The purpose of this paper is to highlight the complexities involved in higher education provision and how systems thinking and socio-technical systems (STS) thinking approach can be used to understand the education ecosystem. Systems thinking perspective is provided using two case studies: the development of European Learner Mobility (EuroLM)…

During the transfer from conceptualizations to practical programs of educational innovation, difficulties, in the form of failure to close modular gaps, often occur. The author has constructed a functional model of research and systems development based upon logical sequencing and tight-line modular linkage between task assignment and…

The ability to design and build sophisticated computer-based information systems (CIS) has progressed rapidly; however, the ability to implement them has not kept pace. These implementation problems can be solved by embedding CIS design with the socio-technical systems design approach. (Author/MLW)

This description of a method for using task analysis information to derive skill and knowledge requirements in the development of a training course begins by considering two important aspects of deriving skill and knowledge requirements. First, it is argued that task description is an important part of system design and training development in…

Argues that there is a fundamental gap between the knowledge that the information systems development community values and that which cultural analysis yields. Suggests that developers, rather than trying to explain social behavior and knowledge with rules, should be concerned with the production of contesting rules and what the production tells…

Four articles respond to the Bader and Nyce position that it is unlikely cultural analysis will become a routine tool for information systems developers with these arguments: ethnographic work can aid software development; the problem lies with inappropriate application of social science methods; the problem is technique, not fundamentals; and…

Discusses the use of artificial intelligence systems in process engineering. Describes a new program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology which attempts to advance process engineering through technological advances in the areas of artificial intelligence and computers. Identifies the program's hardware facilities, software support,…

The large-scale development of Time-Shared, Interactive, Computer-Controlled, Information Television (TICCIT) at Brigham Young University is described in this paper. The TICCIT project was designed to provide a market success example for computer-assisted instruction, particularly for junior or community colleges. The project incorporated a…