Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Review Of The Triumph Of Numbers By I. B. Cohen, H L. Vacher

Numeracy

I. Bernard Cohen, The Triumph of Numbers: How Counting Shaped Modern Life. (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2005). 209 pp. $24.95 (USA). ISBN 0-393-05769-0.

The premier historian of science ends his career telling how the world has become awash in numbers—“how numbers entered the conduct of life and of government, the understanding of nature, and the analysis of societies.” The stories begin with Kepler and end with Florence Nightingale. In between, major players include Galileo, Harvey, Leeuwenhoek, and Halley; Graunt and Petty; Jefferson and Franklin; Lavoisier, Sinclair, Pinel and Louis; Guerry and Quetelet. The book tells of the spread …

Birds–Dead And Deadly: Why Numeracy Needs To Address Social Construction, Joel Best

Numeracy

Sociologists use the term social construction to refer to the processes by which people assign meaning to their world. This paper argues that numeracy education needs to address social construction. In particular, thinking critically about the statistics the news media report regarding social issues requires understanding the competitive nature of the social problems marketplace, and the social forces that allow questionable numbers to receive widespread public attention. Such critiques must incorporate more than assessing how the numbers were calculated; they must consider the social construction of particular statistics. Two recent examples—claims about the number of birds killed flying into windows, …

Development Of Case Stories By Interviewing Students About Their Critical Moments In Science, Math, And Engineering Classes, Vicki V. May, Thomas H. Luxon, Kathy Weaver, Rachel Esselstein, Cynthia Char

Numeracy

Dartmouth’s Critical Moments project is designed to promote discussions among faculty and graduate students about the retention of students, particularly women and minorities, in science, math, and engineering (SME) disciplines. The first phase of the ongoing project has been the development of four case stories, which are fictionalized composites drawn from surveys and interviews of real Dartmouth students. The surveyed population was 125 students in general chemistry. Of the 77 who agreed to be interviewed, 61 reported having experienced a critical moment – i.e., a positive or negative event or time that had a significant impact on the student’s academic …

Teachers Talk: Pressure Points In The K-8 Mathematics Curriculum, Kim Rheinlander, Dorothy Wallace, Wells Morrison, Daniel Ansari, Donna Coch, B. Venus Williams

Numeracy

Forty K-8 teachers participated in small, in-depth, facilitated discussions about "pressure points" in the curriculum. We define a pressure point as a topic, skill, or concept that is crucial to future mathematics learning but which many or most students do not master to the extent expected at a given grade level. They are issues that persist from one grade level to the next; eventually they impair the ability of students to succeed in technical disciplines. The teachers identified a number of pressure points; we focus on an understanding of place value and "reasonableness" of answer as two examples that were …

Scientifically Based Research In Quantitative Literacy: Guidelines For Building A Knowledge Base, Richard L. Scheaffer

Numeracy

Research in quantitative literacy (QL) is in its infancy, so now is the time to begin a regimen for healthy growth into adulthood. As a new discipline still defining itself, QL has the opportunity to build a sound infrastructure for accumulating a solid body of interconnected research that will serve the discipline well in years to come. To that end, much can be learned from recent studies of the weaknesses of mathematics education research and recommendations on how to overcome them. Mathematics education lacks a strong research foundation, one that is scientific, cumulative, interconnected, and intertwined with teaching practice. These …

Evolution Of Numeracy And The National Numeracy Network, Bernard L. Madison, Lynn Arthur Steen

Numeracy

The National Numeracy Network grew from heightened awareness of the complex and sophisticated nature of quantitative literacy and the resulting need for interdisciplinary attention to education for quantitative literacy in schools and colleges. This complexity and sophistication applies especially to the US where it is fueled by an agile economy and the needs of a democratic society. This paper describes the environment surrounding the National Numeracy Network’s establishment, some of its activities, and some complementary and synergistic actions by other professional societies. The paper concludes with a sample of quantitative literacy programs in colleges and universities

The Scope Of Numeracy, H L. Vacher, Dorothy Wallace

Numeracy

No abstract provided.

Combination Of Sar Remote Sensing And Gis For Monitoring Subglacial Volcanic Activity – Recent Results From Vatnajökull Ice Cap (Iceland), K. Scharrer, Rocco Malservisi, Ch. Mayer, O. Spieler, U. Münzer

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

This paper presents latest results from the combined use of SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) remote sensing and GIS providing detailed insights into recent volcanic activity under Vatnajökull ice cap (Iceland). Glaciers atop active volcanoes pose a constant potential danger to adjacent inhabited regions and infrastructure. Besides the usual volcanic hazards (lava flows, pyroclastic clouds, tephra falls, etc.), the volcano-ice interaction leads to enormous meltwater torrents (icelandic: jökulhlaup), devastating large areas in the surroundings of the affected glacier. The presented monitoring strategy addresses the three crucial questions: When will an eruption occur, where is the eruption site and which area is …

Report On Mini-Workshop “Bringing Margins Science To The Classroom”, Cathy Manduca, Jeffrey G. Ryan, Don Reed

Geology Faculty Publications

MARGINS has been awarded an NSF Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI) grant to bring MARGINS research into widespread use in undergraduate teaching in ways that showcase the integrated, multidisciplinary approach that is characteristic of modern, front-line geoscience research. In collaboration with the Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College, the project is developing a web-based collection of teaching materials referred to as “Mini-Lessons” (http://serc.carleton.edu/margins). Mini-Lessons range in scope from something as simple as the use of MARGINS science to illustrate a lecture to multi-day lab projects that capitalize on the MARGINS Data Repository. An exciting aspect of this …

Shallow Slab Fluid Release Across And Along The Mariana Arc-Basin System: Insights From Geochemistry Of Serpentinized Peridotites From The Mariana Fore Arc, Ivan P. Savov, Jeffrey G. Ryan, Massimo D'Antonio, Patricia Fryer

Geology Faculty Publications

Shallow slab devolatilization is not only witnessed through fluid expulsion at accretionary prisms, but is also evidenced by active serpentinite seamounts in the shallow fore-arc region of the Mariana convergent margin. Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 195 recovered serpentinized peridotites that present a unique opportunity to study the products of shallow level exchanges between the upper mantle and slab-derived fluids. Similar to samples recovered during ODP Leg 125, the protoliths of these fore-arc serpentinized peridotites are mantle harzburgites that have suffered large volume melt extraction (up to 25%) prior to interactions with fluids released from the downgoing Pacific Plate. Samples …

Colored Dissolved Organic Matter (Cdom) Workshop Summary, Catherine A. Corbett

Reports

The Charlotte Harbor NEP hosted a 2-day technical exchange workshop on CDOM as an imperative first step in implementation of the program’s numeric water quality targets to initiate a dialogue with local researchers and resource managers on the importance of CDOM dynamics and the roles it plays in estuaries. Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program hosted the technical exchange workshop to discuss and gain a better understanding of CDOM dynamics in the Lemon Bay, Charlotte Harbor and Estero Bay watersheds.

Variable Intensity Of Teleconnections During The Late Holocene In Subtropical North America From An Isotopic Study Of Speleothem From Florida, Philip E. Van Beynen, Yemane Asmerom, Victor J. Polyak, Limaris R. Soto, Jason S. Polk

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

The persistence and influence of both tropical and extra‐tropical teleconnections on the hydrology of subtropical North America are little understood. Major atmospheric‐oceanic controls on the isotopic composition of the precipitation reconstructed from a 1,000 year old stalagmite are the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). These teleconnections create decadal‐ to centennial‐scale changes in the seasonal distribution of precipitation. An increase in the winter proportion of annual precipitation coincides with negative phase NAO conditions and a positive phase PDO. However, the PDO's influence appears to be weakened when it is out of phase with the El Niño …

Bette And Will White Oral History Interview With Spencer Fleury And Todd Chavez, July 25, 2007, Elizabeth L. White (Interviewee), William B. White (Interviewee), Spencer Fleury (Interviewer), Todd Chavez (Interviewer)

Environmental Sustainability Oral Histories

The Drs. White take turns discussing how they became interested in karst science. They reflect on the days when public opinion marginalized karst science and offer what they perceive as the historical factors which have allowed it to become established as a stand-alone scientific discipline. They then discuss students who have worked with them on various karst projects. Dr. Will White tells the story of the haunted telephone from Crystal Cave in Kentucky. The interviewees then discuss the relationship between professional karst scientists and the amateur, recreational caving community. They also discuss the future of karst science specifically with relation …

Jeanne Gurnee Oral History Interview With Beth Fratesi And Todd Chavez, July 23, 2007, Jeanne Gurnee (Interviewee), Sarah Elizabeth (Beth) Fratesi (Interviewer), Todd Chavez (Interviewer)

Environmental Sustainability Oral Histories

Jeanne Gurnee, speleologist, explorer, writer, editor, conservationist, and land-use planner, discusses how she developed her lifelong interest in caving, how she met her husband Russell, and how they began their involvement with the National Speleological Society (NSS) as a professional pair. She gives an in-depth, chronological discussion of her professional involvement with caving groups and organizations, specifically the founding of fifty or more grottos, as well as her cave projects in Puerto Rico, Barbados, and Angola. Jeanne Gurnee speaks of her love of "show caves", their importance, her reception as an ecological lecturer, and her advice to young women beginning …

William Halliday Oral History Interview With Spencer Fleury And Todd Chavez, July 23, 2007, William Halliday (Interviewee), Spencer Fleury (Interviewer), Todd Chavez (Interviewer)

Environmental Sustainability Oral Histories

Dr. William Halliday, medical surgeon and karst terrain authority, relates segments of his life story back to the development of his interest in karst and caving. Dr. Halliday recounts his involvement as a charter member of the National Speleological Society (NSS), founding several grottos, and the political activism in which he participated on their behalf. He describes a few of his international caving adventures, the difference between karst and pseudo-karst, and his impressions on whether there exists an attitudinal divide between geologists and amateur sport cavers. The interview ends with Dr. Halliday's personal belief that Mars exploration should be pivotal …

Cost/Effectiveness Analysis Of Obtaining Operational Estimates Of Reference Evapotranspiration, Peninsular Florida, Usa, Michael G. Kittridge

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study is to conduct a cost/effectiveness analysis of the computation of reference evapotranspiration (ETo) in the peninsular of Florida. A meteorological station on the Fort Meade Mine in Polk County, Florida was used to provide data for the calculation of ETo. Five ETo equations were tested to determine the accuracy and cost/effectiveness to the fully measured ASCE Penman-Monteith (Full ASCE-PM) equation on daily, monthly, and annually time steps. The ETo equations ranged in amounts of parameters from the Full ASCE-PM to the Hargreaves. The energy terms accounted for approximately 90% of the total ETo flux. Solar …

Effect Of Regional Tectonic Setting On Local Fault Response To Episodes Of Volcanic Activity, Diana C. Roman, Philip Heron

Geology Faculty Publications

In this study we examine the interaction of tectonic and volcanically-generated stress fields, and their combined effect on patterns of volcanotectonic (VT) seismicity, by calculating Coulomb stress changes on local faults induced by a constant dike inflation event in a background stress field of systematically varying magnitude and orientation. We find that patterns of VT seismicity (earthquake locations and fault-plane solutions) resulting from dike inflation depend strongly on the relative strength and orientation of background tectonic stresses. Patterns of VT seismicity similar to those predicted by our Coulomb stress models have been observed at several recently active volcanoes, and appear …

Hydrostratigraphy And Groundwater Migration Within Surficial Deposits At The North Lakes Wetland, Hillsborough County, Florida, Jason J. Laroche

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A wetland in west-central Florida was studied to characterize the local hydrostratigraphic configuration of surficial deposits overlying more-permeable limestones and conceptualize groundwater recharge. Eight continuous cores were drilled through the surficial deposits and partially into the underlying limestone. A total of 111 samples were extracted from the cores for laboratory sediment analyses and testing. The surficial deposits are roughly eight meters thick and made up of upper and lower clean-sand hydrostratigraphic layers (S1 and S3, respectively) separated by a low-permeability layer of clayey sand (S2). Also, a discontinuous low-permeability layer of clayey sand (S4) lies between S3 and the top …

Along-Strike Trace Element And Isotopic Variation In Aleutian Island Arc Basalt: Subduction Melts Sediments And Dehydrates Serpentine, Brad S. Singer, Brian R. Jicha, William P. Leeman, Nick W. Rogers, Matthew F. Thirlwall, Jeffrey G. Ryan, Kirsten E. Nicolaysen

Geology Faculty Publications

Trace element and Sr-Nd-Pb isotope compositions of basaltic lavas from 11 volcanoes spanning 1300 km of the Aleutian Island arc provide new constraints on the recycling of elements in melts and fluids derived from subducted oceanic crust and sediment. Despite a nearly twofold variation in the flux of sediment subducted along the Aleutians, proxies indicating the presence of sediment melt in the magma source, including Th/La and Th/Nd, do not vary systematically along strike. In contrast, ratios including B/La, B/Nb, B/Be, Cs/La, Pb/Ce, and Li/Y suggest that the quantity or composition of fluid transferred from the slab into the mantle …

Functionalization Of Resorcinarenes And Study Of Antimicrobial Activity, Kirankirti Muppalla

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cavitands are very important class of compounds in supramolecular chemistry. These molecules contain rigid enforced cavity,and have attracted considerable attention in supramolecular chemistry as building blocks for the construction of carcerands, hemicarcerands, and other host guests complexes. Nearly 40 years ago, Niederl and Vogel laid foundation for the study of such type of condensation reactions. In our laboratory we are involved in synthesis of resorcinarenes with readily available substrates such as resorcinol and aldehydes to form a cyclic tetramer.

Herein, I present detailed studies about the functionalization of the synthesized tetramers and their antimicrobial activity. Octahydroxy resorcinarenes were synthesized and …

Climatic And Structural Controls On The Geomorphology Of Wadi Sana, Highland Southern Yemen, Joshua Michael Anderson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Middle Holocene climate change forced significant environmental response and influenced human activities throughout southern Arabia. Climate models and proxy data indicate that climate along the southern Arabian peninsula changed from a moist phase, spanning the early to middle Holocene, to an arid phase, which persisted for the last ca. 5,000 years. A weakening and southward shift of the Southwest Indian Monsoon System, forced by northern hemisphere insolation variations in the precession band and/or glacial boundary conditions, is suggested as the mechanism for the abrupt shift to more arid conditions. Geoarchaeological evidence suggests that agriculture was more widespread and evolved alongside …

Evanescent Field Absorption Sensing Using Sapphire Fibers, Michael Grossman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the application of coiled sapphire multimode optical fibers for evanescent wave chemical sensing in both the visible spectrum and the near infrared. As has been suggested in the literature pertaining to silica fibers, bending converts low-order modes to high order ones, which leads to more evanescent absorption and thus a more sensitive chemical detector. By coiling the fiber many times, it was expected that even greater sensitivity would be attained.

Experiments were performed to investigate the sensor response to different solutions and to characterize this response. In the first of three experiments, the large absorption peak of …

Influence Of Evapotranspiration On Patterns Of Ground-Water Conductivity In Small Basins, Ana Jiménez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Ground-water conductivity data were obtained from shallow wells in a 12 km2 stream-basin along a 400 m transect, extending from the divide to the stream. The stream, Pringle Branch, is a second-order perennial stream in Hillsborough County, Florida. The shallow stratigraphy consists of 2-3 m of fine sand over a layer of clayey silt and silty clay. Vegetation cover includes grasses on the upper and middle slope, and riparian woodlands on the foot slope and floodplain. Precipitation is about 1.3 m per year. Shallow ground-water conductivity is about 50 uS/cm at the divide. It increases moderately along the mid slope, …

Geodetic, Teleseismic, And Strong Motion Constraints On Slip From Recent Southern Peru Subduction Zone Earthquakes, M. E. Pritchard, E. O. Norabuena, C. Ji, R. Boroschek, D. Comte, M. Simons, Timothy H. Dixon, P. A. Rosen

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

We use seismic and geodetic data both jointly and separately to constrain coseismic slip from the 12 November 1996 M_w 7.7 and 23 June 2001 M_w 8.5 southern Peru subduction zone earthquakes, as well as two large aftershocks following the 2001 earthquake on 26 June and 7 July 2001. We use all available data in our inversions: GPS, interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) from the ERS-1, ERS-2, JERS, and RADARSAT-1 satellites, and seismic data from teleseismic and strong motion stations. Our two-dimensional slip models derived from only teleseismic body waves from South American subduction zone earthquakes with M …

High Crystallinity Si-Ferrihydrite: An Insight Into Its Neel Temperature And Size Dependence Of Magnetic Properties, Thelma S. Berquo, Subir K. Banerjee, Robert G. Ford, R. Lee Penn, Thomas Pichler

Geology Faculty Publications

Ferrihydrite, an antiferromagnetic iron oxyhydroxide with resulting magnetization due to uncompensated spins, is of great importance for the cycling of many trace metals in the environment. Four ferrihydrite samples prepared with 1.3 to 3.5 wt% of Si at different synthesis temperatures (7.5°C, 22°C, 50°C, and 75°C) were studied by temperature-dependent hysteresis loops, ZFC/FC susceptibility curves, ac susceptibility and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The incorporation of Si into the ferrihydrite during synthesis changed the properties of this mineral. Interestingly, seven sharp lines were observed in the X-ray diffraction pattern of the ferrihydrite samples prepared at 50°C and 75°C. In general, both XRD and …

Final Draft Seagrass Transect Monitoring And Aerial Photography In Old Tampa Bay (Task D), J. O. R. Johansson, W. M. Avery, K. B. Hennenfent, J. J. Pacowta

Reports

In 2004, the TBEP and partners were again granted funds from the PCEF to conduct additional seagrass and water quality research primarily in the Feather Sound area of the OTB study area. The overall purpose of this work was to formulate a seagrass restoration and preservation management strategy for, specifically, the NW quadrant. The BSG participated in this project, from here on called PCEF II, and performed Task D of this project named “Seagrass Transect Monitoring and Aerial Photography in OTB.” In addition to the tasks originally identified for Task D, late in the project, the BSG also applied an …

Alexander Klimchouk Oral History Interview With Dr. Bogdan Onac, January 23, 2007, A. B. Klimchuk (Interviewee), Bogdan P. Onac (Interviewer)

Environmental Sustainability Oral Histories

Bogdan Onac, Assistant Professor, Department of Geology, at the University of South Florida, interviews Professor Alexander Klimchouk, Ph.D. The interview focuses on Dr. Klimchouk's work with the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences and the Speleological Institute in the Ukraine. Dr. Klimchouk describes how, as a young man growing up in the Soviet Union, he became interested in speleology, caving, and karst science. He continues with detailed discussions of specific caves in Ukraine; the informal society of karst scientists; and the creation of an international karst network. The interview ends with a discussion of Western Ukrainian caves.

Rectification Of The Bias In The Wavelet Power Spectrum, Yonggang Liu, X. San Liang, Robert H. Weisberg

Yonggang Liu

This paper addresses a bias problem in the estimate of wavelet power spectra for atmospheric and oceanic datasets. For a time series comprised of sine waves with the same amplitude at different frequencies the conventionally adopted wavelet method does not produce a spectrum with identical peaks, in contrast to a Fourier analysis. The wavelet power spectrum in this definition, that is, the transform coefficient squared (to within a constant factor), is equivalent to the integration of energy (in physical space) over the influence period (time scale) the series spans. Thus, a physically consistent definition of energy for the wavelet power …

Current Patterns On The West Florida Shelf From Joint Self-Organizing Map Analyses Of Hf Radar And Adcp Data, Yonggang Liu, Robert H. Weisberg, Lynn K. Shay

Yonggang Liu

To assess the spatial structures and temporal evolutions of distinct physical processes on the West Florida Shelf, patterns of ocean current variability are extracted from a joint HF radar and ADCP dataset acquired from August to September 2003 using Self-Organizing Map (SOM) analyses. Three separate ocean– atmosphere frequency bands are considered: semidiurnal, diurnal, and subtidal. The currents in the semidiurnal band are relatively homogeneous in space, barotropic, clockwise polarized, and have a neap-spring modulation consistent with semidiurnal tides. The currents in the diurnal band are less homogeneous, more baroclinic, and clockwise polarized, consistent with a combination of diurnal tides and …

The Impact Of Grey Literature In Advancing Global Karst Research: An Information Needs Assessment For A Globally Distributed Interdisciplinary Community, Todd A. Chavez, Anna H. Perrault, Pete Reehling, Courtney Crummett

Anna H. Perrault

A survey of the global karst community was conducted in 2006. The survey was distributed via the World Wide Web to known karst researchers. The instrument was designed to generate an initial inventory of core grey information types, to assess levels of usage of grey information by the respondents, and to gauge the karst community’s willingness to participate in building and expanding both this collection and the associated controlled vocabularies.