In spite of substantial criticism (e. g., Shapiro & Green 1994), a great number of spatial models in comparative politics are grounded in the rational choice assumption that political actors are self-interested, utility maximizers. As a consequence, an individual’s preference order over a set of alternatives is transitive. A further assumption commonly adopted by these models is that political ...

The Western Computer Camp is a summer camp hosted by Western State Colorado University for students in grades 8 through 12 who are interested in mathematics, physics, design, and computer science. Each session lasts one week, during which time the students build 3D virtual worlds as a means of interdisciplinary learning. The worlds are created using the Panda3D game engine and a Functional Reac...

This paper presents an open user modeler called the mirror modeler that pretends to be the student and solves sample questions while the student watches mimicking student errors. This ability when added to an interactive teaching environment seems to greatly facilitate the learning process for two types of mathematical series while raising a serious question about the complexity of the third.

Scientific thinking is grounded in the evolved human ability to freely create and manipulate mental models in the imagination. This modeling ability enabled early humans to navigate the natural world and cope with challenges to survival. Then it drove the design and use of tools to shape and control the environment. Spoken language facilitated the sharing of mental models in cooperative activit...

The research reported here describes similarities and differences between (a) modeling cycles that students typically go through during 60–90 min solutions to a class of problems thast we refer to as model-eliciting activities, and (b) stages of development that students typically go through during the “natural” development of constructs (conceptual systems, cognitive structures) that cognitive...

We present applications of the nonlinear monotone finite volume method to radionuclide transport and multiphase flow in geological media models. The scheme is applicable for full anisotropic discontinuous permeability or diffusion tensors and arbitrary conformal polyhedral cells. We consider two versions of the nonlinear scheme: two-point flux approximation preserving positivity of the solution...

This paper proposes fuzzy entropy minimization as an emergent property of holonic structures. When applied in the context of multi-agent systems this emergent property leads to automatic clustering of the agents into holonic organizations. When modeling enterprises as software agents the property turns into an inherent characteristic of holonic virtual organizations that enables clustering the ...

This study provides a basic introduction to agent-based modeling (ABM) as a powerful blend of classical and constructive mathematics, with a primary focus on its applicability for social science research. The typical goals of ABM social science researchers are discussed along with the culture-dish nature of their computer experiments. The applicability of ABM for science more generally is also ...

MODELING THE NONLINEAR ACTIVE COCHLEA: MATHEMATICS AND ANALOG VLSI Bo Wen Supervisor: Kwabena A. Boahen The human auditory system vastly outperforms any machine in efficiency and robustness in perceiving sound. Complex and delicate, its front end, namely the cochlea, senses and processes sound in a nonlinear active fashion, exhibiting remarkable sensitivity and extraordinary frequency discrimin...