Development and Validation of Teachers’ Assessment Belief of Mathematical Thinking Instrument

<p style="text-align: justify;">This study was conducted to corroborate in understanding the teachers’ beliefs about assessment practices. The prior studies related to teachers’ assessment beliefs in mathematics have been done to assess teachers’ beliefs in the general context of mathematics teaching. This study developed an instrument to assess teachers’ assessment beliefs of mathematical thinking. The research aimed to develop and validate a scale of assessment beliefs of mathematical thinking by using the confirmatory factor analysis. The first draft of the scale contained 25 items. The sample of the study consisted of 537 mathematics teachers from public schools in Oman. The instrument was a questionnaire with a 5-point Likert scale. The scale was validated by asking a number of experts in mathematics educational measurement and evaluation. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was applied to test the model of assessment beliefs of mathematical thinking scale using AMOS 25.0. All constructs had acceptable reliability. The model had a good model fit for the assessment beliefs of mathematical thinking scale which obtainable from the fit indices tests. The findings revealed that all fit criteria indices were realized. The results also showed acceptable validity and construct reliability for the scale.</p>

Optimal location of resources and Steiner symmetry in a population dynamics model in heterogeneous environments

The subject of this paper is inspired by Cantrell and Cosner (1989) and Cosner, Cuccu and Porru (2013). Cantrell and Cosner (1989) investigate the dynamics of a population in heterogeneous environments by means of diffusive logistic equations. An important part of their study consists in finding sufficient conditions which guarantee the survival of the species. Mathematically, this task leads to the weighted eigenvalue problem \(-\Delta u =\lambda m u \) in a bounded smooth domain \(\Omega\subset \mathbb{R}^N\), \(N\geq 1\), under homogeneous Dirichlet boundary conditions, where \(\lambda \in \mathbb{R}\) and \(m\in L^\infty(\Omega)\). The domain \(\Omega\) represents the environment and \(m(x)\), called the local growth rate, says where the favourable and unfavourable habitats are located. Then, Cantrell and Cosner (1989) consider a class of weights \(m(x)\) corresponding to environments where the total sizes of favourable and unfavourable habitats are fixed, but their spatial arrangement is allowed to change; they determine the best choice among them for the population to survive. In our work we consider a sort of refinement of the result above. We write the weight \(m(x)\) as sum of two (or more) terms, i.e. \(m(x)=f_1(x)+f_2(x)\), where \(f_1(x)\) and \(f_2(x)\) represent the spatial densities of the two resources which contribute to form the local growth rate \(m(x)\). Then, we fix the total size of each resource allowing its spatial location to vary. As our first main result, we show that there exists an optimal choice of \(f_1(x)\) and \(f_2(x)\) and find the form of the optimizers. Our proof relies on some results in Cosner, Cuccu and Porru (2013) and on a new property (to our knowledge) about the classes of rearrangements of functions. Moreover, we show that if \(\Omega\) is Steiner symmetric, then the best arrangement of the resources inherits the same kind of symmetry. (Actually, this is proved in the more general context of the classes of rearrangements of measurable functions.

Context-Aware End-User Development Review

Context-aware application development frameworks enable context management and environment adaptation to automatize people’s activities. New technologies such as 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT) increase environment context (from devices/services), making functionalities available to augment context-aware applications. The result is an increased deployment of context-aware applications to support end-users in everyday activities. However, developing applications in context-aware frameworks involve diverse technologies, so that it traditionally involves software experts. In general, context-aware applications are limited in terms of personalization for end-users. They include configurations to personalize applications, but non-software experts can only change some of these configurations. Nowadays, advances in human–computer interaction provide techniques/metaphors to approach non-software experts. One approach is end-user development (EUD)—a set of activities and development tools that considers non-software experts as application builders. In this paper, we present our analysis of existing EUD approaches for building context-aware applications. We present a literature review of 37 screened papers obtained from research databases. This review aims to identify the methods, techniques, and tools proposed to build context-aware applications. Specifically, we reviewed EUD building techniques and implementations. Building techniques include metaphors/interaction styles proposed for application specification, composition, and testing. The implementations include a specification method to integrate and process context on the target application platforms. We also present the adoption trend and challenges of context-aware end-user development.

Sensor-Assisted Cooperative Localization and Communication in Multi-agent Networks

This brief highlights research advances on cooperative techniques for localization and communication. These two macro trends are investigated in the general context of mobile multi-agent networks for situational awareness applications, where time-varying agents of unknown locations are asked to fulfill positioning and information sharing tasks. Cooperative localization is conceived for both active and passive agents, i.e., targets to be detected and localized, and it is analyzed in vehicular and maritime environments. Communication is investigated for vehicular scenarios, where vehicles are requested to share massive data in the perspective development of connected and automated mobility systems. Both research areas rely on the integration of heterogeneous sensors and communication. Specifically, it is studied how to improve localization by exploring communication techniques as well as how to enhance communication performances by extracting information from perception sensors. The dynamic environment of multi-agent systems calls for robust, flexible and adaptive techniques, capable of profitably fuse different types of information, and the outcomes of these researches show how a statistical approach based on cooperation guarantees higher resilience, reliability and confidence.

The use of emotions in 2019 European Elections campaign materials

This research analyses three fundamental questions to determine how, when and by whom emotions are used in campaign materials (political propaganda). Focusing on the 2019 European elections we carry out a three-phase analysis. Firstly, we check the use of rational content against content that appeals to voters’ emotions. Secondly, we observe which of these emo tions are channelled towards the use of negative strategies and, therefore, identifying who is the object of this attack. And lastly, we determine which party families make the most use of humorous content since this resource is believed to be part of an appeal to voter’s feelings and, therefore, it is essential to know if there are differences between political groups. Considering this analytical strategy, the structure of the work begins with the contextualisation of the 2019 European elections to focus, later, on highlighting the importance of electoral campaigns as a given time when communicative activity intensifies. Once the importance of electoral campaigns has been defined the article analyses how campaign materials, in a general context of political propaganda, are one of the most powerful tools. In this sense, the analytical strategy of political parties’ campaign materials can be said to focus on the use of emotions. Data from the European Elections Monitoring Center (EEMC) has been used not only for theoretical contextualization, but throughout the whole paper.

Theoretical investigation of applicability and limitations of advanced noise reduction methods for wavelength modulation spectroscopy

In this study, the applicability and limitations of several statistical and mathematical methods for noise reduction in wavelength modulation spectroscopy are analyzed. Background noise is simulated for different frequencies and frequency confinement. The noise is added to an absorption line of varying amplitude. The noise reduction methods (NRMs) are applied to the simulated signals and their performances are analyzed and compared. All NRMs show great increase in signal to noise ratio (SNR) while keeping bias low under certain conditions of the simulated signal. For each NRM the subspace of best performance is summarized and highlighted. Little to no overlap is found between these subspaces. Therefore, the optimal NRM strongly depends on measurement conditions and NRM quality cannot be compared in a general context.

Epistemology in Engineering Education: An Overview

Epistemology is a branch of philosophy, a study of how a person knows and knowing. Engineering epistemology is one of the new disciplines in engineering education research. Unfortunately, little research has been done on engineering education. In this paper, epistemology is discussed in the general context then, specifically for the engineering education context. Furthermore, the engineering epistemology framework and instrument to investigate engineering epistemology among engineering educators and students have been presented. Theory for knowledge development has been discussed in general and how that developmental model is important for higher education. Finally, epistemology in teaching and learning has been introduced in the context of engineering educators and engineering students. In summary, engineering educators’ epistemology will shape future engineers based on their class design. Therefore, developing engineering students from dualists to commitments of the relativist is very important. Finally, suggestions for engineering faculty management in developing engineering educators and engineering students for a better teaching and learning experience are provided.

The Tent in the Context of the Byzantine Power Symbolism in the 10th–12th Centuries

ntroduction. The tent (σκηνή, τέντα) was a simple and everyday object of Byzantine life. Diplomats, merchants, pilgrims, soldiers, travelers, and simply wanderers spent a considerable part of their lives in a tent. It was a natural element of the Byzantine landscape, and geographical mobility was an important part of the lifestyle of the Byzantine elite and its psychology. But this simple, everyday thing in a certain context took on an extremely important meaning and turned into an important religious and social symbol. A simple object could indicate complicated social and ideological constructions of the 10th–12th centuries. The task of the study is to reveal the implicit power context which in certain cases endowed simple everyday objects (like a tent) with an extremely important meaning. Methods. The article is written in the general context of structuralist methodologies. We regarded the tent as a simple sign indicating the complex representations that lie behind its content. Structuralist methods allow for a correct reconstruction of Byzantine everyday representations in different strata of society. Analysis and Results. The rich tent in Byzantine society of the 10th–12th centuries was not just a part of the daily military life of the aristocracy, but also an important element of power relations. Tents defined the social status of their owners, emphasized their power and importance. Aristocratic tents of that time were a space where power decisions were made and court life took place. The tent as a power symbol relied on a broad religious context. The Tabernacle of Moses, which was the model for every tent in the Byzantine Empire, was also created by the Lord’s will, with Moses himself acting as “royal scribe”. The folkloric tent of Charos in the Acritic songs turns out to be the center of the “lower” world in which Charos ruthlessly reigns. Behind each reading of the symbolic meaning of the tent lie different social practices of different groups of Byzantine society, but they are all filled with their own understanding of the essence of power.

WAYS OF ACTUALIZATION OF NATIONAL PERCEPTION OBJECTS OF ARCHITECTURE

Problem statement. Today in Ukraine the mechanisms of public influence on decision-making regarding the development of urban ensembles and cities in general continue to be formed. At the same time, the level of education of ordinary citizens in current trends in architecture, design and urban planning remains quite low. This affects the general semantic state of the architectural content of cities and results in a literal repetition of the visual forms of the XIX century in modern buildings, especially in the central (historical) parts of Ukrainian cities. According to the hypothesis of this research, the solution to this problem is in the creation of a system of free basic architectural education at several different levels. Purpose of the article. The main purpose of this work is to determine ways to update the perception of architectural objects by residents of Ukrainian cities. The objectives of the study are the analysis of publicly available methods of obtaining basic architectural and urban education and their classification, the definition of rational means to increase the general level of awareness in the field of architecture and urban planning. Conclusion. Due to the extraordinary breadth and heterogeneity of the population of large cities of Ukraine, achieving a global departure from inauthentic and irrelevant architectural and urban principles and update the national perception of architectural objects and architecture in general is possible only through introducing a set of actions aimed at a specific target audience (TA). In this study, in order to simplify, only four basic TAs are identified, but in further developments they need to be detailed more to achieve a better actual result. In the general context, the most important will be TA1 (students) − an audience that can begin to receive basic architectural knowledge, sufficient enough to understand the main trends in architecture and urban planning.

Review of A Short Course in Computational Geometry and Topology by Herbert Edelsbrunner

Computational geometry and topology are huge branches of mathematics. Focussing on concepts that lead to computation is one strategy to provide a concrete conceptual basis for ideas that hold in a more general context. Indeed, this short book gives an introduction to a surprisingly broad range of ideas that can serve as a good introduction to geometry and topology (even broadly conceived) for undergraduates.