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A method for obtaining teacher ratings from incomplete student ranking data is presented. The procedure involves finding the scores for the teachers on the first principal component of a student intercorrelation matrix, where the missing data are supplied by least squares. (Author)

A simplified mathematical and computational treatment of the canonical correlational analysis of two-way contingency tables is provided. (Author)

Whether to factor the image correlation matrix or to use a new model with an alpha factor analysis of it is mentioned, with particular reference to the determinacy problem. It is pointed out that the distribution of the images is sensibly multivariate normal, making for "better" factor analyses. (Author/CTM)

Replies to Stephen E. Robinson's article on the role of fuzzy set theory in information science (Journal of the American Society for Information Science; v29 n6 Nov 1978), particularly with regard to Robinson's discussions of uncertainty, min/max connectives, and relevance. (FM)

The loadings in the column vector representing a varimax factor are dichotomized into "large" and "small," in absolute value, as to whether they are larger than or equal to, in absolute value, or smaller than, in absolute value, the square of the mean of the square roots of their absolute values. The test vectors associated with the small loadings so designated are fitted to a hyperplane in the standard way, following Tucker. Accomplishing this for all varimax factor provides an oblique solution, of the hyperplane fitting variety, which may be said to correspond closely to the associated orthonormal varimax solution. The procedure, for convenience in reference, is called "Casey's Method." Four examples of the application of Casey's Method are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kaiser's Measure of Sampling Adequacy (MSA) for factor-analytic correlation matrices is studied for several levels each of p, the number of variables, q, the number of factors, and r¯, the root-mean-square off-diagonal correlation. The major influence for MSA is p, in agreement with theory; the joint main effect influences of p, q, and r¯ to the total SSs remains greater than 84% under various choices of the levels of p, q, and r¯. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The project Online Access to Knowledge (OAK) has developed a computer intermediary for selected users of the Department of Energy's DOE/RECON and BASIS online information retrieval systems. Its purpose is to enable people who have little or no training or experience in bibliographic searching to conduct their own searches, without the assistance of a trained librarian, hence permitting the user to work in both a place and time of his or her choosing. The purpose of this article is to report on the design and the rationale for the design, OAK software consists of both a tutorial and an assistance program. The latter does not employ a command language, hence obviates the need for a searcher to learn the formal language usually associated with an online database search service. It is central to our approach that this system does not supplant the user's ultimate primacy in knowing what he or she is looking for, nor in judging the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]