Modeling ESA's TT/C systems

After a brief introduction on the need for simulation packages for the analysis and design of satellite communications systems, the software tool developed for the European Space Agency (ESA), its main objectives and the design choices made during the development are presented. A very concise description of the available communications and measurement block follows. The ESA standard Telemetry, Tracking and Command (TT&C) system simulator is then introduced along with a description of the ESA standard modulation and coding schemes. As an example, the simulation of the ranging system which is a non-standard communications block, is described in details. Several examples of TT&C simulations outputs are given and compared with measurement results or theoretical approximations, when available. Finally, future developments like the support of advanced modulation schemes and the dynamic satellite link simulation are presented

Mediating skills on risk management for improving the resilience of Supply Networks by developing and using a serious game

Given their importance, the need for resilience and the management of risk within Supply Networks, means that engineering students need a solid under-standing of these issues. An innovative way of meeting this need is through the use of serious games. Serious games allow an active experience on how differ-ent factors influencethe flexibility, vulnerability and capabilities in Supply Networks and allow the students to apply knowledge and methods acquired from theory. This supports their ability to understand, analyse and evaluate how different factors contribute to the resilience. The experience gained within the game will contribute to the studentsâ abilities to construct new knowledge based on their active observation and reflection of the environment when they later work in a dynamic environment in industry. This game, Beware, was developed for use in a blended learning environment. It is a part of a course for engineering master students at the University of Bremen. It was found that the game was effective in mediating the topic of risk management to the students espscially in supporting their ability of applying methods, analyse the different interactions and the game play as well as to support the assessment of how their decision-making affected the simulated network

Digital simulation in the teaching of telecommunication system engineering

Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Management games - a powerful tool to teach competence and knowledge?

Übergeordnetes Ziel dieser Diplomarbeit war es, der Frage nachzugehen ob Planspiele ein wichtiges Medium in der Management Ausbildung sind um Kompetenz und Wissen zu erlernen und zu vermitteln. Planspiele weisen unterschiedliche Charakteristiker auf. Sie können entweder ein gesamtes Unternehmen oder einen Teilbereich betreffen, können simpel oder komplex sein, interaktiv oder nicht interaktiv und können entweder manuell oder über den Computer gespielt werden. (Watson and Blackstone 1981) Planspiele werden in verschiedenen Bereichen und aus verschiedenen Gründen gespielt. Zum Großteil aus Lehrzwecken, da mit der Planspielmethode enorme Lerneffekte erzielt werden können. Andere Gründe können Personalevaluierung oder Forschung von menschlichen Verhalten und Gruppenverhalten sein (Watson and Blackstone 1981). Die erste Forschungsfrage sollte klären ob Planspiele schon eine lange Geschichte haben oder ein aktuelles Phänomen darstellen. Die Literatur zeigte, dass als direkter Vorfahre von Planspielen gilt Schach und geht bis 3000 v.Chr. zurück. Erste Versionen von „Kriegsschach“ gab es 1000 v.Chr. (Lane 1995). Spieltheorie, automatische Datenverarbeitung und Operations Research verhalfen Planspielen in den 50er Jahre zum Durchbruch. Das erste Planspiel der Moderne wurde von der US Air Force 1959 entwickelt und hieß „Monopologs“. Für den Planspieleinsatz im Wirtschaftsbereich erwähnt die Literatur als erste Spiele die „Top Management Decision Simulation“, das „Top Management Decision Game“ und das „Business Management Game“ (Faria und Wellington 2004). Auch konnte der Trend, Planspiele über das Internet zu spielen, identifiziert werden. Durch das Medium Internet wurden Planspiele als Lernmethode noch beliebter (Cook and Cook 2005). Vorteile wie Kommunikation unabhängig von Raum und Zeit und der Zugang zu multimedialer Information machte Planspiele noch attraktiver. Des Weiteren sollte der Frage nachgegangen werden welche Vorteile die Planspielmethode gegenüber klassischen Lernmethoden hat in der Vermittlung von Kompetenz und Wissen. Die Literatur zeigte, dass durch das Spielen von Planspielen unter anderem wirtschaftliches Know-How, vernetztes Denken, Entscheidungsfindung in komplexen Situationen aber auch Fähigkeiten im Umgang mit Menschen gestärkt und gefördert werden können. Durch das Spielen in einer simulierten Welt haben Fehlentscheidungen keine Auswirkungen wie in der realen Welt. (Faria and Dickinson 1994) Des Weiteren wurde in der vorliegende Diplomarbeit eine Klassifizierung von Planspielen mit den Attributen „Generelle Merkmale“, „Anwendungsbereich“, „Zielgruppe“, „Entscheidungen“, „Kommunikationsmittel“ und „Evaluierung“ kreiert. Insgesamt wurden 64 Spiele klassifiziert von denen 27 den Gesundheitswesenbereich betreffen. Die Klassifizierung und Analyse der allgemeinen Planspiele hat gezeigt, dass die Hälfte der 36 Spiele im „Generellen Planspielbereich“ anzutreffen sind. Fast jedes Planspiel nutzt den Computer als Hauptkommunikationsmittel und ein Drittel der Spiele enthält die Fähigkeit über das Internet gespielt zu werden. Hauptanwendungsfelder der funktionalen Planspiele sind die Bereiche Marketing, der Finanz und Logistik. Die letzte Forschungsfrage ging der Etablierung von Planspielen im Gesundheitswesen nach. Die Literatur zeigte, dass Planspiele im Gesundheitswesen zwar vorhanden sind, jedoch nicht so etabliert sind wie in Marketing, Finanz oder Logistik. Die Analyse der Planspiele im Gesundheitswesen hat gezeigt dass nur 10 der 27 Spiele generelle Planspiele sind. Die Mehrheit der Spiele weisen einen funktionellen Charakter auf und beinhalten das Management von einzelnen Stationen, das Managen von Krankheiten, Pharmazie und den Pflegebereich. Jedoch wurde nur drei der untersuchten Planspiele auch über das Internet gespielt welches verdeutlicht, dass hier die Wichtigkeit dieses Mediums noch nicht so bekannt ist wie in den klassischen Anwendungsbereichen. In dieser Arbeit hat sich gezeigt dass es sehr viele Planspiele gibt und in vielen Bereichen der Wirtschaft, aber auch im Gesundheitswesen, Anwendung finden. Das Medium Internet sollte für Planspiele in jeglichem Bereich als Hauptkommunikationsmittel eingesetzt werden da es den Teilnehmern die Möglichkeit bietet mit Menschen aus der ganzen Welt Erfahrung und Wissen auszutauschen.Main goal of the present diploma thesis was to discuss if management games are an important and powerful tool in management education to teach competence and knowledge. Management games show different characteristics. They can be general or functional, simple or complex, interactive or non-interactive, deterministic or probabilistic and played over the computer or manually scored (Watson and Blackstone 1981) Management games are played for several reasons. Most games are played for teaching effects because they provide incredible opportunities for learning. Optimal strategies can be found in operational gaming and transferred into the real world. Another purpose of games is to evaluate personnel and to research group and human behaviour (Watson and Blackstone 1981). First research issue referred to the question if management games have a historical background or if they are a current phenomena. Searching for the history of business games, literature shows that chess is the direct ancestor of business games (3000 B.C.). Early examples of so-called “war games” occurred around 1000 B.C. and were played for diversion purposes (Lane 1995). Through game theory, automatic data processing and operations research, modern management games began around 1950. The first one was “Monopologs” , a military-oriented business game and was developed by the United States Air Force. Business management games began being used around 1956, with the most important being the “Top Management Decision Simulation“, the “Top Management Decision Game“ and the “Business Management Game” (Faria and Wellington 2004). Furthermore the diploma thesis should identify trends which lead to the assumption that this management education method will be an important one in future too and is not a current phenomena. Literature showed an emerging trend in playing management games over the internet. Whereas the first generation of management games were mainframe-based, the second generation grew popular with the introduction and the development of desktop microcomputers. The third generation emerged with the development and the widespread use of the Internet (Cook and Cook 2005). Because of the interaction and communication across distances and time as well as the access to multimedia information, the Internet is an attractive tool for playing management games (Martin 2003) Another core question of that thesis was to identify advantages that make this kind of learning method unique in comparison to others and therefore an important tool in management education. Literature showed that most important goals of playing them are to enhance economic know-how, to train soft skills in intercultural team work, to develop of decision-making ability in complex situations and to increase cross-linked thinking (Kern 2003). Through management games, participants learn to make decisions in different areas of management in a simulated world, where wrong decisions are not punished like in a real-world setting. Management games also help to obtain a more global view of the daily business of managers (Faria and Dickinson 1994). In addition, a taxonomy for classifying management games was developed in this diploma thesis, including general classification attributes, application areas, target groups, decisions, media of communication and evaluation. 36 management games in different business disciplines and 27 management games in health care were studied and classified. Classification and analysis show, among other things, that half of the 36 management games studied were general ones and nearly every game is played on the computer. One-third can be played over the Internet. Main application areas of functional games are marketing, finance and logistics. Last research question referred to management games in health care sector. Literature showed indeed an emerging trend of management games in that sector but it can also be concluded that games are not as established as in marketing, finance or logistics. Studying 27 health care games, it can be observed that 10 out of 27 games are general management games. Functional ones refer to department management, disease management, pharmacy and nursing. Half of the studied games are computer-based but just three can be played over the Internet. This diploma thesis shows that management games are played in nearly every area. Future research in management games should expand the possibilities of playing management games over the Internet so that people from all over the world can exchange knowledge and experience

Simulation und Planspiel in der Bauwirtschaft - Entwurf eines modulorientierten Modellierungsansatzes auf Basis von System Dynamics und dessen prototypische Implementierung in Forschung und Lehre

The development and application of simulations with the purpose to explore systems and their innate, partly dynamic structures has established itself, among others, in the areas of natural sciences, business studies and political sciences. This similarly applies to business games used in the field of further education to support understanding of complex relationships, especially in business studies. Both always have a model in common which serves as starting point for the development. Hence, the aim of this research project is the development and practical testing of a module-oriented modeling approach, which can be used both in the simulation of multi-causal and dynamic relationships on different levels of the construction industry and in educational games employed in academic and further education. Out of this primary aim, numerous research contributions emerged in the field of modeling, simulation and educational games. The successful conceptual design of a module-oriented development framework for domain specific system-dynamic libraries (SDL approach) demonstrates that it is quite reasonable and possible to connect the development of simulations and business games. Thereby, knowledge synergies are created which enable the interdisciplinary development of simulations and business games. Compared to other fields, significantly less implementations of simulations or business games exist in the construction industry. Therefore, the approach introduced here can provide a valuable contribution to promote further developments, e.g. the explanation of the risk situation of a company, the identification and evaluation of project risks, endangered operational procedures on various functional levels or to improve the understanding of the decision making process in detail.Die Entwicklung und Anwendung von Simulationen mit dem Ziel, Systeme mit ihren teils dynamischen Strukturen zu erforschen hat sich unter anderem in den Bereichen Naturwissenschaften, Betriebswirtschaftslehre und Politikwissenschaften etabliert. Ähnliches gilt für Planspiele, welche auf dem Gebiet der Weiterbildung, vor allem in in der Betriebswirtschaftslehre, zum Verständnis komplexer Zusammenhänge beitragen. Beiden gemein ist immer ein Modell, welches als Ausgangspunkt für die Entwicklung dient. Daher hat dieses Forschungsprojekt die Entwicklung und praktische Erprobung eines modulorientierten Modellierungsansatzes zum Ziel, welcher sowohl in der Simulation von multikausalen und dynamischen Beziehungen auf verschiedenen Ebenen der Bauwirtschaft als auch in Planspielen in der akademischen Aus- und Weiterbildung verwendet werden kann. Neben diesem vorrangigen Ziel entstanden weitere zahlreiche Forschungsbeiträge auf den Gebieten Modellierung, Simulation und Planspiel. Die erfolgreiche Konzeption eines modulorientierten Entwicklungsrahmens für domänenspezifische system-dynamische Bausteinbibliotheken (SDL-Ansatz) zeigt, dass es durchaus sinnvoll und möglich ist, die Entwicklung von Simulationen und Planspielen zu verbinden. Dabei werden Synergien geschaffen, welche die interdisziplinäre Entwicklung von Simulationen und Planspielen ermöglichen. Im Vergleich zu anderen Bereichen existieren in der Bauindustrie deutlich weniger Implementierungen von Simulationen oder Planspielen. Daher kann der hier vorgestellte Ansatz einen wertvollen Beitrag liefern, um die weitere Entwicklung zu fördern. Zum Beispiel bei der Erklärung der Risikolage eines Unternehmens, der Identifikation und Bewertung von Projektrisiken oder gefährdeter Betriebsabläufe auf verschiedenen Funktionsebenen oder auch um das Verständnis für Entscheidungsprozesse im Detail zu verbessern

Employing Variation in the Object of Learning for the Design-based Development of Serious Games that Support Learning of Conditional Knowledge

Learning how to cope with tasks that do not have optimal solutions is a life-long challenge. In particular when such education and training needs to be scalable, technologies are needed to support teachers and facilitators in providing the feedback and discussion necessary for quality learning. In this thesis, I conduct design-based research by following a typical game development cycle to develop a serious game. I propose a framework that derives learning and motivational principles to include them into the design of serious games. My exploration starts with project management as a learning domain, and for practical reasons, shifts towards information security. The first (concept) phase of the development includes an in-depth study: a simulation game of negotiation (Study 1: class study, n=60). In the second (design) phase I used rapid prototyping to develop a gamified web toolkit, embodying the CCO framework from crime prevention, making five small-scale formative evaluations (Study 2, n=17) and a final lab evaluation (Study 3, n=28). In the final (production) stage the toolkit was used in two class studies (Study 4, n=34 and Study 5, n=20), exploring its adoption in a real-world environment. This thesis makes three main contributions. One contribution is the adaptation of the iterative method of the phenomenographic learning study to the study of the efficiency of serious games. This employs open questionsing, analysed with 3 different means of analysis to demonstrate 4 distinct types of evidence of deep learning. Another contribution is the provided partial evidence for the positive effects from the introduction of variation on engagement and learning. The third contribution is the development of four design- based research principles: i) the importance of being agile; ii) feedback from interpretation of the theory; iii) particular needs for facilitation; and iv) reusing user-generated content

Efficient Importance sampling Simulations for Digital Communication Systems

Importance sampling is a- modified. Monte Carlo simulation technique which can dramatically reduce the computational cost of the Monte Carlo method. A complete development is presented for its use in the estimation of bit error rates /V for digital communication systems with small Gaussian noise inputs. Emphasis is on the optimal mean-translation Gaussian simulation density function design and the event simulation method as applied to systems which employ quasi-regular trellis codes. These codes include the convolutional codes and many TCM (Ungerboeck) codes. Euclidean distance information of a code is utilized to facilitate the simulation. Also, the conditional importance sampling technique is presented which can handle many non-Gaussian system inputs. Theories as well as numerical examples are given. In particular, we study the simulations of an uncoded MSK and a trellis-coded 8- PSK transmissions over a general bandlimited nonlinear satellite channel model. Our algorithms are shown to be very efficient at low Pb compared to the ordinary Monte Carlo method. Many techniques we have developed are applicable to other system simulations as building blocks for their particular system configurations and channels