Does mathematical learning occur in going from concrete to abstract or in going from abstract to concrete?

The notions of abstract and concrete are central to the conceptualization of mathematical knowing and learning. It is generally accepted that development goes from concrete toward the abstract; but dialectical theorists maintain just the opposite: development consists of an ascension from the abstract to the concrete. In this article, we reformulate the relationship of abstract and concrete consistent with a dialectical materialist approach to conscious human activity, as it was developed in the line of cultural-historical psychology. Our reformulation of development in and through interpretation shows that rather than being a movement from concrete to abstract or from abstract to concrete, development occurs in a double ascension that simultaneously moves in both direction: it is a passage of one in the other. In the proposed approach, the theoretical contradictions of earlier approaches to the issue of abstract have been eliminated.     

On expressiveness of the chain graph interpretations

In this article we study the expressiveness of the different chain graph interpretations. Chain graphs is a class of probabilistic graphical models that can contain two types of edges, representing different types of relationships between the variables in question. Chain graphs is also a superclass of directed acyclic graphs, i.e. Bayesian networks, and can thereby represent systems more accurately than this less expressive class of models. Today there do however exist several different ways of interpreting chain graphs and what conditional independences they encode, giving rise to different so-called chain graph interpretations. Previous research has approximated the number of representable independence models for the Lauritzen–Wermuth–Frydenberg and the multivariate regression chain graph interpretations using an MCMC based approach. In this article we use a similar approach to approximate the number of models representable by the latest chain graph interpretation in research, the Andersson–Madigan–Perlman interpretation. Moreover we summarize and compare the different chain graph interpretations with each other. Our results confirm previous results that directed acyclic graphs only can represent a small fraction of the models representable by chain graphs, even for a low number of nodes. The results also show that the Andersson–Madigan–Perlman and multivariate regression interpretations can represent about the same amount of models and twice the amount of models compared to the Lauritzen–Wermuth–Frydenberg interpretation. However, at the same time almost all models representable by the latter interpretation can only be represented by that interpretation while the former two have a large intersection in terms of representable models.     

On the predecessor relation in abstract algebras

In this paper we generalize the Dedekind theory of order for the natural numbers N to abstract algebras with arbitrarily many finitary or infinitary operations. For any algebra ??, we introduce an algebraic predecessor relation P?? and its transitive hull P*?? coinciding in N with the unary injective successor function' resp. the >-relation. For some important classes of algebras ??, including Peano algebras (absolutely free algebras, word algebras), the algebraic predecessor relation is well-founded. Hence, its transitive hull, the natural ordering >?? of ??, is a well-founded partial order, which turns out to be a convenient device for classifying Peano algebras with respect to the number of operations and their arities. Moreover, the property of well-foundedness is an efficient tool for giving simple proofs of structure theorems as, e. g., that the class of all Peano algebras is closed under subalgebras and non-void direct products. - Finally, we will show how in the case of a formal language ??, i. e., the Peano algebra ?? of expressions (= terms & formulas), relations P??, resp. P*_?? can be used to define basic syntactical notions as occurences of free and bound variables etc. without any reference to a particular representation (“coding”) of the formal language. MSC: 03B22, 03E30, 03E75, 03F35, 08A55, 08B20.     

Beyond abstract elementary classes: On the model theory of geometric lattices

Based on Crapo's theory of one point extensions of combinatorial geometries, we find various classes of geometric lattices that behave very well from the point of view of stability theory. One of them, $({\mathbf{K}}^3,?)$, is ω-stable, it has a monster model and an independence calculus that satisfies all the usual properties of non-forking. On the other hand, these classes are rather unusual, e.g. in $({\mathbf{K}}^3,?)$ the Smoothness Axiom fails, and so $({\mathbf{K}}^3,?)$ is not an AEC.     

Reprint of: Extreme point and halving edge search in abstract order types

Many properties of finite point sets only depend on the relative position of the points, e.g., on the order type of the set. However, many fundamental algorithms in computational geometry rely on coordinate representations. This includes the straightforward algorithms for finding a halving line for a given planar point set, as well as finding a point on the convex hull, both in linear time. In his monograph Axioms and Hulls, Knuth asks whether these problems can be solved in linear time in a more abstract setting, given only the orientation of each point triple, i.e., the setʼs chirotope, as a source of information. We answer this question in the affirmative. More precisely, we can find a halving line through any given point, as well as the vertices of the convex hull edges that are intersected by the supporting line of any two given points of the set in linear time. We first give a proof for sets realizable in the Euclidean plane and then extend the result to non-realizable abstract order types.     

A tabu search scheme for abstract problems, with applications to the computation of fixed points

We present a general tabu search iterative algorithm to solve abstract problems on metric spaces. At each iteration, if the current solution turns out to be unacceptable then a neighborhood of unacceptable solutions is determined and excluded for further exploration, in such a way that, under mild assumptions, an acceptable solution is asymptotically reached. Thus our algorithm makes a crucial use of memory to avoid visiting unacceptable solutions more than once. We also present a specialization of our general method to the computation of fixed points.     

Analysis,modeling and solution of the concrete delivery problem

This paper describes a specific local search approach to solve a problem arising in logistics which we prove to be NP-hard. The problem is a complex scheduling or vehicle routing problem where we have to schedule the tours of concrete mixer vehicles over a working day from concrete-producing depots to concrete-demanding customers and vice versa. We give a general mixed integer programming model which is too hard to solve for state of the art mixed integer programming optimizers in the case of the usually huge problem instances coming from practice. Therefore we present a certain local search approach to be able to handle huge practical problem instances.     

On the complexity of the Leibniz hierarchy

We prove that the problem of determining whether a finite logical matrix determines an algebraizable logic is complete for EXPTIME. The same result holds for the classes of order algebraizable, weakly algebraizable, equivalential and protoalgebraic logics. Finally, the same problem for the class of truth-equational logic is shown to be hard for EXPTIME.     

On intermediate inquisitive and dependence logics: An algebraic study

This article provides an algebraic study of intermediate inquisitive and dependence logics. While these logics are usually investigated using team semantics, here we introduce an alternative algebraic semantics and we prove it is complete for all intermediate inquisitive and dependence logics. To this end, we define inquisitive and dependence algebras and we investigate their model-theoretic properties. We then focus on finite, core-generated, well-connected inquisitive and dependence algebras: we show they witness the validity of formulas true in inquisitive algebras, and of formulas true in well-connected dependence algebras. Finally, we obtain representation theorems for finite, core-generated, well-connected, inquisitive and dependence algebras and we prove some results connecting team and algebraic semantics.     

Fréchet differentiability of the solutions of a semilinear abstract Cauchy problem

Sufficient conditions are found under which the solutions z(t;q) of a semilinear abstract Cauchy problem of the form are Fréchet differentiable with respect to the parameter q. An explicit form is provided for the sensitivity equation satisfied by the Fréchet derivative Dqz(t;q).     

Circular-arc graph coloring: On chords and circuits in the meeting graph

In compilers register allocation in loops is usually performed by coloring a corresponding circular-arc graph. Generally, the problem of finding the chromatic number of circular-arc graphs is known to be NP-complete. Thus, approximation algorithms should be considered. In this paper we propose heuristics based on decomposition of a so called meeting graph into a set of circuits. We explain the importance of the meeting graph for our solutions and prove properties of our decomposition of the graph into circuits. We derive inequalities relating the number of circuits in the decomposition to the size of the maximum stable set of chords, and present experimental results. Finally, we discuss the quality of our heuristics for circular-arc graph coloring.     

Contradictions and uncertainty in scientists’ mathematical modeling and interpretation of data

Contradictions have been recognized as important factors in learning (conceptual change), because they require students to engage in deep reflection that leads to accommodation and learning. However, in the face of uncertainty, confirmation bias and the theory-laden nature of observation may not allow the recognition of a situation as harboring a contradiction. In the present study, I analyze a meeting in which a scientific research team presents its results to an informed audience. I show that with hindsight, there are contradictions in the mathematical models that the scientists use and the graph interpretations that they produce. Because the contradictions went unnoticed, they could not become a determinant factor in the process. This has implications for thinking about the role of uncertainty and contradiction as factors in and of mathematical learning.     

Genetic algorithms for supply-chain scheduling: A case study in the distribution of ready-mixed concrete

The coordination of just-in-time production and transportation in a network of partially independent facilities to guarantee timely delivery to distributed customers is one of the most challenging aspect of supply chain management. From a theoretical perspective, the timely production/distribution can be viewed as a hybrid combination of planning, scheduling and routing problems, each notoriously affected by nearly prohibitive combinatorial complexity. From a practical viewpoint, the problem calls for a trade-off between risks and profits. This paper focuses on the ready-mixed concrete delivery: in addition to the mentioned complexity, strict time-constraints forbid both earliness and lateness of the supply. After developing a detailed model of the considered problem, we propose a novel meta-heuristic approach based on a hybrid genetic algorithm combined with constructive heuristics. A detailed case study derived from industrial data is used to illustrate the potential of the proposed approach.     

On the abstract nonautonomous parabolic cauchy problem in the case of constant domains

Summary We study existence, uniqueness and regularity of the strict, classical and strong solution u C([0,T],E) of the non-autonomous evolution equation u(t)–A(t)u(t)= f(t), with the initial datum, u(0)=x, in a Banach space E, where {A(t)} is a family of infinitesimal generators of analytic semi-groups whose domains are constant in t and possibly not dense in E. We prove necessary and sufficient conditions for existence and Hölder regularity of the solutions and their first derivative.     

A simple construction of representable relation algebras with non‐representable completions

We give a simple new construction of representable relation algebras with non‐representable completions. Using variations on our construction, we show that the elementary closure of the class of completely representable relation algebras is not finitely axiomatizable (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)