WEEK 3 Cont

I chose the course called Systems Modelling under Technology.

This course was about how we use models in our everyday life. It explains what models we use even when sometimes we are unaware of it. It gives examples of stereotypical models that we place on other people, companies, organizations etc., and how to notice them to guide around them.

Some general categories of models are:

Mental Models: Inside this model lies more like verbal models and body language models. “The bottom line is…”, this type of verbal model reflects a type of problem solving that we use everyday. We have structures that we follow in order to solve small problems like a silly argument, up to a major project for a company. Lets talk in a big group and brainstorm what to tackle first. The social aspect of this group connection is a model in itself. When a group of workers come together and brainstorm, they are connecting through mental models. When you meet someone new, they say that 80% of what you say doesn’t come from your lips. Body Language is a huge part of mental models. How we connect to one another. Stereotypes are a good example. Also, sometimes we are self-sealing. An example in the course I took talked about this gentleman from Austrailia came to America and complained because no one liked him, no one would come visit him, and everyone seemed to argue with him. If you knew him you would probably find it hard to like him and would get drawn quite quickly into an argument with him! Because of the way he grew up in Australia, he created these self-sealing ideas about how to manage with people, making it hard for anyone to get along with him, therefore making him complain about how no one likes him, when its his self-sealing ideas on certain things that create a barrier that no one wants to go through to get to know him.

Iconic Models: Here is where you use physical objects to represent something else. Like for example getting toothpicks and gluing them together to create a “model” of the next big roller coaster at 6 Flags. At this stage you may use differnt materials that what will end up in the finished design, you may not even use the same colors, or textures, but it gives you an overall idea of something can be layed out and planned. Iconic models are where you get a strong visual component to reference an idea.

Graphical Models: Photographs, maps, charts, graphs, all these are examples of graphical models. These are 2-d models that can represent anything from company data, to the location of the restaraunt you want to eat at tonight, to the picture of you and your special someone. Graphical models have a strong visual element to them as well, although they can offer more hard data in a small, organized manner.

Quantitative (Mathematical) Models: Numerical Values, Algorithms, Pie Charts and world population graphs. Math models can refer to huge amounts of data in an easy to see, and understand way. Sometimes, some people think that “modelling” refers to only mathematical models. Because there such huge amounts of data that can be subject in math models, they are very relavent to any situation. They can show multiple resources having multiple actions with multiple results.

Next is building a conceptual model. This is how you go about solving a problem. First you have to lay out the problem. Then you have to find the solution, then find the path to get to the desired solution.

This illustrates the important process of solving a problem. This models acts as a grounds for viewing the pathway to solving a problem. People can easily see, and understand whats going on. It has a clear endpoint, and a  clear pathway. Follow from box to box, completing whats inside it to get through the model and find a solution to its content. This model is a simple one, there can be models with many more boxes and navigation arrows, that apply to bigger problems, but whatever it may be, creating a model like this one always allows a clear, appropriate start to seeing the problem and going from there.

So, to sum up, the steps are:

1. Identify the system of interest, and set its boundaries.

2. Recognize the purpose of the systems study, and identify the purpose of the model that will be used to show it.

3. From the above 2, identify the main features and behaviors of the system, for these will be your variables in your model

4. Select one of the 4 modeling techniques I listed above that best fits what you are trying to accomplish.

5. Using the rules, techniques, tools and general rules of the selected modeling technique, develop an outline of a suitable model.

6. Develop a full version of the model using all appropriate data and expanding and including it to its fullest

So next time you have a problem. Think about the different model types and try building one that constructs the best way to find a solution to your problem.

All in all I actually enjoyed taking the course. I thought it worded everything very well, and used good use of space. It did however use very little images, but that didnt seem to affect my interest in the subject. A lot of when I was reading I was just picturing my own versions of the content anyawys. It was a course that im glad I took, and I wouldnt mind taking more courses if they really interested me.