A comparative study of some computer algebra packages which determine the lie point symmetries of differential equations

The study seeks to determine which of five computer algebra packages is best at finding the Lie point symmetries of systems of partial differential equations with minimal user intervention. The chosen packages are LIEPDE and DIMSYM for REDUCE, LIE and BIGLIE for MUMATH, DESOLV for MAPLE, and MATHLIE for MATHEMATICA. A series of systems of partial differential equations are used in the study. The paper concludes that while all of the computer packages are useful, DESOLV appears to be the most successful system at determining the complete set of Lie point symmetries of systems of partial differential equations.

Algebra skills and traps and diagnostic teaching for the future

Explores on some research about teaching and learning algebra and related classroom issues. Diagnostic instruments that may be used by senior secondary teachers in teaching algebra to senior classes; Strategies for remediating algebraic difficulties and misconceptions; Impact of technology on the algebra curriculum; Usefulness of copying algebraic expressions while using Computer Algebra Systems or mathematics processing software in a calculus class.

Universal nonuniform random vector generator based on acceptance-rejection

The acceptance/rejection approach is widely used in universal nonuniform random number generators. Its key part is an accurate approximation of a given probability density from above by a hat function. This article uses a piecewise constant hat function, whose values are overestimates of the density on the elements of the partition of the domain. It uses a sawtooth overestimate of Lipschitz continuous densities, and then examines all local maximizers of such an overestimate. The method is applicable to multivariate multimodal distributions. It exhibits relatively short preprocessing time and fast generation of random variates from a very large class of distributions

Giving content to the principle of proportionality: happiness and pain as the universal currency for matching offence seriousness and penalty severity

The principle of proportionality prescribes that the punishment should equal the crime. It is one of the most important principles of sentencing. Yet, despite its widespread acceptance it offers no meaningful guide to sentencing. Hence penalty levels fluctuate greatly between jurisdictions and within jurisdictions. This is because there is no universally agreed criterion for measuring offence seriousness or penalty severity. This article suggests that the appropriate criteria for matching offence seriousness and penalty severity is the level of unhappiness or pain stemming from each of these impositions. Thus, for example, the level of pain meted out to a rape offender should equal the level of pain caused to a rape victim. Emerging scientific studies on human well-being and happiness show that human beings are similarly built in terms of the experiences that are either conducive or inimical to well-being. This commonality provides a strong foundation to be confident to make reasonably accurate predictions concerning the extent to which adverse events, such as being the victim of a criminal offence or subjected to a form of criminal sanction will stifle human flourishing. This will then allow us to match accurately offence seriousness and penalty level.

An almost universal scheme of national service in Australia in the 1950s

While the Australian Government partly justified the introduction of a universal National Service Training Scheme for eighteen-year old males in 1951 by highlighting the threat of imminent war and the consequent need for military preparedness, advocates also believed that national service encouraged the development of a sense of civil responsibility. Its confidence in the potential of national service to promote citizenship explains why the government was so strongly committed to the scheme's universality. Nonetheless, although the government went to great lengths to enforce compliance, Aborigines and those from other "non-white" backgrounds were actively discouraged from participation and women were only reluctantly admitted to the professional army. As would be expected in this period, they were never considered for national service. An examination of the rationale for national service and the associated discourse for inclusion and exclusion not only indicates the social assumptions shaping policy-making by government and bureaucratic elites in 1950s Australia, but also reveals their wider social aspirations.

Towards universal accessibility : including users with a disability in the design process

While increased awareness of disability issues has resulted in the development of guidelines for developing accessible software, such guidelines do not guarantee that the end product will be optimal for users with a disability. We present an overview of a user-centred approach to the needs analysis and ultimate design of a disability aware email client (Multimail). We discuss the process we used to work with participants in developing the software and reflect on the benefits and challenges of the process.

Towards universal and statistical-driven heuristics for automatic classification of sports video events

Researchers worldwide have been actively seeking for the most robust and powerful solutions to detect and classify key events (or highlights) in various sports domains. Most approaches have employed manual heuristics that model the typical pattern of audio-visual features within particular sport events To avoid manual observation and knowledge, machine-learning can be used as an alternative approach. To bridge the gaps between these two alternatives, an attempt is made to integrate statistics into heuristic models during highlight detection in our investigation. The models can be designed with a modest amount of domain-knowledge, making them less subjective and more robust for different sports. We have also successfully used a universal scope of detection and a standard set of features that can be applied for different sports that include soccer, basketball and Australian football. An experiment on a large dataset of sport videos, with a total of around 15 hours, has demonstrated the effectiveness and robustness of our
aIlgorithms.

In search of coherent jurisprudence for international criminal law : correlating universal human responsibilities with universal human rights

I. The Evolution of International Criminal Law International criminal justice concerns breaches of international rules entailing the personal criminal liability of individuals (as opposed to the State for which the individuals may act as agents or organs), and presently includes acts such as genocide, torture, crimes against humanity, aggression and terrorism. ... A rule stating: any act of armed conflict which directly causes the death of a civilian is a war crime unless it can be shown that the military advantage gained by the attack outweighs the harm. ... Thus, so far as international criminal law is concerned any act during armed conflict which results in the death or injury to a person who does not pose a direct threat to the life of the accused should be a war crime. ... Pursuant to the Rome Statute and as a matter of customary international law torture is a war crime when performed in the context of an armed conflict, and a crime against humanity when it is part of systematic criminal conduct. ... Torture can also constitute an individual international crime, even where it does not satisfy the criteria of a war crime or crime against humanity. ...

Towards a universal and integrated digital representation of physical phenomena: a model to investigate comfort and energy efficiency in future environments

This thesis describes the exploration and the development of computational means to investigate the behaviour of design objects before they are available for investigation in the physical world. The motivation is to inform the design process about the design object's performance in order to achieve better--more performance-oriented--design outcomes in the sense of energy efficiency and comfort performance than can be achieved by conventional design techniques.

Algebra concepts and skills survey - a draft

Presents questions adapted from the 'Group Review of Algebra Topics' (ACER 1991) that form a draft survey test of 24 items ranging across aspects of algebra and secondary algebra instruction.

Focused ion beam milling as a universal template technique for patterned growth of carbon nanotubes

Focused ion beam (FIB) milling system has been used to create nanosized patterns as the template for patterned growth of carbon nanotubes on Si substrate surface without predeposition of metal catalysts. Carbon nanotubes only nucleate and grow on the template under controlled pyrolysis of iron phthalocyanine at 1000 °C. The size, growth direction, and density of the patterned nanotubes can be controlled under different growth conditions and template sizes. Atomic force microscopy and electron microscopy analyses reveal that the selective growth on the FIB template is due to its special surface morphology and crystalline structure.