Computer in a Hat consists of three separate programs, all of which make use of a random pairing algorithm to make decisions as to how to match or assign things in a way that is free of human bias or prejudice. Freedom from bias is often very important in persuading someone that a result, while perhaps not to their liking, is simply 'the luck of the draw' and not due to personal intervention, or worse, malice. The three programs include:
I) DRAW OR EXCHANGE NAMES AT CHRISTMAS:
Many families, large and small, routinely draw or exchange names at Christmas time. The usual purpose in doing so, besides reducing the financial burden of the holidays, is to allow the gift giver to concentrate on a single present that is really wanted or needed.
Once a family has made the decision to 'draw names' there remains only the problem of getting the whole family together and drawing names. For many, if not most families however, getting everyone together at one time is all but impossible so that the whole process falls to one 'lucky' person who has to do all of the work and then put up with complaints from those who are unhappy with the draw. Draw Names at Christmas cannot guarantee that everyone will be happy, but it will remove the need for everyone to be present. In addition, the process is easy, quick and even fun. Furthermore, if someone does insist on complaining, just blame the computer. It doesn't care.
II) DRAW NAMES AT PARTIES:
'Draw Names at Parties' was written to help parents celebrate a child's birthday. Games are usually played and often party favors are handed out to everyone at some point. Rather than simply distribute gifts to each child, why not add a little suspense as to who gets what? First, arrange the party favors so you know the order in which they will be given away. Then enter each child's name into the spreadsheet, press GO and then stand back and watch each child's name appear against a colorful background using the same graphical 'wipes' or transitions seen in commercial television. You then hand out the favors in the order that the kid's name appears. The children will have fun and it should help kill at least an hour for the parent (children's parties can have the feel of 'eternity' about them).
III) ASSIGN THINGS TO THINGS:
Assign Things is a program that allows the random pairing of any arbitrary list of objects to any other arbitrary list of objects. Most of the time, it will be people that will be paired with objects like 'work projects', 'chores' etc., but the potential uses are limited only by imagination.
Here are some possible applications:
1) You can assign duties or chores to people, especially children, where the specific assignments are all done randomly thereby reducing the perception of unfairness.
2) You can pick a group of persons or things of a specified size from a much larger group - just like Jean-Luc Picard picking an 'Away Team' from the crew of the Enterprise. Some individuals will not be picked of course but what fairer way to do it than by random selection.
3) Perhaps you are a teacher and you want each member of your class to give a talk or do a 'show and tell' during the course of the term. Say you have 30 students and you want to have 5 students speak each week. The program will then randomly assign 5 students to each of 6 weeks as well as take into account that some students might have conflicts with certain weeks.
4) You are going to host the annual Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner, or perhaps a party for friends and relatives, and you expect everyone to bring a dish. To randomly pick who brings what (including exceptions for those who can't cook), just list expected names and what you want brought. The program will make your choices for you.
5) Sports activities in schools often use some kind of random process to determine details like:
a the initial draw or play assignments
b. the order of rotation of team positions e.g., captains, if you want everyone to participate in each activity
c. the order in which student's participate in some kind of sports activity like track and field.
d. pick team members, especially children where the stigma of being chosen last by an adult, or worse, by other children, is painful and totally unnecessary. If the computer makes the decision, then its a matter of chance, not a judgment.
The beauty of random assignment is that people are less likely to complain if they know the process was done objectively by computer. Of course they will, but again, it's the computer's fault.
To Install, Run: CIAHDEMO.EXE
To Run, Launch: CIAHEVAL.EXE
Documentation: README.TXT and Help is included within the program
