Digital Commons Network^™

Parts Of The Whole: Observing The State Of The System, Dorothy Wallace

Numeracy

This column draws on the approach of statistician J. Edwards Deming to analyze sources and consequences of variation in an education system. Educational systems are not immune from the effects of poor statistical control, which makes it difficult for teachers to teach effectively and for managers such as principals to improve on school performance. It is also argued that the need for statistical control in these areas is in tension, if not outright conflict, with our goals for educating students.

Two Popular Books For Quantitative Literacy: What The Numbers Say, And The Numbers Game, Robert G. Root

Numeracy

Niederman, Derrick, and Boyum, David. What the Numbers Say: A Field Guide to Mastering Our Numerical World. (New York: Broadway Books/Random House, 2003). 288 pp. Hardcover, ISBN 978-0-7679-0998-3. Paperback, 978-0-7679-0999-0. Available as an eBook.

Blastland, Michael, and Dilnot, Andrew. The Numbers Game: The Commonsense Guide to Understanding Numbers in the News, in Politics and in Life. (New York: Gotham Books/Penguin, 2009). 192 pp. Hardcover, ISBN 978-1-5924-0423-0. Paperback, ISBN 978-1-5924-0485-8. Available as an eBook.

Popular books on quantitative literacy need to be easy to read, reasonably comprehensive in scope, and include examples that are thought-provoking and memorable. In contrast …

Numeracy: Open-Access Publishing To Reduce The Cost Of Scholarly Journals, Todd A. Chavez

Numeracy

Each fiscal year, as academic librarians throughout the United States prepare materials budgets, a national “groan” ensues. Regardless of their format (i.e. print or digital), serial subscription costs are escalating, in the process impacting the role of the library in advancing scholarly communication . This paper examines some of the economic issues concerning open-access (OA) journal publishing. The importance of quantitative literacy is suggested for librarians and academics seeking a better understanding of alternatives to traditional journal subscription models and to anyone considering ventures into OA publishing. Quantitative literacy is essential for managing alternatives to the rising cost of scholarly …

College Algebra In Context: A Project Incorporating Social Issues, Michael T. Catalano

Numeracy

This paper discusses the development of an innovative college algebra text designed for use in a data-driven, activity-oriented college algebra course, incorporating realistic problem situations emphasizing social and economic issues, including hunger and poverty, energy, and the environment. The course incorporates quantitative literacy themes, is informed by existing college algebra texts within the college algebra reform movement, and implements a collaborative pedagogical approach intended to provide future K-12 teachers an alternative model for the teaching of mathematics. The paper contains a short history of the project development phase, supported by an NSF grant (DUE #0442979), as well as the perceived …

An Activity Promoting The Practice Of Quantitative Literacy For Pre– And In–Service Teachers Of Mathematics And Science, Timothy L. Sorey, Teri Willard, Duane Sholz

Numeracy

The purpose of this article is to describe a hands-on, laboratory activity that provided pre-service teachers in mathematics and science methods courses, and also some in-service mathematics teachers, with the opportunity to exercise quantitative literacy (QL) skills. The focus of the activity is electrical resistance, more particularly the resistance (in ohms) that is painted on small resistors by the use of color-coded bands, one of which is a band for % error. The activity consists of four parts. In the first, student teams familiarize themselves with the code, measure the ohmage of resistors for which the codes are visible, and …

Are Statistics Labs Worth The Effort?--Comparison Of Introductory Statistics Courses Using Different Teaching Methods, Jose H. Guardiola, Nadina Duran-Hutchings, Hassan Elsalloukh

Numeracy

This paper compares the academic performance of students in three similar elementary statistics courses taught by the same instructor, but with the lab component differing among the three. One course is traditionally taught without a lab component; the second with a lab component using scenarios and an extensive use of technology, but without explicit coordination between lab and lecture; and the third using a lab component with an extensive use of technology that carefully coordinates the lab with the lecture. Extensive use of technology means, in this context, using Minitab software in the lab section, doing homework and quizzes using …

Envisioning A Quantitative Studies Center: A Liberal Arts Perspective, Gizem Karaali, Philip I. Choi, Sara Owsley Sood, Eric B. Grosfils

Numeracy

Several academic institutions are searching for ways to help students develop their quantitative reasoning abilities and become more adept at higher-level tasks that involve quantitative skills. In this note we study the particular way Pomona College has framed this issue within its own context and what it plans to do about it. To this end we describe our efforts as members of a campus-wide committee that was assigned the duty of investigating the feasibility of founding a quantitative studies center on our campus. These efforts involved analysis of data collected through a faculty questionnaire, discipline-specific input obtained from each departmental …

A Rubric For Assessing Quantitative Reasoning In Written Arguments, Nathan D. Grawe, Neil S. Lutsky, Christopher J. Tassava

Numeracy

This paper introduces a rubric for assessing QR in student papers and analyzes the inter-rater reliability of the instrument based on a reading session involving 11 participants. Despite the disciplinary diversity of the group (which included a faculty member from the arts and literature, two staff members, and representatives from five natural and social science departments), the rubric produced reliable measures of QR use and proficiency in a sample of student papers. Readers agreed on the relevance and extent of QR in 75.0 and 81.9 percent of cases respectively (corresponding to Cohen’s κ= 0.611 and 0.693). A four-category measure of …

Confessions Of A Weak Tie, Joel Best

Numeracy

No abstract provided.

Five Thousand Downloads, H L Vacher

Numeracy

No abstract provided.

Nutrient Enrichment Studies Of Natural Phytoplankton Populations In Tampa Bay: A Summary Of Results June 1993 To August 2009, The City Of Tampa Wastewater Department

Reports

The Bay Study Group (BSG) has been conducting nutrient enrichment studies (bioassays) on natural phytoplankton populations at four locations in Tampa Bay since 1993 (Figure 1). This report will summarize findings for all tests that have been performed to date, from June 1993 through August 2009.

Stability Of The Rotation Axis In High‐Resolution Mantle Circulation Models: Weak Polar Wander Despite Strong Core Heating, K. Schaber, H. -P. Bunge, B. S. A. Schuberth, Rocco Malservisi, A. Horbach

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Growing evidence points to a substantial heat flow across the core‐mantle boundary (CMB), but the rotational stability of strongly bottom heated mantle flow with prominent upwelling plumes is poorly known. Here we calculate polar motion for the past 100 Myr induced in a new class of isochemical high‐resolution mantle circulation models (MCMs) with Earth‐like convective vigor and up to 12 TW core heat flux. Our MCMs include internal heating and a simple three‐layer viscosity profile associated with the lithosphere (1023 Pa s) and the upper (1021 Pa s) and the lower mantle (1023 Pa s), separated at 100 and 650 …

West Florida Shelf Mean Circulation Observed With Long-Term Moorings, Robert H. Weisberg, Yonggang Liu, Dennis A. Mayer

Yonggang Liu

The mean circulation on the West Florida Continental Shelf is described using long-term current measurements. Bounded by the Florida peninsula to the east and the Gulf of Mexico to the west, the West Florida Continental Shelf mean flow is oriented approximately along-isobath and southward. The mean velocity vectors veer systematically with depth, shoreward over shallow water and seaward over deeper water. This polarization change implies that the mean flow is upwelling over shallow water and downwelling seaward from the inner shelf. Such a well-organized, three-dimensional coastal ocean circulation pattern, revealed by an unprecedented set of observations, and explained on the …

Motion Analysis Of Fluid Flow In A Spinning Disk Reactor, Valentina N. Korzhova

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The flow of a liquid film over a rapidly rotating horizontal disk has numerous industrial applications including pharmaceuticals, chemical engineering, bioengineering, etc. The analysis and control of complex fluid flows over a rapidly rotating horizontal disk is an important issue in the experimental fluid mechanics. The spinning disk reactor exploits the benefits of centrifugal force, which produces thin highly sheared films due to radial acceleration. The hydrodynamics of the film results in excellent fluid mixing and high heat or mass transfer rates.

This work focuses on developing a novel approach for fluid flow tracking and analysis. Specifically, the developed algorithm …

Towards Mineralogical And Geochemical Reference Groups For Some Bronze Age Ceramics 
From Transylvania (Romania), Volker Hoeck, Corina Ionescu, Lucretia Ghergari, Carmen Precup

Studia UBB Geologia

Based on their chemical composition ceramic shards from three Bronze Age sites in Transylvania, i.e., Copăceni, Derşida and Palatca respectively, were distinguished by major, trace, and RE elements. Within the Copăceni samples, two subgroups (A and B) showing different chemistry and mineralogy were additionally separated out. The link between chemistry and mineralogy showed clearly the important contribution of the temper to the overall chemistry of the ceramic shards. In turn, the chemistry facilitated the provenance study of the raw materials, which were collected in the vicinity of the sites. In combination with the mineralogy of the ceramics, the chemical analyses …

Soil-Plant Relationship Of Pteropyrum Olivieri, A Serpentine Flora Of Wadh, Balochistan, Pakistan And Its Use In Mineral Prospecting, Shahid Naseem, Erum Bashir, Khaula Shireen, Sheraz Shafiq

Studia UBB Geologia

Biogeochemical investigation of Pteropyrum olivieri, a flora of Wadh area in perspective of plant-soil-rock relationship has been made. It is a native of Irano-Turanian region which extended into Saharo-Sindian region of Pakistan. The distribution of P. olivieri and some other co-ecological flora in relation to lithology was also discussed. Field observations showed its controlled population on the serpentine soil. The average abundance of Mg and Ca in soil was estimated as 2.43% and 5.46 respectively. The Mg/Ca ratio of the soils of the study area was below unity (0.445), indicating pedogenesis from serpentinite. Quantitative estimation of Cr, Ni, Co and …

Gpr Detection Of Karst And Archaeological Targets Below The Historical Centre Of Merida, Yucatán, Mexico., Luis Barba, Jorge Blancas, Agustin Ortiz, Josep Ligorred

Studia UBB Geologia

The Historical Center of Merida has been classified as a “zone of high patrimonial value” based on the study of topography and the historical documents that show a long-term occupation, non-interrupted since pre-Columbian times when T’Hó was the great capital of the northern region of the Maya area.

For the local government, rehabilitation of the Historical Center of Merida has been a great priority. Among others, this project includes preservation of archaeological remains (pre-Columbian or colonial) and detection of karstic zones under the city. In order to prevent damage to the patrimony, ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys were carried out …

Development And Usage Of Geosites: New Results From Research And Conservation Activities In The Piemonte Region (Italy), Luca Ghiraldi, Paola Coratza, Ermanno De Biaggi, Marco Giardino, Mauro Marchetti, Luigi Perotti

Studia UBB Geologia

This paper describes a series of activities carried out by public institutions, whose aim is to identify possible ways of acquiring knowledge and of allowing enjoyment of the Piemonte Region’s geological heritage. The activities concern the inventory, the evaluation, the storage and the publication of information, both alphanumerical and geographical, in relation to geosites. A database accessible directly from Web and a Web-GIS application has been developed in order to supply valuable and comprehensive instruments for both, representing the results of research and promoting the knowledge of the geological heritage to a large number of people.

Decaying Of The Marble And Limestone Monuments In The Urban Environment. Case Studies From Saint Petersburg, Russia, Olga V. Frank-Kamenetskaya, Dmitrii Yu Vlasov, Marina S. Zelenskaya, Irina V. Knauf, Maryia A. Timasheva

Studia UBB Geologia

The results of a long-lasting research of sulphation process, which causes an essential deterioration of marble and limestone monuments in Saint Petersburg are reported. Based on a variety of field and analytical methods we can show that the decay process forming a gypsum-rich patina depends mainly on the local environment, the moisture accumulation, and is connected with the fissuring and porosity of the rock and the relief of a monument. Three main stages of gypsum-rich patina formation in the presence of microorganisms were revealed.

Deterioration Of Carbonate Rocks Used For Archeological Monuments In Tauric Chersonesos (Crimea), Alexander V. Mosyagin, Irina V. Knauf, Marina S. Zelenskaya

Studia UBB Geologia

The paper presents the mineralogy and petrography of the Proconesian marble and Chersonesian limestone, used as building materials from Antiquity to the medieval times in the Tauric Chersonesos, Crimea. The deterioration process, due to the modern time’s pollution and the climatic factors, is represented by forming of mainly gypsum-rich patina. The ubiquitous presence of micromycetes favors the stone decay.

Assessment Of Geohazards And Management Of Their Possible Impacts In The Kurbini Region, Albania, Arjan Beqiraj, Fran Gjoka, Mentor Lamaj, Majlinda Cenameri

Studia UBB Geologia

The small region of Kurbini, situated in the north western part of Albania, faces various hazards, due to the particular geographical position marked by the close neighbourhood of the high mountains and the Adriatic Sea. The hydrological and hydrogeological hazards, the deterioration of the groundwater quality, the intense erosion of the soil, the local acidification/contamination/salinization of the soil, and the desertification of land, are the most important geohazards threatening the area. A complex monitoring of all identified risk factors is necessary in order to avoid catastrophic events and irreversible damages.

Contrasting Recipes For The Kiln Furnitures Of The Faience Manufacture Granges-Le-Bourg (Haute Saône, France), Marino Maggetti, Denis Morin, Vincent Serneels, Christoph Neururer

Studia UBB Geologia

Thirty-nine samples of kiln furniture or technical ceramic (firing plate, saggars, spacers, props, wads) and six samples of building ceramics (bricks, tiles) from the manufacture of Granges-le-Bourg were studied by optical microscopy, X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The kiln furniture is chemically inhomogeneous and belong to a CaO- + MgO-poor (firing plate, saggars) or a CaO- + MgO-rich (props, spacers, wads) group. Bricks and tiles pertain to the first group which was manufactured using decarbonatized top layers of local Triassic dolomitic marls. For the second group, the deeper layers were used. Plate and saggars are covered with …

Geometry Of The Trachyte Mesa Intrusion, Henry Mountains, Utah: Implications For The Emplacement Of Small Melt Volumes Into The Upper Crust, Paul H. Wetmore, Charles B. Connor, Sarah E. Kruse, Sean Callihan, Geoffrey Pignotta, Ciprian Stremtan, Andrea Burke

Geology Faculty Publications

The Trachyte Mesa intrusion is one of several small satellite bodies to the larger intrusions of the Henry Mountains, Utah. Most previous studies have worked under the assumptions that Trachyte Mesa is blister shaped and intruded into flat and gently NW dipping strata. In this study we combine structural and geophysical data sets to constrain the structural geology of the host lithologies and the unmodified geometry of the intrusion. Trachyte Mesa intrudes a series of northeast trending upright and open folds formed within the Jurassic Entrada Formation. Truncation of these folds at the contact with the overlying Curtis/Summerville formations indicates …

Strain Rate Patterns From Dense Gps Networks, Matthias Hackl, Rocco Malservisi, Shimon Wdowinski

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

The knowledge of the crustal strain rate tensor provides a description of geodynamic processes such as fault strain accumulation, which is an important parameter for seismic hazard assessment, as well as anthropogenic deformation. In the past two decades, the number of observations and the accuracy of satellite based geodetic measurements like GPS greatly increased, providing measured values of displacements and velocities of points. Here we present a method to obtain the full continuous strain rate tensor from dense GPS networks. The tensorial analysis provides different aspects of deformation, such as the maximum shear strain rate, including its direction, and the …

Parts Of The Whole: Approaching Education As A System, Dorothy Wallace

Numeracy

An educational system is a highly coupled complex system of inputs, outputs, sensors and actuators. Using an engineering perspective, this column begins the process of naming and categorizing parts of the system. It then focuses on teachers as one part of a large system, and analyzes the forces that influence how teachers work, and that draw or repel individuals to a teaching career. The growing shortage of qualified teachers can be explained by properties of the system as a whole that determine the context in which teachers do their job.

Review Of Super Crunchers By Ian Ayers, Eric Gaze

Numeracy

Ayers, I. Super Crunchers: Why Thinking-by-Numbers Is the New Way to be Smart. (Bantam Dell Publishing Group, 2007). 272 pp. Hard cover $25 ISBN 978-0-553-80540-6.

Super Crunchers tells the story of how analyzing data is changing the ways in which decisions are made. We in the National Numeracy Network make a case for the importance of quantitative literacy by referring to how much quantitative information is now available to each of us: “a world awash in numbers.” Ian Ayres zeroes in on the people who are making a living crunching all of these data. From the seemingly innocuous (how …

Review Of Stat-Spotting: A Field Guide To Identifying Dubious Data By Joel Best, Joe Swingle

Numeracy

Best, Joel. Stat-Spotting: A Field Guide to Identifying Dubious Data. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008) 144 pp. $19.95. ISBN 1-978-0-520-25746-7.

Stat-Spotting is a practical, do-it-yourself manual for detecting questionable claims reported in the media. Using examples drawn mostly from mass media sources, Stat-Spotting provides readers with a number of useful tips for identifying potentially problematic statistics. The author’s skillful analyses and explanations presented in clear and concise prose make Stat-Spotting an ideal guide for anyone who reads a newspaper, watches television, or surfs the Web. In short, everyone.

Review Of Calculation Vs. Context: Quantitative Literacy And Its Implications For Teacher Education By Bernard L. Madison And Lynn Arthur Steen (Editors), Maura B. Mast

Numeracy

Madison, Bernard L. and Steen, Lynn Arthur (Eds.). Calculation vs. Context: Quantitative Literacy and Its Implications for Teacher Education. (Washington, DC: Mathematical Association of America, 2009). 197 pp. Softcover. ISBN 978-0-88385-908-7. Available free on the MAA website at http://www.maa.org/ql/calcvscontext.html

The papers in Calculation vs. Context discuss the role of quantitative literacy in the K-12 curriculum and in teacher education. The papers present a varied set of perspectives and address three themes: the changing environment of education in American society; the challenges, and the necessity, of preparing teachers to teach quantitative literacy and of including quantitative literacy in the K-12 education; …

Engaging Math-Avoidant College Students, M. Paul Latiolais, Wendi Laurence

Numeracy

This paper is an informal, personal account of how we, as two college teachers, became interested in math anxiety, decided to explore it amongst students at our institution in order to inform our teaching, and became convinced that the massive problem is math avoidance. We tried discussion groups, but few students attended, although those that did made useful suggestions. Thus informed, we designed an innovative course, Confronting College Mathematics as a Humanities course with the possibility of credit toward the math requirement, but it was undersubscribed in its first offering and had to be canceled. How can we get college …

Measuring Resource Inequality: The Gini Coefficient, Michael T. Catalano, Tanya L. Leise, Thomas J. Pfaff

Numeracy

This paper stems from work done by the authors at the Mathematics for Social Justice Workshop held in June of 2007 at Middlebury College. We provide a description of the Gini coefficient and some discussion of how it can be used to promote quantitative literacy skills in mathematics courses. The Gini Coefficient was introduced in 1921 by Italian statistician Corrado Gini as a measure of inequality. It is defined as twice the area between two curves. One, the Lorenz curve for a given population with respect to a given resource, represents the cumulative percentage of the resource as a function …