Gamification of Middle School Mathematics and Science

Gamification, defined as the process of game-thinking and game mechanics to engage users and solve problems, is a fairly new and rapidly growing field. Literature suggests that gamification can contribute to develop higher order cognitive abilities such as problem solving and critical thinking skills. Using gamification in non-game situations enhances students' understanding and contributes on conceptual learning, especially in mathematics and science. This chapter introduces the concept of gamification in terms of its pedagogical underpinnings, integration of gamification into educational environments (with a focus on mathematics and science), a sample application of gamification in science content, and the future trends about possible directions of uses of gamification.

Designing of Container Feeder Service Networks Under Unstable Demand Conditions

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly magnified supply challenges in all industries, and virus waves continue to cause an extraordinary amount of variation in both the demand for and the availability of necessary products. This uncertainty has also forced many organizations including container liner shipping to redesign their supply chain. Feeder services from hub ports are essential chain of shipping networks. This chapter addresses the design of feeder networks under consideration of demand fluctuations over the year. For this purpose, a perturbation-based variable neighbourhood search approach is developed in order to determine the feeder ship fleet size and mix, the fleet deployment, service routes, and voyage schedules to minimize operational costs. In the case study investigation, the authors consider the feeder network design problem faced by a feeder shipping company as a sample application. The performance of alternate network configurations is compared under dynamic demand conditions. Numerical results highlight the advantage of dynamic and flexible design of feeder service networks.

Nucleophilic approach to cyanide sensing by chemosensors

: Cyanide anion has wide use in industrial areas and high toxic effect on the environment as waste. Moreover, plant seeds contain cyanide which occurs in excessive consumption. Therefore, many studies are carried out to determine cyanide. Especially, optical sensors showing colorimetric and fluorimetric changes have been of considerable interest due to their easy, cheap, and fast responses. This review discusses recent developments in the colorimetric and fluorimetric detection of cyanide by nucleophilic addition to different types of receptors via the chemodosimeter approach. The sensitivity and selectivity of the sensors have been reviewed for changes in absorption and fluorescence, naked-eye detection, real sample application, and detection limits when interacting with cyanide.

Sociological traditions as a complementary lens to better understand digital transformation policies

Purpose This paper aims to introduce how sociological traditions can provide a complementary, conceptual lens needed to better understand a country’s orientation in its digital transformation policies. While historically sociology has been used to study technological effects, introducing a sociological lens that considers broader macro digital policies can better complement a country’s national innovation system framework by highlighting where forms of acceleration and inertia in digital diffusion may or may not occur. Design/methodology/approach To formulate this lens, iterative literature reviews were conducted and four major sociological traditions (i.e. Durkheim, Functional-Utilitarian, Marxist and Micro-interactionist) were identified and integrated into one structure. The integrated structure was then applied to the French case of Minitel as a sample application. The French Minitel was selected because it is well-known and due to one of the author’s familiarity with the French culture. The description was based upon secondary data. Findings Through the use and application of this lens, the findings reveal that understanding a country’s specific orientation within a sociological tradition can help academics and practitioners determine what accelerates or provides inertia in the diffusion of new digital technologies within a country’s sociological frame. For the French Minitel, two dominant views seem to exist in France, the Durkheim and the Functional-Utilitarian view, which both affected the country’s path dependency in continued investments in Minitel. Research limitations/implications While policymakers are tasked with the development and implementation of digital transformation policies, a key consideration for both scholars and practitioners on digital policy and governance is to understand the broader macro ramifications of sociological frameworks on the evolving effects of digital transformation. While the authors provide a sample illustration, future research is needed to operationalize this lens and to apply it across various regions and countries in the development of new digital transformation policies. Practical implications As countries face considerable pressure to digitize their economies, policymakers require a better framework to advance the sociological aspects of digitization and its effects upon local institutions and actors in society. The paper provides a complementary lens that can better help them in this regard. Originality/value To date, policymakers and governments lack an integrated framework to understand the sociological effects of digital technologies and their diffusions along with their implications on societies such as on the framework of national innovation. The authors provide a sample integrated structure and sample application.

APPLICATION OF THE PONTRYAGIN MAXIMUM PRINCIPLE TO CONTROL TUMOR ANGIOGENESIS

We present a sample application covering several cases using an extension of the Pontryagin Minimum Principle (PMP) [3]. We are interested in the management of tumor angiogenesis, that is, the therapeutic management of the proliferation of cancer cells that develop new blood vessels. Let us formulate the problem and derive the optimal control and apply the Pontryagin maximum principle to our optimal trajectory, and we derive the theorem and check it with an example. Then we will study stabilization.

Biocompatible Osmium Telluride-Polypyrrole Nanocomposite Material: Application in Prostate Specific Antigen Immunosensing

Prostate cancer is a dominant global threat to society. It affects nearly 4000 men in South Africa annually, making it the second most threatening cancerous disease after lung cancer. A potential serological biomarker to monitor early diagnosis of prostate cancer is prostate specific antigen (PSA). We used the PSA biomarker in our work to develop an extremely sensitive electrochemical immunosensor to achieve low detection limits. The fabrication steps followed with the combination of thioglycolic acid capped osmium telluride quantum dots (TGA-OsTe2QD)-polypyrrole (PPy) nanocomposite and prostate specific antigen modified on a glassy carbon electrode. The UV-Vis signatures of TGA-OsTe2QD-PPy showed an absorption band at 262 nm which is attributed to the PPy and TGA-OsTe2QD composite. This band corresponds to the energy band gap of 4.4 and 5.4 eV. The CV responses of BSA|Ab|TGA-OsTe2QD|PPy|GCE modified electrode to prostate specific antigen (PSA) was studied within a range of 0–16 ng/mL PSA that was linear, herein referred to as liner range (LR), which produced a limit of detection (LOD) value of 0.36 ng/mL PSA. The values of the immunosensor’s calibration parameters (LR and LOD) make them suitable for real sample application, due to their coverage of the PSA concentration range (0–14 ng/mL) that is of clinical importance.

Teaching kinematics via arduino based STEM education material

The present study reports an Arduino-based STEM education material that resolves the kinematics of a moving object, specifically focusing on two dimensional motion of the object. Throughout the work, a sample application that can be prepared in a classroom where students are active and including the acquisitions of Technology, Engineering, Physics and Mathematics in a single educational environment. In the study, instantaneous time dependence of the displacements, namely x(t) and y(t) components and the resultant R(t) component, are experimentally measured on a vehicle by using an Arduino UNO, distance sensors and Bluetooth sensor prepared within the scope of a STEM education approach. The ratios between those measured physical quantities and theoretical estimations are found to be %13.1 for the position, %1.4 for the velocity and %7.8 for the acceleration. The error rate of the data was accepted to be reasonable considering highly economical teaching materials.

"Extra!" Using the Newsvendor Model to Optimize War Reserve Storage

The United States Marine Corps (USMC) Installation and Logistics Command requested a study for determining appropriate inventory levels of war reserve materiel to meet future operational needs under surge demands in uncertain environments. This study sought to explore a potential approach by using the common newsvendor model, but modified for a military scenario. The authors’ novel version of this core concept considers the purchase and storage costs of an item and proposes an intangible cost function to capture the consequences of a shortage. Further, they show a sample application of the model using a ubiquitous military item—the BA-5590/U battery. The output of the model provides USMC with a new tool to optimize inventory levels of a given item of interest, depending on scenario inputs.

“Extra!” Using the Newsvendor Model to Optimize War Reserve Storage

The United States Marine Corps (USMC) Installation and Logistics Command requested a study for determining appropriate inventory levels of war reserve materiel to meet future operational needs under surge demands in uncertain environments. This study sought to explore a potential approach by using the common newsvendor model, but modified for a military scenario. The authors’ novel version of this core concept considers the purchase and storage costs of an item and proposes an intangible cost function to capture the consequences of a shortage. Further, they show a sample application of the model using a ubiquitous military item—the BA-5590/U battery. The output of the model provides USMC with a new tool to optimize inventory levels of a given item of interest, depending on scenario inputs.

REDUCTION OF THE CLASSIFIER IN THE METHOD OF LOGICAL ANALYSIS OF DATA BASED ON THE Ε-, Δ-CRITERION FOR SELECTING PATTERN

Предлагается алгоритмическая процедура редукции классификатора в методе логического анализа данных, основанная на отборе закономерностей с помощью ε-, δ-критерия. Реализация подхода заключается в формировании исходного классификатора как набора закономерностей на базе наблюдений обучающей выборки, применения к полученным правилам процедуры наращивания и последующего их отбора в новый классификатор на базе ε-, δ-критерия. Приводится эмпирическое подтверждение целесообразности данной алгоритмической процедуры. An algorithmic procedure for the reduction of the classifier in the method of logical analysis of data, based on the selection of patterns using the ε-, δ-criterion is proposed. The implementation of the approach consists in the formation of the initial classifier as a set of patterns based on observations of the training sample, application of the increasing procedure to the obtained patterns and their subsequent selection into a new classifier based on the ε-, δ-criterion. An empirical confirmation of the expediency of this algorithmic procedure is given.