This book provides readers with the knowledge and skills needed to engage effectively in marriage and family life. The first chapter provides an overview of the book's content. Concepts relative to individual growth and development, and the movement toward intimacy are presented with emphasis on the teenage, young adult, and adult phases of the…

The point is made that systems thinking should be combined with dialectical thinking and constructivist thinking for effective systems design and systems change. To establish a context, a set of assertions on "How the World Works" in regard to systems design and systems change in education is laid out, as value assumptions undergirding…

This document examines the underlying rationale for the development of a global approach in consumer studies. The concept of consumer ethics is discussed and the consumer decision-making process is placed within an ecosystem perspective of the marketplace. The model developed introduces educators, marketers, and consumers to a more global…

This research examined specific communication patterns in 20 schizophrenic and other family triads, through analysis of transcripts of 15-minute interactions within a systems epistemology. Families with a son or daughter diagnosed as having schizophrenia were found to emphasize two communication patterns: communication that is nebulous, confusing,…

This study reviews the literature regarding the theoretical rationale for creating a computer-based school system simulation for educational leaders' use in problem solving and decision making. Like all social systems, educational systems are so complex that individuals are hard-pressed to consider all interrelated parts as a totality. A…

This paper presents concepts and principles pertinent to the development of cross-level and multilevel theory in organizational science by addressing a number of fundamental theoretical issues. It describes hierarchy theory, systems theory, and mixed-level models of organization developed by organizational scientists. Hierarchy theory derives from…

An alternative research methodology is presented which focuses on the aims and values of education while attending to the learner as an elaborate, dynamic, everchanging total system. A summary covers the reactive, preactive, proactive, and spiralling learner systems, each of which meet the definitional system requirement of being dynamic, having a…

Describes the use of the Pattern Variable Coding Method for classifying communication themes found in small groups. (MH)

Identifying the traditional function of the trustees as that of maintaining a balance between accountability and autonomy, and pointing out the threat to that role inherent in the new emphasis on accountability and the development of systems of public higher education, the author outlines prospects for the seventies and the challenge for trustees.…

Practical observations of participants in the Construction Systems Programs of the Detroit Public Schools. (Author)

Identified are nine essential components in the organizational structure of classroom based early childhood intervention programs for handicapped children. (Author/CL)

Reports on empirically-based longitudinal study of performance in a manufacturing company that uses management by objectives. The performance of the subordinates of 181 MBO-involved supervisors in the production and marketing departments is analyzed. Time lag, reinforcement, and sustaining improvements in performance are considered and analyzed.…

Discusses the need for individuals to become aware of the decisionmaking process of institutions that directly affect them. Past attempts to effect change within organizational systems are reviewed in terms of the traditional human relations approach and of a systems approach. (Author/WM)

Describes the decisionmaking system in an organization when the organization's two supervisors make a concerted move to take over more control of that system. (Author/WM)

Briefly describes the processes and methods used to evaluate six different community education programs. (JG)