FIGURE 2 NUMBERS OF COMPUTERS IN SERVICE ACTUAL AND ESTIMATED NUMBER IN THOUSANDS 1950-1975 Source: AFIPS 80 NOTE.-Values given in this table are cumulative values. Major countries ranked in descending order: (1) England*, (2) France**, (3) Japan, (4) Germany, (5) Italy, (6) Sweden, (7) Netherlands, (8) Canada, (9) U.S.S.R. *England currently meeting 54% of its computing needs with indigenous products and trend is upward. **France produces 16% indigenous computers for its requirements. Source: AFIPS. Hardware.. FIGURE 5.-Table of U.S. Government expenditures for computing [Millions of dollars] Percent of total dollars for software. NOTE.-1. Hardware cost-Rental plus purchased computers. 2. Software costPersonnel as reported in ADP inventory of U.S. Government responsible for the operation and development of software in its strict sense. Source: AFIPS. APPENDIX J EXAMPLES OF THE USE OF COMPUTING IN A chief point of this report is that at a number of colleges and universities computing has become an integral and indispensable part of course work in a wide variety of subjects. Computing has extended the range of material that students can understand and make use of. This is best illustrated by a few examples drawn from various fields of study and from various institutions. These examples consist of problems, groups of problems, and in one case an undergraduate research project. The examples vary widely from field to field. The computer is a universal tool; the nature of the work is dictated by the field of study. Since there is nothing like a consensus as to "best" examples, this sampling is for purposes of illustration only, and is in no sense intended to represent the best that can be done. The examples are presented in various degrees of detail. In the case of some examples we have obtained very brief comments from the instructor indicating why he thinks it advantageous to be able to use a computer in solving this problem. Of course, in most cases the significance of the computer is not in the solving of any one problem but in its use for a whole set of problems. Business 1. B.A. 133, Investment Principles and Policies, School of Business Administration, UCLA. The students collect data from the financial statements of two companies (different for each student) that are then analyzed by a previously prepared computer program to form the basis of an investment analysis and recommendation. Instructor's comments: The computer does analysis computations that would take over 100 hours on a desk calculator. Without it, the analysis would be simplified to eliminate many important aspects; with it, more time can be spent on the interpretation and meaning of the analysis. 2. B.A. 140, Elements of Production Management, School of Business Administration, UCLA. Students program a subroutine decision rule to establish production levels and raw material orders for a manufacturing process with known costs and unknown demand. This subroutine is then used as part of a previously prepared program to simulate the operation of the concern over a period of time. Instructor's comments: The computer enables students to explore the process with 10-12 cases, each with 10-12 time periods. It takes the exercise out of the realm of arithmetic and makes it a real learning experience in the management of a process. Emphasis is placed upon heuristic decisionmaking and the dangers of suboptimization. Biology Application of computer modeling in biological instruction at the University of California, Irvine. 1. A model of a reproducing population of organisms has been used to illustrate the interaction of natural selection and random drift in one laboratory exercise designed for the beginning biology course. Because of the size of this class (10 laboratories of approximately 24 students each) it was impractical to have the students interact directly with the computer. Therefore, the experiments were set up and run on the computer prior to the time for the laboratories. The data output from the experiments were supplied to the students along with descriptions of the experiments. Then, at the time of the laboratory period, by using multiple-parameter sets and replications of runs on the computer, each student at a given laboratory table could be supplied with a unique data packet. This was done to give the student the impression that he was working with genuine experimental data, as was indeed the case. Judging from remarks made by students, this attempt to create an atmosphere of genuine experimentation was successful. During the laboratory exercise the student followed suggestions and guidelines provided by the laboratory writeup in analyzing the data. He was asked to graph the results of each experiment performed for him on the computer and compare the results of this experiment with other experiments analyzed by his table partners. He then answered certain questions about the results of the experiment, these questions also being supplied by the laboratory syllabus. 2. A second laboratory exercise based on this same model of evolutionary dynamics was devised for a class in human genetics. The class contains both biology and nonbiology majors. For the purpose of this laboratory period it was divided into two groups of about eight students each. Each group met on separate occasions with the instructor in the computer terminal room. There, as a group they selected for modeling several genetic systems known in humans. With the help of the instructor they chose values for the input parameters necessary for the model. This data was then fed via an IBM 1050 terminal and university-leased telephone lines to an IBM 7094 computer located at the University of California at Los Angeles. Within 2 to 10 minutes the experimental results were returned from the computer and printed out on the printer at the terminal. The students then im |