This study compared the effectiveness of computer simulation with that of traditional videotaped role playing in a helping skills course for nurses. Subjects were 78 nursing students at the University of Minnesota's School of Nursing who enrolled in a helping relationships course during either the winter or spring quarter of 1987. During each…

While research efforts have determined that decision making is of major importance in lesson planning, there has been little work that systematically explores the effect of training in decision making on lesson planning, particularly in terms of preservice teachers. This study used four computer simulations designed to teach decision making skills…

Possible bias due to sampling problems or low response rates has been a troubling "nuisance" variable in empirical research since seminal and classical studies were done on these problems at the beginning of this century. Recent research suggests that: (1) earlier views of the alleged bias problem were misleading; (2) under a variety of fairly…

A study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of "Discretion vs. Valor," a simulation game designed to give North American players a chance to: (1) identify with "believers" (Christians) in the Soviet Union in order to form new images of these persons; (2) gain empathy for Christians by understanding the dilemmas they…

This report consists of several papers written, but not published, during the course of the WARNET study of requirements for a network of relatively low-cost, interconnected combat simulators for use in training pilots for combat readiness. It is projected that such a network would allow a number of aircraft to fight each other in simulated but…

The booklet offers general suggestions, a quiz, specific activities, and a checklist to increase children's awareness of the needs and characteristics of persons with disabilities. Preferred terminology is explained and ways to provide children with direct experiences with persons with disabilities are suggested. The brief quiz serves both to…

A method is proposed that increases the accuracies of estimation of the operating characteristics of discrete item responses, especially when the true operating characteristic is represented by a steep curve, and also at the lower and upper ends of the ability distribution where the estimation tends to be inaccurate because of the smaller number…

This study examined how first-year law students developed a civil rights case using an open-ended interactive videodisk ("Litigation Strategies"), which uses a visual and textual database to complement the traditional curriculum by simulating the experience of a junior partner in a law firm. An implementation and formative evaluation…

A course at California State University, Northridge, titled Applied Organizational Communication, allows students to apply their understanding of group and organizational communication theory to an actual situation and then in turn to analyze the observations in the organization in terms of those theories. The class forms a simulated organization…

This game simulates trade and food production in the West African region of the Sahel which is susceptible to drought. Players are divided into teams of two and four persons, each team assuming the role of a farming household in the Sahel. Teammates collaborate on production and trade decisions under conditions of dearth and plenty. The game…

This master's thesis examines applications of computer technology to the field of industrial design and ways in which technology can transform the traditional process. Following a statement of the problem, the history and applications of the fields of computer graphics and industrial design are reviewed. The traditional industrial design process…

This study was designed to look for patterns of parental behavior by assessing styles of child rearing in a novel way--through responses on an interactive computer program simulating an average day in the life of a mother and a preschooler. Presented to each subject (39 mothers of preschoolers and a control group of non-mothers) were 30 common…

The results obtained from two basic types of pre-equatings of tests were compared: the item response theory (IRT) pre-equating and section pre-equating (SPE). The simulated data were generated from a modified three-parameter logistic model with a constant guessing parameter. Responses of two replication samples of 3000 examinees on two 72-item…

Using simulated item response data, the performance of several "robust" and conventional schemes for ability estimation was evaluated in conjunction with logistic item response theory models (one, two, and three parameter models). The simulated item response data were generated using a model that is more complex than are the usual…

Simultaneous estimation of many parameters can often be improved, sometimes dramatically so, if it is reasonable to consider one or more subsets of parameters as exchangeable members of corresponding populations. While each observation may provide limited information about the parameters it is modeled directly in terms of, it also contributes…