Convergence and formal manipulation in the theory of series from 1730 to 1815

In the early calculus mathematicians used convergent series to represent geometrical quantities and solve geometrical problems. However, series were also manipulated formally using procedures that were the infinitary extension of finite procedures. By the 1720s results were being published that could not be reduced to the original conceptions of convergence and geometrical representation. This situation led Euler to develop explicitly a more formal approach which generalized the early theory. Formal analysis, which was predominant during the second half of the 18th century despite criticisms of it by some researchers, contributed to the enlargement of mathematics and even led to a new branch of analysis: the calculus of operations. However, formal methods could not give an adequate treatment of trigonometric series and series that were not the expansions of elementary functions. The need to use trigonometric series and introduce nonelementary functions led Fourier and Gauss to reject the formal concept of series and adopt a different, purely quantitative notion of series.     

The generation and use of graphical examples in calculus classrooms: The case of the mean value theorem

We analyzed video data of five instructors teaching the Mean Value Theorem (MVT) in a first-semester calculus course as part of a broader project investigating how active learning strategies were being implemented and supported in calculus courses. We sought to identify the ways examples of functions that did or did not satisfy the conclusion of MVT were generated and used in instruction. Using thematic analysis, we identified four themes that serve as characterizations of examples, which then allowed for the analysis of trends and patterns. We propose that attention to the generation and use of examples serves as one lens for considering how students can be engaged in the mathematical activity of the classroom, with implications for learning. This work contributes to an evolving notion of what is entailed in students’ active learning of mathematics and the role of the instructor in facilitating active learning opportunities.     

Inductive and Deductive Justification of Knowledge: Flexible Judgments Underneath Stable Beliefs in Teacher Education

Personal epistemological beliefs are considered to play an important role for processes of learning and teaching. However, research on personal epistemology is confronted with theoretical issues as there is conflicting evidence regarding the structure, stability, and context-dependence of epistemological beliefs. We give evidence how theoretical and methodological issues can partly be resolved by distinguishing between relatively stable “epistemological beliefs” and situation-specific “epistemological judgments.” A qualitative content analysis of a series of semistructured interviews (study 1) with pre-service teachers, teachers, and teacher educators as well as a statistical analysis of pre-service teachers’ extensive answers in questionnaires (study 2), both on the topic of “mathematical discovery,” reveal not only beliefs of the participants but also different qualities of judgments. Therefore, in further research both aspects of beliefs should be considered in a more differentiated manner when categorizing belief structures.     

Inventory management under date-terms supplier trade credit with stochastic demand and leadtime

Executives and academics alike are expressing increasing interest in supplier trade credit. We consider a form of credit known as ‘date-terms’ where the credit period extends to a specified date in the month following the invoice. We extend published research to consider both demand and supply uncertainty, employing a gamma distribution to model demand during the leadtime and reorder period. Taking an applied perspective, we evaluate four heuristics against an optimal solution for the case where pragmatic restrictions are placed on the reorder period. We evaluate how the reorder period and the performance of heuristics are affected by various environmental parameters (based on industrial data) and comment on the ramifications of this form of trade credit.     

Operational solution of fractional differential equations

The main goal of this paper is to solve fractional differential equations by means of an operational calculus. Our calculus is based on a modified shift operator which acts on an abstract space of formal Laurent series. We adopt Weyl’s definition of derivatives of fractional order.     

The assignment of credit limits with a behaviour-scoring system

Received on 1 July 1991. Behaviour-scoring systems for authorizations enable the riskof a customer defaulting to be quantified. These risks mustbe incorporated into a credit strategy which assigns creditlimits and makes authorization decisions in the most effectivemanner. This paper introduces the concept of marginal risk whichhas proved a useful tool in defining credit limit strategiesfor a mail-order company. Behaviour scores for authorizations are similar to credit applicationscores in that they predict the overall risk of a customer defaulting.If a cut-off risk can be established, then the optimal strategywould appear to be to withhold credit for customers exceedingthis risk and to grant unlimited credit for the remainder (thisis analogous to application strategies). The notion of grantingunlimited credit is often commercially unacceptable (particularlyif customers are to be informed of their credit limits!) andso strategies which give all or nothing are of limited valueand need further refinement. In order to overcome this problem, the concept of marginal riskhas been devised. The marginal risk is the risk of the ‘last£’ of an account being defaulted. This reflectsthe fact that small-balance customers may well pay off theircurrent balance only to default on larger subsequent purchases.Although the overall risk of customers with a given behaviourscore defaulting is relatively constant, their marginal riskwill vary according to their outstanding balance. This paperexplores the relationships between marginal risk and overallrisk and between marginal risk and outstanding balance. A modelwhich summarizes these relationships is proposed, and contoursof equal marginal risk are built on the basis of this model.These contours provide strategies for allocating credit limitswhich are both practical and optimal for a well formulated cut-offrisk and which suggest that the probability of defaulting isnot the best criterion for allocating credit limits. The results of the application of this approach will be demonstrated.Some of the problems that have been overcome are discussed,as are some of the outstanding problems.     

Formal power series, operator calculus, and duality on Lie algebras

This paper presents an operator calculus approach to computing with non-commutative variables. First, we recall the product formulation of formal exponential series. Then we show how to formulate canonical boson calculus on formal series. This calculus is used to represent the action of a Lie algebra on its universal enveloping algebra. As applications, Hamilton's equations for a general Hamiltonian, given as a formal series, are found using a double-dual representation, and a formulation of the exponential of the adjoint representation is given. With these techniques one can represent the Volterra product acting on the enveloping algebra. We illustrate with a three-step nilpotent Lie algebra.     

Optimizing time limits in retail promotions: an email application

Most marketing managers know intuitively that once a customer delays a purchase decision, the potential is high that the purchase may be put off indefinitely. In response, marketing managers usually set ‘deadlines’ or time limits for how long an offer is available. However, research has shown that, while time limits can help motivate customers to buy now rather than later (or not at all), time limits that are over/under restrictive may actually hurt response more than help. We consider two opposing forces of time, namely awareness and urgency. Longer time limits allow for greater awareness of an offer, which, everything else being equal, should lead to a larger response. At the same time, longer time limits also reduce the urgency of an offer leading consumers to delay their purchase (perhaps) indefinitely and thus, everything else being equal, lead to a lower response. Using decision calculus, we model the optimal time limit for promotional offers and demonstrate its use in an email marketing application. Email marketing has emerged as a profitable tool for companies like Amazon and JCrew who regularly use email to communicate promotional offers to their customers because of its low cost to implement and its relatively high response rates. This research contributes to the field by providing marketing managers a methodology for determining superior choices for time limit in promotional offers.     

基于BP神经网络的P2P网贷借款人信用评估

评估借款人信用是P2P网贷公司控制风险的重要步骤,对于网贷公司的正常运行有着极其重要的意义。论文参考商业银行信用指标体系并根据P2P网贷自身特点,建立了P2P网贷借款人的信用评估指标体系。根据建立的指标体系构建相应的BP神经网络模型,并利用一步正切法进行优化。然后选取具有代表性的P2P网贷平台的相关数据,对该模型进行训练和仿真,证明了该模型对P2P网贷平台的风险控制起到一定的作用。     

基于改进Adaboost的信用评价方法

网络借贷环境下基于Adaboost的信用评价方法具有较高的基分类器分歧度和样本误分代价。现有研究没有考虑分歧度和误分代价对基分类器样本权重的影响,从而降低了网络借贷信用评价结果的有效性。为此,提出一种基于改进Adaboost的信用评价方法。该方法根据基分类器的误分率,样本在不同基分类器上分类结果的分歧程度,以及样本的误分代价等因素,调整Adaboost模型的样本赋权策略,使得改进后的Adaboost模型能够对分类困难样本和误分代价高的样本实施有针对性的学习,从而提高网络借贷信用评价结果的有效性。基于拍拍贷平台数据的实验结果表明,提出的方法在分类精度和误分代价等方面显著优于传统的基于Adaboost的信用评价方法。     

考虑风险规避的供应链融资与信用保险组合模型研究

针对供应链的资金约束问题,考虑了由一个资金约束的零售商、资金充足的供应商、风险规避型银行以及保险公司组成的供应链融资系统,分别构建了风险规避型银行融资模型以及银行融资与信用保险的组合模型,给出了两种模型中供应链融资系统成员的最优决策。研究表明:与传统风险规避型的银行融资模型相比,银行融资与信用保险的组合模型能够有效地增加零售商的融资规模,并降低银行的损失风险,从而信用保险能够给整个供应链融资系统带来严格帕累托改进。最后,通过数值算例说明了研究结论的有效性。     

基于Coq的第三代微积分机器证明系统

本文基于证明辅助工具Coq,完整实现林群院士和张景中院士等倡导的第三代微积分|没有极限的微积分|理论构架的形式化验证,包括对张景中等发表的题为\微积分基础的新视角"论文中全部定义和定理的Coq描述.进而,对定理无例外地给出Coq的机器证明代码,所有形式化过程已被Coq验证,并在计算机上运行通过,体现了基于Coq的数学定理机器证明具有可读性和交互性的特点,其证明过程规范、严谨、可靠.本文是实践研究人员利用计算机学习、理解、构建乃至教育现代数学理论的一个尝试.     

Mathematical problem solving in didactic institutions as a complex system: The case of elementary calculus

The question of problem-solving activities in didactic institutions is critical in mathematics education for two important reasons. It is a main factor of learning according to Piaget, and it is a means for students to try to align their behaviors to expected institutional references. Mathematical reasoning during problem solving in didactic institutions is studied in the present work as a complex system of interfering constraints. Results tend to show that this system may be understood as being ruled by ternary interactions between three poles: the student, the teacher, and the knowledge itself. Simultaneously, theoretical and pragmatic considerations are focused on problem solving in mathematics: the specific epistemological difficulties of each domain of knowledge to be studied, the computational asymmetry between mathematical concepts and procedures, and the influence of implicit teacher expectations through students' decoding of local “didactic contracts.”     

Epistemological Disjunctivism and the New Evil Demon

In common with traditional forms of epistemic internalism, epistemological disjunctivism attempts to incorporate an awareness condition on justification. Unlike traditional forms of internalism, however, epistemological disjunctivism rejects the so-called New Evil Genius thesis. In so far as epistemological disjunctivism rejects the New Evil Genius thesis, it is revisionary. After explaining what epistemological disjunctivism is, and how it relates to traditional forms of epistemic internalism / externalism, I shall argue that the epistemological disjunctivist’s account of the intuitions underlying the New Evil Genius thought experiment is incomplete at best. Therefore, as presented, epistemological disjunctivism is unable to accommodate the core guiding intuitions of epistemic internalism. Given the stated aim of not being revisionary on this score, the view is at a dialectical disadvantage over the traditional forms of epistemic internalism the position is meant to replace. Unfortunately, therefore, at present, the impasse between internalism and externalism remains.     

Formal Integrability Criteria for Nonlinear Partial Difference Equations

In recent years, there has been a substantial growth of interest in discrete differential geometry. Can results in formal differential geometry also be discretized for nonlinear partial difference equations? Using some techniques in exterior difference calculus, we investigate the geometric property of discrete Jet bundles. Further, we define the formal integrability and discrete Spencer cohomology for nonlinear partial difference equations, and give the formal integrability criteria.     

On flipping first-semester calculus: a case study

High failure rates in calculus have plagued students, teachers, and administrators for decades, while science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programmes continue to suffer from low enrollments and high attrition. In an effort to affect this reality, some educators are ‘flipping’ (or inverting) their classrooms. By flipping, we mean administering course content outside of the classroom and replacing the traditional in-class lectures with discussion, practice, group work, and other elements of active learning. This paper presents the major results from a three-year study of a flipped, first-semester calculus course at a small, comprehensive, American university with a well-known engineering programme. The data we have collected help quantify the positive and substantial effects of our flipped calculus course on failure rates, scores on the common final exam, student opinion of calculus, teacher impact on measurable outcomes, and success in second-semester calculus. While flipping may not be suitable for every teacher, every student, and in every situation, this report provides some evidence that it may be a viable option for those seeking an alternative to the traditional lecture model.     

Focuses of awareness in the process of learning the fundamental theorem of calculus with digital technologies

This paper brings together three themes: the fundamental theorem of the calculus (FTC), digital learning environments in which the FTC may be taught, and what we term “focuses of awareness.” The latter are derived from Radford’s theory of objectification: they are nodal activities through which students become progressively aware of key mathematical ideas structuring a mathematical concept. The research looked at 13 pairs of 17-year-old students who are not yet familiar with the concept of integration. Students were asked to consider possible connections between multiple-linked representations, including function graphs, accumulation function graphs, and tables of values of the accumulation function. Three rounds of analysis yielded nine focuses in the process of students’ learning the FTC with a digital tool as well as the relationship between them. In addition, the activities performed by the students to become aware of the focuses are described and theoretical and pedagogical implementations are also discussed.     

Leitmann’s direct method of optimization for absolute extrema of certain problems of the calculus of variations on time scales

The fundamental problem of the calculus of variations on time scales concerns the minimization of a delta-integral over all trajectories satisfying given boundary conditions. This includes the discrete-time, the quantum, and the continuous/classical calculus of variations as particular cases. In this note we follow Leitmann’s direct method to give explicit solutions for some concrete optimal control problems on an arbitrary time scale.     

A stochastic fluid model for an ad hoc mobile network

In conventional mobile telephone networks, users communicate directly with a base station, via which their call is transferred to the recipient. In an ad hoc mobile network, there is no base-station infrastructure and users need to communicate between themselves, either directly if they are close enough, or via transit nodes if they are not. A number of interesting questions immediately arise in the modeling of ad hoc mobile networks. One that has received attention in the literature concerns how to encourage users to act as transit nodes for calls that they are not partaking in. Solutions to this problem have involved each user maintaining a ‘credit balance’ which is increased by forwarding transit calls and decreased by transmitting one’s own calls. A second question concerns the ‘amount of resource’ that a network needs in order to be able to operate with a reasonable quality of service. We shall consider this question by modeling each user’s battery energy and credit balance as fluids, the rate of increase or decrease of which is modulated by the network occupancy. This results in a network of stochastic fluid models, each modulated by the same background process. In this paper, we shall assume that there is no bound on the energy or the credit that a user’s handset can accumulate. Using this model, we can calculate the critical rates of recharge that are necessary and sufficient to guarantee that no calls are lost. For recharge rates less than the critical values, we propose a reduced-load approach to the analysis of the network.