The general procedures, techniques for implementing, and results of a citizen-based "grass-roots" program in Ohio for the development and analysis of community energy policies are described. The program emphasizes citizen input and employs the nominal group process to build consensus. Small group discussions are used to generate…

This analysis of how the federal government might best promote excellence in education via instructional technology identifies strengths and weaknesses of instructional technology during the 1980's, indicates how technology might aid the teaching and learning process, and suggests how the federal goverment might best assist states and localities…

The document consists of three symposium addresses, pertaining to the provision and use of career information systems. Gerald C. Smith, Department of Labor, opened the symposium with an address on "Occupational Information systems: Uses, Developments, and Issues", which focused on career information systems currently being developed by…

The four papers in this document consider alternative programs and innovative models and techniques concerned with career change and its impact on vocational education. In the first paper, Jo Shuchat addresses the issue of what vocational education is or is not doing to accommodate the increasing interest women have for nontraditional job…

The roles of institutional researchers in the overall goal setting and monitoring process were studied in 1982. In addition, the use of databases and new technology (e.g., computer models and planning aids, information retrieval systems, and national databases) as support mechanisms for assessment of institutional performance, and the methods used…

Ideas that have been developed in the decision support systems (DSS) literature that seem particularly relevant to institutional research, planning, and analysis (IRPA) are reviewed. In addition, a survey of practitioners in Canadian universities that provides new information on the rapidly changing current state of information technology,…

Seven potentially useful maxims from the field of human information processing are proposed that may help institutional researchers prepare and present information for higher education decision-makers. The maxims, which are based on research and theory about how people cognitively process information, are as follows: (1) more may not be better;…

A simulation model of an academic medical center that was developed to aid in strategic planning and policy analysis is described. The model, designated MCM for Medical Center Model, was implemented at the School of Medicine, University Hospitals of Cleveland, and the private practices of the faculty in the clinical departments at University…

The importance of myth and ritual in understanding the use of computer simulators in higher education is considered. Myths are commonly held beliefs that maintain social solidarity and reduce ambiguity; rituals serve a similar function, but they involve actions in addition to words. Examples of common myths and rituals are used to illustrate the…

The impact of alternative institutional policies on faculty mix, salary expense, and turnover is assessed. Guidelines are offered to aid health science school administrators to maintain faculty vitality through a period of retrenchment and new federal retirement law. A "typical" hypothetical school of medicine is simulated using a…

Decision makers have always relied on a mixture of qualitative and quantitative information. Recently, two technological tools--spreadsheets and the Internet--have dramatically altered how decision makers analyze quantitative information, thus necessitating curriculum changes in programs to prepare students to use these tools effectively. Harvard…