The 'algebra as object' analogy: a view from school

Treating algebraic symbols as objects (eg. “‘a’ means ‘apple’”) is a means of introducing elementary simplification of algebra, but causes problems further on. This current school-based research included an examination of texts still in use in the mathematics department, and interviews with mathematics teachers, year 7 pupils and then year 10 pupils asking them how they would explain, “3a + 2a = 5a” to year 7 pupils. Results included the notion that the ‘algebra as object’ analogy can be found in textbooks in current usage, including those recently published. Teachers knew that they were not ‘supposed’ to use the analogy but not always clear why, nevertheless stating methods of teaching consistent with an‘algebra as object’ approach. Year 7 pupils did not explicitly refer to ‘algebra as object’, although some of their responses could be so interpreted. In the main, year 10 pupils used ‘algebra as object’ to explain simplification of algebra, with some complicated attempts to get round the limitations. Further research would look to establish whether the appearance of ‘algebra as object’ in pupils’ thinking between year 7 and 10 is consistent and, if so, where it arises. Implications also are for on-going teacher training with alternatives to introducing such simplification.

Contested and contesting identities: minority languages vs. the teaching of 'world' languages within the global cultural economy

This paper juxtaposes postmodernist discourses on language, identity and cultural power with historical forms of language inequalities grounded in the nation-state. The discussion is presented in three sections. The first section focuses on the mixed legacies of language-state relations within the pluralist nation-state, colonial and postcolonial language policies. The second section examines the concept of linguistic minority rights beyond the nation-state. This incorporates discussion of transmigration, the breaking up of previous power blocs in Eastern Europe and the role of language in the articulation of emergent 'ethnic' nationalisms. The third section examines the concept of multilingualism within the interactive cultural landscape defined by 'informationalism'. Discussing the collective impact of these variables on the shaping of new cultural, economic and political inequalities, the paper highlights the tensions in which the concept of linguistic minority rights exists in the world today.

Application of cylindrical distribution functions to wide-angle X-ray scattering from oriented polymers

A systematic approach is presented for obtaining cylindrical distribution functions (CDF's) of noncrystalline polymers which have been oriented by extension. The scattering patterns and CDF's are also sharpened by the method proposed by Deas and by Ruland. Data from atactic poly(methyl methacrylate) and polystyrene are analysed by these techniques. The methods could also be usefully applied to liquid crystals.

Conformational analysis of oriented non-crystalline polymers using wide angle X-ray scattering

A procedure is presented for obtaining conformational parameters from oriented but non-crystalline polymers. This is achieved by comparison of the experimental wide angle X-ray scattering with that calculated from models but in such a way that foreknowledge of the orientation distribution function is not required. X-ray scattering intensity values for glassy isotactic poly(methylmethacrylate) are analysed by these techniques. The method could be usefully applied to other oriented molecular systems such as liquid crystalline materials.

Collision prediction of a moving object within a virtual world

This paper provides a solution for predicting moving/moving and moving/static collisions of objects within a virtual environment. Feasible prediction in real-time virtual worlds can be obtained by encompassing moving objects within a sphere and static objects within a convex polygon. Fast solutions are then attainable by describing the movement of objects parametrically in time as a polynomial.

Building the foundations for a market-oriented planning system in Bulgaria

Planning is highly conditioned by the relationships between the market, state and politics. This becomes particularly clear in looking at the changes taking place in the countries of the former Communist block as they attempt to establish a new set of relationships. The old power structures have been dislodged and old laws discarded. This paper examines the situation in Bulgaria and explores the preconditions for setting up a new planning system there. The first section outlines the political changes since 1989 and shows how political instability has effected the pace of change. The establishment of a market in land and property is a second precondition for the planning system there and moves in this direction are presented, including restitution policies. Finally the issues raised by the early attempts towards a new planning system are discussed. This paper is the first of a series looking at the countries of Eastern Europe and the author would welcome comments from others working in this field.

Keeping the world at hand: rapid visuomotor processing for hand-object interactions

The existence of hand-centred visual processing has long been established in the macaque premotor cortex. These hand-centred mechanisms have been thought to play some general role in the sensory guidance of movements towards objects, or, more recently, in the sensory guidance of object avoidance movements. We suggest that these hand-centred mechanisms play a specific and prominent role in the rapid selection and control of manual actions following sudden changes in the properties of the objects relevant for hand-object interactions. We discuss recent anatomical and physiological evidence from human and non-human primates, which indicates the existence of rapid processing of visual information for hand-object interactions. This new evidence demonstrates how several stages of the hierarchical visual processing system may be bypassed, feeding the motor system with hand-related visual inputs within just 70 ms following a sudden event. This time window is early enough, and this processing rapid enough, to allow the generation and control of rapid hand-centred avoidance and acquisitive actions, for aversive and desired objects, respectively

Lexical access across languages: a multinomial model of auditory distraction

Recall in many types of verbal memory task is reliably disrupted by the presence of auditory distracters, with verbal distracters frequently proving the most disruptive (Beaman, 2005). A multinomial processing tree model (Schweickert, 1993) is applied to the effects on free recall of background speech from a known or an unknown language. The model reproduces the free recall curve and the impact on memory of verbal distracters for which a lexical entry exists (i.e., verbal items from a known language). The effects of semantic relatedness of distracters within a language is found to depend upon a redintegrative factor thought to reflect the contribution of the speech-production system. The differential impacts of known and unknown languages cannot be accounted for in this way, but the same effects of distraction are observed amongst bilinguals, regardless of distracter-language.

Towards a life-event oriented G2C e-service provision: the NoBLE Framework

One of the primary features of modern government-to-citizen (G2C) service provision is the ability to offer a citizen-centric view of the e-government portal. Life-event approach is one of the most widely adopted paradigms supporting the idea of solving a complex event in a citizen’s life through a single service provision. Several studies have used this approach to design e-government portals. However, they were limited in terms of use and scalability. There were no mechanisms that show how to specify a life-event for structuring public e-services, or how to systematically match life-events with these services taking into consideration the citizen needs. We introduce the NOrm-Based Life-Event (NoBLE) framework for G2C e-service provision with a set of mechanisms as a guide for designing active life-event oriented e-government portals.

Towards a semiotic approach to practice-oriented knowledge transfer

With the rapid growth of information and technology, knowledge is a valuable asset in organisation which has become significant as a strategic resource. Many studies have focused on managing knowledge in organisations. In particular, knowledge transfer has become a significant issue concerned with the movement of knowledge across organisational boundaries. It enables the exploitation and application of existing knowledge for other organisations, reducing the time of creating knowledge, and minimising the cost of organisational learning. One way to capture knowledge in a transferrable form is through practice. In this paper, we discuss how organisations can transfer knowledge through practice effectively and propose a model for a semiotic approach to practice-oriented knowledge transfer. In this model, practice is treated as a sign that represents knowledge, and its localisation is analysed as a semiotic process.

The "Fair trade nation": market-oriented development in devolved European regions

Scholars have largely ignored the roles played by government and public sector institutions in the fair trade movement. This article addresses the knowledge gap through examining government involvement in fair trade networks in the context of European devolution and the localization of international development action. Proposing a relational view of fair trade networks, and considering the Fair Trade Nation as a social category for development, it highlights how power sources outside the centralized nation-state permit a political community to associate itself with fair trade. Research from Wales demonstrates that government acts in a leadership role rather than as regulator, conferring political voice and finance while enhancing its international credentials and contributing to the politics of nation-building. Our conclusion is cautious; campaigners celebrate political commitment to fair trade embodied within the category of the Fair Trade Nation, but evidence suggests that government reliance on the market as a vehicle for decentralized development action is limited by how the Fair Trade Nation is currently executed.

Robust abandoned object detection integrating wide area visual surveillance and social context

This paper presents a video surveillance framework that robustly and efficiently detects abandoned objects in surveillance scenes. The framework is based on a novel threat assessment algorithm which combines the concept of ownership with automatic understanding of social relations in order to infer abandonment of objects. Implementation is achieved through development of a logic-based inference engine based on Prolog. Threat detection performance is conducted by testing against a range of datasets describing realistic situations and demonstrates a reduction in the number of false alarms generated. The proposed system represents the approach employed in the EU SUBITO project (Surveillance of Unattended Baggage and the Identification and Tracking of the Owner).