R VE SA S R C S EIW/BTAT The following are used with permission from 1976 and 1977 issues of Computing Reviews. Ahl, David H. 30,879 SURVEY OF PUBLIC ATTITUDES TOWARD COMPUTERS IN SOCIETY. Creative Computing I , 6 (Nov.-Dec. 1975), 49-51. During the six-month period February through July 1975, Creative Computing Magazine conducted a survey on people's attitudes toward computers and their role in society. Some843 people responded in two highly computerized nations, the United States and Germany. About one-third of the respondents were educated or experienced in computer usage; two-thirds were not. T h i r t y - s i x percent of the respondents were classified as young people (20 and under) and students; the remainder were a r e l a t i v e l y balanced cross-section of adults. Thls survey indicates that most people are remarkably optimistic about the benefits the computer can bring to society in a number of areas--for example, education, law enforcement, and health care. People feel they are unable to escape the influence of the computer and that i t has some undeslrable effects; however, they do not feel p a r t i c u l a r l y threatened by i t . Young people tend to be less optimistic and feel more threatened by the computer than do adults. A surprising two-thirds of the population have a f a i r understanding of both the role and function of the computer although there are a few popular misconceptions. Compared to the 1971AFIPS/Time survey, people have become more optimistic about the use of computers in most areas with the notable exception of credit data banks. Also, this Creative Computln9 survey identified the computer influence on elections as a real danger area--to our knowledge thls has not been previously surveyed~ Abstract argue for the inclusion of more materlals from sources other than the A M (such as recent IEEE curricuC lum development work) and for a better screening of papers from the late 60's and early 70's. Someof these papers are dated, and perhaps a shorter b l b I i ography with an emphasis on the more recent publications would have been better. Nevertheless, as the f i r s t attempt to pull together the l i t e r a t u r e since Curriculum '68, thls is a v a l uable document and should be of interest to educators and others involved in the development of computer science education. W ROTH, Upland, Ind. . Bet1, D. 31,875 P O R M E SELECTION A D P O R M I G E R R . R G A MR N RGA M N ROS Computer J. 19, 3 (Aug. 1976), 202-206. The high cost of training programmers prohibits a t r l a l and error approach to selection. T h l s paper investigates the qualities required in a modern programmer and a means of evaluating them. The results of a recent experiment to determine which of a collectlon of programmer selectlon tests and subtests proved to be the best predictor are described. Author Abstract This paper delves into the area of "peopleware," a subject that is in great need of further study. The emphasis is at the programming level, although many of the variables and c r i t e r i a discussed could be extrapolated to the systems level. The statistical sampling group is academic as opposed to real world, but this does not seem to materially affect the conclusions of the paper. D. C. ABBEY, Des Moines, Iowa Chandor, Anthony C O SN A D KEEPING C M U E STAFF. H OIG N O PTR International Pub1. Service Collings, I n c . , York, 1976, 203 pp., $17.50. 30,003 New Austing, Richard H.; Barnes, Bruce H.; 31,871 and Engel, Gerald L. A S R E O T E LITERATURE IN C M U E SCIENCE EDUU VY F H O PTR CATION SINCE G R I U U '68. U RC L M C m . A M 20, I (Jan. 1977), 13-21. o m C Thls paper is the f i r s t comprehensive e f f o r t to survey and review the l i t e r a t u r e on computer science education published since Curriculum 68 [Report of the A M Currlculum Committee on Computer Science, C C m . A M 11, 3 (March 1968), 151-197]. Over 200 o m C items are listed in the bibllography; they are dlscussed in coherent subject areas such as the philosophy of computer science programs, description of programs, descriptions of courses, and specialized areas such as master's degree and sma11-college programs. The authors have done an effective job of putting together a broad range of materials into an informative and useful document. The organization is satisfactory, considering the broad range of papers included, and the selection of those l i s t e d , although not comprehensive, is certainly good. One could This b r i e f , no-nonsense book should be read by every i n d i v i d u a l who has management or h i r i n g and f i r i n g r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s f o r computer s t a f f . Those who may have come up through the technlcal ranks of the computing profession w i l l p r o f l t from the admlnlstrat o r ' s and personnel manager's v l e w p o i n t ; those who may have migrated into such a p o s i t i o n from outside of the computing profession w i l l be introduced to the personnel problems p e c u l l a r to the trade. The e n t i r e book is enjoyable reading and only once does the author drop into the pseudo-dialogue technique used nearly to the point of nausea by many other authors concerned with personnel management. Some of the terms and s p e l l i n g s common In the United Kingdom may give the American reader a moment's pause t but the authorts c l a r i t y and s t y l e e a s i l y surmount these minor disadvantages. Mr. Chandor has produced a very well organized and complete work despite i t s b r e v i t y . The p r i c e is high, but the appended check l i s t alone is worth the expense. A. L. LUCKE, Bozeman, Mont.

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