A warm-up exercise for the purpose of fostering creativity, imagination and interest is suggested for use in the introductory Management of Information Systems course. Specifically, a series of word scrambles are proposed the solution of which comprises a surprise answer based on a concept in the information systems course textbook. In the first…

Students in natural resources programs commonly take courses in geospatial technologies. An awareness of the uncertainty of spatial data and algorithms can be an important outcome of such courses. This article describes a laboratory exercise in a graduate geographic information system (GIS) class that involves collection of data for the assessment…

An educational management information system is a network of communication channels, information sources, computer storage and retrieval devices, and processing routines that provide data to educational managers at different levels, places, and times to facilitate decisionmaking. Management information systems should be differentiated from…

The problem of managing computer facilities at educational institutions is examined. User categories are defined, and the interrelations between user requirements and the goals/objectives of the facility are discussed. Enumerations of the factors that influence computer facility operations is also accomplished. In addition, management information…

The use of management information systems (MIS) in higher education is discussed. It is suggested that the value of MIS in higher education is its potential utility in effective political position-building rather than conventional problem-solving. (BH)

Oversight information systems provide data to oversight agency managers that enable them to: (1) monitor the operations of agencies for which they are charged oversight responsibilities; (2) compare performance data against set performance criteria; and (3) identify exceptions that occur outside performance tolerance parameters. This research…

The one-day conference was sponsored in recognition of the need for increased interaction between education and business on problems related to the potential of man-machine interface and application of this potential to the resolution of social and economic problems. Dr. Van Court Hare in discussing the emerging generation of computer systems…

The development, use, and management of information systems in higher education are examined in these proceedings of the 1979 College and University Systems Exchange (CAUSE) National Conference. General sessions deal with computer management to data resource management and institutional perspective for the 1980's. The remaining sessions are…

It is claimed that, properly organized, management information systems not only can contain all the data within a total organization, but can refine and arrange the information so that it becomes meaningful to the decisionmaker. At present their functions are virtually restricted to middle management, operational control levels. However, the rapid…

Following a review of the contributions of computers and managerial science/operations research to the management of libraries, this paper introduces the concept of decision support systems. DSS, a blending of these techniques, can lead to more effective decisions by library managers. A case study of the utilization of a DSS in the budgeting…

Criteria used by the Information Services Department in deciding on the feasibility of proposed computer applications are reviewed. Natural trends in the development of information systems are described. Suggestions are made for increasing the probability of developing a successful application and for insuring that subsequent applications will be…

Progress in realizing the full potential of computerized data processing is being hindered by costs and by the spread of a multitude of small, independent computer facilities. There is a need for some uniformity of specifications among the various systems. The result would be a compatibility that could help to reduce costs more rapidly because of…

Proceedings of the 1981 CAUSE conference include both professional and vendor presentations. Track 1, on decision support systems, examines such areas as system design, the EDUCOM Financial Planning Model System (EFPM), the evolution of support systems, and a Mississippi approach. Track 2, "Managing the Information Systems Resource,"…

The paper attempts to provide a general framework for dealing with management information systems (MIS). An MIS is defined to have the following characteristics: (1) related to ongoing activities of an organization, (2) a man-machine system, (3) composed of a collection of subsystems, and (4) oriented around a large data base. An MIS places a…

PMIS is a computer-based planning and management information system for local school districts. This report centers on the PMIS data bases that contain school system data by reviewing the major phases involved in their creation, explaining the factors that caused the unique orientation of the data bases, reviewing the two tasks that comprise the…