躺着思想,不如站起行动

在很久很久以前,有两个年轻人,一起去遥远的地方寻找幸福和快乐,一路上风餐露宿,历尽艰辛,在即将到达目的地时,遇到了一条风急浪高的大河.对于如何渡过这条河,两人有不同的意见:一个人建议砍伐附近的树造一条木船渡过河去,另一个人则认为这么高的浪,这么湍急的水流,这么宽的河面,无论造多大的船都不可能渡过这条河,与其自寻烦恼和死路,不如等这条河干了,再轻轻松松地走过去.     

形如“|x|+|y|=1”的画法及其扩展

人教版教材第二册(上)第八章第二节讲的是椭圆的简单几何性质,在对称性中有这样的描述,在曲线的方程中,如果以-y代y方程不变,那么当P(x,y)在曲线上时,它关于x轴的对称点P′(x,-y)也在曲线上,所以曲线关于x轴对称,同理如果以-x代x方程不变,那么曲线关于y轴对称,如果同时以-x代x,以     

中考数学探索题的归类及评析

近年来,数学探索题以多彩优美的格调,清新多姿的风彩,发散开放的题型,背景育人的功能,注重能力的考查,强化创新的意识,出现在全国各地的中考试卷上,并有逐年上升之势,促进了生动、活泼、主动的数学学习活动,真正起到了实施素质教育“指挥棒”的作用,本文旨对近年来中考数学探索题作些归类,并对具体实例进行评析.     

共同探究,享受数学

众所周知,数学很重要,这很大层面上是由高考指挥棒决定的,学生在沉重的数学作业负担下,大多是疲于应付,很少有人真正体验到数学内在的美,学会享受数学.笔者从事高中数学多年,做了一点有益的尝试,让学生从多种角度理解数学,师生平等,教师做好组织、引领工作,充分调动学生学习数学积极性,各抒己见,经常是一个平淡的问题,往往出现多种漂亮的解法,碰撞出思维的火花,师生乐在其中,一同享受数学带给我们的快乐.现举两个案例,供大家分享.     

抓住小条件 解决大问题

每一道习题都有着严密的逻辑性,已知条件不可能多余,也不可能短缺,在所有条件中,抓住其最有特征性的一个,联想展开,这是解题的一种途径．许多同学在解题时,往往不去认真推敲题目中给出的已知条件,对于一些细小的似乎是不起眼的说明,便不去深入探讨,弃之一旁,熟视无睹,这是一个极大的错误．很多时候,若能紧紧抓住这些小条件,便可从这里打开缺口,解决大问题．     

高盛,华尔街曾经的笑柄

第一次世界大战结束后,美国经济进入繁荣时期。伴随着经济的繁荣,美国的股市也不断攀升,一直持续着牛市行情。然而,好景不长,1929年,全球金融危机爆发,华尔街股市大崩盘,让高盛损失了92%的原始投资,公司的声誉一落千丈,濒临倒闭,沦为华尔街的笑柄、错误的代名词。     

用好轴对称性,巧解折叠型中考题

近几年来,矩形纸片的折叠问题频繁出现在全国各地的中考数学试题中,此类问题贴近同学的认知规律,能较好考查基础知识和综合运用数学知识解决问题的能力,因此,很受命题者的青睐.但是,由于矩形折叠型试题涉及知识面广,结构独特,解法灵活多样,同时融合了丰富的数学思想和方法,所以大多数同学都感到有一     

例谈数学中的一般化与特殊化

一般化与特殊化是人类认识事物的两个重要侧面,也是解题的两种基本策略,它们相辅相成,是辩证的统一.在多数场合,特殊问题简单、直观,容易认识,容易把握.但是,也有一些场合,特殊问题的个别特性可能会掩盖事物的本质属性,给解题带来困难,而直接求解相应的一般性问题,反而来得简便、明快、奇巧.     

是谁拉你走向平庸

一名长跑运动员参加一个5人小组的比赛,赛前教练对他说,据我了解,其他4人的实力不如你,于是,这名运动员轻松地跑了第一名随后教练又让他参加了一个10人小组比赛,教练把平时其他人的成绩拿给他看,他发现别人的成绩并不如自己,他又轻松跑了第一名然后,这名运动员又参加了一个20人小组的比赛,教练说,你只要战胜其中的一个人,你就能取得胜利,结果,比赛中他紧跟着教练说的那个运动员,并在最后冲刺时,又取得了第一名.     

如何激发思维灵感

我们在教学实践中感到,思维灵感往往能产生优美的方法,使问题获得巧妙的解决.这种瞬息间萌发的灵感,使得学习充满乐趣,促使学习信心倍增,但是,如何激发思维灵感,并逐渐养成学生敏而好学的习惯,却没有引起广大教者的足够重视,本文拟从例题教学的角度,谈谈激发学生思维灵感的做法和体会,期望大家都来做积极实践的有心人.     

On a Mathematical Comparison between Hierarchy and Network with a Classification of Coordination Structures

This paper proposes a mathematical model to compare a network organization with a hierarchical organization. In order to formulate the model, we define a three-dimensional framework of the coordination structure of a network and of other typical coordination structures. In the framework, we can define a network structure by contrasting it with a hierarchy, in terms of the distribution of decision making, which is one of the main features of information processing. Based on this definition, we have developed a mathematical model for evaluating coordination structures. Using this model, we can derive two boundary conditions among the coordination structures with respect to the optimal coordination structure. The boundary conditions help us to understand why an organization changes its coordination structure from a hierarchy to a network and what factors cause this change. They enable us, for example, to find points of structural change where the optimal coordination structure shifts from a hierarchy to a hierarchy with delegation or from a hierarchy with delegation to a network, when the nature of the task changes from routine to non-routine. In conclusion, our framework and model may provide a basis for discussing the processes that occur when coordination structures change between a hierarchy and a network.     

Mean-variance optimization problems for an accumulation phase in a defined benefit plan

In this paper we deal with contribution rate and asset allocation strategies in a pre-retirement accumulation phase. We consider a single cohort of workers and investigate a retirement plan of a defined benefit type in which an accumulated fund is converted into a life annuity. Due to the random evolution of a mortality intensity, the future price of an annuity, and as a result, the liability of the fund, is uncertain. A manager has control over a contribution rate and an investment strategy and is concerned with covering the random claim. We consider two mean-variance optimization problems, which are quadratic control problems with an additional constraint on the expected value of the terminal surplus of the fund. This functional objectives can be related to the well-established financial theory of claim hedging. The financial market consists of a risk-free asset with a constant force of interest and a risky asset whose price is driven by a Lévy noise, whereas the evolution of a mortality intensity is described by a stochastic differential equation driven by a Brownian motion. Techniques from the stochastic control theory are applied in order to find optimal strategies.     

Dynamic contact problem for viscoelastic piezoelectric materials with normal damped response and friction

In this paper, we deal with a class of inequality problems for dynamic frictional contact between a piezoelectric body and a foundation. The model consists of a system of the hemivariational inequality of hyperbolic type for the displacement, the time dependent elliptic equation for the electric potential. The contact is modeled by a general normal damped response condition and a friction law, which are nonmonotone, possibly multivalued and have the subdifferential form. The existence of a weak solution to the model is proved by embedding the problem into a class of second-order evolution inclusions and by applying a surjectivity result for multivalued operators.     

Solution to the variation problem for information path functional of a controlled random process

The paper introduces a new approach to dynamic modeling, using the variation principle, applied to a functional on trajectories of a controlled random process, and its connection to the process' information functional. In [V.S. Lerner, Dynamic approximation of a random information functional, J. Math. Anal. Appl. 327 (1) (2007) 494-514, available online 5-24-06], we presented the information path functional with the Lagrangian, determined by the parameters of a controlled stochastic equation. In this paper, the solution to the path functional's variation problem provides both a dynamic model of a random process and the model's optimal control, which allows us to build a two-level information model with a random process at the microlevel and a dynamic process at the macrolevel. A wide class of random objects, modeled by the Markov diffusion process and a common structure of the process' information functional, leads to a universal information structure of the dynamic model, which is specified and identified on a particular object with the applied optimal control functions. The developed mathematical formalism, based on classical methods, is aimed toward the solution of problems identification, combined with an optimal control synthesis, which is practically implemented and also demonstrated in the paper's example.     

The Buneman index via polyhedral split decomposition

The split decomposition of a metric using the so-called isolation index was established by Bandelt and Dress, and it is a theoretical foundation for certain phylogenetic network reconstruction methods. Recently, Hirai gave a geometric interpretation to the split decomposition, and provided an extension of the split decomposition for a distance, i.e., a symmetric nonnegative function with zero diagonal. By Herrmann and Moulton, such a geometric approach was further applied to polyhedral functions, called tight-spans in their style, defined on various vector configurations. This paper addresses the split decomposition with respect to a particular kind of vector configuration, which does not satisfy the assumption imposed by Hirai or Herrmann and Moulton. As a result, we obtain geometrically the Buneman index, which is also used to construct a phylogenetic tree. Moreover, this paper deals with the combinatorial aspect of the polyhedral split decomposition, and gives a combinatorial characterization of the split-decomposability with the aid of the matroid associated with the vector configuration.     

Characterizations of g-frames and g-Riesz bases in Hilbert spaces

In this paper, we introduce the pre-frame operator Q for the g-frame in a complex Hilbert space, which will play a key role in studying g-frames and g-Riesz bases etc. Using the pre-frame operator Q, we give some necessary and sufficient conditions for a g-Bessel sequence, a g-frame, and a g-Riesz basis in a complex Hilbert space, which have properties similar to those of the Bessel sequence, frame, and Riesz basis respectively. We also obtain the relation between a g-frame and a g-Riesz basis, and the relation of bounds between a g-frame and a g-Riesz basis. Lastly, we consider the stability of a g-frame or a g-Riesz basis for a Hilbert space under perturbation.     

Partnership formation based on multiple traits

A model of partnership formation based on two traits, called beauty and character, is presented. There are two classes of individual and partners must be of different classes. Individuals prefer prospective partners with a high beauty measure and of a similar character. This problem may be interpreted as e.g. a job search problem in which the classes are employer and employee, or a mate choice problem in which the classes are male and female. Beauty can be observed instantly. However, a costly date (or interview) is required to observe the character of a prospective partner. On observing the beauty of a prospective partner, an individual decides whether he/she wishes to date. During a date, the participants observe each other’s character and then decide whether to form a pair. Mutual acceptance is required both for a date to occur and pair formation. On finding a partner, an individual stops searching. Beauty has a continuous distribution on a finite interval, while character ‘forms a circle’ and has a uniform distribution. Criteria based on the concept of a subgame perfect Nash equilibrium are used to define a symmetric equilibrium of this game. It is argued that this equilibrium is unique. When dating costs are high, this equilibrium is a block separating equilibrium as in more classical formulations of two-sided job search problems. However, for sufficiently small dating costs the form of this equilibrium is essentially different.     

Limited Memory Space Dilation and Reduction Algorithms

In this paper, we present variants of Shor and Zhurbenko's r-algorithm, motivated by the memoryless and limited memory updates for differentiable quasi-Newton methods. This well known r-algorithm, which employs a space dilation strategy in the direction of the difference between two successive subgradients, is recognized as being one of the most effective procedures for solving nondifferentiable optimization problems. However, the method needs to store the space dilation matrix and update it at every iteration, resulting in a substantial computational burden for large-sized problems. To circumvent this difficulty, we first propose a memoryless update scheme, which under a suitable choice of parameters, yields a direction of motion that turns out to be a convex combination of two successive anti-subgradients. Moreover, in the space transformation sense, the new update scheme can be viewed as a combination of space dilation and reduction operations. We prove convergence of this new method, and demonstrate how it can be used in conjunction with a variable target value method that allows a practical, convergent implementation of the method. We also examine a memoryless variant that uses a fixed dilation parameter instead of varying degrees of dilation and/or reduction as in the former algorithm, as well as another variant that examines a two-step limited memory update. These variants are tested along with Shor's r-algorithm and also a modified version of a related algorithm due to Polyak that employs a projection onto a pair of Kelley's cutting planes. We use a set of standard test problems from the literature as well as randomly generated dual transportation and assignment problems in our computational experiments. The results exhibit that the proposed space dilation and reduction method and the modification of Polyak's method are competitive, and offer a substantial advantage over the r-algorithm and over the other tested limited memory variants with respect to accuracy as well as effort.     

Formulation of the problem of sonic boom by a maneuvering aerofoil as a one-parameter family of Cauchy problems

For the structure of a sonic boom produced by a simple aerofoil at a large distance from its source we take a physical model which consists of a leading shock (LS), a trailing shock (TS) and a one-parameter family of nonlinear wavefronts in between the two shocks. Then we develop a mathematical model and show that according to this model the LS is governed by a hyperbolic system of equations in conservation form and the system of equations governing the TS has a pair of complex eigenvalues. Similarly, we show that a nonlinear wavefront originating from a point on the front part of the aerofoil is governed by a hyperbolic system of conservation laws and that originating from a point on the rear part is governed by a system of conservation laws, which is elliptic. Consequently, we expect the geometry of the TS to be kink-free and topologically different from the geometry of the LS. In the last section we point out an evidence of kinks on the LS and kink-free TS from the numerical solution of the Euler’s equations by Inoue, Sakai and Nishida [5].