Evaluations of widely used computer simulators identify a number of technical and organizational factors that are related to the simulator's success. Two aspects of organizational behavior that previous investigations have ignored--myth and ritual--are identified, and cost simulation models and a discussion of their evaluation are provided.…

A written clinical simulation exercise known as patient management problems (PMP) developed by the National Board of Examiners in Optometry is discussed. The new PMP format is considered standardized in the sense that the "visible" portion of the problem will be identical. (MLW)

Describes an exercise (using Apple microcomputer) which provides an introduction to computer simulation as a biological research tool. Includes examples of students' modeling programs and partial program listings for programs developed by students from an original model. (JN)

Describes Nelson and Mitroff's concept of "Bothsides" thinking and a replication of their experiment to determine whether it is possible to promote this type of thinking in decision-making by using an adequate stimulus and, if so, to find out what an adequate stimulus is. A reference list is included. (JL)

Presents a case study in simulation design based on a dispute resulting from a border incident between two imaginary nations. The steps involved with the basic design of social simulations for upper-elementary and secondary social studies classes are described. (AM)

A model is introduced for the simulation of Boltzmann-like binary interactions which may be extended to exhibit the effect of angular dependence in the scattering cross section and other dynamical aspects of two-body interactions. (Author/SK)

Presents a computer simulation testing semantic networks and spreading activation models of human memory. Describes how a sentence is encoded by building a working memory structure from its words and from semantic memory concepts related to its meaning. Retrieval processes use cue words or sentences to locate working memory structures. (Author/MES)

Describes the rationale, format and procedures, unique features, and educational and instructional aims of "The Young Chemist," a simulation game model for the methodology of logical process to be used as a teaching device within the traditional high school chemistry curriculum. (Author/CMV)

Discusses general structure and specification guidelines for interactive simulation/games, which include development of a computer simulation model, embedding the model in an interactive simulation, and embedding the simulation in a game. An outline following these guidelines is presented for the development of DENTIST, a dental health care…

Models of global energy demand, a lower-growth-rate model developed at Case Western Reserve University and the H5 model of the Conservation Committee of the World Energy Conference, assess the features of decentralized and centralized electricity generation in the years 2000 and 2025. (BT)

The design and use of an instrument simulator is described. Used for student laboratory experiments illustrating the use of mini-computers, it can provide, at very low cost, a repetitive, repeatable output to duplicate the readout of various instruments such as electrochemical experiments, mass spectrometers, pulsed magnetic experiments,…

A selection model for meta-analysis is proposed that models the selection process and corrects for the consequences of selection by publication on estimates of the mean and variance of the effect parameters. Simulation studies show that the model substantially reduces bias when the model specification is correct. (SLD)

Developed an item response model for characterizing test-compromise that enables the estimation of item preview and score-gain distributions. In the approach, models parameters and posterior distributions are estimated by Markov Chain Monte Carlo procedures. Simulation study results suggest that when at least some test items are known to be…

Examines the implications of connectionist models of cognition for second-language theory, in which all knowledge is embodied in a network of simple processing units joined by connections that are strengthened or weakened in response to regularities in input patterns. A connectionist framework is proposed within which hypotheses about…

To teach the modern concepts of cavity preparation, it is desirable to have a supply of natural teeth exhibiting suitable carious lesions. This paper describes a simple method for producing consistent artificial lesions in extracted natural teeth. (MLW)