The general characteristics of algorithms are outlined and related to instructional applications. Major issues and research questions are discussed. (Author/STS)

An algorithm and associated FORTRAN-77 computer subroutine are described for computing Goodman and Kruskal's tau-b statistic along with the associated nonasymptotic probability value under the null hypothesis tau=O. (Author)

Latent class analysis is formulated as a problem of estimating parameters in a finite mixture distribution. The EM algorithm is used to find the maximum likelihood estimates, and the case of categorical variables with more than two categories is considered. (Author)

A new algorithm to obtain the least squares solution in common factor analysis is presented. It is based on the up-and-down Marquadt algorithm developed by the present authors. Experiments in the use of the algorithm under various conditions are discussed. (Author/JKS)

Presents a technique for the numerical inversion of Laplace Transforms and several examples employing this technique. Limitations of the method in terms of available computer word length and the effects of these limitations on approximate inverse functions are also discussed. (JN)

Reviews what information and software sciences have thus far accomplished in search for empirical regularities and laws and examines what theories have been developed to explain and account for regularities and laws. Specific laws and theories of information highlighted are those of Zipf, Bradford, Lotka, Mandelbrot, and Simon. (Forty references)…

Describes the process used to establish a new set of boundaries for school board subdistricts. (Author)

This paper discusses optimal test construction, which deals with the selection of items from a pool to construct a test that performs optimally with respect to the objective of the test and simultaneously meets all test specifications. Optimal test construction problems can be formulated as mathematical decision models. Algorithms and heuristics…

Scores on different items of a test are often combined linearly (sometimes with equal weights) to form the test score, mainly for the sake of computational convenience. In this paper, the author studies the consequences of doing this, and also studies the problems involved in finding a suitable linear combination. (Author/RK)

Different methods of subtracting are described; the equal additions and the decomposition methods are discussed in detail. (DT)

A system of automatic indexing based on Baye's theorem is described briefly. (18 references) (Author)

The index entries generated by the Selective Listing in Combinations (SLIC) technique constitute a lattice which is a subset of the power set of the set of descriptors assigned to a document and this fact leads to an improved algorithm for generating SLIC entries. (Author/MF)