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The article presents an update related to management science and operations research. To increase revenues it would be necessary to cut costs by reducing the work force, by improving loading/ unloading procedures, or by a combination of both. However, profit alone would not be a satisfactory measure of effectiveness; the quality of service, which would be affected by any changes in manning or scheduling, would have long range impact on revenues. Therefore, quality of service, which was defined as the probability that a ship would not be delayed, became a criterion for judging alternative courses of action. The model used to solve this problem consists of two elements, a simulation model of the docks and a cost model. The simulation model in turn has as components an arrival model and a loading/unloading model. There are many government constraints which must be considered by the food processing industry in the formulation of their products. These ever increasing constraints particularly affect the meat processing industry, which is under constant inspection by the government. A linear program was developed, which incorporated all the constraints and also satisfied the firm's policies. The model was initially utilized in manufacturing and soon afterwards it was adopted by purchasing to facilitate their buying decisions. As the users confidence in the model grew, the utilization of the model increased.

This article provides information on a study that investigated intercorporate technology cooperation between various companies in Japan in 1975. In this study, the authors assume that a firm in a multi-brand competitive environment determines advertising strategy so as to maximize the present value of profit. Advertising is included in the profit function nonlinearly as a factor cost and as a demand simulant. An advertising budget decision rule is used which relates the firm's own advertising, the advertising of rival firms, the firm's price in relation to competitors, and family budget situations to the sales of the brand. The parameters for each brand are estimated from data on sales, advertising, and price by using a system of demand equations, one for each different brand, and solving that system simultaneously. Using optimal control theory, an advertising-sales ratio is formulated with respect to a brand's demand parameters. Collected data on sales and advertising expenditures were used to obtain empirical estimates of the brand parameters. A simultaneous estimation of the demand parameters of all competing brands was performed to use efficiently the information inherent in the system of brand demand equations.

This article presents an update of some of the developments in the field of management science. One of the development was related to the research of the Statistics and Operations Research Laboratory (SORL) of Trinity College Ireland that has been researching since 1975 mathematical modeling of systems designed to collect and store solar thermal energy. These systems consist of solar panels, which absorb energy when exposed to solar radiation, energy storage units, to which the energy is transferred from the panels by means of a circulating fluid and distribution systems for passing this energy, as required, to the user. Variations include the use of alternative circulating fluids (air, water water with anti-freeze) various storage mechanisms and different distribution systems. Such systems are referred to as "active" systems for collecting and storing solar thermal energy. The purpose of the models considered by SORL is to predict the long term sayings in energy as a function of the system type, and of the parameters specifying that system for given meteorological conditions.

This article focuses on issues related to management science and operations research and discusses articles published in different journals related to management. The management of a plant, which is involved in the production of power engineering equipment by way of commission, faces many problems. The future sales of the present product lines are expected to decrease. The production program can be extended by introduction of new products, which have better sale chances. However, these products require some modifications in the production technology and have therefore other technological coefficients. The article "Applying Decision Theory to Improve Corporate Management of Currency-Exchange Risks," gives an example of the use of decision analysis on whether to hedge on the possibility of a devaluation in the time period from a foreign sale to payment. The article "Examining Corporate Policy Using Multiattribute Utility Analysis," is a case study of the use of multiattribute utility theory to examine policy questions affecting a professional-service consulting firm.

The article focuses on issues related to management science. Much has been written about the extent to which management science/operations research (MS/OR) techniques are actually used, yet little empirical evidence exists to confidently confirm or deny often stated beliefs. Although additional empirical research is needed to establish more comprehensively the actual extent of technique utilization, research in another direction may well be more important. In order to enhance the effective pervasiveness of technique utilization, it seems imperative to address a question continually--why are organizations reluctant to employ MS/OR techniques that have long been in the decision making limelight. The article also discusses the relationship between a consultant and a client. The beginning of a relation between a consultant and a client is often marked by mutual ignorance, high hopes and vague expectations. An independent consultant works for a fee which is determined by the market for his services. The internal consultant may render small services at no cost to the client, while a system of internal accounts acts as a priority setting mechanism for larger commitments.

The article focuses on simulation of a machine shop with general purpose simulation system (GPSS). In the machine shop in question, each machine produces a single product and no two machines produce the same product, at any one time. The machining operation is initiated by hand but terminated automatically. At its termination, a lamp indicates that the machine requires attention from an operator. Production management has relied for a long time past on information obtained from bar charts of machine utilization as a help in answering the above questions. The development of the program in the above form has been completed and the program is in routine use. Changes in the manufacturing process e.g. the fitting of magazines to the machines, entail program development work, which however normally affects only small parts of the program. Such changes are undertaken on demand. changes are undertaken on demand. The printed bar charts form a completely satisfactory substitute for the hand-drawn charts formerly used and can be much more rapidly prepared, and the values of machine utilization and operator loading form valuable supplementary information.

This article presents information related to operations research. Economic recession has also hit the economies of developing countries. The increasing concern over an unclear economic horizon has moved several Colombian companies to cut their planning staff. The scapegoat has been by far an office which resents, nowadays, its very name--Operations Research (O.R.) Department. This discipline is appearing more and more as a luxury which no company can afford. Such has been the case of a small O.R. Department in one of the biggest Colombian companies. Its prestige among the few similar offices in the country and its practical achievements were not enough to prevent a new, progressive, x-type of administration from claiming that they did not know what this group was up to. The O.R. group was aware that a large company in a developing country is not big enough to be able to afford large research projects. The more urgent task of the office was to untap the market for elementary services to other units in the company making this discipline, and its people, easy to use.

This article focuses on the evolution of operations research (OR) in South America. Management Sciences (MS) in Argentina have a long history. The first operational research group, Alpargatas, the leading textile firm, was founded as far back as the late 1950s. In Bolivia, several individuals have tried to establish OR activities in some of the larger state-owned corporations. Despite the recent oil boom, Ecuador was in 1972 still a relatively poor one with a gross national product (GNP) per capita of less than 400 per year and the industrial structure of Ecuador has been insufficient for the development of operational research which is restricted mainly to the universities and as in the other countries in this category, there are reputed to be less than five OR specialists in the country. As a largely agricultural country, with an annual GNP per capita of approximately 240, Paraguay lacks a type of industrial base suitable for the intensive use of the more advanced management techniques. Despite a low per capita GNP and a lack of a broad industrial base of large companies, the OR picture in Peru appears reasonably healthy.

The article presents information on managerial forecasting models used in management science. Managerial forecasting ability is well respected and rewarded in progressive firms where accurate forecasts are an essential ingredient of sophisticated, realistic corporate planning. Typically, a managerial forecaster makes forecasts under different assumptions and technique, motivation and dependency. The top-down, macro approach and the bottom-up micro approach are the most common broad-name techniques. Models used range from simple regression equations to complicated econometric systems and control schemata. Often, basic inputs for these models are in the form of forecasts provided by an economic advisory subscription service. The larger the firm the more likely it is however that these basic inputs are internally generated. The corporate planner (or forecaster) must "evaluate" the forwarded field estimates using his own rules of thumb based on past histories of forecasts and achievements. Econometricians and management scientists have used naive forecasting models for decades.

The article presents a study on the preparation of bus line duty rosters. The rational operation of a bus line implies a whole series of closely associated processes. The preparation of a bus line duty roster is worked out for a standard week. The method finally used by RATP to carry out the preparation of a duty roster by computer is independent of the rules in force. It supposes the generation of a good sampling of possible duties. To each of them is associated a cost which takes into account not only the special allowances but also the various constraints supported by the personnel and connected to the unpleasant aspects of some timetables. Generally composed of three tables, the first one applies to the period extending from Monday to Friday, the two others respectively to Saturday and Sunday. As RATP operates almost 200 bus lines, there are more than 3000 duty rosters that have to be worked out each year. The results of the study are very satisfactory, not only from the point of view of the quality of the duty rosters obtained but also from the point of view of their cost for being computerized.

This article focuses on the effectiveness of using PERT (program evaluation and review technique) in managing high technology projects. According to the author, successful management of projects requires a level of sophistication that is not normally used in less technical fields. Schedules and cost estimates have a greater uncertainty. For these reasons, a thorough and exacting methodology is required in the integration of the schedule/cost planning and control mechanisms. This requirement, suggestively, can be fulfilled by using PERT analysis. In order to achieve effective cost and schedule control, it is necessary to establish the required methods and project mechanisms. With following several basic steps, development of the following items, suggestively, is required: a work breakdown structure (WBS), work packages which constitute the lowest level of the WBS and which are identifiable, work logic networks that are based on the integrated arrangement of the work packages contained in the WBS, and detailed program schedules considering costs. Structuring of PERT networks is done in such a manner that it provides a direct correlation between the work tasks in the WBS and the specific work activities on the PERT networks.

This article focuses on operations research in high schools. With the abstract nature of modern mathematics, many students have begun to feel that their mathematics training is largely an irrelevant experience. In most cases, mathematics teachers in high schools are unaware of the link between the mathematics they are presenting and the decision making procedures of operations research. The Linear Programming Workbook begins by posing a very simple production problem to the students and asks them to indicate how many black-and-white and color television sets they would produce if they were the production supervisor and were faced with the problem outlined in the workbook. The workbook then proceeds to show how the problem can be solved graphically. While the simulation workbook does not provide for as great a reinforcement of high school math skills as does the linear programming unit, it does contribute several significant facets to the high school math experience.

The article presents information on certain developments related to the field of management science. George Blackett, president of the Institute for Interindustry Data, wrote a special report on the use of input/output models in the United States. The report "Project SOAP: A Systems Approach to Biomedical Research Program Management (A Case Study)" summarizes a case study in the field of management science in which a systems approach resulted in the implementation of a discipline for managing biomedical research programs within a Federal research support agency. The Sixth Annual Simulation Symposium completed three days of proceedings with the presentation of the $500.00 Best Paper Award to Raymond R. McHenry of Calspan Corp. The Ralston Purina Company has recently begun implementation of a new Cathode Ray Tube oriented logistics system at each of its twelve Consumer Products plants. This computer- based operating system was developed by the Operations Research staff of the Company's Consumer Products Division, and is designed to coordinate raw materials.

The article discusses the developments in the field of management science. Over the last four years Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company's Operations Research Department has developed approximately 100 models that are currently used throughout the bank. A group of 40 models has been set aside and designated as FINTECH. FINTECH is an acronym which stands for financial technology, combining bank expertise with modern management sciences techniques and the computer. Bankers are required to have, as a prerequisite, expertise in money management. It is, therefore, mandatory that they be able to solve complex problems both rapidly and accurately. To achieve this end FINTECH was created to analyze and solve daily problems which exist in the banking environment. The selling of FMC's Forecasting System started with discussions among divisional management. The FMC Forecasting Model can take into account the trends and seasonal fluctuations in the sales data and can also measure the impact of certain factors related to the product sales.

The article discusses developments related to the management science in the United States as of November 1971. A computer-based model was developed by a leading tobacco company, which had the problem of supporting an unexpected sales boom following the successful introduction of 10 mm cigarette. The model determines packing equipment requirements to meet sales growth, establishes equipment procurement schedules on the basis of the latest estimates of delivery lead times, and calculates the capital requirements. The model also estimates operating personnel and floor space requirements and projects overtime and idle equipment costs for operations with the new equipment. The U.S. government has become active in the development of social indicators for the purpose of measuring different social conditions such as crime or poverty. The National Bureau of Economic Research has launched a major project to improve the way computers are used in research. This project will serve economics and related fields and will help to generate new computer techniques for a broad class of academic and other nonprofit users.

This article presents information on a project to install MAC health service delivery structure in Colombia. The health situation in Colombia is characterized by problems found in both a developing country and a developed nation. Infant mortality is still relatively high, and preventable diseases such as polio and measles still have an unacceptable death rate. The government of Colombia has estimated that at least 36% of the population has either no access or poor access to any health services with facilities concentrated in urban areas. The National Plan of Health of Colombia includes provision of health services to that 36%. The basic unit of local coverage, the MAC, consists of a health outpost, its staff, and six promoters. The MAC services approximately 6000 people in a dispersed, rural area. The health promoters are usually women chosen by the local health professionals and the members of her community to receive about ten weeks of training. Some MAC units will also have an ambulance vehicle to provide emergency evacuation and to serve as a means of transport of supplies and supervisory personnel on their rounds.

This article reports on findings of a survey conducted by NHK/Japan Broadcasting Corp., collecting views of intellectuals regarding social and economic changes in Japan during the 1980s. According to this survey, expert opinion seems to suggest that: social changes in Japan in the 1980s will largely be caused by the so-called "postwar revolutions"; phenomena occurring at the interfaces between social changes and changes relating to personal behavior will become increasingly important; and in the context of social interaction such phenomena will increasingly produce antinomies as it were, with the result that Japanese society as a whole will become more and more opaque. For this survey, researchers have selected a total of 47 items from technical papers, newspapers and magazines. These items were then submitted to experts for their opinions. The respondents for the most part mentioned the following five elements as being the ones most likely to produce social changes in this country as it marches toward the 1980s: increase in urban population; numerical preponderance of postwar generation; increase in recipients of secondary and higher education; continued prevalence of pollution; and technological progress in information and transportation.

The article assesses a remote videotaped segment of a lecture on the Monte Carlo simulation. MBA students sit in classrooms in two cities, simultaneously watching a thirty-minute videotaped segment of a lecture on Monte Carlo simulation. At the end of the segment, students in either city use microphones to ask questions via telephone company circuits of the instructor, who is located in a third city. This scenario illustrates the essential method of instruction used for a course in computer and quantitative techniques at West Virginia University (WVU). The lectures were videotaped in black-and-white at WVU television studios. A large number of professionally made graphics were used and rather high production standards were maintained. The tapes, were hand-carried or mailed to the classroom sites. Each classroom had a paid monitor, who would start tapes upon verbal instructions from the instructor. The videotaped lectures were broken down into segments having a length of approximately thirty minutes each. Questions and discussion were permitted only between segments.

The article presents information on the activities of the TIMS XXII International Meeting in Kyoto, Japan from July 23-26, 1975. Activities for the TIMS XXII International Meeting have been in high gear since the spring of 1973. A group of six Program Directors has been hard at work architecting a meeting structure that would appeal to the great array of interests that abide within the house of the management sciences. They have been successful in generating great interest which means that heavy demands have been placed upon their time in their correspondence and conversations with potential session chairmen as well as individual participants. A tentative description of the sessions in the program supplied by each program director has been included. Donald L. Iglehart, professor, Stanford University, has the responsibility to arrange sessions on the more theoretical aspects of management science. Eleven technical sessions have been organized by chairmen who are recognized experts in their subject.

This article focuses on the characteristics of business economists. Essentially all business economists have two characteristics in common: they are associated with a micro economic entity, and they are analyzing aspects of the economic environment which relate to their particular business unit. Practically all business economists are involved in one way or another in establishing conceptual bridges between the macro economic environment and the micro economic entity for which they work. The basic tool for analysis is the economic model, which takes the form of quantitive statements of causal relationships between various factors. The basic raw material for business economic analysis is essentially the same as for any analysis, namely, statistics. However, for the same reason that business economic models must be disaggregated, so too must the raw material. Economists in business rely heavily, as do all economists, on data from government sources. But business economists have the advantage of being not only users of this data but also the primary producers of this data.

This article focuses on a computerized management information system (MIS) designed for law enforcement agencies. Requirements for specific items of management information, in investigative type law enforcement agencies, are as widely varied as their individual investigative jurisdictions. All agencies require indicators which reflect, quantitatively and qualitatively: investigative effort being expended; the specific geographic and jurisdictional areas receiving this effort; the "success" of this investment in terms of arrests, seizures, etc. A management information system (MIS) furnishes management officials with an insight into the effectiveness of operational activities. Law enforcement agencies, like business firms, assess their operational effectiveness, and consequently gain some insight into their management posture, by attaching individually meaningful units of measure to the effort-success relationship.

This article focuses on operations research (OR) education in Japan. Compulsory education coverage in Japan is very high compared to other countries in the world. Presently, GO per cent of the population almost 100% of which come through junior high school goes to high school and about 20% of the same age group to college. There are approximately 6 to 7 thousand persons somehow associated with Operations Research in practice. All of them may not be specifically assigned to OR activity as such but they at least apply OR way of thinking in their jobs. It seems that there are mainly three ways of acquiring OR skills in an organization. One is to hire students who have trained in applied mathematics, management sciences or OR. The main supplier of OR skills to firms in Japan up to about 1960 has been the professional associations who provided with continuing education.

The article discusses some unsuccessful planning models. The author's purpose here is to summarize some of the reasons why he believes contemporary planning models are having little useful managerial impact. He will first discuss three technical failures which are numerous but perhaps not too significant. Two conceptual failures in corporate modeling which are omnipresent and of critical importance will then be discussed. Technical failure is about failure to distinguish between measures of association and measures of causation. The current growth of planning models and planning information systems has led many modellers to develop their input/output relations from the statistical analysis of non experimental data bases. These tendencies seem to be especially prominent in the canned "instant modeling" software packages which are being marketed to business firms. The resulting relationships, which may exhibit exceptionally high degrees of association, say little or nothing about causation and explanation.

This article presents information on project SOAP that was the name given to the joint task group established under an interagency agreement between the Technical Analysis Division (TAD) of the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The first activities of Project SOAP were exploratory, aimed at providing an essential understanding of what was happening within the decision making system and describing how to develop useful data. Project SOAP'S attempt to apply systems analysis and operations research to management problems in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases revealed that, although the need for planning, evaluation and analysis was clearly recognized by Institute administrators, specific relationships between costs and benefits were generally not well enough established to provide a firm basis for quantitative comparisons. The major limitation which impeded the quantitative analysis of this resource allocation problem was not due to methodology, but rather to the kind of substantive information available about the purposes and effects of particular projects and programs.

The article reports on a field evaluation of the hypercube system in police agencies by the Institute for Public Program Analysis. The hypercube patrol sector design system is a computerized planning tool used to evaluate alternative police beat structures and patrol deployment policies. It is based on mathematical models and computer programs developed at MIT by researcher Richard Larson and others. The present project, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, was conducted by TIPPA under the direction of researcher Nelson Heller, in cooperation with the California Innovation Group, a consortium of cities active in technology transfer and the St. Louis County Police Department. Planners in 10 police departments were trained to use the hypercube programs and were given technical assistance in collecting input data and operating the system. The planners used portable data terminals to access the programs through a commercial timeshare computer service. The major findings of the field evaluation are based on the experiences of these departments.

The article presents information on a project initiated by the Statistics and Operations Research Laboratory of Trinity College in Ireland in 1975 to investigate the nutritional status of the Irish population. This study investigated the relationship between the nutritional needs of the population of Ireland according to 1971 Census figures and compared them with the food supply. Nutrition requirements were calculated by dividing the population into age, sex and activity groups and allocating to each category allowances recommended by the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization. Food supply was estimated from the Central Statistics Office's Food Balance Sheet. Obviously, further research has to be carried out on more representative data on food consumption patterns and the low-cost diet price calculations compared with the present levels of food expenditure and also with tax allowances and social security payments. The operational aspects of the information system that would be designed to compute low-cost diets and promote their use on a continuing basis need to be studied and field tested.

The article presents a study on the impact of fuel shortages on unemployment and product in Israel. The ministries of Finance and Labour were interested in knowing the influence that a possible shortage of fuel oil would have on employment and production levels in the Israeli Economy. A Linear Programming model that maximizes Total Final Uses was designed. The most time consuming part of the research was to obtain the distribution of the fuels for the different branches. For this purpose tens of thousands of consumers listed on the fuel suppliers' sales records had to be classified according to the Israel Industrial Classification and then retranslated to the same 83 branches. Several bodies participated in the data collection, the Central Bureau of Statistics, The Central Bank of Israel, The Electric Corp. and the Ministry of Finance. The model, including 166 variables and 250 constraints, was run on a CDC 6400, using the APEX II package. Initial runs were carried out for the 1975 level of activity of the Israel economy and the results verified the model.

The article assesses energy research and development (R&D) programs for the Appalachian Region. The Appalachian Region, richly endowed with energy resources, is vitally concerned with energy R&D programs because of their potential environmental impacts and influence on resource extraction and economic growth. A project was undertaken by the Mathtech Division of Mathematica and the Institute of Gas Technology under the sponsorship of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), to assess energy R&D programs and their relevance to the Appalachian Region and the individual states. The project, which enables ARC to monitor and analyze energy-related R&D, consisted of three distinct yet highly interrelated elements including program categorization and "scoring" scheme, compilation of funding profiles and inventory of project-by-project abstracts. Using these R&D categories, funding profiles have been compiled for the major program areas during 1969-1977. A ranking methodology has been developed which imputes relative scores to the various program categories based upon a set of criteria specifically selected to emphasize Appalachian concerns.

This article focuses on operation research/management science applications to personnel policy decisions. To achieve this objective two kinds of quantitative models have been developed and used in corporations. The more frequently used approach is the development of a flow model which simulates the flow of employees using going rates based on recent history and forecasts of manpower requirements by skill categories, salary levels and feasible career paths. The use of Markov-like processes for the demographic flow models have also been reported. The second approach using a linear programming model not only develops an achievable goal and its evaluation but also helps in the generation of alternative action plans. The main purpose of the model was to provide quantitative insights and guidance relating to the formulation of faculty early-retirement plans at Stanford University. The model was used to analyze effects of early-retirement policies on--faculty appointment rates, ranks and age distribution; the cost of a specific early-retirement plan; and the extent to which this plan is likely to achieve the intended results of an increase in flow rates of new appointments, a reduction in the number of older faculty members in service and a reduction in total personnel costs.

This article presents information on the paper "Optimal Storage Assignment in Automatic Warehousing System," by W.H. Hausman, L.B. Schwarz and S.C. Graves, published in the published in the February 1976 issue of the journal "Management Science." This paper discusses the scientific scheduling and design of automatic warehousing systems with specific reference to the three main elements comprising the scheduling operations. The principal area investigated by the authors was the determination of the rules governing the achievement of optimal storage assignment. It was shown that significant reductions in both crane travel time and distance can be achieved through the application of class-based turnover assignment policies. It was left as a subject for future research to investigate the interrelationship between storage assignment and interleaving. The program selection problem can be summarized briefly as follows--there are a certain number of treatment programs available to mentally retarded children, each having its own cost. The problem then is to select the optimal program to use in each state. The major constraint is that many of the available programs are oriented toward specific ability levels; hence, not all of the programs are available in all of the states.

This article focuses on a project undertaken in the sponsorship of the U.S. Federal Energy Administration to investigate the feasibility of developing an energy-use index for office buildings. The energy used in an office building provides heating, cooling, lighting and auxiliary services. The relative needs for these uses of energy are dependent upon the design and operation of a building and its location. Statistical analysis of measured energy use in actual office buildings, and computer simulations of a typical office building were used to develop an index which was field tested using data specifically collected for the purpose of validation. An examination of major design and operational characteristics, combined with a review of actual metered energy consumption and detailed computer simulations, found that the ten most important features of a building in determining energy use were--hours of operation, HVAC system type, HVAC controls, ventilation, glass area, and others. It is possible to develop a simple analytic technique to estimate energy consumption rapidly in an office building but the accuracy is limited by the data available.

The article focuses on key principles and practices relevant to management science in government. To enhance management science applications, federal government employees were trained with a broad range of management sciences tools including linear programming, statistics, modeling, systems analysis and so on. Training operations throughout government are constantly searching for case studies and other exercises that utilize management sciences tools and techniques in a not-for-profit environment. The techniques and tools of management sciences hold great promise for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of Government operations.

This article presents information about the 4th Colombian Congress on Operations Research and Computer Sciences, held in Bogota, Colombia, from October 30 to November 2, 1974. The congress, reportedly, was organized by the computer center of the University of Los Andes and the Colombian Association of Computer Science and Operations Research. A total of 32 technical papers were presented there which covered different computer sciences and operations research topics such as: linear programming and aggregated planning, mathematical programming applied to hydroelectric project planning, information retrieval, virtual storage, and the location-allocation problem. The congress gathered about 300 professionals in the computer sciences and operations research fields, who came from different regions of the country.

The article deals with the development of computer interfaces for data processing in the 1970s. This was the view advocated by James Martin, outstanding author and member of the IBM Systems Research Institute, at ISCOL's course on Data Base/Data Communications held in Switzerland and Harrogate. ISCOL, a corporation owned by the University of Lancaster, has brought Martin to Europe each year for the past five years to give a tutorial course on Data Base/Data Communications Systems. In 1974 Martin described in vivid terms the changes in technology which are making possible fundamentally different approaches to the design of interactive systems. 1974 has seen a continuation of the rapid development forecast by Martin in previous years, and as more and more new products reach the market place, the user is offered new opportunities but is also faced with even more complex decisions. Much of the potential for change, Martin commented, arises from large scale integration circuits, in which many thousands of transistors can be printed on one tiny silicon chip and the possibility that this technology offers of mass-printing logic circuits or memory like newsprint.