Many of you may be familiar with GoldSim models that incorporate simple population growth (e.g., in order to compute water demands in the future), but may not have seen complex demographic models that fully incorporate all the details required to accurately simulate the population growth for a large urban area. One of our recently showcased models on our website does just that. It probabilistically simulates the population of the City of Melbourne, Australia for the next 20 years. I found this model to be a highly effective population simulator, and believe the approach could potentially be applied to population forecasts for a variety of models.
January 26, 2015
How Big Will Melbourne Australia be in 2035?
Posted by Jason Lillywhite
Many of you may be familiar with GoldSim models that incorporate simple population growth (e.g., in order to compute water demands in the future), but may not have seen complex demographic models that fully incorporate all the details required to accurately simulate the population growth for a large urban area. One of our recently showcased models on our website does just that. It probabilistically simulates the population of the City of Melbourne, Australia for the next 20 years. I found this model to be a highly effective population simulator, and believe the approach could potentially be applied to population forecasts for a variety of models.
Many of you may be familiar with GoldSim models that incorporate simple population growth (e.g., in order to compute water demands in the future), but may not have seen complex demographic models that fully incorporate all the details required to accurately simulate the population growth for a large urban area. One of our recently showcased models on our website does just that. It probabilistically simulates the population of the City of Melbourne, Australia for the next 20 years. I found this model to be a highly effective population simulator, and believe the approach could potentially be applied to population forecasts for a variety of models.
January 19, 2015
On the Road Again...
Posted by Rick Kossik
As we do every year, we will be attending a number of conferences this year, where we will have a booth, and in some cases be presenting papers. If you are attending one of these conferences, we'd love to see you. Stop by our booth, where you can meet GoldSim technical staff to ask questions, suggest new features, or just chat. The preliminary list of conferences we plan on attending are listed below:
As we do every year, we will be attending a number of conferences this year, where we will have a booth, and in some cases be presenting papers. If you are attending one of these conferences, we'd love to see you. Stop by our booth, where you can meet GoldSim technical staff to ask questions, suggest new features, or just chat. The preliminary list of conferences we plan on attending are listed below:
January 8, 2015
GoldSim and Microsoft SQL Server
Posted by Nick Martin
Occasionally GoldSim users are interested in connecting model elements to databases to pull data directly into their models from a database. Recently, there has been increased interest in connecting model elements to Microsoft SQL Server databases.
Occasionally GoldSim users are interested in connecting model elements to databases to pull data directly into their models from a database. Recently, there has been increased interest in connecting model elements to Microsoft SQL Server databases.
January 1, 2015
Performance, Risk Assessment and Miss Atomic Bomb 1957
Posted by Rick Kossik
I recently attended the Performance and Risk Assessment Community of Practice (P&RA CoP) Annual Technical Exchange Meeting in Las Vegas. This group is part of the effort by the US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management to support risk-informed environmental cleanup and waste management decisions within the DOE complex. GoldSim has been used throughout the DOE complex for many years, and it was nice to see a number of excellent GoldSim applications discussed during the meeting. As a side note, the meeting was held at a very interesting location - the National Atomic Testing Museum - which is definitely worth a visit the next time you are in Las Vegas and need a break from the Strip!
December 22, 2014
Customizing Dashboards
Posted by Ryan Roper
GoldSim dashboards offer a way of putting an ‘interface’ on your GoldSim model that allows you or a colleague or client to change inputs or settings and to view model results. Creating good dashboards may have as much to do with making them nice-looking and easy to use as it has to do with mere functionality (i.e. providing access to appropriate inputs and results). The focus of this post is mainly about appearance and usability of dashboards. I’ll offer some ideas based on experiences I had while working on a project with a group at Sandia National Laboratories.
GoldSim dashboards offer a way of putting an ‘interface’ on your GoldSim model that allows you or a colleague or client to change inputs or settings and to view model results. Creating good dashboards may have as much to do with making them nice-looking and easy to use as it has to do with mere functionality (i.e. providing access to appropriate inputs and results). The focus of this post is mainly about appearance and usability of dashboards. I’ll offer some ideas based on experiences I had while working on a project with a group at Sandia National Laboratories.
December 15, 2014
Probability Distributions in GoldSim
Posted by Nick Martin
GoldSim uses probability distributions for model inputs and to present results. Different types of probability distributions can be used for inputs and results. Occasionally, GoldSim users have questions about the various types of probability distributions in GoldSim and about how distributions are calculated in GoldSim. In particular, questions often come up about how GoldSim calculates probability distributions for Monte Carlo simulation results. An algorithm is built into GoldSim which determines whether to represent, and calculate, a Monte Carlo simulation result with a discrete or continuous distribution. A Knowledge Base article was recently created which provides details of this algorithm and provides additional information about the categories of distributions used in GoldSim.
GoldSim uses probability distributions for model inputs and to present results. Different types of probability distributions can be used for inputs and results. Occasionally, GoldSim users have questions about the various types of probability distributions in GoldSim and about how distributions are calculated in GoldSim. In particular, questions often come up about how GoldSim calculates probability distributions for Monte Carlo simulation results. An algorithm is built into GoldSim which determines whether to represent, and calculate, a Monte Carlo simulation result with a discrete or continuous distribution. A Knowledge Base article was recently created which provides details of this algorithm and provides additional information about the categories of distributions used in GoldSim.
December 5, 2014
A History Lesson
Posted by Rick Kossik
For the inaugural post to the GoldSim Blog, I thought it would be fun to go back in time and provide a history lesson. Where did GoldSim come from? Why was it developed? Who got the ball rolling? Who were the first users? For those of you interested in such ancient history, this post will describe the early history of GoldSim from its origins in the late 1980s to the formation of the GoldSim Technology Group (GTG) in 2004.
For the inaugural post to the GoldSim Blog, I thought it would be fun to go back in time and provide a history lesson. Where did GoldSim come from? Why was it developed? Who got the ball rolling? Who were the first users? For those of you interested in such ancient history, this post will describe the early history of GoldSim from its origins in the late 1980s to the formation of the GoldSim Technology Group (GTG) in 2004.
Welcome to the GoldSim Blog!
Posted by Rick Kossik
This blog is provided as a resource to existing users of the GoldSim probabilistic simulation framework. However, you don't need to be a GoldSim expert to follow this blog; it should also prove to be a valuable resource for novice GoldSim users. (If you are completely new to GoldSim, this is not the place the start; instead, you should visit the GoldSim website).
This blog complements the resources available in the GoldSim Library (such as the Model Library and Knowledge Base) and User Forum, and may occasionally refer to articles or models referenced there. It is intended to provide an informal mechanism for GoldSim staff to share their knowledge, point out some of the more advanced (and perhaps overlooked) GoldSim features, share and discuss common mistakes we see in GoldSim applications, discuss interesting applications, and keep you abreast of our plans for further GoldSim developments.
If there are specific topics you would like to see discussed, let us know!
This blog is provided as a resource to existing users of the GoldSim probabilistic simulation framework. However, you don't need to be a GoldSim expert to follow this blog; it should also prove to be a valuable resource for novice GoldSim users. (If you are completely new to GoldSim, this is not the place the start; instead, you should visit the GoldSim website).
This blog complements the resources available in the GoldSim Library (such as the Model Library and Knowledge Base) and User Forum, and may occasionally refer to articles or models referenced there. It is intended to provide an informal mechanism for GoldSim staff to share their knowledge, point out some of the more advanced (and perhaps overlooked) GoldSim features, share and discuss common mistakes we see in GoldSim applications, discuss interesting applications, and keep you abreast of our plans for further GoldSim developments.
If there are specific topics you would like to see discussed, let us know!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)