NCJ Number
67653
Date Published
1979
Length
39 pages
Annotation
THE APPLICATION OF A COMPUTER SIMULATION TO DECISIONMAKING IN THE UTAH STATE DIVISION OF CORRECTIONS IS DESCRIBED.
Abstract
THE MODEL COMPUTER-AUTOMATED SOCIAL SIMULATION (CASS) IS DIRECT INTERACTION APL AND IS AVAILABLE ON THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH UNIVAC 1108 COMPUTER. THE MODEL ALLOWS FOR A NUMBER OF SERVICES TO BE COMPARED IN THE AREAS OF IMPACT AND COST EFFECTIVENESS ACROSS A VARIETY OF MEASURES. IN THE ANALYSIS, THE DIMENSIONAL EFFECTS OF EACH DECISION OPTION BEGIN CONSIDERED ARE SUMMED. THIS PROVIDES THE DIRECT EFFECT OF EACH DECISION OPTION WITHOUT RESPECT TO PRIORITIES OR COST. THE PRIORITY-WEIGHTED EFFECTS OF EACH PROGRAM ARE CALCULATED BY MULTIPLYING THE EFFECTS OF EACH PROGRAM BY THE PRIORITY LEVEL OF EACH ASSOCIATED DIMENSION AND THE TOTAL SUMMED. COST EFFECTIVENESS OF A PARTICULAR PROGRAM IS DETERMINED BY DIVIDING THE SUM BY ITS COST. EACH PROGRAM OR DECISION OPTION IS RANKED WITH ALL OTHER OPTIONS BY EFFECTS AND COST EFFECTIVENESS. ADVANTAGES OF THE CASS MODEL ARE THAT THE SIMULATION CAN BE PROCESSED IN ONLY A FEW HOURS; NO PRIOR KNOWLEDGE OF COMPUTERS OR COMPUTER PROGRAMMING IS REQUIRED; THE SIMULATION IS INEXPENSIVE TO OPERATE AND REPROGRAM; AND THE MODEL IS READILY ADAPTABLE TO CHANGE. LIMITATIONS OF THE MODEL AND THE PARAMETERS WITHIN WHICH SIMULATIONS MUST BE CONDUCTED ARE DISCUSSED. FORMS AND DATA USED IN THE SIMULATION ARE PROVIDED IN THE APPENDIXES.