Abstract: This study investigates whether the processes associated with the use of business simulations can be structured to improve transfer of learning from the classroom environment to the workplace.The answer to this question is explored by investigating teaching methods used to introduce the simulation, the amount of time students spend on decisions, team decision-making characteristics, and student performance levels in the course. The results indicate that students have higher perceived transfer of learning when they learn the simulation by reading the student manual and from peers rather than from the instructor or from hands-on experience. Also, the results indicate that perceptions of time spent on strategic decisions, financial decisions, and student expectations of their final grade were related to perceived transfer of learning.

Abstract: From the observations of successful entertainment games, it is hypothesized that implementing a single-player option may require a different approach from that in a multiplayer option, in terms of game design. To find out whether this could be true and to understand what the specific approaches could entail for educational games, three separate yet related investigations were conducted to examine single- versus multiplayer games: an investigation of two educational games designed and evaluated by the authors, a theoretical investigation from a game and learning perspective, and an empirical investigation of 23 case studies. From these three investigations, it turned out that a ?single-player approach? is data intensive, has formal rules, and uses direct transfer and individual learning. On the other hand, a ?multiplayer approach? is less straightforward. From a game perspective, it can be characterized as process intensive and having social rules. When related to learning, however, it could be positioned on any dimension. This exploration shows that the approaches differ to a large extent and that designers have to find a fit between what option they choose and approach they take.

Abstract: The past half-century has seen remarkable growth in the use and acceptance of simulation games for policy intervention. This article provides one observer’s perspective on the evolution of the discipline: literature, theory, and practice. The creation and growth of ISAGA are also referenced. Early computer simulations failed at prediction due to limitations of theory, data, and technology. Their lack of transparency limited their value for expository purposes. Through time, a design methodology has emerged to guide the creation of simulation games to improve communication in complex policy decision environments. These instruments are not intended to be predictive; rather, their primary objective is to help a group achieve consensus through the multilogue mode of communication. Several simulation/games are outlined to illustrate the progression of the discipline.

Abstract: In this article, the author argues that simulation is an undervalued technique to draw conclusions about empirical phenomena in economics. If the aim is to learn about the behavior of socioeconomic systems of interest, simulations have a variety of advantages relative to alternatives such as mathematical (pen and paper) modeling and laboratory experimentation. Therefore, the author has a good prima facie reason to exploit this method more fully. The author proceed by demonstrating that frequently heard arguments against simulations are wrong, and finally the author discusses a number of more specific empirical phenomena, criticisms of one type of simulation methodology used in economics.

Abstract: To understand world politics, one must appreciate the context in which international systems develop and operate. Pedagogy studies demonstrate that the more active students are in their learning, the more they learn. As such, using computer simulations can complement and enhance classroom instruction. CIVILIZATION is a computer simulation game that allows players to build a civilization, competing against other civilizations. As players manage resources to develop their civilizations, establish diplomatic relations with other civilizations, strengthen trade relations, and engage in military and peace alliances, they become immersed in a simulated international system. This article explores the value of using CIVILIZATION as an active learning approach to teach international relations, focusing on the many ways in which students can better understand and appreciate the defining concepts, as well as the complexities, of international politics through playing a computer game.

Abstract: Sid Meier's CIVILIZATION has been promoted as an educational tool, used as a platform for building educational simulations, and maligned as promoting Eurocentrism, bioimperialism, and racial superiority. This article explores the complex issues involved in interpreting a game through analysis of the ways modders (gamers who modify the game) have approached the history of science, technology, and knowledge embodied in the game. Through text analysis of modder discussion, this article explores the assumed values and tone of the community's discourse. The study offers initial findings that CIVILIZATION modders value a variety of positive discursive practices for developing historical models. Community members value a form of historical authenticity, they prize subtlety and nuance in models for science in the game, and they communicate through civil consensus building. Game theorists, players, and scholars, as well as those interested in modeling the history, sociology, and philosophy of science, will be interested to see the ways in which CIVILIZATION III cultivates an audience of modders who spend their time reimagining how science and technology could work in the game.

Abstract: Realism remains a prominent topic in game design and industry research; yet, a strong academic case can be made that games are anything, but realistic. This article frames realism in games in semiotic terms as iconic simulation and argues that games can gain expressiveness when they move beyond the current focus on iconic simulation. In parallel to natural language, indexical and symbolic simulation are investigated. It is argued that indexical and symbolic simulation reduce the number of parts of simulation without affecting its structural complexity and emergent behavior too much. This leads to a perspective on games that pays more attention to the expressive power of relatively simple game mechanics. This perspective helps designers to maximize the effectiveness of game mechanics in communicating general knowledge embedded within the game system.

Abstract: We can enhance discussions of simulation by distinguishing between the rationale for using simulation and the philosophical tools for conceptualizing it. I offer my thoughts, inspired by this symposium, on the proposition that simulation is little more than stuff of our minds, a figment of our imagination. I also argue that philosophy is important to all simulation/gaming work.

Abstract: How may historians best express history through computer games? This article suggests that the answer lies in correctly correlating historians' goals for teaching with the capabilities of different kinds of computer games. During the development of a game prototype for high school students, the author followed best practices as expressed in the literature on games for learning. The analysis that followed led the author to question the applicability of these best practices, and this literature, to history games for learning. He began the second iteration by asking, “What is it that we as historians want to teach?” After deciding on goals for history education, the author asked a second question, “How can these goals be best expressed in a game environment?” Different game genres afford different possibilities, and the author connects three epistemologies for history to three computer game genres, resulting in three options for history games for learning.

Abstract: Various observers have proposed weighted voting as part of an overhaul of the UN Security Council. This article employs game-theoretic methods to simulate the effects of weighting votes in the UN Security Council according to the ability of individual states, as well as on the ability of the Council to act. The authors first briefly review reform proposals. Drawing on recent proposals, they then calculate voting weights based on population, contributions to the UN, and a measure of sovereign equality. These component measures are assigned different weights in order to formulate three sets of weighted votes. After this, they define several measures of voting power that can be used to assess voting power in weighted voting systems. The measures used in this article assess the relative voting power of individual members as well as the probability the Council will engage in collective action to pass a resolution. Results of voting power simulations are then presented under both simple and qualified majority r...

Abstract: Researchers of interactive learning environments have grown increasingly interested in designing these systems to become more responsive to differences in students' cognitive-affective states. They believe that the detection of and adaptation to student cognition and affect may boost student learning gains and enhance the quality of students' overall learning experience. A growing body of research focuses specifically on the study of cognitive-affective dynamics, defined as the natural ways in which a student's cognitive-affective states change over time. These types of studies help designers identify desirable virtuous cycles that they want to foster and undesirable vicious cycles that they want to dissuade. In this study, the author examined the dynamics of the cognitive-affective states exhibited by Filipino students as they used the pre-algebra game MATH BLASTER 9-12. The author focused on the cognitive-affective states of boredom, confusion, delight, engagement, frustration, neutrality, and surprise. Using quantitative field observations, the author determined which of these states tended to persist or transition into other states over time. It was found that boredom was the only state that tended to persist. Boredom tended not to lead to engagement. Students who were confused were not likely to stay confused but were likely to transition into engagement. Students who were delighted were not likely to become confused. From these findings and based on comparisons with related work, it is concluded that boredom is a persistent and undesirable state. Confusion is not persistent and is desirable because it leads to further engagement with the content.

Abstract: Some computer simulations have explanatory goals. In a typical case, the computer simulation exemplifies a model generating a phenomenon under investigation. For the simulation to be explanatory, the model has to be explanatory. Models that fully explain phenomena are rare, but a model may offer a partial explanation of a phenomenon. It does this if an isomorphism holds between certain features of the model and certain features of a natural system realizing the phenomenon. The first two sections elaborate this account of a simulation’s explanatory power. The third section illustrates the account by applying it to Brian Skyrms’s (2004) simulations of the evolution of cooperation. The final section uses the account to suggest ways of increasing those simulations’ explanatory power.

Abstract: This article describes a virtual reality role-playing game that was developed as a survey tool to collect travel behavior data and explore and monitor travel behavior adaptation. The Advanced Energy and Material Systems Laboratory has designed, developed a prototype, and tested such a game platform survey tool, called Travel Activity Constraint Adaptation Simulation TACA SIM. A main objective is investigating adaptability under the simulated situation of rapid fuel price. The computer game survey approach has the potential to capture real behavior data through a well-controlled experiment, because the participant experiences the survey as a role-play exploration. Feedback from participants confirms that TACA SIM collects data efficiently in an acceptable time while the participants enjoyed the experience. The authors propose that this gamed-based survey approach provides the basis for collecting and evaluating travel behavior data and adaptation behavior.

Abstract: In this article, the authors demonstrate how they modified a well-known game to use it as an educational simulation to help students understand difficult material, specifically critical theory. The...

Abstract: Agent-based simulation (ABS) studies have recently been employed to support policy decisions. This article addresses the particular potentials and problems that ABS faces in this usage. First, the author warns against taking “familiarity” with specific ABS as a criterion for having confidence in the model’s policy recommendations. Second, he shows that specific epistemic issues—in particular the high number of detailed simulated systems—require additional reflection on which decision rules to choose for policy decisions based on ABS. Third, the author points out directions in which the construction and uses of ABS in policy decision could be improved. Each of these issues is illustrated by simulation studies undertaken to investigate smallpox vaccination policies.

Abstract: Reputation enables different parties to establish a trusting and cooperative relationship, a key factor in integrative negotiations referred to as ?win-win? negotiations. Thus, a good reputation mechanism can bring simulations closer to reality. In this study, the authors review the reputation mechanisms applied to the online business game WIN WIN MANAGER, where the players' reputations are decided by their counterparts at the end of each negotiation. Then, the authors compare two reputation mechanisms and hypothesize that the best mechanism will be more positively correlated with the negotiation outcome, which is measured by a scoring algorithm. Using nonparametric statistics, it is highlighted that the reputation mechanism in earlier versions of the game seems to produce values unrelated to the score, whereas the new mechanism produces values significantly positively correlated with the score. Such results can be useful to scholars who conduct experiments on negotiation, as well as online markets in which users are allowed to negotiate with one another.

Abstract: Negotiation is a process of exchange intellectually, socially, and in terms of the items (tangible or not) that provide the focal point for negotiations. In recent years, the English School has dis...

Abstract: Philosophy finds simulation and gaming intriguing because of the epistemological issues that they raise. For example, how do simulations of a phenomenon help to explain that phenomenon? This collection of essays addresses such issues and hopes to stimulate additional investigations in this fascinating area.

Abstract: One of the goals of game designers is to design for an engaging experience and for social interaction. The question is how. We know that games can be engaging and allow for social interaction, but how do we achieve this or even improve on it? This article provides an overview of several scientific approaches that deal with this question. It highlights the idea that the articles in this symposium each have a specific contribution route for answering this question: By means of theory building, user experience, and design research, they aim to increase our understanding of this design question. This guest editorial also highlights the specific aims of each article and the insights we can retrieve from them. Although much more research is needed, taking our cue from these articles, we are able to provide some answers as to how and when engagement and social interaction are established, and to what extent.

Abstract: Previous research has demonstrated the efficacy of Multiple Identification Theory (MIT) in changing the attitudes and behaviors of participants in simulations. However, these studies did not employ control groups, and their evidence of real-life behavioral change was self-reported. The present investigation attempts to improve upon previous MIT research in these areas. Participants either played an MIT game about international conflict twice (full MIT treatment) or watched a documentary and played the game once (control/half MIT treatment). Their attitudes and behaviors regarding conflict were measured before, during, and after the experimental sessions. Statistical tests reveal that the attitudes and behaviors of full MIT treatment participants became significantly more cooperative than those of control/half MIT treatment participants. The authors discuss the implications of this research for attitude change in simulation and for international relations.

Abstract: The number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Tanzania is rapidly increasing, partly due to considerable support from external donors. The implications of the agglomeration of NGOs for local relationships are little understood: Does agglomeration simulate cooperation or enhance competition among them? To address this question, the author used an innovative approach involving game simulation. The specific game developed for this purpose was repeated eight times with a selection of Tanzanian NGOs. Outcomes indicate that willingness to cooperate among NGOs decreases when more of them work in the same area. To check the validity of the game simulation results, the author compared them to those of a survey held among the same NGOs. Even though the two sets of results were roughly similar, some important deviations were also analyzed. The outcomes are used to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of both research methods.

Abstract: Meteorology has employed automatic computing machines since the early days of electronic computers. From the 1950s on, a large body of models used for “in silico” experiments (numerical simulation) has been built up, together with an international infrastructure of measuring, modeling, and testing. These outstanding developments— unique in science—led not only to an increasing standardization in developing and applying models but also to deepening the interlinking between modeling and generating evidence. The article explores needs and strategies for evaluating scientific results based on mass data output devices.

Abstract: Recently, the study of civil wars has attracted more and more attention from scholars of international relations. Using a computer simulation called EARTH (Exploring Alternative Realpolitik THeses)...

Abstract: This article is written as a tribute to R. Garry Shirts who through his exemplary authorship and publication of gamed simulations was designated Defender of the Playful. Garry Shirts was the master...

Abstract: Social scientists have long worked to replicate real-world phenomena in their research and teaching environments. Unlike our biophysical science colleagues, we are faced with an area of study that ...

Abstract: This is an investigation of the relationship between simulations and models, concluding that the model intended to underlie a simulation and the model that actually underlies the simulation can be quite different. It is also argued that simulations and models are complexes of representational relations, making it the case that determining what is a model or what is a simulation is an inherently observer relative task that can never be fully overcome. The end result is that simulations can still be profitably used as scientific tools, but that caution must be used in interpreting their results; and we must be reluctant to make hard and fast judgments regarding what counts as a simulation or model and how any results obtained should be used.

Abstract: In this article, I recount the many ways in which Harold Guetzkow influenced my career. From the beginning of my graduate studies at Northwestern University in the 1960s into the next century, Harold’s guidance has been indispensable. His idea of bridging islands of theory has provided many of us with a broad, integrated vision of social science. His workman-like approach to scholarship has provided us with the tools needed to contribute to the field. As a broad theorist, Harold inspired us to devote a lifetime in pursuit of knowledge. As a mentor, he imparted the essential skills of writing for publication, presenting at professional meetings, teaching and advising, and contributing to the profession. Above all, his values of interdisciplinary and responsible scholarship have been a hallmark of my own research and project leadership. My work on simulation reflects these values as well, with regard to research platforms and classroom learning. Indeed, a recent article in this journal owes much to Harold’s influence (Druckman & Ebner, 2008).

Abstract: This issue of SG the discipline owes much to their pioneering work. Their accounts make for exciting reading and provide wonderful insights into the development of the discipline as well as point ways forward for future developments.

Abstract: This article reports on the International Simulation and Gaming Association's conference in Spokane, Washington, United States ISAGA2010. It provides an overview of the many presentations and workshops at the conference, as well as hints of other events both planned and unplanned.