Hands‐on simulations are increasingly used in vocational oriented curricula to create meaningful, occupation‐related learning experiences. However, more insight is required about precisely what characteristics in hands‐on simulations enhance outcomes that students need for their future occupation, such as competencies. This study aims to examine how constructivist pedagogical–didactic design principles affect competence development of senior vocational education and professionally oriented bachelor's degree students in a wide range of hands‐on simulations. For this purpose, 23 hands‐on simulations were studied. Teachers rated the degree of authenticity and self‐directedness of the hands‐on simulations. Student perceptions (N = 516) of value, authenticity and self‐directedness (operationalized as choice), as well as their competence development, were gathered using questionnaires. The results of the hierarchical regression analyses showed that: (1) authenticity and self‐directedness did not automatically lead to more competence development; and (2) student perceptions of perceived value, authenticity and choice of how to perform tasks were the main predictors of competence development in the simulations. Nonetheless, the additional mediation analyses suggest that it is still important for teachers to invest in learning activities that stimulate self‐directedness as these activities indirectly predicted competence development, through student perceptions. Several reasons for the results are discussed, among them the mismatch between teachers and students of what was considered authentic, complexity of the simulations, the teacher's role as facilitator instead of activator and the lack of choice possibilities. Ideas for future research, as well as practical implications concerning designing and implementing hands‐on simulations for fostering competence development, are suggested.
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For many decades, teacher-structured hands-on simulations have been used in education mainly for developing procedural and technical skills. Stimulating contemporary learning outcomes suggests more constructivist approaches. The aim of this study is to examine how self-regulated learning (SRL), an important constructivist learning environment characteristic, is expressed in hands-on simulations. Via structured observations of teachers’ SRL promoting strategies and students’ SRL strategies in eight hands-on simulations, along the three phases of SRL, this study is the first to expose whether students and teachers use SRL in hands-on simulations, what these strategies look like and what their quality is. The results show that both students and teachers demonstrate SRL behaviour in the forethought, performance and reflection phase to some extent, but that they vary considerably in their occurrences, form and quality and provide opportunities for improvement. For example, teacher strategies ‘modelling’ and ‘scaffolding’ were often used, while ‘giving attribution feedback’ and ‘evaluation’ were lacking. The student strategy ‘proposing methods for task performance’ was used regularly, while ‘goal-setting’ and ‘self-monitoring’ were often absent. An overview shows exemplary teacher and student behaviours in the SRL phases with lower, medium and higher quality in hands-on simulations.
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Background: Revealing tacit knowledge often is seen as very valuable for organizations, although it is usually challenging to enunciate and share this type of knowledge. Methods: This study uses a participatory design and the application of a board gaming simulation as instruments to extract tacit knowledge. To illustrate this application, the gaming simulation is played with entrepreneurs from horticulture. Horticulture represents a complex social system where tacit knowledge plays a major role in the trade process. A participatory design process is used to explore whether the design and play of gaming simulations enable participants to explicate their tacit knowledge. Participants’ participation in designing the gaming simulation explicated that reconstructing reality was a prerequisite for their commitment. Results: The results from playing simulation sessions show that participants were able to: (1) narrow down the anecdotic behaviour to a few factors; (2) to structure these factors; (3) explore how these factors relate to trade barriers and (4) to explain which tactics are applied to foster trade. Conclusion: The educational value of this study is that it helped entrepreneurs in understanding complex real-life situations.
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How do policy analysts perceive the various roles that Models, Simulations and Games (MSG) have, or can have in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)? Fifty-five policy analysts in water management in The Netherlands and China were interviewed, following the procedure of the Q-method. Comparative analysis of the combined quantitative and qualitative data show that: (1) The debate on the role of MSG for IWRM is structured around five frames in The Netherlands and three frames in China. (2) The frames in The Netherlands and China are significantly different. (3) In China, there is a predominant frame that perceives MSG for IWRM as data driven simulation technology for rationalization of water management, which is less significant in The Netherlands. (4) The reverse is true with regard to MSG for stakeholder interaction, learning and integrated assessment, which are significant frames in The Netherlands, but not in China. The conclusion is that frame differences can easily confuse professional and academic debate about MSG for water management; within the same institutional and cultural context, but even more so in Netherlands-China co-operation projects. Frames are also relevant when designing, using or evaluating innovative methods for integrated water resources management.
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Plant photosynthesis and biomass production are associated with the amount of intercepted light, especially the light distribution inside the canopy. Three virtual canopies (n = 80, 3.25 plants/m2) were constructed based on average leaf size of the digitized plant structures: ‘small leaf’ (98.1 cm2), ‘medium leaf’ (163.0 cm2) and ‘big leaf’ (241.6 cm2). The ratios of diffuse light were set in three gradients (27.8%, 48.7%, 89.6%). The simulations of light interception were conducted under different ratios of diffuse light, before and after the normalization of incident radiation. With 226.1% more diffuse light, the result of light interception could increase by 34.4%. However, the 56.8% of reduced radiation caused by the increased proportion of diffuse light inhibited the advantage of diffuse light in terms of a 26.8% reduction in light interception. The big-leaf canopy had more mutual shading effects, but its larger leaf area intercepted 56.2% more light than the small-leaf canopy under the same light conditions. The small-leaf canopy showed higher efficiency in light penetration and higher light interception per unit of leaf area. The study implied the 3D structural model, an effective tool for quantitative analysis of the interaction between light and plant canopy structure.
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New approach methodologies predicting human cardiotoxicity are of interest to support or even replace in vivo-based drug safety testing. The present study presents an in vitro–in silico approach to predict the effect of inter-individual and inter-ethnic kinetic variations in the cardiotoxicity of R- and S-methadone in the Caucasian and the Chinese population. In vitro cardiotoxicity data, and metabolic data obtained from two approaches, using either individual human liver microsomes or recombinant cytochrome P450 enzymes (rCYPs), were integrated with physiologically based kinetic (PBK) models and Monte Carlo simulations to predict inter-individual and inter-ethnic variations in methadone-induced cardiotoxicity. Chemical specific adjustment factors were defined and used to derive dose–response curves for the sensitive individuals. Our simulations indicated that Chinese are more sensitive towards methadone-induced cardiotoxicity with Margin of Safety values being generally two-fold lower than those for Caucasians for both methadone enantiomers. Individual PBK models using microsomes and PBK models using rCYPs combined with Monte Carlo simulations predicted similar inter-individual and inter-ethnic variations in methadone-induced cardiotoxicity. The present study illustrates how inter-individual and inter-ethnic variations in cardiotoxicity can be predicted by combining in vitro toxicity and metabolic data, PBK modelling and Monte Carlo simulations. The novel methodology can be used to enhance cardiac safety evaluations and risk assessment of chemicals.
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from the paper: "This paper presents a research endeavouring to model site work in a 4D BIM model. Next simulations are performed with this model in 5 scenarios including specific interventions in work organisation, notably changing positons of facilities for site workers. A case study has been done in a construction project in the Netherlands. The research has showed the possibility to model time use of site workers in 4D BIM. Next the research has showed potential to perform and calculate specific interventions in the model, and prospect realistic changes in productive time use as a result."
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Both climate change and human activity are the important drivers that can change hydrological cycle routs and affect the features of hydrological drought in river basins. The current study selects the Zayandeh Rud river Basin as a case study region in which to evaluate the influences of climate alteration and human activity on meteorological and hydrological drought based on the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and Standardized Runoff Index (SRI) on different time scales. The generated local climatic data of future years (2006–2040), (2041–2075) and (2076–2100) under the severest scenario (RCP 8.5) from the CMIP5 climate model are selected and used for the hydrology model and water allocation model of WEAP to construct hydrological drought which also consider human activities. The results indicate that significant meteorological drought is expected to occur in the winter and spring months of January to June. However, the driest month for hydrological drought is in the summer and autumn (July to December) (e.g. no changes in seasonality of droughts compared to historic period). It is concluded that, in the results of this work, the human influences on projected hydrological drought have been outlined; they had been missed in many projections for future hydrological drought. However, this study confirms the previous study (Bierkens et al. 2012) which mentioned that human influences can account for future hydrological drought in areas of Asia, the Middle East and the Mediterranean. The results attained in this study are beneficial for examining how hydrological drought characterizations respond to climate alteration and human activity on several time scales, thereby providing scientific information for drought predicting and water resources management over various time scales under non-stationary circumstances.
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The authors describe why and how different types of simulations can be used to understand and support the challenges of utility deregulation. They present an overview of liberalization and deregulation efforts in three utility markets - electricity, natural gas, and drinking water - and describe the main challenges and opportunities for regulators and business managers. A general classification of seven different types of simulation is presented, including market simulations, policy simulations, dynamic business simulations, capability simulations, day-in-a-life simulations, performance simulations, and gaming simulations. The authors reflect on the role of these simulations for utility deregulation and give examples.
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