Experimentelle Soziologie - Der Beitrag der Computersimulation zur Weiterentwicklung der soziologischen Theorie

Die folgende Abhandlung gibt einen Überblick über unterschiedliche Formen des Experiments in den Sozialwissenschaften, der von Laborexperimenten über Realexperimente bis hin zu Simulationsexperimenten reicht, um dann die Frage zu stellen, welche Funktion Experimente für den Erkenntnisfortschritt und die Theoriebildung in der Soziologie haben können. Zwar muss die Erwartung einer Validierung von Modellen bzw. einer Überprüfung von Theorien durch Experimente enttäuscht werden. Dennoch – so die These des vorliegenden Beitrags – stellt die Methode der Computersimulation eine Bereicherung des Methodenarsenals der Soziologie dar, da mit ihrer Hilfe soziologisch fundierte Modelle sozialer Systeme konstruiert werden können, die es ermöglichen, Strukturdynamiken sozialer Systeme experimentell zu untersuchen. Vor allem kann die Computersimulation dazu beitragen, die „Emergenz- Lücke“ soziologischer Mikro-Makro-Modelle schließen, die sich in einer systematischen Unterbelichtung der Prozesse der Aggregation von Einzelhandlungen zu einem systemischen Ganzen niederschlägt

This Humane Man of Letters

A tribute to Marvin C. Henberg for his dedication to Linfield College

Competing in a Global Market

Students put complex business practices to work in a global online simulation

Instruktionale Unterstützung beim Lernen mit Computersimulationen

In einem Literaturüberblick wird die Effektivität von Maßnahmen der instruktionalen Unterstützung für das Lernen mit Computersimulationen dargestellt. Computersimulationen veranschaulichen anderweitig schwer vermittelbare Sachverhalte in einer hochgradig realistischen Lernumgebung. Lernende können sowohl deklaratives als auch prozedurales Wissen erwerben. Interaktivität und Kontrollmöglichkeiten über die Computersimulation motivieren Benutzer zum selbstgesteuerten Lernen. Die Vorteile von Computersimulationen werden jedoch von Problemen geschmälert, die Lernende auf kognitiver und metakognitiver Ebene zeigen. Entdeckendes Lernen mit Computersimulationen führt i.d.R. nicht zu den gewünschten Lernerfolgen. Vielmehr benötigen Lernende für den erfolgreichen Wissenserwerb mit Computersimulationen instruktionale Unterstützung. Zur interpretativen Unterstützung erweisen sich Arbeitsaufträge und ausgearbeitete Lösungsbeispiele als geeignet. Als experimentelle Unterstützung sind permanent verfügbare Hintergrundinformationen, Führung und abzugebende Begründungen hilfreich. Zur reflektierenden Unterstützung sind differenzierte Rückmeldungen des Lernsystems und die Betrachtung der eigenen Vorgehensweise dienlich. Die Ergebnisse des Literaturüberblicks werden auf der Grundlage der kognitiven Belastungstheorie diskutiert. (DIPF/Orig.)In a review of the literature, the effectiveness of instructional support for learning with computer simulations is presented. Computer simulations depict topics that are oftentimes difficult to teach in a highly realistic learning environment, thus enabling learners to acquire declarative as well as procedural knowledge. Computer simulations provide interactivity and control options that motivate users to self-regulated learning. However, the advantages of computer simulations are diminished due to problems that learners show on the cognitive and metacognitive level. Discovery learning with computer simulations does not typically result in the desired learning outcomes. Rather, for successful knowledge acquisition with computer simulations instructional support is needed. For interpretative support, assignments and worked-out examples prove to be appropriate. Permanently available background information, guidance, and justifications are helpful for experimental support. Sophisticated feedback of the learning system as well as reflecting on one \u27s own procedure are effective for reflective support. The results of the literature review are discussed on the basis of cognitive load theory. (DIPF/Orig.

Modelling Organic Dairy Production Systems

In this study, a large number of organic dairy production strategies were compared in terms of physical and financial performance through the integrated use of computer simulation models and organic case study farm data. Production and financial data from three organic case study farms were used as a basis for the modelling process to ensure that the modelled systems were based on real sets of resources that might be available to a farmer. The case study farms were selected to represent a range of farming systems in terms of farm size, concentrate use and location. This paper describes the process used to model the farm systems: the integration of the three models used and the use of indicators to assess the modelled farm systems in terms of physical sustainability and financial performance

Simulation of charged particle trajectories in the neutron decay correlation experiment abBA

The proposed neutron decay correlation experiment, abBA, will directly detect the direction of emission of decay protons and electrons as well as providing spectroscopic information for both particles. In order to provide this information, the abBA experiment incorporates spatially varying electric and magnetic fields. We report on detailed simulations of the decay particle trajectories in order to assess the impact of various systematic effects on the experimental observables. These include among others; adiabaticity of particle orbits, tracking of orbits, reversal of low energy protons due to inhomogeneous electric field, and accuracy of proton time of flight measurements. Several simulation methods were used including commercial software (Simion), custom software, as well as analytical tools based on the use of adiabatic invariants. Our results indicate that the proposed field geometry of the abBA spectrometer will be substantially immune to most systematic effects and that transport calculations using adiabatic invariants agree well with solution of the full equations of motion

Computer Simulation of Musical Evolution: A Lesson from Whales

Simulating musical creativity using computers needs more than the ability to devise elegant computational implementations of sophisticated algorithms. It requires, firstly, an understanding of what phenomena might be regarded as music; and, secondly, an understanding of the nature of such phenomena — including their evolutionary history, their recursive-hierarchic structure, and the mechanisms by which they are transmitted within cultural groups. To understand these issues it is fruitful to compare human music, and indeed human language, with analogous phenomena in other areas of the animal kingdom. Whale song, specifically that of the humpback (Megaptera novaeangeliae), possesses many structural and functional similarities to human music (as do certain types of birdsong). Using a memetic perspective, this paper compares the “musilanguage” of humpbacks with the music of humans, and aims to identify a number of shared characteristics. A consequence of nature and nurture, these commonalities appear to arise partly from certain constraints of perception and cognition (and thus they determine an aspect of the environment within which the “musemes” (musical memes) constituting whale vocalizations and human music is replicated), and partly from the social-emotive-embodied and sexual-selective nature of musemic transmission. The paper argues that Universal-Darwinian forces give rise to uniformities of structure in phenomena we might regard as “music”, irrespective of the animal group — certain primates, cetaceans or birds - within which it occurs. It considers the extent to which whale song might be regarded as creative, by invoking certain criteria used to assess this attribute in human music. On the basis of these various comparisons, the paper concludes by attempting to draw conclusions applicable to those engaged in designing evolutionary music simulation/generation algorithms

Formation of dendrite domain structures in stoichiometric lithium niobate at elevated temperatures

Formation of the dendrite-type self-organized domain structures during polarization reversal at elevated temperatures (above 230°C) has been revealed and studied in stoichiometric lithium niobate LiNbO3 single crystals. Optical, confocal Raman, scanning electron, and piezoelectric force microscopy have been used for domain visualization. It has been shown experimentally that formation of the dendrite-like structures has been attributed to correlated nucleation caused by a field distribution in the vicinity of the charged domain walls. © 2012 American Institute of Physics

Increasing the quality of seismic interpretation

Acknowledgments E. Macrae was funded by an NERC Open CASE Ph.D. award (NE/F013728/1) with Midland Valley Exploration Ltd. as the industry partner. We thank 763 geoscientists for their participation, and in particular, the REs who gave their time freely to the project. M. Scott (University of Glasgow, UK) is thanked for assisting with the statistical analysis. Four reviewers are thanked for their constructive comments that improved the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD