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The article comments on the paper "Comparative Values of Information Structures," by Theodore J. Mock, that appears in the December 1, 1969 issue of the "Journal of Accounting Research." The author states that developments during the 1960s have had a major impact on the design of information systems. He explains that advances in operations research have provided an increased capability for formalizing decision models, as well as an added ability to identify optimal operating conditions, relevant variables, and the sensitivity of the models to parameter variations.

The major hypothesis explored by this paper is that managers of large enterprises--public or private, in any context --have an increasingly urgent socio-humanistic responsibility to create self-actualizing organizations which will assure to the maximum extent possible, the transcendence of human values. The major thesis of the paper is that general systems insights, cybernetic science and computer technology provide the basis for achievement of this paramount objective. Over two decades ago Norbert Wiener depicted the human degredation potentially inherent in the cybernetic approach to organizational and institutional design. The substance of such concerns may perhaps now be encapsulated by the question: Are we presently pursuing a witless decision path where the sole parameter is "What is possible technologically?" as we yesterday appeared only to ask, "Does it make sense economically?" [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigates in detail a single server single queue time-sharing system with homogeneous Poisson arrivals and exponentially distributed service times. The important variables affecting the design and operation of the system were investigated, and the results are given in terms of steady-state expectations and distribution transforms. An attempt is made to demonstrate the influence of various system's parameters on the overall performance. Special attention is given to optimization with respect to quantum size. It is hoped that some of the results may serve as guidelines in the design and operation of time-sharing systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The whole concept of modelling has caught on, aided immeasurably by the considerable progress in computer technology. Mini-computers, timesharing systems, remote terminals, and graphical displays have placed computer power directly into the hands of the decision maker. This paper presents a corporate decision-aiding system, a family of timeshared models, developed for Xerox of Canada Limited (XCL) in an effort to link the functional areas for communication, planning, and control purposes. Using the approaches of statistical forecasting, heuristics, and simulation, the XCL Decision System assists and guides management all the way from deriving product demand forecasts to simulating the day-to-day operations of the firm to formulating divisional financial statements to preparing corporate operating and medium-range plans. Developed in a short time span and at low cost, the system is used extensively in Canada and has been adopted, in part, by U.S. corporate and regional offices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A severe limitation on the range of statistical procedures available to a social researcher is the modus operandi of computations. In its history, the development of modern statistics preceded computer technology by several decades, and a common procedure used by mathematical statisticians was to define a given statistic, usually from the theory of errors of observation, and then through algebraic manipulation, derive "computing" formulas. A major consequence of this process is that computer skills are almost systematically excluded as requisites to conducting social research. Definitional formulas for statistical computations, if properly programmed, have the major advantage of allowing the sociologist to maintain a closer working relationship between the measures he uses and their theoretical underpinnings. No longer does a research assistant need to spend hours at a calculator doing mechanical operations. Instead, he can system atically manipulate the data while building a program that can be used again and again and produce precise, accurate results.

Intelligent corporate financial planning has been necessary for as long as the corporate form of business enterprise has existed. Only in recent years, however, have computer technology and academic theorizing been harnessed to meet this practical need. Without wishing to minimize the impact and value of these efforts on the practice of corporate finance, we do think there are grounds for believing that the new finance "tools" have been less than maximally effective. In this article we contrast typical financial modeling theory in order to interpret the gap between the two. Then we describe a financial policy model whose characteristics might be expected to be more acceptable in practice. Finally, we discuss the implications of the theory/ practice gap and our experience with this model for future scholarly activities in the modeling of financial policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on Ezra Solomon's report, "What Should We Teach in a Course in Business Finance?", in which he discusses the field of college business education courses, and how this field of study can be improved. The author comments that this field of study will improve with computer technology and all the resources that will bring to the teaching process. He does point out that Solomon draws too sharp a distinction between the development of knowledge concerning the field of capital budgeting and the cost of capital and the improvements that preceded this period.

The article discusses the author's perspective on the developments of science in the U.S. after the World War II. He points that the meeting of the imagination and enthusiasm of the scientists through large-scale enterprises resulted in an unprecedented rate of development. He emphasizes that the possible success gave a complete solution to those problems which can be solved with relative ease. He adds that this development is useful for applied fields which include solid state physics, computer technology, and in space effort.

The article presents information on implications of recent research in learning theory for the elementary school curriculum and to indicate how these implications can best be realized by appropriate application of modern computer technology. The research and curriculum work done thus far as a result of the current interest in teaching machines and programmed instruction show clearly that technology alone is not going to produce any fundamental or long-lasting changes in the curriculum. Only if its applications are guided by appropriate psychological principles and subject matter insight will such changes be brought about. One of the most firmly established generalizations of behavioral psychology is the existence of significant differences in individual rates of learning. A variety of experimental studies has shown the importance of both immediate reinforcement and overt correction in children's learning. One of the most important and fundamental measures of learning is the extent of transfer to new situations.

In a recent issue of "The Accounting Review," accountant, Joel S. Demski described an extension of variance analysis. This article presents an analysis of some of the assumptions underlying Demski's proposed system and briefly discusses its limitations. This article will provide those interested in conducting additional research in this area with useful insights relative to the most fruitful avenues for such research to take. Demski's article represents a worthwhile and provocative contribution to the managerial accounting literature. The possibility of deriving a control system which would encourage managers to depart from their original production plan when such departure is to the firm's advantage is a highly interesting and potentially important development. Some of the feasibility problems indicated might prove to be insignificant in the presence of computer technology's rapidly expanding capacity to handle data. Thus the author concur with Demski that additional research in this area is justified, and he is hopeful that the discussion will stimulate and provide useful points of departure for such research.

This article presents a review on the principal applications of computer technology to school testing programs in the U.S. The vision of Cooley for the future application of computer technology to school testing programs seems appropriate. The computer's capacity to correlate, compare, interrelate and synthesize data is almost unlimited. School testing programs will shift from a system of recording sets of numbers on student cumulative records to a dynamic procedure of flashing red lights which indicate when certain students seem to be in particular types of danger. Rather than assessing how much the student knows, as they have tended to do in the past, school testing programs will focus on a procedure which identifies what missing skills or concepts are inferring with a student's school progress.

This article presents the use of computers in educational research. Many developments in computer technology and applications maybe expected to reflect in educational research. the widespread availability of generalized statistical programs has made routine practice of such computational procedures as analysis of variance, factor analysis, and item analysis. The time and effort previously expended upon the mechanics of calculation or upon special case programming now can be devoted to design and construction of research. In educational research, noncomputational uses of computers are used in simulation in learning, simulation of behavior in social groups, simulation of personality and simulation in educational administration. It is further used in problem solving, concept attainment and information and storage retrieval..

This article highlights the research of the automation in calculation as data processing method. Much of the computational literature deals with topics, such as numerical analysis, computer logic, computer engineering, scientific applications and business applications, which posses no specific reference to education or psychology. A wide variety of computational aids is currently available to educators, ranging from slide rule and desk calculator to punched-card equipment and electronic computation. Sections of the review are bibliographies, journals and professional societies, types of computers, digital computers, computer availability, programming an electronic computer, numerical analysis, computer use in education and psychology, factor analysis, punched-card procedures, other computational aids, and the brain-machine analogy.

The choice of design parameters of automatic digital computers represents compromises among many factors. Some of these factors are programing convenience, speed of operation, ease of maintenance, efficiency of storage, cost of implementation, number precision, and machine capacity. The choice of particular values of a design parameter is simplified if the effect of the parameter on some of the indicated factors can be measured. A method is developed which results in a numerical measure of the effect of order types on speed and storage efficiency. This method and considerations of equipment cost are applied to a company payroll calculation in order to determine which of two specific order types is preferable. In addition to testing order type, some estimate of the equipment required to implement these order types is made. Only generally accepted features of the organization of automatic digital computers are assumed for this analysis. The example illustrating an application of this method is taken from actual experience and indicates the kind of information designers and potential customers should have in order to evaluate the performance of automatic digital computing equipment. Some of the detailed programing used in illustrating the method is included. Sample tabulations are also included and show how numerical measures of performance are calculated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the utilization of computers in teaching. Computer technology is an unsettling innovation to many who have only recently acquired creditable speed and accuracy in using a desk calculator. Furthermore, the reactions of colleagues and students can often be predicted by reference to the Gee Whiz Syndrome. A computer can be instructed to do various computational series, has the power to remember what it has calculated and to use these values in later calculations. These comprise a fair intuitive understanding of the basic elements of modern computer technology. Rapid evolution of computer technology, although often bewildering, need not be terrifying. Teachers and students both will benefit from a thorough exploitation of the high-speed data manipulating capacity of modern computers. Teaching many of the statistical aspects of risk and insurance can be highlighted and assisted through the use of prepared computer programs with tabular and graphic presentation of output. The use of such programs does not require programming ability.

The article outlines a study that interviewed 65 senior executives in Canadian organizations, as to their use of computers in decision making. The author notes that of the 42 organizations included in the study, none had a functioning system that integrated computers into the corporate decision making process. Also noted was the fact that at the time of the study, little use was being made of computers in Canada for strategic planning purposes. The study also shows that computers are used mainly by the lower and middle management levels.