Computer-mediated Simulation Research Articles

A Structured Reset Process to Benefit Team Resilience

The concept of teams recovering from disruptions or challenging performance episodes has been termed “team resilience” and shares similarities with, but is distinct from, individual resilience. Empirical research on this construct is sparse and remains largely theoretical in the peer-reviewed literature. Recently, a theoretical framework of team resilience has been proposed in which a reset phase serves as a period of restoration and reflection for teams. Using this idea of a reset phase, two main objectives of the current research were to better understand and organize the actions teams engage in that might promote a more effective reset phase, thus improving team resilience, as well as examine the impacts of these actions on performance outcomes, including a team’s self-reported level of resilience. Teams were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions where each team would experience a challenging situation during a computer-mediated simulation task designed to degraded team performance, after which, a reset phase was started. Survey data were collected to examine differences across groups on various outcome measures. Supplemental analyses identified team learning as one area for further study.

Assessment of Fluid Intelligence Utilizing a Computer Simulated Game

Measurement of General Mental Ability (GMA) using computer mediated simulations (CMS) may provide a new method of assessment. CMS used for assessments of GMA may be strongly affected by a participant's prior experience, and the predictive utility of CMS for assessment of GMA is largely unexplored. In this experiment, an existing computer video game was modified to function as an assessment of Fluid Intelligence (Gf) while controlling for participants' prior experience with CMS. Results indicated a positive relationship between tests of Fluid Intelligence (Gf) and game performance (r = .44 - 46), a weaker relationship between game performance and Crystallized Intelligence (Gc) (r = .27), no significant relationship to g, and no significant moderating effect for participants' prior experience upon any of these relationships. Based on these findings, CMS appear to hold promise as a new assessment tool for factors of GMA.

Book Review - Handbook of Research on K-12 Online and Blended Learning

The Handbook of Research on K-12 Online and Blended Learning, which is edited by Richard E. Ferdig and Kathryn Kennedy, is designed to be a collection of what is currently known about research in the field of K-12 online and blended learning and to serve as a resource for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers. 
 Richard Ferdig is an accomplished researcher and current professor of Learning and Instructional Technologies at Kent State University. His research, teaching, and service work focus on combining cutting-edge technologies with current pedagogic theory to create innovative learning environments, such as educational games and simulations. Ferdig is also the editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Gaming and Computer Mediated Simulations and the associate editor-in-chief of the Journal of Technology and Teacher Education. He currently serves as a consulting editor for the development editorial board of Educational Technology Research and Development and on the review panel of the British Journal of Educational Technology.
 Kathryn Kennedy is an award-winning teacher, researcher, and professor in the area of curriculum and instruction with a focus on educational technology. Kennedy is a senior researcher at the Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute (MVLRI)–an organization with the goals of supporting new learning models, engaging in active research to inform new policies in online and blended learning, and strengthening the infrastructure for sharing best practices. She was awarded the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) Online Learning Innovator Award for Outstanding Research in 2010 and 2012. 
 The intended audience of this book includes anyone working, researching, teaching, or interested in learning more about K-12 online and blended learning.
 The editors’ purpose was to create a publicly available, free online resource to begin to synthesize the various strands of research in K-12 online and blended learning into one comprehensive catalogue.
 The editors’ thesis is that this resource will strengthen further research in the K-12 online and blended learning field by clarifying what is currently known and what is currently unknown; provide empirical resources for researchers, educators, administrators, and policy officials; and begin a process of annually reexamining research in the field.

Political Simulations Using Excel

Simulations have received considerable attention as a tool to promote problem-solving skills, intense involvement, and high-order thinking among students. Whether semester-long exercises or a single-class session, simulations are often used in areas of conflict studies, diplomatic studies, trade disputes, electoral processes, and policy and legal debates. Asynchronous distance education instruction tends to rely on computer-mediated simulations. This article demonstrates a different approach, using a common desktop software program, Microsoft Excel, to create simulations suitable for in-class or individually distributed use that employs probabilistic scenarios and outcomes. By using spreadsheets as a simulation authoring tool, instructors can create and set the parameters for sophisticated simulations of political events and interactions. The article presents student reactions to the experiences of a simulation of trade negotiations between the United States and Japan during the 1980s that shows the process and nature of bilateral negotiations as well as the nature of “two-level games.”

Life Span as the Measure of Performance and Learning in a Business Gaming Simulation

This study applies the learning curve method of measuring learning to participants of a computer-assisted business gaming simulation that includes a multiple-life-cycle feature. The study involved 249 participants. It verified the workability of the feature and estimated the participants’ rate of learning at 17.4% for every doubling of experience. This method of measuring learning may be useful for the comparative assessment of different kinds of computer-mediated simulations and of their features and ancillary activities.

Contribution of simulation and gaming to natural resource management issues: An introduction

Nowadays, computer-mediated simulations and games are widely used in the field of natural resource management (NRM). They have proved to be useful for various purposes such as supporting decision-making processes and training. First, the specificities of the NRM research field are highlighted. Then, based on the analysis of the articles presented in this special issue of Simulation & Gaming , some key features related to the implementation of gaming in such a context are introduced. Finally, after reviewing the benefits of using simulation games in NRM, the authors stress the ethical issue of changing social relationships among stakeholders by playing a game with some of them.

Haptics in computer-mediated simulation: Training in vertebroplasty surgery

Surgical simulators and computer games share the enabling technologies in the human-machine interface. With appropriate design and development, the computer-game-like medical training simulator could be used in surgical training. The authors describe a PC-based system for the simulation of the vertebroplasty procedure. In vertebroplasty, the surgeon or radiologist relies on sight and feel to properly insert the bone needle through various tissue types and densities and monitor the injection and reflux of the polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), or cement, into the vertebra. This article focuses on the provision of a near-realistic haptic feel in bone needle insertion and manual PMMA injection. This involves an efficient biomechanical modeling of bone needle insertion and PMMA flow in bone for haptic rendering, as well as reliable delivery of forces via haptic devices. The authors show that with virtual reality gaming technologies, the surgical simulator can become a virtual trainer for a potentially risky spinal interventional procedure.

Effectiveness of a Computer-Mediated Simulations Program in School Biology on Pupils' Learning Outcomes in Cell Theory

Biology knowledge and understanding is important not only for the conversion of the loftiest dreams into reality for a better life of individuals but also for preparing secondary pupils for such fields as agriculture, medicine, biotechnology, and genetic engineering. But a recent study has revealed that many aspects of school science (biology included) pose problems of understanding for pupils, simply because of the teaching methods used and the lack of adequate instructional resources. Nevertheless, a program was designed to incorporate the use of computer technology innovation called the computer-mediated simulations (CMS) program to enhance pupils' learning outcomes in school biology. The study was carried out in a real biology classroom setting. It involved comparisons between the treatment and control groups. A Solomon-Three Group quasi-experimental design was employed to involve three secondary schools situated along Njoro-Mau Narok and Elburgon-Molo roads in Nakuru district that were purposively sampled on the basis of easy accessibility and the availability of IBM compatible computers. A total of 102 pupils enrolled in three intact classes were exposed to the same content on cell division for a period of 3 weeks. Three dependent measures—the Biology Achievement Test (BAT), the Biology Classroom Environment Questionnaire (BCEQ), and the Pupil Attitude Questionnaire (PAQ)—were used to assess the effectiveness of the program on the pupils' academic achievement in cell theory, their perception of the classroom environment, and attitudes towards the biology course on cell theory. The findings of the study affirmed the impact of the CMS program on the pupils' learning outcomes in that the mean gains of the participants in the treatment groups were significantly higher than that of their counterparts in the regular program. Also, the results indicated that the mean differences between the experimental group and the true control group were statistically significant in favor of the treatment group. The findings also showed no relationship between the participants' gender and their learning outcomes. The study concludes that the use of the CMS program to augment conventional biology teaching has major implications for secondary biology instruction in this area.

Problems in simulating social reality: Observations on a MUD construction

The authors look at computer-mediated simulation as an approach to studying social science issues and discuss its limitations, with the design process for a Multiple-User Dungeon (MUD) game serving as a context. Using data gleaned from interviews with the MUD designers, the authors present three findings: (a) fun is a key difference between simulations and reality, because a MUD user can always walk away from a game that is not fun but cannot walk away from difficult real-life situations; (b) simulated social systems require time and commitment from a fairly large population, which conflicts with the typical level of patience observed in most computer game players; and (c) the roles of technicians and designers as mediators in simulated social environments is an area requiring detailed study, because their attitudes toward technical constraints, social values, and stereotypes exert a strong influence on the appearance of their final products.

Using computer-mediated simulation to improve institutional decision-making

One of the core courses often found in a doctoral program in higher education is administration and organization. Traditional courses generally include weekly chalk-and-talk lectures in a classroom setting with the instructors enriching the course by sharing their administrative experience in higher education. A new approach was sought to provide students the opportunity to build upon their foundation in the areas of teamwork, conflict resolution, problem solving, decision-making, and critical thinking through group lectures, case studies, group projects, and expert lecture series. This article will examine the use of a computer-mediated simulation for the purpose of teaching higher education administration and organization. Virtual University (VU), a computer interactive software program, simulates the management of four different types of institutions of higher education. The simulator provides students with the opportunity to better understand colleges and universities as complex organizations, the interplay that occurs among variables, and the difficulties that institutional presidents and other administrators face. Today, technology has an impact on the decision-making process of higher education as well as the entire educational system. Students in all programs need an environment in which to manage multidimensional circumstances that require alternative solutions.