Pressure shocks in relativistic viscous heat-conducting fluids

In this paper we have studied the propagation of pressure shocks in viscous, heat-conducting, relativistic fluids. Velocities of wave fronts and growth equations for the strength of the waves are obtained in the case of low and high temperatures with variable transport coefficients. On the basis of numerical integrations the growth equation results have been discussed. In the case of constant transport coefficients and for all admissible values of ratio of specific heats of the fluid, an analytical solution for the velocity of the wave as a function of distance along the normal trajectory to the wave front, has been obtained.

Becoming a teacher: emerging teacher identity in mathematics teacher education

This research examines three aspects of becoming a teacher, teacher identity formation in mathematics teacher education: the cognitive and affective aspect, the image of an ideal teacher directing the developmental process, and as an on-going process. The formation of emerging teacher identity was approached in a social psychological framework, in which individual development takes place in social interaction with the context through various experiences. Formation of teacher identity is seen as a dynamic, on-going developmental process, in which an individual intentionally aspires after the ideal image of being a teacher by developing his/her own competence as a teacher. The starting-point was that it is possible to examine formation of teacher identity through conceptualisation of observations that the individual and others have about teacher identity in different situations. The research uses the qualitative case study approach to formation of emerging teacher identity, the individual developmental process and the socially constructed image of an ideal mathematics teacher. Two student cases, John and Mary, and the collective case of teacher educators representing socially shared views of becoming and being a mathematics teacher are presented. The development of each student was examined based on three semi-structured interviews supplemented with written products. The data-gathering took place during the 2005 2006 academic year. The collective case about the ideal image provided during the programme was composed of separate case displays of each teacher educator, which were mainly based on semi-structured interviews in spring term 2006. The intentions and aims set for students were of special interest in the interviews with teacher educators. The interview data was analysed following the modified idea of analytic induction. The formation of teacher identity is elaborated through three themes emerging from theoretical considerations and the cases. First, the profile of one s present state as a teacher may be scrutinised through separate affective and cognitive aspects associated with the teaching profession. The differences between individuals arise through dif-ferent emphasis on these aspects. Similarly, the socially constructed image of an ideal teacher may be profiled through a combination of aspects associated with the teaching profession. Second, the ideal image directing the individual developmental process is the level at which individual and social processes meet. Third, formation of teacher identity is about becoming a teacher both in the eyes of the individual self as well as of others in the context. It is a challenge in academic mathematics teacher education to support the various cognitive and affective aspects associated with being a teacher in a way that being a professional and further development could have a coherent starting-point that an individual can internalise.

Where have all the zebras gone? The pedestrian ranks lowest in the food chain of Kathmandu's urban jungle

This article presents an overview of pedestrian environment in Kathmandu, Nepal to briefly discuss some of the emerging problems. It argues that pedestrian ranks lowest in the food chain of Kathmandu's urban jungle as there is too little concern shown by the government agencies in improving the quality of the street space for walkers.

Tekstiilityötä ja matematiikkaa yhdistävän oppimateriaalin käyttökelpoisuus perusopetuksen yläluokilla

In this study the researcher wanted to show the observed connection of mathematics and textile work. To carry this out the researcher designed a textbook by herself for the upper secondary school in Tietoteollisuuden Naiset TiNA project at Helsinki University of Technology (URL:http://tina.tkk.fi/). The assignments were designed as additional teaching material to enhance and reinforce female students confidence in mathematics and in the management of their textile work. The research strategy applied action research, out of which two cycles two have been carried out. The first cycle consists of establishing the textbook and in the second cycle its usability is investigated. The third cycle is not included in this report. In the second cycle of the action research the data was collected from 15 teachers, five textile teachers, four mathematics teachers and six teachers of both subjects. They all got familiar with the textbook assignments and answered a questionnaire on the basis of their own teaching experience. The questionnaire was established by applying the theories of usability and teaching material assessment study. The data consisted of qualitative and quantitative information, which was analysed by content analysis with computer assisted table program to either qualitative or statistical description. According to the research results, the textbook assignments seamed to be applied better to mathematics lessons than textile work. The assignments pointed out, however, the clear interconnectedness of textile work and mathematics. Most of the assignments could be applied as such or as applications in the upper secondary school textile work and mathematics lessons. The textbook assignments were also applicable in different stages of the teaching process, e.g. as introduction, repetition or to support individual work or as group projects. In principle the textbook assignments were in well placed and designed in the correct level of difficulty. Negative findings concerned some too difficult assignments, lack of pupil motivation and unfamiliar form of task for the teacher. More clarity for some assignments was wished for and there was especially expressed a need for easy tasks and assignments in geometry. Assignments leading to the independent thinking of the pupil were additionally asked for. Two important improvements concerning the textbook attainability would be to get the assignments in html format over the Internet and to add a handicraft reference book.

Derivation of the solution of certain singular integral equations

It is shown that the a;P?lication of the Poincare-Bertrand fcm~ulaw hen made in a suitable manner produces the s~lutiano f certain singular integral equations very quickly, thc method of arriving at which, otherwise, is too complicaled. Two singular integral equations are considered. One of these quaiions is with a Cauchy-tyge kcrnel arid the other is an equalion which appears in the a a w guide theory and the theory of dishcations. Adifferent approach i? alw made here to solve the singular integralquation> of the waveguide theor? ind this i ~ v o l v eth~e use of the inversion formula of the Cauchy-type singular integral equahn and dudion to a system of TIilberl problems for two unknowns which can be dwupled wry easily to obi& tbe closed form solutim of the irilegral equatlou at band. The methods of the prescnt paper avoid all the complicaled approaches of solving the singular integral equaticn of the waveguide theory knowr todate.

Modeling dynamic demand response using Monte Carlo simulation and interval mathematics for boundary estimation

With the rapid development of various technologies and applications in smart grid implementation, demand response has attracted growing research interests because of its potentials in enhancing power grid reliability with reduced system operation costs. This paper presents a new demand response model with elastic economic dispatch in a locational marginal pricing market. It models system economic dispatch as a feedback control process, and introduces a flexible and adjustable load cost as a controlled signal to adjust demand response. Compared with the conventional “one time use” static load dispatch model, this dynamic feedback demand response model may adjust the load to a desired level in a finite number of time steps and a proof of convergence is provided. In addition, Monte Carlo simulation and boundary calculation using interval mathematics are applied for describing uncertainty of end-user's response to an independent system operator's expected dispatch. A numerical analysis based on the modified Pennsylvania-Jersey-Maryland power pool five-bus system is introduced for simulation and the results verify the effectiveness of the proposed model. System operators may use the proposed model to obtain insights in demand response processes for their decision-making regarding system load levels and operation conditions.

Unsteady laminar compressible stagnation-point boundary-layer flow over a three-dimensional body: Higher order effects

The unsteady laminar compressible three-dimensional stagnation-point boundary-layer flow with variable properties has been studied when the velocity of the incident stream, mass transfer and wall temperature vary arbitrarily with time. The second-order unsteady boundary-layer equations for all the effects have been derived by using the method of matched asymptotic expansions. Both nodal and saddle point flows as well as cold and hot wall cases have been considered. The partial differential equations governing the flow have been solved numerically using an implicit finite-difference scheme. Computations have been carried out for an accelerating stream, a decelerating stream and a fluctuating stream. The results indicate that the unsteady free stream velocity distributions, the nature of the stagnation point, the mass transfer, the wall temperature and the variation of the density-viscosity product across the boundary significantly affect the skin friction and heat transfer. The variation of the wall temperature with time strongly affects the heat transfer whereas its effect is comparatively less on skin friction. Suction increases the skin friction and heat transfer but injection does the opposite. The skin friction in the x direction due to the combined effects of first- and second-order boundary layers is less than the skin-friction in the x direction due to the first-order boundary layers for all the parameters. The overall skin friction in the z direction and heat transfer are more or less than the first-order boundary layers depending upon the values of the various parameters.

Yhdessä ajattelu ja osallistuminen : Interventiotutkimus yhteistoiminnallisen oppimisen kehittymisestä kahdessa alakoulun pienryhmässä

Participation and social modes of thinking - An intervention study on the development of collaborative learning in two primary school small groups This study explores the thinking together -intervention programme in three primary school classes. The object of the intervention was to teach pupils to use exploratory talk in small group collaboratory learning. Exploratory talk is a type of talk in which joint reasoning is made explicit. Research has shown that exploratory talk can improve mathematics and science learning, argumentative skills and competence in reasoning tests. The object of this study was to investigate the theory of social modes of thinking which the intervention program is based on. I tried to find out how the thinking together -intervention programme suits the Finnish context. Therefore my study is part of an international research project of interventions that have been implemented for example in Great-Britain and in Mexico. One essential drawback in former research made on thinking together -approach is that the nature of participation has not been studied properly. In this study I also examine how the nature of participation develops in small groups. In addition to that I aim to develope a theoretical framework which includes both the perspectives of the social modes of thinking and the nature of participation. The perspective of this study is sociocultural. The research material consists of video recordings of collaborative learning tasks of two small groups. In groups there were pupils of age groups 9 - 11. I study the nature of participation using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Quantitative methods include for example IR-analysis method and counting of turns at talk and words. I also use qualitative content analysis to analyze both the nature of participation and social modes of thinking. As a result of my study I found out that the interaction of the other group was leadership based and in the other group the interaction was without leadership relations. In both groups the participation was quantitatively more symmetrical in the end of the intervention. In the group in which the interaction was leadership based the participation of the pupils was more symmetrical. Exploratory talk was found more in the group without leadership relations, but in both groups the amount of exploratory talk was increased during the intervention. Leadership based interaction was further divided into interaction of alienating and inclusive leadership according to how symmetrical the participation was in the dialogue. Exploratory talk was found only when the leadership was inclusive or the interaction was without leadership relations. The main result of the study was that the exploratory talk was further divided into four subcategories according to the nature of participation. In open and inclusive exploratory talk all group members participated initiatively and their initiatives were responded by others. In closed and uneven exploratory talk some group members couldn't participate properly. Therefore it cannot be said that exploratory talk guarantees symmetrical participation. The nature of participation must be investigated separately.

On the magnetohydrodynamic flow between eccentrically rotating disks

The steady flow of an incompressible, viscous, electrically conducting fluid between two parallel, infinite, insulated disks rotating with different angular velocities about two noncoincident axes has been investigated; under the application of a uniform magnetic field in the axial direction. The solutions for the symmetric and asymmetric velocities are presented. The interesting feature arising due to the magnetic field is that in the central region the flow attains a uniform rotation with mean angular velocity at all rotation speeds for sufficiently large Hartmann number. In this case the flow adjusts to the rotational velocities of the disks mainly in the boundary layers near the disks. The forces on the disks are found to increase due to the presence of the applied magnetic field.

Weaning management of beef calves - practical guidelines for northern Australian

The ‘Weaning management of beef calves – practical guidelines for northern Australian beef producers‘ book or simply ‘the weaner book’ is a compilation of all the research, demonstration and practical knowledge available on weaning and weaner management in northern Australia. Most of this information has been available for some years, but it has not been collated in a single document that is practical and easy to understand. It has been difficult for property owners, managers and their staff to access. The end result of this project is an easy to read guide that has all the available information in one publication. Compiling this information has also highlighted areas where information is limited or non existent or where available information is not being implemented across the whole industry. This has been evaluated and included in recommendations for further research and or demonstration work.

Making More from Sheep Phase II : MMfS State Coordination – Queensland

Making More from Sheep (MMfS) is a majority market extension program funded by Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) and Australian Wool Innovation (AWI). Phase II of MMfS commenced in Queensland with a business planning process in October 2010 and delivery from November 2010 until November 2013. Mr Tony Hamilton of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) was initially the State Coordinator with responsibility for planning, project implementation, monitoring and evaluation. He was replaced by Ms Nicole Sallur from DAFF towards the end of the project. Delivery involving partner organisations provided best practice management information and tools to sheep producers with target Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) exceeded across all three tiers of engagement category. 31 events were delivered to 551 participants. Satisfaction and value scores averaged across all events measured 8.7 and 8.2 respectively. Operational recommendations have been included in the report.

On the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability of structured plasma layers in the magnetosphere

The hydromagnetic Kelvin-Helmholtz (K-H) instability problem is studied for a three-layered system analytically by arriving at the marginal instability condition. As the magnetic field directions are taken to vary in the three regions, both the angle and finite thickness effects are seen on the instability criterion. When the relative flow speed of the plasmas on the two sides of the interfaces separating the inner and the surrounding layers is U < Uc, where Uc is the critical speed, the system is stable both for symmetric and asymmetric perturbations. However, unlike the case of the interface bounded by two semiinfinite media, Uc is no longer the minimum critical speed above which the system will be unstable for all wavenumbers; another critical speed U* > Uc is introduced due to the finiteness of the system. When Uc < U < U*, the instability can set in either through the symmetric or asymmetric mode, depending on the ratio of the plasma parameters and angle between the magnetic field directions across the boundaries. The instability arises for a finite range of wavenumbers, thus giving rise to the upper and lower cut-off frequencies for the spectra of hydromagnetic surface waves generated by the K-H instability mechanism. When U > U*, both the modes are unstable for short wavelengths. The results are finally used to explain some observational features of the dependence of hydromagnetic energy spectra in the magnetosphere on the interplanetary parameters.

Statistical analysis of the associations of hereditary factors with the risk of Type 1 diabetes and Diabetic Nephropathy based on the familial data collected through ascertaiment from population-based registers

In genetic epidemiology, population-based disease registries are commonly used to collect genotype or other risk factor information concerning affected subjects and their relatives. This work presents two new approaches for the statistical inference of ascertained data: a conditional and full likelihood approaches for the disease with variable age at onset phenotype using familial data obtained from population-based registry of incident cases. The aim is to obtain statistically reliable estimates of the general population parameters. The statistical analysis of familial data with variable age at onset becomes more complicated when some of the study subjects are non-susceptible, that is to say these subjects never get the disease. A statistical model for a variable age at onset with long-term survivors is proposed for studies of familial aggregation, using latent variable approach, as well as for prospective studies of genetic association studies with candidate genes. In addition, we explore the possibility of a genetic explanation of the observed increase in the incidence of Type 1 diabetes (T1D) in Finland in recent decades and the hypothesis of non-Mendelian transmission of T1D associated genes. Both classical and Bayesian statistical inference were used in the modelling and estimation. Despite the fact that this work contains five studies with different statistical models, they all concern data obtained from nationwide registries of T1D and genetics of T1D. In the analyses of T1D data, non-Mendelian transmission of T1D susceptibility alleles was not observed. In addition, non-Mendelian transmission of T1D susceptibility genes did not make a plausible explanation for the increase in T1D incidence in Finland. Instead, the Human Leucocyte Antigen associations with T1D were confirmed in the population-based analysis, which combines T1D registry information, reference sample of healthy subjects and birth cohort information of the Finnish population. Finally, a substantial familial variation in the susceptibility of T1D nephropathy was observed. The presented studies show the benefits of sophisticated statistical modelling to explore risk factors for complex diseases.