Jon - I'm not sure what type of application you are looking for, but I can suggest some literature from STS that might be a helpful starting point: Lahsen, M. (2005). Seductive Simulations? Uncertainty Distribution Around Climate Models. Social Studies of Science, 35(6), 895–922. doi:10.1177/0306312705053049 Maglio, P. P., Cefkin, M., Haas, P. J., & Selinger, P. (2010). Social Factors in Creating an Integrated Capability for Health System Modeling and Simulation 1 Toward a Science of Health Policy Decision Making. Computer, 44–51. Sundberg, M. (2008). The Everyday World of Simulation Modeling: The Development of Parameterizations in Meteorology. Science, Technology & Human Values, 34(2), 162–181. doi:10.1177/0162243907310215 Sundberg, M. (2010). Organizing Simulation: Code Collectives. Science, 23(1), 37–57. (see her dissertation as well – much about models and simulation in sciences: http://www.dissertations.se/dissertation/8191d46521/) Stephen Jackson at Cornell did a dissertation in 2005 partially to do with models: “Building the Virtual River: Numbers, Models, and the Politics of Water in California” (you can find it in an ETD database) You might also take a look at Morgan and Morison's "Models as Mediators" which provides a very helpful framework for thinking about how models "work" in science. http://books.google.com/books/about/Models_as_Mediators.html?id=amUBWTJ1zTEC Sherry Turkle has a book "Simulation and its discontents" which has a few different perspectives on the use of computer simulation in areas like architecture and design. http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/simulation-and-its-discontents Would love to hear more about what you come up with… (ping me off list if you need PDFs) Nic