Personal computers are inexpensive, portable, accessible, and adaptable for vocational education instruction, administration, and communications. Successful infusion of microcomputers into vocational education requires staff orientation, improvement in software quality, and careful planning. (SK)

Discusses various aspects of scientific software, including evaluation and selection of commercial software products; program exchanges, catalogs, and other information sources; major data analysis packages; statistics and chemometrics software; and artificial intelligence. (JN)

Reviews factors that have delayed use of expert system authoring tools in education and describes applications of two such tools--Expert-Ease and M.1.--to special education. Learning to use the tools, creating programs, and consulting the systems are the topics covered. Sources for further information on expert systems are provided. (MBR)

Discusses: (1) the architecture of expert systems; (2) features that distinguish expert systems from conventional programs; (3) conditions necessary to select a particular application for the development of successful expert systems; (4) issues to be resolved when building expert systems; and (5) limitations. Examples of selected expert systems…

Overview of the artificial intelligence (AI) field provides a definition; discusses past research and areas of future research; describes the design, functions, and capabilities of expert systems and the "Turing Test" for machine intelligence; and lists additional sources for information on artificial intelligence. Languages of AI are…

The effects of stimulus dimension and mode of exploration on preschool children's responses to pattern meanings and unusual uses tasks of original thinking were studied. The 3D tasks generated more responses overall. Visual and haptic exploration combined with 3D was the only condition studied to meet all criteria for construct validity.…

The study examined correlations between the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R), the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R), and the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) for 44 learning disabled primary and intermediate special class students. The Mental Processing and Achievement scales of K-ABC…

Describes an expert system which provides users who have information needs with terms to express search queries; introduces principles on which the system's behavior is based; describes the system's main procedures and decision rules; presents an example of system use; and outlines possible improvements in system search and evaluation procedures.…

Compared scores of Argentines and North Americans on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (revised version). Americans were found to perform significantly better in Vocabulary, Arithmetic, Similarities, and Digit Symbol subtests (perhaps related to their higher average school level), but no cultural differences in factor structures were found.…

Science fiction writers' perceptions of the "thinking machine" are examined through a review of Baum's Oz books, Heinlein's "Beyond This Horizon," science fiction magazine articles, and works about robots including Asimov's "I, Robot." The future of computers in science fiction is discussed and suggested readings are listed. (MBR)

Examines such questions as: (1) Can creativity be fostered by education, and if so, how? (2) What part does language, man's most effective tool, play in this process? and (3) Could the artificial intelligence of computers be enlisted in the quest for greater creativity? (Author/JN)

Questions the construct validity, representatives of the norms, and reliability of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children. While the K-ABC is attractively produced and easy to administer, reliance on a particular theory restricts the range of cognitive abilities sampled. (JAC)

Data on speech, language, performance IQ, school placement, and behavior are presented on 18 subjects diagnosed in childhood as "aphasic" and followed through adolescence. Results revealed slow but steady growth in language with expressive skills showing more rapid progress than comprehension. Performance IQ was highly correlated with language…

Discusses the use of intelligence tests for placing students in Educationally Mentally Retarded (EMR) classes. Presents findings which suggest that in order to reduce the overrepresentation of Blacks in such classes, a lower IQ criterion is used for Black candidates than for White canditates. (KH)

The author examines claims that the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) is less culturally biased than other standard tests of intelligence. He concludes that the diminished Black-White difference for the K-ABC is largely the result of psychometric and statistical artifacts. Implications for future test construction are noted.…