LECTURE 01: MODELLING BASICS Jojo Lartey
Department of Information Technology Methodist University College Ghana Dansoman
11 March, 2013
Jojo Lartey (MUCG)
MUIT 404 Lecture-One
March 2013
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Overview
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L ECTURE O BJECTIVES INTRODUCTION MODEL BUILDING METHODS MODEL CATEGORIES STAGES OF MODEL BUILDING MODEL BUILDING TECHNIQUES SUMMARY
Jojo Lartey (MUCG)
MUIT 404 Lecture-One
March 2013
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L ECTURE O BJECTIVES
Learning Outcomes
Equip you with the basics to modelling and decision making. At the end of this lecture should: become familiar with what constitutes a computer model gain an insight into building model developments understand how models are categorised
”everything should be made simple but not simpler than simple” A LBERT E INSTEIN .
Jojo Lartey (MUCG)
MUIT 404 Lecture-One
March 2013
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INTRODUCTION
How do we understand things we can not visualize?
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What would the weather be like in five days? How much income can be made from an investment? Which insurance portfolio would have most claims? When will the air conditioner bring this room to 18 ◦ C? What will cereal production level be in 50 years? When will MUCG student population exceed 100K?
Typical questions we can answer with a computer model. They are useful for studying things otherwise impossible.
Jojo Lartey (MUCG)
MUIT 404 Lecture-One
March 2013
4 / 25
INTRODUCTION
So What is a Model?
A model is a general term denoting any abstraction or an idealisation of a physical system What do models do? Creates concepts as bases for logical analysis. Aim at identifying only significant factors and interrelationships of a system or situation. Provide a logical structure to simplify the complexities and uncertainties in problems.
Jojo Lartey (MUCG)
MUIT 404 Lecture-One
March 2013
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INTRODUCTION
...and Computer Models?
A