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The practice of using a large international database to retrieve scientific abstracts through a time sharing network may be replaced by storing this type of information locally on a microcomputer system. Evaluation of alternative configurations through the use of systems simulation is well known, and in this study a simulation model is developed to reflect the characteristics of a typical information retrieval system on three specific microcomputer configurations.

VINE is produced at least four times a year with the object of providing up‐to‐date news of work being done in the automation of library housekeeping processes, principally in the UK. It is edited and substantially written by Tony McSean, Information Officer for Library Automation based in Southampton University Library and supported by a grant from the British Library Research and Development Department. Copyright for VINE articles rests with the British Library Board, but opinions expressed in VINE do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the British Library. The subscription to VINE is £10 per year and the subscription period runs from January to December.

Despite advances in information technology, telecommuting, or work away from the workplace (at home, on the road, etc.) via low‐bandwidth telephone lines, remains an inhibited phenomenon. High bandwidth communication available at the workplace, on the other hand, enables members of virtual teams to collaborate with peers and share information and knowledge despite being dispersed at several work locations. Members of virtual teams thus substitute real proximity to information resources and to knowledgeable peers with virtual proximity and are better positioned for effective group collaboration than telecommuters. The “telecommuting paradox” is that, despite enormous improvements in IT, the prevalence of telecommuting is lower than expected. In an attempt to shed light on the paradox, focuses on the infrastructural factors that have affected telecommuting throughout its history.

Financial management might be defined as the art of taking correct decisions about financial problems. Decision taking is an art and not a science because no matter how well defined a problem might be in the real world, there is always a finite quantum of uncertainty remaining that must be left to the hunch, intuition or guile of the decision‐taker. The precise quantification of uncertainty still eludes us.

Benchmarking has long been recognized as an important business activity. The primary goal of benchmarking is to produce a product or execute a process that is at least as good as the best firms producing similar products or performing similar processes. Important components of benchmarking include: determining what to benchmark, identifying the “best of the best”, collecting internal and external data and data associated with the “the best”, and analyzing how a firm can move from its current capability to that of the best. To date, benchmarking has been considered primarily as a producer/vendor based activity. This paper proposes that in many situations benchmarking should be viewed as a customer/purchaser based activity. The primary benefit of purchaser‐originated benchmarking is that it facilitates the collection of competitor's data and allows the customer to determine directly the product/process requirements desired.

Woodstock Agricultural Research Centre, operated by ‘Shell’ Research Ltd, is one of a number of Shell Company laboratories working in the agricultural chemicals field. One of the main functions of Woodstock is the synthesis of new chemical compounds for testing as potential new pesticides and over twenty thousand compounds have already been screened there since the laboratory was set up. A similar number of compounds have been examined at other Shell laboratories so that both chemical and biological data on nearly fifty thousand compounds are now available and are being augmented at a rate of around four thousand each year.

Here's a trick that lets you use Smartcom II to communicate directly with your modem. I could hardly believe it! Press <F1> to get to the on‐line screen, then type ATZ and press <CTRL> <6> (that is, press the two keys simultaneously). Use the 6 key in the top row, not the numeric keypad. The modem will return an OK response. From that point on, you can use the full “AT” command set to set special registers, modes of operation, etc. Check your modem manual to see what commands the modem can respond to.

Average turnaround time is an important consideration in selecting or evaluating computing systems. The greatest lower bound and the least upper bound of average turnaround time are investigated. New results are presented with illustrative examples.

Kerodex 51 is a water soluble cream. It protects the skin against the effects of dry chemicals, powders, petrochemical solvents and greases. It is greaseless, stainless and invisible.

The one area in accounting that shows the sign of volatility, unsettlement, and continuous change is accounting information systems. While textbooks have been revised and updated in line with the change in technology, the auxiliary teaching materials do not seem to have kept pace. Professors teaching the course may be handicapped by their own shortcomings as well as the inadequacy of the supplementary material. The emphasis on database and database management should be supplemented with relevant software and teaching material to make the course more meaningful and the efforts more fruitful. One easily available tool is Access. Incorporation of Access into the course provides an excellent demonstration into application and utility of database management systems.