Q:

At Mon, 29 Sep 1997 16:20,  grace ross <[log in to unmask]>wrote:
Is anyone aware of a computer software program that allows one to do
simulated problem solving in community development?  I am aware of a
program called "Sim City" which is used in graduate level planning courses
to teach students to solve "real life" scenarios in planning. The concept
could be very useful for program staff in health departments such as ours
as a training and development tool to problem solve community development
scenarios.

A:

Lawrence Green (UBC) (<[log in to unmask]>) and colleagues have developed
a program called "EMPOWER" that does what you're looking for. I think it's
more oriented to community-based health promotion and community
mobilization than it is to other models of community development (such as
locality development or social action), though. And while it's very
sophisticated, comprehensive and well thought out, it's unlikely that any
software could properly sensitize the relative neophyte to the full range
of ethical, theoretical, and logistical/practical issues that arise in
doing CD work.

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Public Health Sciences, Univ. of Toronto