Theories of choice in economics typically assume that interacting agents act individualistically and maximize their own utility. Specifically, game theory proposes that rational players should defect in one-shot prisoners' dilemmas (PD). Defection also appears to be the inevitable outcome for agents who learn by reinforcement of past choices,…

Take-the-best (TTB) is a fast and frugal heuristic for paired comparison that has been proposed as a model of bounded rationality. This heuristic has been criticized for not taking compound cues into account to predict a criterion, although such an approach is sometimes required to make accurate predictions. By means of computer simulations, it is…

The roles of teachers and students are changing, and there are undoubtedly ways of learning not yet discovered. However, the computer and software technology may provide a significant role to identify the problems, to present solutions and life-long learning. It is clear that the computer based educational technology has reached the point where…

This dissertation explores the use of geometric and graphical models for a variety of information search and filtering applications. These models serve to provide an intuitive understanding of the problem domains and as well as computational efficiencies to our solution approaches. We begin by considering a search and rescue scenario where both…

The author's personal journey regarding simulation and gaming started about 25 years ago when he happened to realize how powerful computerized simulation could be for organizational change. The metaphors created by computerized simulation enabled him to transform a stagnant university into a high-performance organization. Through extensive…

Videogames have become a cultural and commercial phenomenon across the globe. Researchers and educators have been working to understand how to leverage these tools in education. However, there are few training opportunities that focus on the positive attributes of games in education for preservice teachers. This paper describes the preliminary…

Researchers question how and what students learn from commercial digital games. Using a concurrent mixed-methods approach, this study examined 30 students' construction of knowledge and skills while playing a commercial off-the-shelf game for 7 weeks. Quantitative data included students' background survey and pre- and post-assessments for…

This paper presents the findings of a study on the current knowledge and attitudes of pre-service teachers on the use of scenario-based multi-user virtual environments in science education. The 28 participants involved in the study were introduced to "Virtual Singapura," a multi-user virtual environment, and completed an open-ended questionnaire.…

In this article, the author discusses using Second Life (SL) in school librarianship. SL is a multi-user virtual environment in which persons create avatars to allow them to move and interact with other avatars. They can build and manipulate objects. To move, they can walk, run, fly, or teleport. There are many areas within SL to allow people to…

Uncertainty may be an important component of the motivation provided by learning games, especially when associated with gaming rather than learning. Three studies are reported that explore the influence of gaming uncertainty on engagement with computer-based learning games. In the first study, children (10-11 years) played a simple maths quiz.…

The authors describe the steps in the ethical decision-making process and show how employers and educators are addressing ethical gray areas using innovative simulations in order to better prepare employees and other personnel to face ethical challenges head-on. The model outlined in this article can be used as a teaching and training tool to…

This study investigated whether the mere knowledge of the meaning of variables can facilitate inquiry learning processes and outcomes. Fifty-seven college freshmen were randomly allocated to one of three inquiry tasks. The concrete task had familiar variables from which hypotheses about their underlying relations could be inferred. The…

Global social justice is often portrayed as a project of either developing appropriate dispositions or of amending the rules that govern global interaction. Despite policy pronouncements by many university vice chancellors on the significance of higher education in contributing to learning about global social justice, there is very little…

To develop sustainable solutions to remediate the complex ecological problems of earth's soil, water, and air degradation requires the talents and skills of knowledgeable, motivated people (UNESCO, 1977; UNESCO, 2010). Researchers historically emphasized that time spent in outdoor, nature activities (Wells & Lekies, 2006), particularly with an…

The theme of EUROCALL 2014 was "CALL Design: Principles and Practice," which attracted approximately 280 practitioners, researchers and students from computer-assisted language learning (CALL) and related disciplines of more than 40 different nationalities. Over 170 presentations were delivered on topics related to this overarching…