Mathematics Commons^™

Competing Risks In Parallel And Series Systems, Lloyd R. Jaisingh

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A research paper written by Lloyd R. Jaisingh of the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Morehead State University on November 24, 1987.

Improving The Lower Bound For The Reliability When The Strength Distribution Is Gamma And The Stress Distribution In Chi-Square, Lloyd R. Jaisingh

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A research paper written by Lloyd R. Jaisingh of the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Morehead State University in August of 1987.

Teaching With A Humanist, David Meredith

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

This paper is a report about a team-taught course at San Francisco State University, and what the author learned having taught it over 11 years with faculty in the humanities. As part of an interdisciplinary curriculum called NEXA, which explored the boundaries between science and the humanities, the course revealed to the author several ways mathematics and humanities pedagogies can reciprocally learn from each other and emphasize similar goals.

Patterns Of Emotion Within Mathematics Problem-Solving, Frances A. Rosamond

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

There is often a divide between the experience of positive emotions toward math on the part of mathematical educators and negative emotions toward math on the part of students. This paper utilizes psychologist Richard Lazarus's work on the effects of positive emotions in order to highlight their benefits for mathematical pedagogy, to explain the author's experiment applying Lazarus's theory, and to suggest ways this application might support and foster positive emotions in students.

Gresham's Law: Algorithm Drives Out Thought, Sherman K. Stein

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

Gresham's law in economics states, "Bad money drives good money out of circulation." An application of this law in mathematical pedagogy states that "Algorithm drives out thought." While universities are ideally places where classes are meant to develop students' independence and critical thinking skills, often mathematics courses reflect this altered version of Gresham's law. This paper demonstrates the ways traditional mathematical pedagogy has held up Gresham's law and presents several suggestions for ways to change this approach to mathematical education to focus more on critical thinking without sacrificing the necessity of algorithm.

Applied Mathematics As Social Contract, Philip J. Davis

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

The author takes the position that mathematical education must redefine its goals so as to create a citizenry with sufficient knowledge to provide social backpressure on future mathematizations. This can be accomplished by increasing the part of mathematical education that is devoted to the description and interpretation of the processes of mathematization and by allowing the technicalities of the formal operations within mathematics itself to be deemphasized or automated out by computer.

Riesz Spaces And Their Applications In Economics, Calvin E. Piston

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1987

We will examine an economic model of pure exchange and some results concerning different notions of equilibrium. In particular, we will focus on the role played by the theory of Riesz space.

Logic And Proof For Mathematics: A Twentieth Century Perspective, Calvin Jongsma

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1987

This talk reports on the author's experience in teaching college mathematics students the basics of logic and proof in preparation for their transitioning to upper-level proof-based mathematics courses, following that up with a philosophical and historical analysis of mathematicians' attitudes toward such a project going back to nineteenth- and twentieth-century developments in logic and foundations (De Morgan, Boole, Frege, Russell, and Hilbert). The natural deduction approach to logic and inference developed in the mid-twentieth century by Jaskowski and Fitch is recommended as a much better focused approach for learning how to do proofs in mathematics. This idea is systematically developed …

Mathematical Reflections: Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants, Karl J. Smith

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1987

The layperson's response to mathematics is often that of desperation. When we tell people our occupation, do we more often than not hear about their unpleasant experiences with mathematics. They often tell us, "I studied algebra in high school and haven't used it since!" Indeed, that may be true. However, we can reply, "How many times has algebra been used on you?" We are all restricted, and protected, by the formulas of mathematics. In the mysterious metaphors we have agreed to cal mathematics, all creation is involved, from the symbol-happy logician down to the cunning geometers, the bees. When I …

Observations On Mathematics And The Christian Faith, W. David Laverell, Carl J. Sinke

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1987

There is little doubt that mathematicians are becoming more concerned with the foundations on which their discipline rests, the meaning of their work, and the philosophical stance implicit in what they do. This concern is prompted by serious questions which have been raised in recent years, questions dealing with the nature of mathematical truth, the nature of proof, certainty (or lack thereof) in mathematics, and the relationship of mathematics to the physical world. This has been particularly true for those of us involved in teaching since it is apparent that good mathematics education cannot ignore these issures.

Variations On A Theme, Robert Creighton Buck

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1987

An autobiographical narration by Robert Creighton Buck, detailing his experiences in the field of mathematics, and the various questions and themes reoccurring in the mathematical sciences.

Proof And Intution, Michael Detlefsen

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1987

This paper discusses various perspectives on proof and intuition by examing two epistemic systems, Intuition Intensive and Logic Intensive, and Jules Henri Poincaré's objections to the latter.

Another Look At Pick's Theorem, Dale Varberg

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1987

In this paper, the author discusses his experience building a proof for Pick's Theorem and theorem's history.

Introduction (1987), Paul Zwier

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1987

A Sixth Conference on Mathematics from a Christian Perspective

Edited by Robert L. Brabenec

Table Of Contents (1987), Association Of Christians In The Mathematical Sciences

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1987

A Sixth Conference on Mathematics from a Christian Perspective

Edited by Robert L. Brabenec

Comparative Instructor Attitudes Toward College Level English And Mathematics Experiences For Gifted High School Students, Bruce Vickers

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Samples derived from a mailed questionnaire were compared. The sample represented high school, community college and university instructors of mathematics and English. The Kentucky public schools sampled were equally represented among high school, community colleges and universities. The research indicated that of those instructors sampled a very high percentage (97.7%) feel that those high school students shown to be academically gifted would benefit from a college experience before high school graduation. The attitudes of those instructors sampled indicated that multiple criteria – grades, recommendations, standardized test scores and personal interview – were considered the preferred method of selection (82.5%). The …

Ua66/10/2 Newsletter, Wku Mathematics

WKU Archives Records

Newsletter created by and about the WKU Mathematics department.