Urban Systems最新文献

Very little is known, empirically or conceptually, about the diffusion of technological innovations in hospitals. Most of the empirical studies on the diffusion of innovations in hospitals have focused upon organizational change resulting from new programmatic services, rather than characterizing the early use of an idea or product. This paper discusses the diffusion of computers in hospitals. Specifically, the profiles of three distinct adopter categories are developed in terms of three factors: (a) the characteristics of the hospital; (b) the characteristics of the hospital's environment; (c) the training and background of the hospital administrator. Discriminant analysis is used to develop these profiles.

A series of interrelated questions are examined regarding the acquisition and utilization of scientific and technical information among public and private organizations concerned with urban affairs. These questions provide a framework for synthesizing current research in organization and administrative theory. The concern for scientific information is not limited to those situations where special technical problems arise or particular technical departments are involved. Rather. it is assumed that sophisticated administration in most complex organizations requires appropriate scientific information. Special emphasis is placed on analyzing those administrative decisions which have the greatest potential for improving the scientific information acquisition and utilization process. For example, organization structure, boundary spanning. task structure, personnel staffing, and information system design are considered. The basic analytical tool is a general systems model which provides a broadened managerial perspective.

A critical problem in the evaluation of public programs is their nonutilization by managers of the program. There are a variety of reasons given for the nonutilization of these evaluations which, however, may be symptomatic of three basic problems: the conception, organization and management of the programs. Because of the problems characteristic of public programs, this paper proposes that the responsibility for evaluation should be assigned to program management and that outside evaluators be used to audit management's evaluation. Such an approach, besides improving the process of evaluation, could also significantly improve the information used by management to operate a program since much of the information for evaluation and program management is similar. The evaluation proposed goes beyond simply making public what programs do and how money is spent. It would indicate impact on program goals.

A bang-bang control policy operating with the capital-investment generation normal of the Forrester World Model is formulated for use in stabilizing population and creating other desirable effects in the behavior of the world system. A large cost is found to be associated with the substantial change or the long implementation time required to alter system behavior. An optimal policy and cost function need to be developed to insure the best combination of control bang magnitude and switching times.

This study develops a construct of executive support for technological innovation and explores the correlates of its components. The context involves the perceptions of local government chief executives regarding the current and expected utility of computing technology. The findings suggest that executive support for the adoption of computing is flawed by unrealistic expectations and might contribute to overadoption of the technology.

The National Crime Survey (NCS) Files contain data from a series of victimization surveys designed to provide new information for research on the nature of crime and its impact on society. These surveys are being conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census for the National Crime Panel Program Sponsored by the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA). The Data Use and Access Laboratories (DUALabs) distributes tape files, develops documentation and provides technical assistance in the use of these data.

The paper outlines the content of the National Crime Survey Files in terms of the potential research value for providing information about the victims of crimes, the numbers and types of crimes not reported to the police and measures of selected types of crimes which would permit comparisons over time and between different geographic areas. The paper discusses the format of the files as developed by DUALabs under a grant from LEAA and offers general guidance on using the files.

This paper describes the development and utilization of a large scale mixed integer programming model for regional planning of land disposal of wastewater within the St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical area. This model is derived, and used to determine which land disposal sites should serve which treatment plants, when initial construction should be initiated and completed, and when capacity expansion should occur. Consideration is given to relevant construction and operating costs for land sites and transmission arteries, land acquisition costs, tangible benefits from land use, controls on pollution of aquifers, and various other engineering and technical constraints. The computational aspects of the model's use are emphasized in the paper, and extensive test results are presented and discussed.

Correlation analysis reveals some of the inherent properties of the world system. Natural resources and capital investment form an independent subsystem and are unaffected by other state variables. Population is stable and will not increase unless forced to do so by capital investment. Spectral analysis is not particularly revealing except for the fact that a large amplitude occurs around ƒ = ƒ₀. This indicates a very inertial system and the need for more study to aid in understanding long-term changes in world behavior.

A unique approach to Housing Code Enforcement has been followed by the State of New Jersey, which has mandated State level housing code administration. By contractual arrangements with the State, the ability of local governments (94 municipalities) to perform inspections and solve code enforcement problems has been preserved and enhanced. This task is ideal for the application of integrated data processing technology to generate legal notices and to produce the nation's only statewide housing information base that is updated by on site inspections. This report presents an overview of New Jersey's recently designed system of statewide code enforcement. The paper covers: (1) Legal parameters; (2) Systems design; (3) File design; (4) Forms design; (5) Management reports; (6) Housing information system; (7) Operations; and (8) a look into the future of wide scale code enforcement.