Over the last two decades, there has been a surge in public policies seeking to give low-income families more choice about where to send their children to school. These changes in policy have both reflected and accommodated an influx of new educational providers, including school operators, technology firms, back-office service providers, tutors,…

Defined Benefit pension plans often generate odd time patterns of benefits. One typical pattern exhibits low accrual in early years, accelerating in mid-late years, followed by dramatic decline, or even negative returns in years that are relatively young for retirement. We consider four states for specific analysis: Arkansas, Missouri, California…

Understanding human activity in real-world situations often involves complicated data collection, analysis, and presentation methods. This article discusses how Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) can inform design-based research practices that focus on understanding activity in real-world situations. I provide a sample data set with…

The research literature is rich on innovations in R&D-specific organizations and provides useful information on support systems and other organizational features associated with such specialized organizations. An implied assumption of many studies is that R&D exists as an independent entity, without controls or influences from the other…

Those identified with high quality child care, early education, and family support (ECE) are experiencing new trends that are interacting with old problems. This article summarizes the old problems and new trends faced by ECE. The author wants to define their role in the emerging system and influence policies that will affect it. This article also…

This white paper proposes bringing the federal government, state governments, and the private sector together as part of a new approach to making high-speed Internet services available across the country. It proposes the creation of a new federal Universal Broadband Fund (UBF) that, together with matching funds from the states and the private…

Using an integral systems analysis approach, the author investigates the economic problems of higher education in Russia. (Author/RM)

The seven stages in the system development process are discussed in the context of implementing basic arithmetic drill and practice exercises on a computer-based system: (1) feasibility study; (2) requirements definition; (3) alternative specifications; (4) evaluation and selection of an alternative; (5) system design; (6) development and testing;…

Concludes that Freedom of the press is a function of subsystem autonomy in an overall political system. (Author/RB)

The results of a survey of 428 management personnel in 10 organizations identified three major dimensions which interact to define most management by objectives systems' variations and problems: supervisory style, measurability of objectives, and frequency of review of the organization. Suggestions for positive changes are offered. (AG)

The strategy for PASP proposed here is characterized by the: (1) ad hoc nature of some of its parts; (2) use of a linear string grammar, (3) definition of probability rules, (4) translation of those rules into a priori rules for the string grammar, (5) context sensitivity, and (6) flexibility of the system. (Author/KM)

A MECHANIZED CIRCULATION SYSTEM CURRENTLY IN OPERATION AT LEHIGH UNIVERSITY HAS PROVEN TO GIVE RELIABLE CONTROL OF CIRCULATION ALTHOUGH IT HAS NOT SAVED ON OPERATING COSTS. WHEN THE STUDY WAS UNDERTAKEN TO DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF CHANGING FROM THE PREVIOUS MANUAL SYSTEM TO THE CURRENT ONE, THE LIBRARY WAS SERVING A STUDENT BODY OF 4500…

THE CONCEPT OF DYNAMIC EQUILIBRIUM IS USED TO EXAMINE THE OCCURRENCE OF CHANGE IN A THERAPEUTIC INTERVIEW AND TO PROPOSE A THEORY OF THERAPY. BY ANALYZING THE WORKINGS OF THE PSYCHOSOCIAL SYSTEM THROUGH THE GENERAL SYSTEMS THEORY, IT IS POSSIBLE TO SEE HOW CHANGE OCCURS IN AN INDIVIDUAL FAMILY OR COMMUNITY. APPLIED TO A FAMILY INTERVIEW, THE MODEL…