MultiTool—A Toolkit for the Development of Computer-based Multi-media Courseware

This paper describes MultiTool, a new programming shell for use in developing multi-media education and training applications with microcomputer-based software and videodisk-based images. This system was generalized from a prototype system that was developed for teaching construction equipment and methods. MultiTool enables other users to develop their own education and training applications. It provides a variety of standard development options that perform distinctly different functions. It also includes libraries of graphic designs, function buttons, interface elements and video drivers. The potential impact of this program resides in improving the quality and productivity of training and education in engineering, science and other fields     

Assessing Multicultural Initiatives in Higher Education Institutions

As educational institutions engage in promoting multiculturalism on campuses, it becomes essential to assess the quality and success of those initiatives. In this paper, the plan being implemented at Northern Illinois University to assess multicultural initiatives is described. The plan is to ensure that faculty, staff, and students participate and benefit from multicultural curricular and related program, courses and curricula continue to be multiculturally transformed, multicultural curricular transformation and support program needs are being met, students obtain and demonstrate the necessary multicultural competencies, and the campus is supportive of multicultural initiatives at all levels of the university. The paper describes the range of multicultural initiatives pursued in higher education institutions and the considerations necessary in assessing such initiatives. The plan described in this paper makes use of existing assessment mechanisms and as well as a few new ones designed and implemented in several phases. The results and findings from the assessment along with recommendations for improving the initiatives are discussed in this paper. The paper concludes with a discussion on the real challenges of the plan and issues to consider when assessing multicultural initiatives in a higher education institution.     

An Approach to Value-Based Modeling of Information Flows

This article presents a new approach to modeling information flows within today's information systems environments characterized by electronic commerce. We treat information as a resource whose value is fundamentally multidimensional in nature. In this article we consider the economic and psychological dimensions of the value of information. It is argued that it is meaningless to model the value of information in isolation away from the context and the specific parties between which this information is exchanged. We therefore focus exclusively on modeling information flows rather than information itself. To achieve this, we propose a formal framework for describing transactions involving information flows. The framework consists of a generalized model for representing information transactions and for defining a set of fundamental properties of multiparty transactions. These properties are fairness, constructiveness, and monopoly. Where applicable, they are defined for individuals, transactions, and a system of transactions. The proposed model reveals the nature of individual transactions and markets, and consequently has important implications for simulation of market scenarios and to help arrive at effective policies for pricing and market regulations.