Three models for the design of information systems are presented: microanalytic, macroanalytic, and esoteric. Systems which illustrate these models are discussed, and design principles extracted from the literature are listed. (Author/KP)

Describes a planned information service to be offered by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, based on descriptions of exemplary programs or practices at schools undergoing accreditation studies. (DMM)

Presents a mathematical model of a decision maker subject to goal uncertainty which shows that a dominant course of action will always emerge. The theory of multivalued functions is used to express goal uncertainty, and a specific example is described to provide insight into how the procedure works in practice. (Author/EM)

The recipient of the 1987 Award of Merit recalls his initial work in information research, and discusses the current and future status of information science and the functions of information professionals. (CLB)

Defines management information systems (MIS) in higher education and more specifically student affairs. Presents a rationale for improving MIS in student affairs and provides guidelines for developing campus student affairs MIS. Throughout the paper, examples of present uses of student affairs MIS are given. (Author)

A microcomputer with off-the-shelf software is successfully used to track Geriatric Evaluation Unit patients. The system satisfies four requirements: low cost, software exportability, management of several hundred variables, and decentralized access. Highly sophisticated computer expertise was not necessary for development, and demand on the…

Identifies requirements for representing structural aspects of nonconventional information system applications and demonstrates how recursive data models support information systems better than record-based database modelling tools. Structural concepts for representing office data objects are discussed and applied to an office example. Language…

Discussion of information and misinformation about integrated online library systems highlights capabilities and functions that should be offered by an integrated system, practicalities of purchasing a system, visions versus reality, library versus information automation, origins of integrated online systems in the 1960s and 1970s, and future…

Three advantages in automating special education information management (accuracy, speed, new information) are noted, and five misconceptions (regarding costs, need for monitoring, and system independence) are revealed. (CL)

History of electronic mail services (EMS) includes characteristics and potential. Factors to consider in selecting an EMS and means of communicating with different types of systems are discussed with emphasis on software for personal equipment and use of an interconnection service agency. Features of International Electronic Mail Services, Inc.,…

Deals with the various technological, human, environmental, and infrastructural factors which determine the actual possibilities of carrying out a program for the establishment and operation of information networks in the developing countries. (Author)

This paper provides a portrayal of Z39.50 (a communications protocol that enables two systems to exchange messages for the purpose of information retrieval) that explains its flexibility in response to a variety of information retrieval requirements in the networked environment. The first section presents an overview of Z39.50, including the…

This paper provides background on building the "Connecticut Digital Gazetteer." The paper begins by describing primary research initiatives, including a 1998 workshop convened by the National Academy of Science's Mapping Science Committee to build a national vision of a geolibrary and a 1999 workshop at the Smithsonian Institution to…

Considers the problem of allocation resources among various locations in an information system where phases of a process are carried out. Approach taken combines queueing theory and dynamic programming. (JB)