COMPUTER BASED TRAINING UNIT

What you are looking at is the manual of the Computer Based Training (CBT) unit accompanying the book Modeling of Uniform Dynamical Systems. Extensive guides, exercises, questions, and problems, have been produced for Part I: System Dynamics Modeling. There is a chapter each in the CBT materials for the two chapters in this first part.

This manual is produced in pdf format and can be used directly on the computer, or you may wish to print it to have a paper version available on your desk.

In Chapter 1, the three models discussed in Chapter 1 of the text are presented together with detailed guides getting you started on using the software. In Chapter 2, seven models from very different fields of applications and with different purposes are created.

The software I commonly use for introductory system dynamics modeling is Stella Version 5 of High Performance Systems, Inc., in Hanover, New Hampshire (http://www.hps-inc.com). The models can be transferred—more or less easily—into other tools. For example, Stella equations can be directly imported into Berkeley Madonna and run much faster and with better numerical methods (Berkeley Madonna is widely used in biology and biological and chemical engineering; see www.berkeleymadonna.com). There are free demo versions of these and other programs ready for download at the Internet sites. In fact, you will need either the demo version or a full version of Stella to work on the modeling activities.

Again I would like to thank Edy Schütz for providing materials relating to physics experiments, and my wife Robin Fuchs for reading and editing all the texts.

Now sit back and start the journey. First, let yourself be guided. The farther you get into the CBT, however, the more you should take over the steering wheel as you explore the world of dynamic modeling. Do not hesitate to alter models or to create your own according to your ideas and tastes. You cannot lose or destroy anything. The models provided with the CBT can always be recreated in their original form from the CD.

Winterthur, August 2002

CBT Chapter 1  |  2

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