Reasoning skills are needed in the future work life. As such, it is important that reasoning skills be assessed in higher education, both in the selection phase and during education. This study aims to describe the instruments that are used to assess reasoning skills in higher education. The ultimate goal is to provide information upon which…

The information needed for informed decision making and planning by institutions of higher education can be made available through the establishment of carefully constructed databases. This handbook outlines the characteristics of databases, the needs databases meet, the key factors around which they must be organized, the advantages they offer,…

Strategic planning and strategy implementation in colleges and universities are examined and the implications for the design of information systems are discussed. At the University of Vermont it has not been necessary to decentralize access to major databases for strategic planning or strategy implementation purposes. (MLW)

Theoretical/empirical foundations on which reaction times are measured and interpreted are discussed. Models of human information processing are reviewed. A hybrid procedure and analytical framework are introduced, using a speed-accuracy decomposition technique to analyze the intermediate products of rapid mental processes. Results invalidate many…

A set of computer programs and data files have been designed to provide a simulated experience with patient-diagnosis problems for medical students. The programs, called CAPS (Computer Assisted Patient Simulation), aims to provide opportunities for making diagnoses and decisions; develop problem-solving skills; expand knowledge of specific disease…

This article provides an empirical evaluation of an indexing technology, topic maps (ISO 13250), in the context of an academic task in a higher education context. Topic maps are a form of indexing that define and display the interrelationships between various topics in a given domain, as well as anchor these topics to specific resources that help…

The purposes of this study were to determine the nature of human semantic memory and to obtain knowledge usable in the future development of computer systems that can converse with people. The work was based on a computer model which is designed to comprehend English text, relating the text to information stored in a semantic data base that is…

A decision support system integrates individuals' intellectual resources with computer capabilities to improve decision-making quality. This paper presents the theoretical aspects of decision making and decision support and shows how the theories can be applied in developing an operational management decision-making support system for room booking…

Universities must achieve a new maturity in institutional planning and information management to meet the challenges of the 1980s. Decision support systems are analyzed and those that combine computing technology with knowledge about decision-making art found to hold the most promise. (Author/MLW)

The Information Exchange Procedures (IEP) developed by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) are a set of standard definitions and procedures for collecting information about disciplines and student degree programs, outcomes of instructional programs, and general institutional characteristics. A fundamental purpose…

Some basic conceptual tools, knowledge, and experience that help evaluate needs for a management support system (MSS) to meet the planning and management challenges in academe are presented. An MSS must integrate the planning, control, forecasting, modeling, reporting, computing, and data administration functions of the system. (MLW)

Discusses three core moral judgement ideas: (1) modern schema theory, (2) automatic decision-making frequency, and (3) implicit processes as the default mode of human information processing. Compares the Defining Issues Test (measures the beginnings of moral judgement) and the Lawrence Kohlberg Moral Judgement Interview (measures the highest level…

Seven institutional research maxims based on research and theory about how people cognitively process information are discussed: more may not be better; augment humans with models; chunk data wisely; know decision-makers; heuristics are not always helpful; arrange tables by patterns; and accept negative evidence and new hypotheses. (Author/MLW)

In this study an artificial intelligence assessment tool used disease-by-feature frequency estimates to create disease prototypes for nine common causes of acute chest pain. The tool then used each subject's prototypes and a pattern-recognition-based decision-making mechanism to diagnose 18 myocardial infarction cases. (MLW)

A study investigated the perceptions of human resource managers (n=243) concerning graduates from 9 area colleges, using 40 criteria to differentiate potential employees. The results support use of the methodology by colleges and universities to investigate factors contributing to institutional image within the business community. (MSE)