After four years of using simulation in the study of international relations, the authors have found it to be a potentially powerful research and teaching device. In this report they examine advantages, such as the ability it gives the researcher to manipulate experimental variables, and disadvantages associated specifically with the use of…

The purpose of this study was to define the role and elements of a systems approach for training administrators; to develop a model to serve as a guide for educational and training planners; and to provide a set of criteria for the optimum utilization of resources. The literature was reviewed, specific graphic and mathematical analysis in…

This paper presents a model that uses projected pupil enrollment to estimate gross space needs and associated costs for various classifications of educational activities. The simulation consists of two linked programs, one using a version of the modified "cohort-survival" technique and the other estimating space and money necessary to…

Articles is this issue represent the substantive content of a series of 25 workshops sponsored by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE). The four major articles discuss innovative models based on four approaches for improving teacher performance: (1) "Interaction Analysis" by Edmund J. Amidon, San Francisco State…

One of several studies initiated by the Economic Research Service to provide research approaches in the problem areas of rural poverty and economic development, this study examines (1) rural activities within the context of national activities, (2) regional growth theories, (3) growth forecasting, (4) developmental programing, (5) determining a…

Traditionally, the most commonly used methods of forecasting school enrollments have been those that looked to the past for a picture of the future. In restricting the forecaster to projections of past trends, the "percentage survival" technique ignores a host of current trends implicit in a changing society. A second problem with most…

A scheme which classifies the instructional applications of computers is designed to overcome the confusion created by the imprecision and equivocation associated with computer terminology. The classification is restricted to instructional applications, allows that some applications could apply to more than one category, and reflects a continuum…

The community college president's role in facilitating institutional computer utilization is explored, and recommendations are made for his/her behavior and priorities in connection with educational concerns, institutional concerns, and statewide concerns. Typical institutional organizational arrangements regarding campus computers, research,…

A computer-assisted course was designed to provide students with an understanding of modeling and simulation techniques in quantitiative ecology. It deals with continuous systems and has two segments. One develops mathematical and computer tools, beginning with abstract systems and their relation to physical systems. Modeling principles are next…

The incorporation of mathematical modeling experiences into an undergraduate biology course is described. Detailed expositions of three models used to teach concepts of population ecology are presented, including introductions to major concepts, user instructions, trial data and problem sets. The models described are: 1) an exponential/logistic…

The two major purposes of this book are to be an introduction to the development of instructional simulation systems in higher education and to provide a useful compendium of experimental simulation experience for those wishing to consider and utilize these and related techniques at the university level. Each paper attempts either to present a…

In order to devise an aid for the teaching of formal languages and automata theory, a system was developed which allows a student to design, test, and change automata in an interactive manner. This process permits the user to observe the step-by-step operation of a defined automaton and to correct or alter its operation. Thus, the need for lengthy…

Reviewed in this report is a study concerned with water pollution as it relates to urbanization within the Regional Plan Association's set of 21 contiguous New York, New Jersey and Connecticut counties centered upon the numerous bay and estuarial reaches of the Port of New York and New Jersey. With a time frame covering a decade of water quality…

Presents and illustrates a goal-programming model for long-range budget planning and resource allocation. Goals are faculty instruction loads, staff-to-faculty ratios, faculty distribution by rank, and teaching-assistant-to-faculty ratios. Decision variables are the faculty, staff, and teaching-assistant levels in each of several academic units.…

Discusses basic weaknesses and limitations of models, simulations, gaming, and other analytical and behavioral approaches to simplifying reality for understanding. The development and use of scenarios and the model builder's basic conceptions of the aspects of reality being analyzed are described for a one-person, computer-interactive, quasi-rigid…