Conte, S. D.; and Halstead, M.H. 30,103 T E T C N L G O C M UE C N E M N G M N: A H E H OO Y F O P T R E T R A A E E T P O O E C U S F R G A U T P O E SO A P O R M R P SD O R E O R D AE R F S I N L R GA S IN C M U E SCIENCE O IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS. O PTR R C m . A M 19, 7 (July 1976), 369-370. o m C Thls book presents the course outline for the Purdue University "Technology of Computer Center Management" course and refers b r i e f l y to recent experience of the authors in conducting i t . The course goal is to explore technologlcal and management tools which help computer center managers optimize system performance. Since i t has f l v e prerequisite courses, one can assume that i t is quite advanced. Twenty percent of the course is devoted to center administration, 15 percent to personnel, 15 percent to hardware, 15 percent to computer selection and performance evaluation, 10 percent to balancing personnel wlth hardware, IO percent to software evaIuatlon and selection, and 15 percent to project management and control. Average enrollment for this course is 16, consisting of 4 from the School of Industrial Management and 12 from the Department of Computer Sciences. Western Electric has assigned programmers and engineers to this course with "overwhelmingly positive reaction." The course gives greater emphasis to technological and analytic tools for decision making and lesser emphasis to human, behavioral, and organizational aspects than a similar course proposed by McFarlan, F. W and Nolan, R. L. "Curriculum recommendations for . graduate professional programs in information systems: recommended addendum on information system administration" [Comm. A M 16, 7 (July 1973), 439-441; C C 15, 2 (Feb. 1974), Rev. 26,319]. R When the course was i n i t i a t e d in the early 1970's i t was thought that the balance would weigh in favor of ad hoc techniques, but time has revealed that basic prlnclples dominate the content. Readers interested in learnlng more about the course must communicate with the authors, since the paper is simply a synopsis. L. C. SlLVERN, Los Angeles, Calif. and c) current issues, societal implications, and future developments. These section headings are included but l e f t blank. Also completely excluded is any mention of data communications or the management of the MIS system building and maintenance process. Certainly, anyone reading the text would find whole areas l e f t out or treated in a cursory manner. However, the readings book would be useful to an execut i v e wishing to test the breadth of his knowledge of MIS concepts, and as a useful and interesting addendum to any introductory MIS course. F. F. N W E K Albuquerque, N.M. E PC, Dickson, Gary W (Ed.) . 32,179 M N G M N INFORMATION S S E S (MIS) Q A T R Y AAE ET YTM URE L. (Manage~ Inf. Syst. Q.) The Society for Management Information Systems and the Management Information Systems Research Center of the University of Minnesota, 269 19th Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minn. 55455. Vol. 1, I (Mar. 1977). Nonmember annual subscription: $25. The journal i s oriented toward the theory and practice of management information systems and i s included with a l l the Society's membership dues and distributed to a l l members. The Management Information Systems Research Center of the Univers i t y of Minnesota has, as one of i t s major o6ject i r e s , the development and com~nicat~on of knowledge concerning the use of the comput~ and a l l i e d decision-making technology for managerial purposes. The collaborative e f f o r t s of these ~wo organization~ has resulted in t h i s journal. I t includes interviews with MIS executives and users, s t a t e - o f - t h e - a r t survey articles and refereed a r t i c l e s on both the theory and pract i c e wlthin MIS. Thu~, we intend to provide a forum for materia~ addressing the information systems f i e l d . We hope, thereby, to u ~ t c the e f f o r t s of those teaching and doing research in t h i s area with those applying information systems to organizational problems. FROM THE EDITORIAL STATEMENT ON PUBLICATION POLICY Davis, Gordon B.; and Everest, Gordon C. 31,315 R A I G IN M N G M N INFORMATION SYSTEMS. E DN S AAE ET McGraw-Hill, Inc., N w York, 1976, Paperback $6.50. e This is a collection of readings designed to support Davls's Management Information Systems text (McGrawH i l l , N w York, 1974; C 15, 9 (Sept. 1974), Rev. e R 27,136). The readings,---according to the authors, meet one or more of slx selection c r i t e r i a : they are: a) classics; b) provocative or po|emic; c) authored by a leading person in MIS; d) significant research findings; e) notable case histories, or f) excellent summaries. Each selection includes a preamble to explaln why the a r t l c l e is included, a summary of the main points, and some questions to test the reader's comprehension. The editing and the logical flow of ideas Is impressive In a book of readings. However, the authors could apparently find no readings deemed appropriate for three areas: a) the hardware, software, and control environment for information processing systems; b) evaluation of information systems; Dickson, Gary W.; and Dock, V. Thomas. G A U T P O E SO A P O R M IN INFORMATION SYSR D AE R F S I N L R GA S TEMS: A SURVEY. Interfaces 6, 1 (Nov. 1975), 38-43. In his recent a r t i c l e r e g a r d i n g c u r r i c u l u m in i n f o r mation systems ( I S ) , A Vazsonyi ["The i n f o r m a t i o n systems option in Master of Business Administration degree programs," Interfaces 4, 4 (Aug. 1974), 12-17.] references the "lack of consensus on what to do and wide disparity in status among schools." Unfortunately, neither Vazsonyi or anyone else has muc idea of what the "consensus" is or, for that matter, what the status is in this new academic area. Since the authors' i n s t i t u t i o n s are engaged in graduate educationa] programs in information systems and we are frequently questioned about what others are doing, we set out to obtain a better understanding of what IS programs various schools have and the level of resources being devoted to graduate programs in information systems. Our findings should provide some interesting background on many of the asser-

/lp/association-for-computing-machinery/review-of-the-technology-of-computer-center-management-a-proposed-SrKTGm6EEe