Computer graphics as an aid to learning

Departing from the traditional model for teaching and learning, this article deals with the problem of teaching and learning the effective application of knowledge already acquired. To this end, a model for the process of exercising judgment was outlined, and the results of an empirical study of judgmental learning were employed to show the inadequacy of the traditional outcome feedback procedures. Computer graphics techniques were used to provide new forms of information to the learner; the results are promising for the rapid learning of a task that would otherwise be difficult to learn.     

Refocusing disaster aid

With new modeling techniques for estimating and pricing the risks of natural disasters, the donor community is now in a position to help the poor cope with the economic repercussions of disasters by assisting before they happen. Such assistance is possible with the advent of novel insurance instruments for transferring catastrophe risks to the global financial markets. Donor-supported risk-transfer programs not only would leverage limited disaster-aid budgets but also would free recipient countries from depending on the vagaries of postdisaster assistance. Both donors and recipients stand to gain, especially because the instruments can be closely coupled with preventive measures.