A meta-analysis of the comparative distance education (DE) literature between 1985 and 2002 was conducted. In total, 232 studies containing 688 independent achievement, attitude, and retention outcomes were analyzed. Overall results indicated effect sizes of essentially zero on all three measures and wide variability. This suggests that many applications of DE outperform their classroom counterparts and that many perform more poorly. Dividing achievement outcomes into synchronous and asynchronous forms of DE produced a somewhat different impression. In general, mean achievement effect sizes for synchronous applications favored classroom instruction, while effect sizes for asynchronous applications favored DE. However, significant heterogeneity remained in each subset.

This article draws on published evaluations of Internet-mediated (I-M) educational, business, and policy games to establish an inventory of lessons for future I-M games. These three types of I-M games have important concerns in common: objectives, role-play, synchronicity, game facilitation, and participant interaction. Lessons of design and implementation derived from these experiences are identified and explored. Special attention is given to the development of strategic I-M policy games because I-M gaming literature has tended to ignore them in comparison with educational and business games, and they seem to require more guidance and support in three main areas: structure, motivation, and interaction. KEYWORDS: facilitation; Internet-mediated simulation games; participant interaction; policy games; role-playing; synchronicity Internet-mediated (I-M) games that possess educational, business, and policy development objectives have had a short history, but they already provide a number of lessons for the future development of similar games. The computer-mediated communication (CMC) literature suggests that negotiation through such games often provides more equitable and efficient (or integrative) results (Gallupe, Cooper, Grise, & Bastianutti, 1994). Because of such potential benefits and the growing number of I-M

Negotiation is an active and growing research and teaching area. Basic concepts from Negotiation can be profitably integrated into economics classes. The course is typically taught experientially, thus there are a wealth of classroom exercises that can be used to illustrate these basic concepts. This article provides an introduction to the Negotiation literature and pointers to various exercises that can be used. An Economists Guide to Negotiation Classroom Experiments Negotiation is a fast-growing new research and teaching area. Almost every business school and law school offers a course on negotiation, along with many psychology departments, medical schools and other divisions. In addition, negotiation research has skyrocketed, as documented in Bazerman et al. (2000). The course’s popularity and subsequent growth is easy to understand. We all negotiate every day, in market transactions (cars, houses and labor contracts), customer service settings (getting a bill corrected, renewing one’s cell phone contract), and in our personal lives (deciding on a restaurant for dinner, dividing the household chores or

ment is not simple. How, then, do we get managers in training to be excited about the subject matter they learn, internalize the knowledge, and be more likely to put such knowledge to use in real life situations? Online, computerized and network-mediated simulations amplify many of the traditional advantages of games in learning. Adrenalin rush, attention, and motivation are at their peak in simulations (Harper, Squiers, & McDougall, 2000; Rieber, 1996). Consequently, learning stands a betterthan average chance. Our argument and expectation, now supported by several years of experience, is that simulations, especially of the computerized and online variety, are likely to be part of the answer to the difficulties of conveying complex and abstract ideas to managers and managers in training. Discussions and debriefing that follow the experience of a competitive or dynamic simulation tend to be the best and most internalized learning experiences (Parker & Swatman, 1999; Rafaeli et al., 20

We propose a multi-issue point mechanism to be used in conflict resolution situations. This mechanism extract “gains from trade ” inherent in the differing valuation towards the various issues where conflict exists. In order to assess the performance of this mechanism vis-a-vis unconstrained communication, we run a series of controlled laboratory experiments and find that both mechanisms reach similar levels of welfare, but the multi issue point mechanism allows subjects to reach an agreement more swiftly. In order to analyse in detail the performance of both mechanisms we introduce a classical measure of conflict and see that when conflict is highest, free negotiation sustains most losses: (1) subjects need more time to reach an agreement; (2) the likelihood of gridlock (no agreement) increases.

Abstract. An increasing number of negotiations are conducted via electronic media allowing for an extensive use of software in negotiators ’ activities. Traditionally, negotiation support was based on normative and prescriptive research; its users were analysts and experts. The purpose of the recently developed e-negotiation systems is to provide negotiators with services and to satisfy their requirements rather than direct their activities so that they conform to rationality and optimality principles. This orientation is typical to software engineering. Due to the difficulties in reconciling results of prescriptive and descriptive studies the e-negotiation design specifications are often based on selected descriptive approaches at the expense of the prescriptive support. This paper presents selected results from negotiation and e-negotiation research and provides specifications for e-negotiation system design and development. Following the review of decision and negotiation analysis, and negotiation support and negotiation systems, methodological foundations are discussed. Based on review of methodological foundations and the scientific and engineering perspectives on negotiations, an e-negotiation view integration model is proposed. This model integrates behavioural, scientific and engineering views on e-negotiation support and the media reference model.

We employ a sensemaking lens to study economic transactions at the micro level, investigating how social distance affects the logic of exchange. In transcripts of 87 two-party negotiations, we find that most pairs quickly coordinate on a shared logic of exchange and improvise in accord with its implied rules throughout their interaction. Negotiators turn to three dynamic processes— trust-testing, process clarification, and emotional punctuation—when they have difficulty moving the interaction toward a coherent, mutually agreed upon improvisation. The improvisations take the form of openness, mutual gain, or haggling, and mediate the effects of social distance on economic outcomes.

Working papers are in draft form. This working paper is distributed for purposes of comment and