data that are available now are woefully inadequate. We need to improve the national postsecondary data infrastructure The report thoroughly explores seven options…

Discusses the probabilistic nature of information retrieval, and describes a front end system designed to permit searchers to attach probabilistically interpreted weights to query terms, which could be adapted for conventional information retrieval systems without requiring radical changes in current indexing procedures. (37 references) (CLB)

State policymakers are increasingly focused on closing the achievement gap and preparing all students to succeed in school and in life. However, college and career readiness begins long before students enter high school or even a classroom. Differences in children's abilities appear as early as the first year of life, and research has shown that…

To address system problems and other management weaknesses, in 1998 Congress created the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) within the Department of Education. This office adopted a new approach to systems integration using middleware (software that can allow an application to access data residing indifferent databases) and Extensible Markup…

This is a report evaluating the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS), which is designed to track federal student financial aid (Title IV) programs and provide research and support functions such as prescreening of aid applicants for eligibility and enrollment status. The report finds that the Department of Education has made only limited…

Describes a pilot project by the University of California to provide access to biomedical and health sciences literature through the integration of the MEDLINE database into the University's MELVYL online union catalog. The discussion covers the design, implementation and evaluation of the system, current planning efforts, and key technical and…

Raison d'Etre, a hypermedia design history application, provides access to a database of video clips containing perspectives of design team members during the course of a project. Describes the user needs analysis; methods of collecting information and organizing the database; and the implications for design education, research, and practice. (AEF)

The Data Quality Campaign (DQC) is a national, collaborative effort to encourage and support state policymakers to improve the collection, availability and use of high-quality education data and to implement state longitudinal data systems to improve student achievement. The campaign aims to provide tools and resources that will assist state…

The use of a data base management system (DBMS) as opposed to traditional data processing is discussed. The generalized file concept is viewed as an entry level step to the DBMS. The transition process from one system to the other is detailed. (SF)

An automated management information system was developed for planning and scheduling unit training in a U.S. Army infantry division. The primary goal of the project was to test the feasibility of the concept for a computer-based management information system. Specific objectives were to integrate information on personnel, training, and logistics…

Discusses the need to reassess the objectives of online public access catalogs and how those objectives might be met before costly investments are made in electronic versions of "other data" for online catalogs. Several objectives are outlined and their feasibility in the modern telecommunications environment is examined. (two references) (CLB)

Reliable and current data is the foundation upon which good public policymaking is built. While California collects a good deal of data on its teaching workforce, policymakers have lacked a state-level data and analysis system to provide answers to even some of the most basic questions: How many credential holders actually take jobs? In what types…