Effectiveness of a Mathematics Methods Course in Reducing Math Anxiety of Preservice Elementary Teachers

In an attempt to find ways of reducing the mathematical anxiety of preservice elementary teachers, three cases were investigated. The first was a section of mathematics for elementary teachers taught in a very traditional manner, and the second was the same course taught in a manner consistent with the recent recommendations of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. The third case included two sections of a methods course which covered the same mathematical content, as well as addressing how it should be taught to children. The Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale for Adults was administered before and after the courses. No significant reduction of anxiety was measured in either mathematics section, but both sections of the methods course showed a significant reduction.     

The Effectiveness of Process‐Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning to Reduce Alternative Conceptions in Secondary Chemistry

A nonequivalent, control group design was used to investigate student achievement in secondary chemistry. This study investigated the effect of process‐oriented guided inquiry learning (POGIL) in high school chemistry to reduce alternate conceptions related to the particulate nature of matter versus traditional lecture pedagogy. Data were collected from chemistry students in four large high schools and were analyzed using analysis of covariance. The results show that POGIL pedagogy, as opposed to traditional lecture pedagogy, resulted in fewer alternate conceptions related to the particulate nature of matter. Male and female students in the POGIL group posted better posttest scores than their traditional group peers. African‐American and Hispanic students in the POGIL group exhibited achievement gains consistent with Caucasian and Asian students. Further studies are needed to determine the value of POGIL to address achievement gap concerns in chemistry.     

Preservice Teachers of High School Mathematics: Success,Failure, and Persistence in the Face of Mathematical Challenges

The goal of this study was to identify variables related to success and resilience in an undergraduate, high school mathematics teacher education program. Over a five‐year period, we tracked the academic performance and achievement motivation goals of multiple cohorts of students. Students who successfully completed their degrees had higher grade point average (GPAs) upon entering the program, earned higher grades in their first college mathematics course, and failed fewer courses than students who left the program or university. Learning and performance motivational goals did not predict success in the program. Performance goals decreased over time. Nearly half the successful students repeated one or more mathematics courses. Ten students completed their degrees, obtained a teaching license, and are teaching despite the need for multiple repetitions of the same mathematics courses. These persistent students did not differ from their peers in motivational goals. Our results suggest that although students with higher GPAs and initial mathematics grades were more likely to complete the program, students who experienced challenges in mathematics courses were able to succeed. We discuss the implications of these results for recruiting, advising, and retention of students in mathematics education programs.     

Guiding Teachers in the Use of a Standards‐Based Mathematics Curriculum: Teacher Perceptions and Subsequent Instructional Practices After an Intensive Professional Development Program

Reforms in mathematics education call for K‐12 teachers to employ standards‐based pedagogies, which embody the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics' principles and standards. In order to effectively support teachers' implementation of standards‐based curricula, professional development must be provided that meets teachers' needs. The professional development program in this study focused on the implementation of a standards‐based mathematics curriculum entitled Investigations in Number, Data, and Space (Investigations). This study uses Guskey's framework as a guide to examining teachers' perceptions of the impact of the professional development that they received; their perceptions of mathematics teaching and learning; and how elements of the professional development translated into practice. Twenty‐two participants were randomly selected from the 53 professional development participants to be interviewed and observed during their mathematics teaching. Using a constant comparison method, the data sources in this study highlighted themes surrounding teachers' experiences with professional development and the implementation of the curricula. The analysis of the data sources in this study highlighted themes surrounding teachers' experiences with professional development: teachers as learners, teachers as self‐evaluators, shifting paradigms, enactment of professional development content into practice, and the influence of the state standardized mathematics test. The results of this study have several implications for future professional development and also highlight some of the more general issues that teachers face when attempting to enact new knowledge and skills into their practice.     

Supporting disciplinary and interdisciplinary knowledge development and design thinking in an informal,pre‐engineering program: A Workplace Simulation Project

In this paper, we examined students’ engagement in an implementation of a Workplace Simulation Project (WSP). The WSP was designed to actively engage students in learning disciplinary content by inviting engineers from industry to have a physical presence within the school building to collaborate with teachers and students to complete projects which simulate the tasks authentic to their work. We focus on the first year implementation of the program that partnered a high school in the rural Midwest with an engineering unit of a government organization. Using a multiple methods study design, we analyzed disciplinary and interdisciplinary pre and posts test along with students’ interviews to determine learning gains as well as students’ interpretations of creative and critical thinking as experienced in the project and their knowledge of the engineering design process. Effect sizes showed that students in the WSP group had notable gains over the control group participants. Additionally, students’ knowledge of core elements of the design process were identified in inductive analyses of the interviews. Findings from this study will provide usable knowledge about effective ways to support systems and design thinking and ways to support expert‐novice collaboration to ensure success.     

Tensor Bi-CR Methods for Solutions of High Order Tensor Equation Accompanied by Einstein Product

Tensors have a wide application in control systems, documents analysis, medical engineering, formulating an $n$-person noncooperative game and so on. It is the purpose of this paper to explore two efficient and novel algorithms for computing the solutions $\mathcal{X}$ and $\mathcal{Y}$ of the high order tensor equation $\mathcal{A}*_P\mathcal{X}*_Q\mathcal{B}+\mathcal{C}*_P\mathcal{Y}*_Q\mathcal{D}=\mathcal{H}$ with Einstein product. The algorithms are, respectively, based on the Hestenes-Stiefel (HS) and the Lanczos types of bi-conjugate residual (Bi-CR) algorithm. The theoretical results indicate that the algorithms terminate after finitely many iterations with any initial tensors. The resulting algorithms are easy to implement and simple to use. Finally, we present two numerical examples that confirm our analysis and illustrate the efficiency of the algorithms.     

基于SEM的我国重要城市现代化水平综合评价模型研究

基于结构方程(SEM)理论,以2008年统计数据为样本对影响城市现代化的测量指标进行了一阶、二阶验证性因素分析,得到了结构方程模型.并以测量指标在因子上的负荷、路径系数为基础构建权重,建立了城市现代化水平综合评价模型.对我国重要城市(直辖市、主要省会城市)现代化水平程度进行了相对评价,得到较为满意的结果.     

X伴性遗传疾病易感性基因的定位问题

在具有遗传印记效应的条件下,根据Spielman等人和Knapp的方法，将传递／不平衡检验推广为X伴性遗传疾病的情形．     

Shibor期限结构动态研究

近年来央行一直推动利率市场化进程,央行将把上海银行间同业拆放利率(Shibor)培育成基准利率。为了推动利率市场化进程,本文以Shibor作为研究对象,构造了Shibor期限结构的基础模型。为了进一步找出Shibor的变化规律,对于基础模型我们做了不同的扩展,并应用时间序列模型对我国的Shibor期限结构进行了实证分析,发现:隔夜、1周、2周、1个月Shibor具有很强的均值回复特性,3个月、6个月、9个月及1年Shibor不具有显著的线性均值回复特征;1个月、3个月、6个月、9个月及1年Shibor期限结构的扩散项部分是对称的,而隔夜、1周、2周Shibor期限结构的扩散项部分存在明显的不对称性。     

基于单倍型的复杂疾病基因定位研究

本文讨论了复杂疾病基因定位研究中的单倍型关联分析方法及与之相关的单倍型推断方法,指出了目前已有方法存在的问题与面临的困难,这些困难及问题正是现代统计学研究的热点和亟待解决的问题.通过统计上的思考与理解,提出了一些有待进一步研究的问题.     

Newton’s method as a tool for finding the eigenvalues of certain two-parameter (multiparameter) spectral problems

An iterative algorithm is examined for finding the eigenvalues of the two-parameter (multiparameter) algebraic eigenvalue problem. This algorithm uses Newton’s method and an efficient numerical procedure for differentiating determinants. Some numerical examples are given.     

基于AHP-GRA的湖北省科技创新人才开发评价研究

科技创新人才是推动经济社会发展的核心资源,是提升一个区域乃至一个国家核心竞争力的关键所在.以科技创新人才开发为核心,从人才可持续发展的视角,建立一套衡量湖北省科技创新人才开发水平的评价指标体系,同时结合层次分析法(AHP)和灰色关联分析法(GRA)构建评价模型,对湖北省科技创新人才开发水平及发展态势进行实证分析,探索提高湖北省科技创新人才开发水平的对策建议,为湖北省制定科技人才开发战略以及加强科技人才队伍建设提供决策参考.     

Conditions for an Extremum in Metric Spaces

General necessary and sufficient conditions of the k-th order (where k >0) for an extremum of an arbitrary function defined on an arbitrary metric space are stated. Examples illustrating the theory are described.     

The use of splines and singular functions in an integral equation method for conformal mapping

Summary We consider the integral equation method of Symm for the conformal mapping of simply-connected domains. For the numerical solution, we examine the use of spline functions of various degrees for the approximation of the source density . In particular, we consider ways for overcoming the difficulties associated with corner singularities. For this we modify the spline approximation and in the neighborhood of each corner, where a boundary singularity occurs, we approximate by a function which reflects the main singular behaviour of the source density. The singular functions are then blended with the splines, which approximate on the remainder of the boundary, so that the global approximating function has continuity of appropriate order at the transition points between the two types of approximation. We show, by means of numerical examples, that such approximations overcome the difficulties associated with corner singularities and lead to numerical results of high accuracy.     

Banach空间中含$(H,\eta)$单调算子变分包含组解的迭代法

In this paper, we introduce and study a new system of variational inclusions involving （H, η）-monotone operators in Banach space. Using the resolveut operator associated with （H, η）- monotone operators, we prove the existence and uniqueness of solutions for this new system of variational inclusions. We also construct a new algorithm for approximating the solution of this system and discuss the convergence of the iterative sequence generated by the algorithm.     

中国省际碳排放驱动因子及趋势分析:以辽宁省为例

采用1997-2012年辽宁省碳排放时间序列数据,参照STIRPAT模型,通过因子分析和最小二乘法回归拟合得到碳排放量和5类主要影响因子的拟合方程.研究结果表明:人口、人均GDP、第二产业产值、单位GDP能耗和全社会固定资产投资每增加或降低1%将带来碳排放量增加或降低比率分别为:0.3294%、0.1544%、0.1424%、0.2675%和0.1375%.通过灰色预测模型GM(1,1)进行预测分析,预测结果为:2020年和2030年辽宁省的碳排放总量将分别达到38705.368万t和69603.215万t,碳排放强度将分别降至0.576t/万元和0.2878t/万元.