The phenomenon of complex knowledge in teaching mathematics as a factor of mathematical literacy forming of school students

Introduction. Mathematics teaching based on the development of complex knowledge generalized constructs (for example, modern achievements in science) becomes an effective direction for the formation of school student’s mathematical literacy with a significant applied and mathematical-informational potential of personal development. The purpose of the study: to develop a technology for student’s mathematical literacy formation during the development of complex mathematical knowledge and in the context of universal educational actions actualization by means of mathematical and computer modeling. Materials and methods. The research materials are based on the historiogenesis and actualization of mastering processes of complex mathematical knowledge by students as an effective mechanism for personal development. A synergetic approach, digitalization tools and visual modeling methods are being implemented to adapt the mastering processes of complex knowledge to school mathematics with the effect of student’s mathematical literacy forming. The choice and justification of methods for personal experience founding create the effect of core actualization of universal educational actions, manifest themselves in the processes of students ' activities individualization. The results of the study. For the first time, a technology for student’s mathematical literacy formation based on the symbiosis of mathematical and computer modeling in mathematics development of complex knowledge has been developed. The founding clusters and research and adaptation technology of hierarchies of complex multi-level knowledge (including modern achievements in science) to school mathematics are constructed. The stages and means of visual modeling and personal experience founding with the effect of student’s mathematical literacy forming in a rich information and educational environment are clarified. Conclusion. Educational practices have shown the high efficiency of this method to school student’s mathematical literacy forming in the process of modern achievements mastering in science. Such didactic solutions and practices are characterized by the ability to fully meet the needs of each school student in self-education and self-actualization when complex knowledge constructs mastering and set the value imperative of personal development, including mathematical literacy.

Visual Modeling: A Socialization-Based Intervention to Improve Nutritional Intake Among Nursing Home Residents

Purpose Malnutrition is a widespread, dangerous, and costly condition among institutionalized older adults and can be both a contributor to and consequence of dysphagia for individuals with cognitive impairment. However, interventions to maximize intake in individuals with dementia are limited and frequently problematic, with negative implications for independence and quality of life. The goal of this study was to examine a novel, socialization-grounded intervention based on visual modeling, utilizing the theoretical underpinnings of motor resonance and mimicry. Method To examine the impact of environment on intake, data were collected from four nursing home residents ( M age = 83.5 years, SD = 4.2; three women) with dementia. Weight of food and liquid intake was measured across 15 meals and three different mealtime conditions: the “baseline condition” in which the individual ate alone, the “watch condition” in which the individual ate in the company of a “mealtime buddy,” and the “eat” condition in which the individual consumed a meal while the “mealtime buddy” did the same. Results Data visualization supported a weak functional relation between eating environment and amount of intake consumed across participants. Log response ratio estimates suggested a trend for increased weight of food consumed during the eat condition as compared to baseline and the eat condition as compared to the watch condition for some participants. Conclusions These results preliminarily support the benefit of a visual model for increased consumption in some individuals with dementia. The presence and magnitude of the effect across conditions varied based on individual-level factors, such as cognitive status, which has implications for implementation. Overall, this study provides initial proof of concept regarding the use of visual modeling as an intervention approach, laying the foundation for larger scale future studies.

Multivariate visualization: A Taxonomy and novel visualization methods

While intuitive visualizations for bivariate analyses are numerous and able to be constructed with relative ease, the same is not true for multivariate analyses. Commonly utilized multivariate visualization strategies are often cognitively taxing for readers and there is little guidance for researchers seeking to decide upon the proper visualization for their analysis. In this paper we seek to rectify these limitations by developing a data analysis taxonomy that allows one to easily identify appropriate visualizations. This taxonomy aims to provide guidance to researchers in their decision-making regarding which multivariate visualization strategy best fits their research question. Our taxonomy classifies research questions into five different categories (zero-order effects, conditioning, moderation, mediation, and clustering), providing example research questions and analyses for each. Throughout, we identify tools appropriate for multivariate visualizations, including ghost lines, added variable plots, and paneling. All these tools are freely available in R through the Flexplot package, as well as in the Visual Modeling module in JASP.

Masquerading predators deceive prey by aggressively mimicking bird droppings in a crab spider

In aggressive mimicry, a predator accesses prey by mimicking the appearance and/or behavior of a harmless or beneficial model in order to avoid being correctly identified by its prey. The crab spider genus Phrynarachne is often cited as a textbook example of masquerading as bird droppings in order to avoid predation. However, Phrynarachne spiders may also aggressively mimic bird droppings in order to deceive potential prey. To date, there is no experimental evidence to support aggressive mimicry in masquerading crab spiders, therefore, we performed a field survey, a manipulative field experiment, and visual modeling to test this hypothesis using Phrynarachne ceylonica. We compared prey-attraction rates among bird droppings, spiders, and control empty leaves in the field. We found that although all prey combined and agromyzid dipterans in particular were attracted to bird droppings at a higher rate than to spiders, other dipterans and hymenopterans were attracted to bird droppings at a similar rate as spiders. Both spiders and bird droppings attracted insects at a significantly higher rate than did control leaves. As predicted, prey were attracted to experimentally blackened or whitened spiders significantly less frequently than to unmanipulated spiders. Finally, visual modeling suggested that spiders and bird droppings can be detected by dipterans and hymenopterans against background leaves, but they are indistinguishable from each other. Taken together, our results suggest that insects lured by spiders may misidentify them as bird droppings, and bird dropping masquerading may serve as aggressive mimicry in addition to predator avoidance in P. ceylonica.

Variable utility in the enigmatic presence of ultraviolet reflectance in conspicuous aposematic signals

Warning signals are often characterized by highly contrasting, distinctive and memorable colors. Both chromatic (hue) and achromatic (brightness) contrast contribute to signal efficacy, making longwave colored signals (red and yellow) that generate both chromatic and achromatic contrast common. Shortwave colors (blue and ultraviolet) do not contribute to luminance perception, yet are also common in warning signals. The presence of UV aposematic signals is paradoxical as UV perception is not universal, and evidence for its utility is at best mixed. We used visual modeling to quantify how UV affects signal contrast in aposematic butterflies and frogs. We found that UV only appreciably affected visual contrast in the butterflies. As the butterflies, but not the frogs, have UV-sensitive vision these results support the notion that UV reflectance is associated with intraspecific communication, but appears to be non-functional in frogs. Consequently, we should be careful when assigning a selection-based benefit from UV reflectance.

Systematic Literature Review of Realistic Simulators Applied in Educational Robotics Context

This paper presents a systematic literature review (SLR) about realistic simulators that can be applied in an educational robotics context. These simulators must include the simulation of actuators and sensors, the ability to simulate robots and their environment. During this systematic review of the literature, 559 articles were extracted from six different databases using the Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes, Context (PICOC) method. After the selection process, 50 selected articles were included in this review. Several simulators were found and their features were also analyzed. As a result of this process, four realistic simulators were applied in the review’s referred context for two main reasons. The first reason is that these simulators have high fidelity in the robots’ visual modeling due to the 3D rendering engines and the second reason is because they apply physics engines, allowing the robot’s interaction with the environment.