Brainstorming in Economics?

 Here, the Universal Debating Project could be useful within a peer 2 peer context

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For other uses, see Brainstorm (disambiguation).

Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a group or individual creativity technique by which efforts are made to find a conclusion for a specific problem by gathering a list of ideas spontaneously contributed by its member(s). The term was popularized by Alex Faickney Osborn in the 1953 book Applied Imagination. Osborn claimed that brainstorming was more effective than individuals working alone in generating ideas, although more recent research has questioned this conclusion.^[1] Today, the term is used as a catch all for all group ideation sessions.

Contents  [hide]  1 Origin 2 Osborn's method 2.1 Applications 2.2 Brainstorming groups 3 Variations 3.1 Nominal group technique 3.2 Group passing technique 3.3 Team idea mapping method 3.4 Electronic brainstorming 3.5 Directed brainstorming 3.6 Guided brainstorming 3.7 Individual brainstorming 3.8 Question brainstorming 4 Incentives and brainstorming 5 Criticism 5.1 Sources of brainstorming inadequacy 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

Origin [edit]

Advertising executive Alex F. Osborn began developing methods for creative problem solving in 1939. He was frustrated by employees’ inability to develop creative ideas individually for ad campaigns. In response, he began hosting group-thinking sessions and discovered a significant improvement in the quality and quantity of ideas produced by employees. Osborn outlined the method in his 1953 book Applied Imagination.

Osborn's method [edit]

brainstorming activity conducting

Osborn claimed that two principles contribute to "ideative efficacy," these being :

1. Defer judgment,
2. Reach for quantity.^[2]

Following these two principles were his four general rules of brainstorming, established with intention to :

• reduce social inhibitions among group members,
• stimulate idea generation
• increase overall creativity of the group.

1. Focus on quantity: This rule is a means of enhancing divergent production, aiming to facilitate problem solving through the maxim quantity breeds quality. The assumption is that the greater the number of ideas generated, the greater the chance of producing a radical and effective solution.
2. Withhold criticism: In brainstorming, criticism of ideas generated should be put 'on hold'. Instead, participants should focus on extending or adding to ideas, reserving criticism for a later 'critical stage' of the process. By suspending judgment, participants will feel free to generate unusual ideas.
3. Welcome unusual ideas: To get a good and long list of ideas, unusual ideas are welcomed. They can be generated by looking from new perspectives and suspending assumptions. These new ways of thinking may provide better solutions.
4. Combine and improve ideas: Good ideas may be combined to form a single better good idea, as suggested by the slogan "1+1=3". It is believed to stimulate the building of ideas by a process of association.^[2]

Applications [edit]

Osborn notes that brainstorming should address a specific question; he held that sessions addressing multiple questions were inefficient.
Further, the problem must require the generation of ideas rather than judgment; he uses examples such as generating possible names for a product as proper brainstorming material, whereas analytical judgments such as whether or not to marry do not have any need for brainstorming.^[2]

Brainstorming groups [edit]

Osborn envisioned groups of around 12 participants, including both experts and novices. Participants are encouraged to provide wild and unexpected answers. Ideas receive no criticism or discussion. The group simply provides ideas that might lead to a solution and apply no analytical judgement as to the feasibility. The judgements are reserved for a later date.^[2]

Variations [edit]

Nominal group technique [edit]

Main article: nominal group technique

Participants are asked to write their ideas anonymously. Then the facilitator collects the ideas and the group votes on each idea. The vote can be as simple as a show of hands in favor of a given idea. This process is called distillation.
After distillation, the top ranked ideas may be sent back to the group or to subgroups for further brainstorming. For example, one group may work on the color required in a product. Another group may work on the size, and so forth. Each group will come back to the whole group for ranking the listed ideas. Sometimes ideas that were previously dropped may be brought forward again once the group has re-evaluated the ideas.
It is important that the facilitator be trained in this process before attempting to facilitate this technique. The group should be primed and encouraged to embrace the process. Like all team efforts, it may take a few practice sessions to train the team in the method before tackling the important ideas.

Group passing technique [edit]

Each person in a circular group writes down one idea, and then passes the piece of paper to the next person, who adds some thoughts. This continues until everybody gets his or her original piece of paper back. By this time, it is likely that the group will have extensively elaborated on each idea.
The group may also create an "idea book" and post a distribution list or routing slip to the front of the book. On the first page is a description of the problem. The first person to receive the book lists his or her ideas and then routes the book to the next person on the distribution list. The second person can log new ideas or add to the ideas of the previous person. This continues until the distribution list is exhausted. A follow-up "read out" meeting is then held to discuss the ideas logged in the book. This technique takes longer, but it allows individuals time to think deeply about the problem.

Team idea mapping method [edit]

This method of brainstorming works by the method of association. It may improve collaboration and increase the quantity of ideas, and is designed so that all attendees participate and no ideas are rejected.
The process begins with a well-defined topic. Each participant brainstorms individually, then all the ideas are merged onto one large idea map. During this consolidation phase, participants may discover a common understanding of the issues as they share the meanings behind their ideas. During this sharing, new ideas may arise by the association, and they are added to the map as well. Once all the ideas are captured, the group can prioritize and/or take action.^[3]

Electronic brainstorming [edit]

It is a computerized version of the manual brainstorming technique typically supported by an electronic meeting system (EMS) but simpler forms can also be done via email and may be browser based, or use peer-to-peer software.
With an electronic meeting system, participants share a list of ideas over a network. Ideas are entered independently. Contributions become immediately visible to all and are typically anonymized to encourage openness and reduce personal prejudice. Modern EMS also support asynchronous brainstorming sessions over extended periods of time as well as typical follow-up activities in the creative problem solving process such as categorization of ideas, elimination of duplicates, assessment and discussion of prioritized or controversial ideas.
Proponents such as Gallupe et al. argue that electronic brainstorming eliminates many of the problems of standard brainstorming, including production blocking (i.e. group members must take turns to express their ideas) and evaluation apprehension (i.e. fear of being judged by others). This positive effect increases with larger groups^[4] A perceived advantage of this format is that all ideas can be archived electronically in their original form, and then retrieved later for further thought and discussion. Electronic brainstorming also enables much larger groups to brainstorm on a topic than would normally be productive in a traditional brainstorming session.^[5]
When exposed to others’ ideas, attention is focused by the group member on these ideas and this attention has been proposed to cognitively stimulate the brainstormer^[4] Therefore, the individual members of the brainstorming group perform better during the session because people see everyone else’s ideas on the computer screen (via chat room or e-mail), explaining the positive effects of EBS. Additionally, during an EBS session, participants have control over their activity and can attend to the ideas of others while also creating their own, continually exposing participants to a flow of ideas. EBS techniques have been shown to produce more ideas and help individuals focus their attention on the ideas of others better than a brainwriting technique (participants write individual written notes in silence and then subsequently communicate them with the group)^[4] The production of more ideas has been linked to the fact that paying attention to others’ ideas leads to non-redundency, as one will try to avoid to replicate or repeat another participant’s comment or idea.
The fact that individuals are not physically visible has also been shown to be an important component to the superiority of EBS over other methods, such as brainwriting. Due to the fact that participants are not typically in a room with the group, social cues such as facial expression and verbal language are not available, and therefore, attention is paid to the task at hand and the ideas rather than the people involved^[4]
Some web-based brainstorming techniques allow contributors to post their comments anonymously through the use of avatars. This technique also allows users to log on over an extended time period, typically one or two weeks, to allow participants some "soak time" before posting their ideas and feedback. This technique has been used particularly in the field of new product development, but can be applied in any number of areas requiring collection and evaluation of ideas.
Some limitations of EBS include the fact that it can flood people with too many ideas at one time that they have to attend to, and people may also compare their performance to others by analyzing how many ideas each individual produces (social matching).

Directed brainstorming [edit]

Directed brainstorming is a variation of electronic brainstorming (described above). It can be done manually or with computers. Directed brainstorming works when the solution space (that is, the set of criteria for evaluating a good idea) is known prior to the session. If known, those criteria can be used to constrain the Ideation process intentionally.
In directed brainstorming, each participant is given one sheet of paper (or electronic form) and told the brainstorming question. They are asked to produce one response and stop, then all of the papers (or forms) are randomly swapped among the participants. The participants are asked to look at the idea they received and to create a new idea that improves on that idea based on the initial criteria. The forms are then swapped again and respondents are asked to improve upon the ideas, and the process is repeated for three or more rounds.
In the laboratory, directed brainstorming has been found to almost triple the productivity of groups over electronic brainstorming.^[6]

Guided brainstorming [edit]

A guided brainstorming session is time set aside to brainstorm either individually or as a collective group about a particular subject under the constraints of perspective and time. This type of brainstorming removes all cause for conflict and constrains conversations while stimulating critical and creative thinking in an engaging, balanced environment. Innovative ideas consistently emerge.
Participants are asked to adopt different mindsets for pre-defined period of time while contributing their ideas to a central mind map drawn by a pre-appointed scribe. Having examined a multi-perspective point of view, participants seemingly see the simple solutions that collectively create greater growth. Action is assigned individually.
Following a guided brainstorming session participants emerge with ideas ranked for further brainstorming, research and questions remaining unanswered and a prioritized, assigned, actionable list that leaves everyone with a clear understanding of what needs to happen next and the ability to visualize the combined future focus and greater goals of the group.
www.theglobalbrainstorm.com is currently Beta testing the mass use of this way of working and will publish results. 12 months of field trials report a consistent time saving of 75% (reducing 1 hour brainstorming sessions to 15 minutes), increased levels of contribution, productivity and motivation and a frequent emergence of innovative ideas.

Individual brainstorming [edit]

"Individual brainstorming" is the use of brainstorming in solitary. It typically includes such techniques as free writing, free speaking, word association, and drawing a mind map, which is a visual note taking technique in which people diagram their thoughts. Individual brainstorming is a useful method in creative writing and has been shown to be superior to traditional group brainstorming.^[7]
Research has shown individual brainstorming to be more effective in idea-generation than group brainstorming.^[1]

Question brainstorming [edit]

This process involves brainstorming the questions, rather than trying to come up with immediate answers and short term solutions. Theoretically, this technique should not inhibit participation as there is no need to provide solutions. The answers to the questions form the framework for constructing future action plans. Once the list of questions is set, it may be necessary to prioritize them to reach to the best solution in an orderly way.^[8]
"Questorming" is another phrase for this mode of inquiry.^[9]

Incentives and brainstorming [edit]

Some research indicates that incentives can augment creative processes. Participants were divided into three conditions. In Condition I, a flat fee was paid to all participants. In the Condition II, participants were awarded points for every unique idea of their own, and subjects were paid for the points that they earned. In Condition III, subjects were paid based on the impact that their idea had on the group; this was measured by counting the number of group ideas derived from the specific subject's ideas. Condition III outperformed Condition II, and Condition II outperformed Condition I at a statistically significant level for most measures. The results demonstrated that participants were willing to work far longer to achieve unique results in the expectation of compensation.^[10]

Criticism [edit]

Some research claims to refute Osborn's claim that group brainstorming could generate more ideas than individuals working alone.^[1] Research from Michael Diehl and Wolfgang Stroebe demonstrated that groups brainstorming together produce fewer ideas than individuals working separately.^[11] Their conclusions were based on a review of 22 other studies, 18 of which corroborated their findings.^[1]

Sources of brainstorming inadequacy [edit]

Diehl and Stroebe identified three processes that derailed brainstorming efforts. These processes were free riding, evaluation apprehension, and blocking. Other processes, such as the social matching effect and the illusion of group productivity, can also undermine brainstorming efforts.
Free riding: Individuals may feel that their ideas are less valuable when combined with the ideas of the group at large. Indeed, Diehl and Stroebe demonstrated that even when individuals worked alone, they produced fewer ideas if told that their output would be judged in a group with others than if told that their output would be judged individually. However, experimentation revealed free riding as only a marginal contributor to productivity loss, and type of session (i.e., real vs. nominal group) contributed much more.^[1]
Evaluation apprehension: Evaluation apprehension was determined to occur only in instances of personal evaluation. If the assumption of collective assessment were in place, real-time judgment of ideas, ostensibly an induction of evaluation apprehension, failed to induce significant variance.^[1]
Blocking: Blocking describes the reality that only one person may gainfully voice his or her ideas in a group at any given time. Diehl and Stroebe examined the question of whether this effect could reduce idea-generation, as ideas suppressed long enough to listen to another group-member's ideas might be forgotten. Their research confirmed this hypothesis.^[11]
Social matching effect: The social matching effect is the tendency for individuals in a group to match the level of productivity by others in the group. When one (or a few) group members feel that they are contributing more to the brainstorming process than others, they express a tendency to reduce their contributions to the group's lower standards,^[12] as overcontribution is more effortful than undercontribution.
Illusion of group productivity: Members of groups often overestimate their productivity, a tendency known as the illusion of group productivity. As groups rarely have objective standards to determine how well they are performing, individual members can only guess at the group's effectiveness. Members of groups working on collective tasks are likely to feel that their group is more productive than most.^[13] Further, individual members overestimate their own contributions to the group. In one research study, members who were asked to generate ideas in a brainstorming session were asked to estimate how many ideas they personally provided. Group members claimed to present 36% of the ideas on average, when they actually only contributed about 25% of the ideas.^[14]
Diehl and Stroebe's sources of brainstorming inadequacy suggest that the act of listening to others might stifle creativity. On the other hand, the variations on brainstorming that produce the "social matching effect" would necessarily violate Osborn's principle of "focus on quantity" while those that produce "the free rider problem" and "evaluation apprehension" would necessarily violate "defer judgment." As such, Diehl and Stroebe's critiques, while valuable for identifying problem areas for potential have limited relevance to Brainstorming as popularized by Osborn, which required specific conditions at odds with Diehl and Strobe's test procedures.^[15][16]

See also [edit]

Thinking portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Brainstorming

• 6-3-5 Brainwriting
• Affinity diagram
• Beginner's mind
• Eureka effect
• Free writing
• Lateral thinking
• Mass collaboration
• Mind map
• Speed thinking
• Thinking outside the box
• What? Where? When?

References [edit]

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "Productivity Loss in Idea-Generating Groups: Tracking Down the Blocking Effect". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 61 (3): 392–403. 1991. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d} Osborn, A.F. (1963) Applied imagination: Principles and procedures of creative problem solving (Third Revised Edition). New York, NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons.
3. ^ "What is Mind Mapping? (and How to Get Started Immediately)". Litemind.com. 2007-08-07. Retrieved 2012-11-24. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d} Michinov, N. (2012). Is Electronic Brainstorming the Best Way to Improve Creative Performance in Groups? An Overlooked Comparison of Two Idea-Generation Techniques. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 42, E222 – E243.
5. ^ Gallupe, R. B., Dennis, A. R., Cooper, W. H., Valacich, J. S., Bastianutti, L. M. and Nunamaker, J. F. (1992), "Electronic Brainstorming and Group Size," Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 35, No. 2, pp. 350-369.
6. ^ Santanen, E., Briggs, R. O., & de Vreede, G-J. (2004). Causal Relationships in Creative Problem Solving: Comparing Facilitation Interventions for Ideation. Journal of Management Information Systems. 20(4), 167-198.
7. ^ Furnham, A., & Yazdanpanahi, T. (1995). Personality differences and group versus individual brainstorming. Personality and Individual Differences, 19, 73-80.
8. ^ Ludy, Perry J. Profit Building: Cutting Costs Without Cutting People. San Francisco: Berret-Koehler, Inc, 2000. Print.
9. ^ Questorming: An Outline of the Method, Jon Roland, 1985
10. ^ Toubia, Olivier. "Idea Generation, Creativity, and Incentives". Marketing Science. Retrieved 28 April 2011. 
11. ^ ^{a b} "Productivity Loss in Brainstorming Groups: Toward the Solution of a Riddle". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 53: 497–509. 1987. 
12. ^ Brown, V; Paulus, P. B (1996). "A simple dynamic model of social factors in group brainstorming". Small Group Research 27: 91–114. 
13. ^ Stroebe, W.; Diehl, M. & Abakoumkin, G. (1992). "The illusion of group effectivity". Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 18 (5): 643–650. 
14. ^ Paulus, P. B.; Dzindolet, M. T., Poletes, G.,Camacho, L. M. (1993). "Perception of performance in group brainstorming: The illusion of group productivity". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 64 (4): 575–586. 
15. ^ Paulus, P. B.; Brown, V. R. (2003). "Enhancing Ideational Creativity in Groups". In Paulus, P. B.; Nijstad, B. A. Group Creativity: Innovation through Collaboration. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. pp. 110–36. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195147308.003.0006. ISBN 9780195147308.  edit
16. ^ Osborn, 1563, p.146

External links [edit]

• Brainstorming Approach (University of North Carolina)

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A worldwide undersea gold rush is coming

By David Worthington | May 19, 2013, 9:20 PM PDT  Smart Planet

 

Multinationals are eager to exploit undersea mineral deposits

An undersea gold rush could be coming soon with the rising cost of minerals and advancements in technology opening the seafloor to mining - environmental concerns notwithstanding.
The United Nations International Seabed Authority (ISA) last week published a study on what frameworks would be necessary to ensure that mining is done responsibly. Commercial mining operations could begin as soon as 2016, but ISA acknowledged that there will be “inevitable environmental damage” and identified a “Catch-22″ where firms have not demonstrated appropriate competency and skills but must first start mining to gain them.
The study says that the potential for exploiting undersea reserves is higher than any time in history. Incentives for undersea mining are rising metal prices, the high profitability of mining companies, declining yields of land-based nickel, copper and cobalt sulphide deposits (over years of mining), as well as new advancements in the machinery that’s used to extract and process mineral-rich rocks from the seabed. China has already designed a hotel-sized nuclear-powered undersea mining station.
Mining would take place in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. ISA licensees include well-known industrial giants like Lockheed Martin, BBC News’s science editor David Shukman wrote in his report on the study. ISA has identified vast undersea mineral deposits and will ensure that developing nations receive a share of the profits from mining operations under its auspices.
This undersea gold rush is prompting ISA to rapidly prepare a regulatory regime. “Doing so requires the development of a strategic framework that allows the Authority to have in place the necessary mandates, organizational capacities (technical and administrative), policies and regulations (implementing rules and regulations) and capacities (fiscal, manpower and specialties),” ISA noted in its executive summary.
ISA will attempt to “broadly identify the major organizational, fiscal and research recommendations that must be addressed, over the next three to five years, as part of an overall strategic plan to ensure the ability of the Authority to meet the challenge.”
Despite these preparations, some experts dispute whether seabed mining should be permitted. The BBC’s Shukman interviewed University of Southampton professor Dr. Jon Copley who stated, “I don’t think we own the deep ocean in the sense that we can do what we like with it.”
“Instead we share responsibility for its stewardship. We don’t have a good track record of achieving balance anywhere else - think of the buffalo and the rainforest - so the question is, can we get it right?” Copley said.
At what point does the world realize that its resources are finite? Still, there’s always asteroid mining.
(image credit: Nautilus Minerals mining operation design for Papua New Guinea)

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Is Sustainability Still Possible?

Is it time to abandon the concept of sustainability altogether, or can we find an accurate way to measure it? If so, how can we achieve it?

New Economics Institute

Learn more » Preview book »

Every day, we are presented with a range of “sustainable” products and activities—from “green” cleaning supplies to carbon offsets—but with so much labeled as “sustainable,” the term has become essentially sustainababble, at best indicating a practice or product slightly less damaging than the conventional alternative.

Is it time to abandon the concept of sustainability altogether, or can we find an accurate way to measure it? If so, how can we achieve sustainability? And if not, how can we best prepare for the coming ecological decline? These are the questions that our friends at the Worldwatch Institute have attempted to address in the latest edition of their State of the World series.

In State of the World 2013: Is Sustainability Still Possible?, experts define clear sustainability metrics and examine various policies and perspectives, including geoengineering, corporate transformation, and changes in agricultural policy, that could put us on the path to prosperity without diminishing the well-being of future generations. If these approaches fall short, the final chapters explore ways to prepare for drastic environmental change and resource depletion, such as strengthening democracy and societal resilience, protecting cultural heritage, and dealing with increased conflict and migration flows.

State of the World 2013 cuts through the rhetoric surrounding sustainability, offering a broad and realistic look at how close we are to fulfilling it today and which practices and policies will steer us in the right direction. We think you'll agree.

Sincerely,

Eli Feghali
Communications Manager, New Economics Institute




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The fundamental principles of modern monetary economics

MMT Overview

From MMT Wiki ...a Modern Monetary Theory Wiki

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- by Bill Mitchell
The following discussion outlines the macroeconomic principles underpinning modern monetary theory (sometimes referred to as Chartalism).
The modern monetary system is characterised by a floating exchange rate (so monetary policy is freed from the need to defend foreign exchange reserves) and the monopoly provision of fiat currency. The monopolist is the national government. Most countries now operate monetary systems that have these characteristics.
Under a fiat currency system, the monetary unit defined by the government has no intrinsic worth. It cannot be legally converted by government, for example, into gold as it was under the gold standard. The viability of the fiat currency is ensured by the fact that it is the only unit which is acceptable for payment of taxes and other financial demands of the government.
The analogy that mainstream macroeconomics draws between private household budgets and the national government budget is thus false. Households, the users of the currency, must finance their spending prior to the fact. However, government, as the issuer of the currency, must spend first (credit private bank accounts) before it can subsequently tax (debit private accounts). Government spending is the source of the funds the private sector requires to pay its taxes and to net save and is not inherently revenue constrained.
So statements such as “the federal government is spending taxpayers’ funds” are totally inapplicable to operational reality of our monetary system. Taxation acts to withdraw spending power from the private sector but does not provide any extra financial capacity for public spending. As a matter of national accounting, the federal government deficit (surplus) equals the non-government surplus (deficit). In aggregate, there can be no net savings of financial assets of the non-government sector without cumulative government deficit spending. The federal government via net spending (deficits) is the only entity that can provide the non-government sector with net financial assets (net savings) and thereby simultaneously accommodate any net desire to save and hence eliminate unemployment. Additionally, and contrary to mainstream economic rhetoric, the systematic pursuit of government budget surpluses is necessarily manifested as systematic declines in private sector savings.
We often read that the appropriate fiscal stance is to balance the federal budget over the business cycle. Some economists claim the goals should be to run a surplus on average over the cycle allowing for deficits in extreme downturns.
Both goals would be fiscally irresponsible in Australia’s situation where our current account is typically in deficit. If the government balanced the budget on average and the current account deficit was in deficit over the business cycle then the private domestic sector would on average be in deficit (dis-saving) over that cycle. The decreasing levels of net private savings financing the government surplus increasingly leverage the private sector. The deteriorating debt to income ratios which result will eventually see the system succumb to ongoing demand-draining fiscal drag through a slow-down in real activity. In other words, adopting a growth strategy that relies on increasingly leveraging the private sector is unsustainable.
The only way the private domestic sector can save if there is a current account deficit is for the government sector to run deficits up to the desired private saving. Government deficits “finance” private saving by ensuring that aggregate spending is sufficient to generate the level of output and income that will bring forth the private desired saving levels.
Unemployment occurs when net government spending is too low. As a matter of accounting, for aggregate output to be sold, total spending must equal total income (whether actual income generated in production is fully spent or not each period). Involuntary unemployment is idle labour unable to find a buyer at the current money wage. In the absence of government spending, unemployment arises when the private sector, in aggregate, desires to spend less of the monetary unit of account than it earns. Nominal (or real) wage cuts per se do not clear the labour market, unless they somehow eliminate the private sector desire to net save and increase spending. Thus, unemployment occurs when net government spending is too low to accommodate the need to pay taxes and the desire to net save.
How large should the deficit be? To achieve full employment net government spending has to be equal to the non-government desire to net save to ensure there is no aggregate demand gap.
Unlike the mainstream rhetoric, insolvency is never an issue with deficits. The only danger with fiscal policy is inflation which would arise if the government pushed nominal spending growth above the real capacity of the economy to absorb it.
If governments are not revenue constrained why do they borrow? We have to differentiate voluntary constraints governments impose on themselves (which reflect ideological dispositions) from the underlying mechanics of the banking system in a fiat monetary system.
In terms of the latter, while the federal government is not financially constrained it still might issue debt to control its liquidity impacts on the private sector. Government spending and purchases of government bonds by the central bank add liquidity, while taxation and sales of government securities drain private liquidity. These transactions influence the cash position of the system on a daily basis and on any one day they can result in a system surplus (deficit) due to the outflow of funds from the official sector being above (below) the funds inflow to the official sector. The system cash position has crucial implications for the central bank, which targets the level of short-term interest rates as its monetary policy position.
Budget deficits result in system-wide surpluses (excess bank reserves). Competition between the commercial banks to create better earning opportunities on the surplus reserves then puts downward pressure on the cash rate (as they try to off-load the excess reserves in the overnight interbank market). So budget deficits actually put downward pressure on short-term interest rates which is contrary to all the claims made by mainstream economics.
If the central bank desires to maintain the current positive target cash rate then it must drain this surplus liquidity by selling government debt. In other words, government debt functions as interest rate support via the maintenance of desired reserve levels in the commercial banking system and not as a source of funds to finance government spending.
However, the central bank could equally just pay the commercial banks the target rate of interest on all overnight reserves which would achieve the same end without the need to issue debt. So there is no intrinsic reason for a sovereign government to borrow to “finance” its net spending.
The reality is, however, that the neo-liberal era has forced the governments to adopt voluntary constraints on its fiscal activity which are tantamount to those that operated during the gold standard period. So the federal government now issues debt to the private markets via an auction system $-for-$ with net government spending (deficits). This allegedly imposes “fiscal discipline” on the government (it is totally unnecessary from a financial perspective) because the rising debt becomes a political issue.
In conclusion, much of the deficit-debt hysteria that defines the current macroeconomic debate is based on false premises about the way the monetary system operates and the financial constraints on government spending.
Modern monetary theory provides a sound basis for understanding the intrinsic opportunities available to governments in a fiat monetary system and exposes most of the constraints that are imposed on the conduct of fiscal policy as being of an ideological origin.
This text was originally published on Bill Mitchell's blog: In the Spirit of Debate, and is republished here with the author's permission.

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Does the eurozone have a monetary policy transmission mechanism? Or rather a liquidity leak?

by Tyler Cowen on May 17, 2013 at 2:03 am in Economics, Uncategorized | Permalink

What would happen if the ECB immediately and directly ran a helicopter drop of money to the periphery?  I don’t find that an easy question to answer.  Here is one recent report:

But the indicator [interest rate spreads] has since risen again and reached a record of 3.7 percentage points in January, indicating companies in southern Europe were paying significantly higher interest rates than northern rivals.
“Market segmentation remains, divergence in bank lending rates persists and, as a result, immediate growth prospects in the periphery are bleak,” said Huw Pill, European economist at Goldman Sachs, who was previously a senior monetary policy official at the ECB in Frankfurt.

Or read this update. Here is a more specific story about how small to mid-sized Italian banks are contracting.
Would the new helicopter drop money be kept in periphery banks and lent out to stimulate business investment?  Or does the new money flee say Portugal because Portuguese banks are not safe enough, Portuguese loans are not lucrative and safe enough, and Portuguese mattresses are too cumbersome?
The former scenario implies that monetary policy should be potent.  The latter scenario implies that the helicopter drop will be for naught and the fiscal policy multiplier also will be low, on the upside at the very least (fiscal cuts still might cause a lot of damage on the downside).  I call this the liquidity leak, rather than the liquidity trap.
So which scenario is it?
Does it matter who gets the helicopter drop?  Perhaps a granny gets the money first and sticks it in the local bank.  Alternatively, a financial manager in Lisbon would transfer that same euro rather seamlessly to his second account in Frankfurt.  Under this differential scenario, changes in the distribution of wealth also have nominal and eventually real effects.
Is the flow of marginal deposits the problem or the flow of marginal loans?  Or both?
Ryan Avent suggests allowing banks to swap their risky commercial loans for safer assets.  Other ideas propose running QE on packages of small to mid-sized loans or accepting those loans as collateral at the ECB.  Of course these assets are difficult to price and also moral hazard problems would loom.  If the ECB is not “overpaying” for the small loans, they won’t be encouraged.  If the ECB is overpaying, there are plenty of Sicilian businessmen who have friends at the local bank.  The mere lending isn’t enough, the projects also need to be good ones, because in these cases we are talking about tackling issues in the real economy.  Can a long-distance ECB collateral support operation spur good, growth-inducing projects?  It is easy to see why the Germans might be skeptical.
In some regards these problems will look like liquidity traps, because monetary policy will not always work.  But in the periphery lending rates are high (albeit with restricted credit), and standard liquidity trap models will not in general apply.  Again, I call it the liquidity leak.
Liquidity trap approaches will encourage you to think in terms of raising expectations of inflation (which is indeed the correct question in many settings), but here the geographic distribution of credit and economic activity is instead the crux of the matter.  Our current macroeconomic tools are not well-suited for integration with spatial economics, I am sorry to say.


http://marginalrevolution.com/

                                                                      


Bloggers Reference Link  http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Transfinancial_Economics                                                     

The Relevance of the Debating Protocol for Economics?

The following is an article on the Universal Debating Project which like Serious Games could have relevance to many subjects including Economics. The source of the following is from the P2P Foundation.

Description

Project proposed by Robert Searle:

"The Universal Debating Project is an extremely ambitious proposal for an on-going programme in which "all", or most arguments for, or against any topic of human knowledge, or information could be presented in a clear form. In other words, an on-line "encyclopedia" for pros, and cons in any debate which could be continually up-dated on the internet. It would adopt the p2p approach, and hence, be an Open Source of data emanating from laymen, experts, ngos, scholarly papers, popular articles, documentaries, et al.
Obviously, Wikipedia articles do present arguments for, and against particular subjects. But how "complete," and how unbiased are they? Moreover, they deal mainly with major arguments, and "minor" arguments maybe excluded at times. In effect, what is needed is the most objective presentation of "all" possible pros, and cons on most, if not "all" kinds of human knowledge, and "controversy". The Universal Debating Project should be publicly seen as being a highly reliable, and a credible central global source of such data.

Discussion

The Problem of Complexity

As the world becomes increasingly complex it becomes more, and more vital to....
a) ...reduce most, if not "all" information into clear, and manageable levels of data...ideally using the least number of words..
b) ...reduce "all" arguments for, and against in a lucid manner....again ideally using the least number of words...
Apart from Wikipedia mentioned earlier there are ofcourse on the internet any number of forums, and discussion groups.These are fine as far as they go. But as said before how complete are their arguments for, and against a certain topic? This is where the Universal Debating Project becomes all-important.

Basic Systemization of Presentation on the Universal Debating Project

The presentation of data on various subjects should be simple. It could be like "Pros, and Cons, a Debaters Handbook" edited by Trevor Sather which went through a number of editions since 1896. Here, two columns are presented, one of which is for pro arguments, and the other for con arguments. Each entry is numbered, and should be lucid, and precise .....ideally once again using the least number of words possible to present a case.
If the Universal Debating Project were ever set up its initial concern would be with major issues notably social matters, politics, and cllimate change.Also, it should be added that it is as yet unclear how such a proposal could be funded. It could use the Wikipedia model, or maybe not.

More Information

Links.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straight_and_Crooked_Thinking A book by the parapsychologist Robert Thouless, and one in which he gave a "simplistic" presentation of the different forms of argument.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debate
This link below deals with rationality, and it too could be reduced to a pro, and con presentation so that an informed decision-making process could be undertaken by the individual..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rationality
http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/rhetological-fallacies/
The link below deals with "non-entertainment" games that have serious educational value, and could in certain situations even affect socio-economic change. Ofcourse, a pro, and con project such as the above could be presented in an attractive, and stimulating manner. In other words, a serious game, and probably something like this already exists.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serious_game

IMPORTANT.
Since the above "article" was put on the p2pfoundation listing a very similiar project exists to it..However, I was not suprised admitedly as it is an excellent concept which deserves to be considered seriously.
http://debatepedia.idebate.org/en/index.php/Welcome_to_Debatepedia%21
Also, some intersting info can be found on the discussion section of this page/subject entry. http://p2pfoundation.net/Talk:Universal_Debating_Project

R.S. Retrieved from "?title=Universal_Debating_Project&oldid=75097"






Bloggers Reference Link  http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Transfinancial_Economics

Learning Economics as a Serious Game(s)

Here, I have included a reproduction of an article from Wikipedia on Serious Games. They have relevance in economics. An example of this is included as a separate article on this page.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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A serious game or applied game is a game designed for a primary purpose other than pure entertainment. The "serious" adjective is generally prepended to refer to products used by industries like defense, education, scientific exploration, health care, emergency management, city planning, engineering, religion, and politics.^{[citation needed]}

Contents  [hide]  1 Definition and scope 2 Overview 3 History 4 Development 5 Research and education 6 Classification 7 Examples 8 See also 9 References 10 Further reading

Definition and scope [edit]

Serious games are simulations of real-world events or processes designed for the purpose of solving a problem. Although serious games can be entertaining, their main purpose is to train or educate users, though it may have other purposes, such as marketing or advertisement. Serious game will sometimes deliberately sacrifice fun and entertainment in order to achieve a desired progress by the player. Serious games are not a game genre but a category of games with different purposes. This category includes some educational games and advergames, political games, or evangelical games.^[1] Serious games are primarily focused on an audience outside of primary or secondary education.^{[citation needed]}

Overview [edit]

The term "serious game" has been used long before the introduction of computer and electronic devices into entertainment. Clark Abt discussed the idea and used the term in his 1970 book Serious Games,^[2] published by Viking Press. In that book, his references were primarily to the use of board and card games. But he gave a useful general definition which is still considered applicable in the computer age:

Reduced to its formal essence, a game is an activity among two or more independent decision-makers seeking to achieve their objectives in some limiting context. A more conventional definition would say that a game is a context with rules among adversaries trying to win objectives. We are concerned with serious games in the sense that these games have an explicit and carefully thought-out educational purpose and are not intended to be played primarily for amusement.

It is not a new idea. Military officers have been using war games in order to train strategic skills for a long time. One early example of a serious game is a 19th century Prussian military training game called Kriegsspiel, the German name for wargame.
Mike Zyda provided an update and a logical approach to the term in his 2005 article in IEEE Computer entitled, "From Visual Simulation to Virtual Reality to Games". Zyda's definition begins with "game" and proceeds from there:

• Game: "a physical or mental contest, played according to specific rules, with the goal of amusing or rewarding the participant."
• Video Game: "a mental contest, played with a computer according to certain rules for amusement, recreation, or winning a stake."
• Serious Game: "a mental contest, played with a computer in accordance with specific rules that uses entertainment to further government or corporate training, education, health, public policy, and strategic communication objectives."

Long before the term "serious game" came into wide use with the Serious Games Initiative in 2002, games were being made for non-entertainment purposes. The continued failure of the edutainment space to prove profitable, plus the growing technical abilities of games to provide realistic settings, led to a re-examination of the concept of serious games in the late 1990s. During this time, a number of scholars began to examine the utility of games for other purposes, contributed to the growing interest in applying games to new purposes. Additionally, the ability of games to contribute to training expanded at the same time with the development of multi-player gaming. In 2002, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington D.C. launched a "Serious Games Initiative" to encourage the development of games that address policy and management issues. More focused sub-groups began to appear in 2004, including Games for Change which focuses on social issues and social change, and Games for Health which addresses health care applications.
Other authors, though, (as Jeffery R. Young) consider that Serious Games didn't obtain the success that was expected, and new theories, like "Smart Gaming" have appeared to replace it.
There is no single definition of serious games, though they are generally held to be games used for training, advertising, simulation, or education. Alternate definitions include the application of games concepts, technologies and ideas to non-entertainment applications. This can also include specific hardware for video games, such as exergaming.
Serious games are aimed for a large variety of audiences, including primary or secondary education, professionals and consumers. Serious games can be of any genre, use any game technology, and be developed for any platform. Some may consider them a kind of edutainment; however, the mainstay of the community are resistant to this term.
A serious game is not a simulation alone. It may be a simulation combined with elements of game-play, specifically a chance to win. All have the look and feel of a game, a chance to win, but correspond to non-game events or processes from the real world, including business operations and military operations (even though many popular entertainment games depicted business and military operations). The games are made to provide an engaging, self-reinforcing context in which to motivate, educate and train the players. Other purposes for such games include marketing and advertisement. The largest users (unsubstantiated by business intelligence) of serious games appear to be the US government and medical professionals.^{[citation needed]} Other commercial sectors are actively pursuing development of these types of tools as well.

History [edit]

Gaming has been used in educational circles since at least the 1900s. Use of paper-based educational games became popular in the 1960s and 1970s, but waned under the Back to Basics teaching movement.^[3] (The Back to Basics teaching movement is a change in teaching style that started in the 1970s when students were scoring poorly on standardized tests and exploring too many electives. This movement wanted to focus students on reading, writing and arithmetic and intensify the curriculum.^[4]) With the proliferation of computers in the 1980s, the use of educational games in the classroom became popular with titles that included Oregon Trail, Math Blaster, and Number Munchers. Though these games were popular among teachers and students, they were also criticized due to the fact that they did not provide the player with new kinds of learning, and instead provided a "slightly easier-to-swallow version of drill-and-practice" learning.^[5]
In the 1990s, newer games such as the Incredible Time Machine and the Dr. Brain series were introduced to challenge kids to think in new ways, apply their current skills, and learn new ones, but these games were unpopular among teachers because it was difficult to map these newer games to their curriculum, especially in a high school setting where in-class time is at a premium. The 1990s also saw the Internet being introduced to schools, which with limited computer resources took precedence over playing games.^[5]
The early 2000s saw a surge in different types of educational games, especially those designed for the younger learner. Many of these games were not computer-based but took on the model of other traditional gaming system both in the console and hand-held format. In 1999, LeapFrog Enterprises introduced the LeapPad, which combined an interactive book with a cartridge and allowed kids to play games and interact with a paper-based book. Based on the popularity of traditional hand-held gaming systems like Nintendo's Game Boy, they also introduced their hand-held gaming system called the Leapster in 2003. This system was cartridge-based and integrated arcade–style games with educational content.^[6]
In 2001, Henry Jenkins, Director of Comparative Media Studies and Randy Hinrichs, Group Research Manager for Learning Science and Technology group were co-principal investigators working on a project known as Games-to-Teach. Games-to-Teach inspired the serious gaming initiatives that followed. The partnership between MIT and Microsoft developed conceptual prototypes for interactive serious gaming, with Kurt Squire, now professor at University of Wisconsin as principal PhD candidate working on the project. The MIT iCampus project lasted for six years. During this time, serious games were created with several faculty members using role playing techniques, mobile technologies, physics based racing games to teach physics, and other experiences. Topics included media in science, engineering education, education in media, complex system dynamics, and collaboration. Hephaestus was a massively multiplayer XBox online mechanical engineering game. Environmental detectives used handheld PCs to investigate health problems in the city of Boston. Biohazard was codeveloped with Carnegie Mellon University, MIT and Microsoft Research. Players worked collaboratively with first responders to a chemical attack in a subway. This was a multiplayer RPG designed for the PC/Xbox in which sources of epidemic outbreaks were investigated to determine how to control crowds and deliver decontamination treatments and manage resources efficiently. Hinrichs began the award winning company 2b3d.net to build serious games in health, business, education and created the first Certificate in Virtual Worlds at the University of Washington to build curriculum around how to engage avatars in serious game environments. Henry Jenkins joined USC as Professor of Communication, Journalism, Cinematic Arts and Education. Jenkins has played a significant role in demonstrating the importance of new media technologies in educational settings.
In 2002 another movement had started outside of formal educational sector that was coined as the "serious game movement," which originated from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, where David Rejecsk and Ben Sawyer started the initiative. The primary consumer and producer of serious games is the United States Military, which needs to prepare their personnel for enter a variety of environments, cultures, and situations. They need to understand their surroundings, be able to communicate, use new technologies and quickly make decisions.^[5] The first serious game is often considered to be Army Battlezone, an abortive project headed by Atari in 1980, designed to use the Battlezone tank game for military training.^[7] Two other well known serious games that were commissioned by the Army are America's Army (2002) and Full Spectrum Warrior (2004).
Outside of the government, there is substantial interest in serious games for formal education, professional training, healthcare, advertising, public policy and social change. For example, games from websites such as Newsgaming.com are "very political games groups made outside the corporate game system" that are "raising issues through media but using the distinct properties of games to engage people from a fresh perspective," says Henry Jenkins, the director of MIT's comparative media studies program. Such games, he said, constitute a "radical fictional work."¹

Development [edit]

In recent years, the US government and military have periodically looked towards game developers to create low-cost simulations that are both accurate and engaging. Game developers' experience with gameplay and game design made them prime candidates for developing these types of simulations which cost millions of dollars less than traditional simulations, which often require special hardware or complete facilities to use.
Advantages to this include:

• Video and computer game developers are accustomed to developing games quickly and are adept at creating games that simulate—to varying degrees—functional entities such as radar and combat vehicles. Using existing infrastructure, game developers can create games that simulate battles, processes and events at a fraction of the cost of traditional government contractors.

• Traditional simulators usually cost millions of dollars not only to develop, but also to deploy, and generally require the procurement of specialized hardware. The costs of media for serious games is very low. Instead of volumes of media or computers for high-end simulators, SGs require nothing more than a DVD or even a single CD-ROM, exactly like traditional computer and video games require. Deploying these to the field requires nothing more than dropping them in the mail or accessing a dedicated web site.

• While SGs are meant to train or otherwise educate users, they often hope to be engaging. Game developers are experienced at making games fun and engaging as their livelihood depends on it. In the course of simulating events and processes, developers automatically inject entertainment and playability in their applications.

Research and education [edit]

The Game and Learning Alliance (GaLA)^[8] is a Network of Excellence on serious games launched by the European Union in October 2010 in the context of technology-enhanced learning. It is in the 7th Framework Programme for research. The network, coordinated by the University of Genoa, involves 31 partners including universities, research centres and leading industries at EU level.
Utrecht University offers an MSc in Game and Media Technology.^[9] In England, the University of Salford set up an "MSc in Creative Games" in 2005. Michigan State University in the United States offers a Serious Games MA, a Master of Arts graduate program and graduate certificate in serious game design.^[10] The University of Skövde in Sweden offers a Serious Games Master Programme.^[11]
Health education is a particular area where results have been observed by the use of serious games "Video games, enhanced by behavior-change technology and motivating story lines, offer promise for promoting diet and physical activity change for diabetes and obesity prevention in youth." (Thompson).
Intrinsic motivation is another feature provided by serious games that facilitates education. To produce motivation four characteristics are provided by serious games "challenge, curiosity, control and the imagination / imaginary (fantasy)" (Mouaheb). These four characteristics create a particular advantage "in an educational context the game is likely to make the learning process interesting in itself to obtain the greatest motivation in the learner" (Mouaheb).
The dynamic nature of virtual environments also causes "active participation by the player" (Mouaheb). Active participation leads to "a fertile ground for the generation of real cognitive conflicts ensuring a personal and solid build of knowledge" (Mouaheb). Another researcher confirms this view "computer games are more engaging, motivating and interesting by virtue of their interaction, rich universes, challenges and safety" (Egenfeldt-Nielsen).
The combination of all these factors leads to significant benefits "retention increases when using computer games compared to other teaching" (Egenfeldt-Nielsen). The use of reward in a behavioral sense is also a powerful tool in serious games "the video game will ask a question and the player will answer. When students link the question and the answer enough times, reinforced by a reward, learning will occur" (Egenfeldt-Nielsen).
Limited studies have been performed to compare the effectiveness of serious games to other learning formats. One such study comparing games to an educational video found that "The children playing the video game expressed more enjoyment and learned the same as those watching the television program" (Egenfeldt-Nielsen). Studies have shown that games can have a strong effect on day-to-day health management. In one study, children who played a game about healthy living principles had "a 77 percent drop in visits to urgent care and medical visits in the experimental group compared with the control group" (Egenfeldt-Nielsen).

Classification [edit]

The classification of serious games is something that is yet to solidify, there are however a number of terms in reasonably common use for inclusion here.

• Advergames: The use of games for advertising. The approach can include numerous different ways of advertising more or less well-known from other media. You can have product placement, banners in-game or just traffic triggers.
• Edutainment: A combination of education and entertainment.
• Games-Based Learning or "Game Learning"- These games have defined learning outcomes. Generally they are designed in order to balance the subject matter with the gameplay and the ability of the player to retain and apply said subject matter to the real world.^[12]
• Edumarket Games - When a serious game combines several aspects (such as advergaming and edutainment aspects or persuasive and news aspects), the application is an Edumarket game. For example, Food Force combines news, persuasive and edutainment goals.
• Newsgames - Journalistic games that report on recent events or deliver an editorial comment. Examples include September 12th^[13]
• Simulations or Simulation Games - games used for the acquisition or exercise of different skills, to teach effective behavior in the context of simulated conditions or situations. In practice, are widely used simulation driving different vehicles (cars, trains, airplanes; e.g. FlightGear), simulation of management of specific industries (e.g. Transport Tycoon), and universal business simulation, developing strategic thinking and teaching users the basics of macro-and microeconomics, the basics of business administration (e.g. Virtonomics).
• Persuasive Games - games used as persuasion technology
• Organizational-dynamic games
• Games for Health, such as games for psychological therapy, cognitive training, emotional training^[14] or physical rehabilitation uses.^[15] Technology and mental health issues can use Serious Games to make therapy accessible to adolescents who would otherwise would not find a psychotherapist approachable.
• Exergaming - games that are used as a form of exercise.
• Art Games - games used to express artistic ideas or art produced through the medium of video games
• Productivity game - games which reward points for accomplished real-world tasks using to-do lists.^{[citation needed]}
• Training and Simulations - See Gamification.
• Games with a purpose try to solve various tasks that require common sense or human experience in an entertaining setting.

Additionally Julian Alvarez and Olivier Rampnoux (from the European Center for Children's Products, University of Poitiers) have attempted to classify serious games in 5 main categories: Advergaming, Edutainment, Edumarket game, Diverted game and Simulation game.^[16]

Examples [edit]

• A Force More Powerful (Windows) The video game is designed to teach the waging of conflict using nonviolent methods. Intended for use by activists and leaders of nonviolent resistance and opposition movements.
• Amnesty the game (Facebook and internet) a game that supports Amnesty International efforts to worldwide abolish the death penalty.
• Close Combat: Marines is the first version of Close Combat universe made specifically for military training purposes. Forces consist of USMC and OpFor troops.
• CyberCIEGE (Microsoft Windows): Computer network security sim game developed by the Naval Postgraduate School. Players protect assets while enabling "users" to achieve their goals.
• Darfur is Dying (Internet) An online game by mtvU that simulates life in a Darfur refugee camp.
• DARWARS Ambush! Convoy Simulator developed as part of DARPA's DARWARS project, designed to create low-cost experiential training systems
• Democracy A political strategy game, that simulates the process of government through simulated policies, laws voters and other variables. Used by a number of US / European schools and other institutions.
• EteRNA, (Internet) a game in which players attempt to design RNA sequences that fold into a given configuration. Designs are evaluated to improve computer models predicting RNA folding, included selected designs actually synthesized to evaluate RNA folding dynamics against computer predictions.
• FloodSim (Internet) A flood prevention simulation/strategy game designed to inform the people of the United Kingdom about the dangers of flooding as well as to help gather public opinion on the problem that flooding presents to the UK. The player takes control of the UK's flood policies for three years and attempts to protect the people and the economy of the United Kingdom from damage due to floods.
• Foldit (Windows, Linux, Mac) Protein folding, puzzle game where results can be used in real science.
• Food Force (Mac/Windows) Humanitarian video game. The UN's World Food Programme designed this virtual world of food airdrops over crisis zones and trucks struggling up difficult roads under rebel threat with emergency food supplies.
• Genomics Digital Lab (Mac/Windows) A series of interactive science games where users learn about the importance of plants and their contribution to energy and the environment.
• Global Conflict: Palestine (Mac/Windows): A 3D-adventure/rpg-game. You are given the role of a reporter in Jerusalem, and have to write articles for your paper.
• Harpoon (Mac/Windows): Entertainment version was "dual use" from 1989 forward. Professional version Harpoon 3 Professional created in 2002 with help from Australian Defense Department, updated in 2006.
• History of Biology game (Mac/Windows): History of Biology is a browser based scavenger hunt style educational game designed to teach high school students and general interest groups about the history of biology covering topics such as early microscopes, classification, taxonomy, heredity, genetics, and evolution.
• Houthoff Buruma The Game: serious game for recruitment purposes, developed by Dutch law firm Houthoff Buruma.
• IBM CityOne (Internet): designed by IBM as part of the IBM Smarter Planet initiative. The game is designed to educate the player of the complex systems and how they connect in a modern city.
• IntelliGym (Mac/Windows/Linux): A series of computer based cognitive simulators that trains athletes and designed to enhance brain skills associated with sports-related performance.
• Microsoft Flight Simulator (Microsoft Windows) developed as a comprehensive simulation of civil aviation. Notably one of the few flight simulation games that does not concentrate on simulation of aerial warfare.
• NanoMission (Microsoft Windows): A series created for the non-profit group Cientifica in order to teach about nanomedicine, nanotechnology and associated concepts through a series of action games.
• Novicraft HRD game (Microsoft Windows): NoviCraft is a serious game for supporting business customers in social excellence, in learning to construct shared understanding together with different people in changing contexts.
• Peacemaker (Mac/PC) A commercial game simulation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict designed to promote "dialog and understanding among Israelis, Palestinians and interested people around the world".
• Phylo video game (Internet): A game that invites players to give in to their addictive gaming impulses while contributing to the greater good by trying to decode the code for genetic diseases.^[17]
• Re-Mission (Microsoft Windows): 3-D Shooter to help improve the lives of young persons living with cancer.
• Ship Simulator (Microsoft Windows): a simulator which simulates maneuvering various ships in different environments, although without the effects of wind and current.
• SimPort (Mac/Windows): A simulation game in which players learn about the intricacies involved in construction large infrastructural projects, like a major sea port.
• Steel Beasts Professional (Microsoft Windows): Tank simulator, developed by eSim Games, and used by several armies around the world.
• VBS1 & VBS2 Training tool for the British Military and the USMC and other military forces around the world. Developed by BIA, and based on the game engine used in Operation Flashpoint and Armed Assault.
• X-Plane (Linux/Mac/Windows): a comprehensive civil aviation simulator. An FAA approved version exists which enables low cost flight training.

See also [edit]

• Edutainment
• Business simulation game
• Business game
• Brain fitness
• Technology and mental health issues
• Global warming game
• Games for Change
• Game with a purpose
• Innovation game
• Intelligent tutoring system
• Interactive Digital Technology
• International Simulation and Gaming Association
• History of games
• Learning objects
• State of Play (Conference series)
• Gamification
• Serious Games Showcase and Challenge

References [edit]

1. ^ Ernest Adams (2009-07-09). "Sorting Out the Genre Muddle". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2009-05-23. 
2. ^ "Abt Associates Inc. History, 1970-1974". Abt Associates Inc. Retrieved 2009-07-18. 
3. ^ Rice, J. W. (2007). Assessing higher order thinking in video games. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 15(1), 87.
4. ^ "Education Update"; Back To Basics; Dr. Carole G. Hankin and Randi T. Sachs; 2002
5. ^ ^{a b c} Klopfer E. Augmented Learning : Research and Design of Mobile Educational Games [e-book]. MIT Press; 2008. Available from: eBook Collection, Ipswich, MA. Accessed July 26, 2011.
6. ^ Gray, J. H., Bulat, J., Jaynes, C., & Cunningham, A. (2009). LeapFrog learning. Mobile Technology for Children: Designing for Interaction and Learning, , 171.
7. ^ Macedonia, M. (2001). Games, simulation, and the military education dilemma. Internet and the University, , 157-167.
8. ^ "GALA - Network of Excellence for Serious Games". Galanoe.eu. Retrieved 2012-10-24. 
9. ^ "Universiteit Utrecht - Graduate School of Natural Sciences - Informatie voor studenten". Uu.nl. Retrieved 2012-10-24. 
10. ^ Serious Game Master's program at Michigan State University
11. ^ University of Skövde (2012-10-04). "Serious games - Education - University of Skövde". His.se. Retrieved 2012-10-24. 
12. ^ The book 'Digital Game-Based Learning' by Marc Prensky was the first major publication to define the term, The Official Site of the book 'Digital Game-Based Learning' by Marc Prensky
13. ^ Gonzalo Frasca of newsgaming.com which denounces the use of violence to resolve the problem of terrorism.
14. ^ Rizzo A., John B., Sheffield B., Newman B., Williams J., Hartholt A., Lethin C., Buckwalter J.G., Virtual Reality as a Tool for Delivering PTSD Exposure Therapy and Stress Resilience Training, In Military Behavioral Health, volume 1, 2012.
15. ^ Rego, P., Moreira, P.M., Reis, L.P., Serious games for rehabilitation: A survey and a classification towards a taxonomy,In Information Systems and Technologies (CISTI), 2010 5th Iberian Conference on , pp.1,6, 16-19, 2010. [1]
16. ^ Alvarez J., Rampnoux O., Serious Game: Just a question of posture?, in Artificial & Ambient Intelligence, AISB'07, Newcastle, UK, April 2007, p.420 to 423
17. ^ By Lisa GrossmanEmail Author. "http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/11/phylo-game". Wired.com. Retrieved 2012-10-24. 

Further reading [edit]

• Abt, C. (1970). Serious Games. New York: The Viking Press.
• Zyda, M. (September 2005). "From visual simulation to virtual reality to games". IEEE Computer.
• Baranowski T, Buday R, Thompson DI, Baranowski J. Playing for real: video games and stories for health-related behavior change. Am J Prev Med. 2008 Jan;34(1):74-82.
• Digitalarti Mag #0 (2009). Serious Game. pp. 24–25. 
• Aldrich, Clark (2009). The Complete Guide to Simulations and Serious Games. Pfeiffer. p. 576. ISBN 0-470-46273-6. 
• Reeves, Byron; Reed, J. Leighton (2009). Total Engagement: Using Games and Virtual Worlds to Change the Way People Work and Businesses Compete. Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing.
• Lang, F., Pueschel, T. and Neumann, D. (2009). "Serious Gaming for the Evaluation of Market Mechanisms", Proceedings of the International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS)2009.
• Thompson D, Baranowski T, Buday R et al. Serious Video Games for Health: How Behavioral Science Guided the Development of a Serious Video Game. Simulation Gaming August 2010 vol. 41 no. 4 587-606.
• Houda Mouaheb, Ahmed Fahli, Mohammed Moussetad, Said Eljamali. The Serious Game: What Educational Benefits? http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S187704281202201X. Sep 6, 2012
• Egenfeldt-Nielsen, Simon. The basic learning approach behind Serious Games. http://media.seriousgames.dk/downloads/the_basic_learning_approach.pdf April 2005
• Egenfeldt-Nielsen, Simon. Overview of research on the educational use of video games. http://media.seriousgames.dk/downloads/game-overview.pdf March 2006
• M. Graafland, J. M. Schraagen, M. P. Schijven. Systematic review of serious games for medical education and surgical skills training. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bjs.8819/pdf
• Anderson, E. F.; McLoughlin, L.; Liarokapis, F.; Peters, C.; Petridis, P.; de Freitas, S. (2009), "Serious Games in Cultural Heritage", VAST-STAR, Short and Project Proceedings, 10th VAST International Symposium on Virtual Reality, Archaeology and Cultural Heritage (Eurographics VAST '09), Faculty of ICT, University of Malta, pp. 29–48 

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Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Serious_game&oldid=554661515"

Categories:

• Educational video games
• Video game types

The following is an example of a Serious Game with relevant economic dimensions

The CEO Game – a Serious Game

The CEO Game

Before I start explaining the concept that stands behind The CEO Game, it is important to understand what a “Serious game” is, and what the difference is between a serious game and an ordinary game. By definition, a serious game is an application developed with game design and game technology for goals other than pure entertainment. Of course, The CEO Game is going to be entertaining, but that is not the only purpose.

Your next job?

In our case, the main goals are:

• Having educational value in the field of business management and understanding of how the economy works
• Creating a living community with similar interests that will discuss issues related to business management, economy and technology
• Having fun!

So what is this “CEO Game” really all about? The CEO Game is a massive online browser-based simulation of a real economic world. In other words, it is a game that will be played using your own browser and internet connection to compete against other people around the world in an environment similar to today’s global economy. The idea is that each competitor will take the role of a Chief Executive Officer (the CEO - the big manager who directs the company), and lead his or her company to financial success. Each competitor will have to deal with a wide variety of challenges that every CEO has to deal with on daily basis.
Among the challenges that the player will deal with are:

• Managing research of development projects
• Dealing with Human Resources
• Managing logistics
• Government regulations
• Signing contracts and outsourcing products
• …and much more!

The greatest advantage of this game is that it will evolve along with its user community, which means more features will be added according to the way players play the game.
We invite you to follow up on this blog, in order to hear updates and news about the development process of The CEO Game.  We also invite you to contact us for further details and partnerships (Our Mail).

http://www.theceogame.com/2009/07/the-ceo-game-a-serious-game/





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