Computer Sciences Commons^™

An Augustinian Perspective On The Philosophy Of Mathematics, James Bradley

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

Enlightenment thinkers saw the universe as mechanistic and mathematics as the language in which the universe is written. They viewed mathematics as eternal, as transcending human minds, and as comprehensible by human beings. Thus mathematics, from their perspective, is our best tool for understanding the secrets of nature. This outlook was nicely summarized by Morris Kline: (Kline, 1953) In brief the whole world is the totality of mathematically expressible motions of objects in space and time, and the entire universe is a great, harmonious, and mathematically designed machine. From a Christian perspective, however, the Enlightenment outlook is flawed. It privileges …

Rules And Insights: Connecting The Mathematical And Linguistic Abilities Of C.S. Lewis, Kim Jongerius

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

While most biographical works on C.S. Lewis give passing reference to Lewis' problems with elementary mathematics, few have made an attempt at diagnosing the difficulty or exploring its impact on his writing. A careful study of family correspondence, however, makes it clear that his learning difficulties were not with mathematics alone and suggests connections between attitudes toward and abilities in both mathematics and language. This paper will make these connections clear and will illustrate their ties to Lewis' effective mathematical references.

Counting Tulips: Three Combinatorial Proofs, Eric Gossett

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

A gardener has r ≥ 1 red tulips and b ≥ 1 blue tulips, each in its own pot. She plans to plant them in a line along the edge of her driveway. In how many visually distinguishable ways can she arrange them?

Tanzania, Mathematics, And Me: Reflections From My Work With Tanzanian Teachers, Mandi Maxwell

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

In June 2006 I had the privilege of participating in a four-day teacher training workshop in Mumba, Tanzania. In this paper I will discuss the challenges and triumphs of working with Tanzanian Secondary Mathematics teachers. We will discuss the educational environment, teaching strategies, and curricular issues that affect mathematics teachers in rural areas of Tanzania and contrast that with the American educational experience. We will also discuss some of the goals of the Teacher Training workshop that my colleagues and I led and look at some of the specific mathematical ideas and applications that I shared with the Mathematics teachers …

Mathematical Knowledge And Leibniz' Epstemology, Jonathan Zderad

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

No abstract provided.

Integrating Ethics Into The Database Course With A Focus On Data Modeling And Normalization, James F. Glasgow, Ph.D

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

No abstract provided.

Optimize Your Matth Services Through Networking, Patrice Conrath

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

No abstract provided.

Modeling Growth In Christian Evangelism, Marvin Bittinger

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

No abstract provided.

Breathing Life Into The Liberal Arts Math Course: Ten Teaching Tips, Mark Colgan

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

Teaching the liberal arts math course for general education students presents unique challenges, but the course also offers exciting life applications and opportunities for integrating faith with a variety of creative topics. I try to make the course interesting by actively involving students and relating mathematical topics to their lives. In this paper I will discuss some things I have tried in the liberal arts math course I teach at Taylor University: using students' names, use of undergraduate teaching assistants (T As), group guessing games, handout booklets, hangman, group projects, memory verses, reflection papers, and life lessons.

Six Ways, Yea Seven, That Scripture Is Integral To Our Science And Math Classes, Sean Bird

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

This paper looks at the ways the Bible informs mathematics and its role in guiding our stewardship of God’s creation.

Voltaire: A Study In Finding A Needle In A Haystack, Andrew Simoson

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

In Euler’s popular notes to a German Princess of 1837, he describes Voltaire as laughing about the idea of a hole going to Earth’s center. Did Voltaire actually write about this idea? Herein we describe the answers to be found upon searching through the huge opus of Voltaire’s written work. The result has links to Newton’s 1687 Principia discoveries and the French Academy’s early eighteenth century international scientific expeditions to Lapland and Peru establishing the veracity of those discoveries.

The Beautiful And Sublime In Mathematics, Paul Zwier

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

A précis of Paul Zwier's talk presented at the meetings of the ACMS Conference at Messiah College on June 1, 2007.

Connection-Oriented Computer Science Education, Kim Kihlstrom

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

Computers play an important role in every area of our society and are integral in every academic discipline. Today's computer science students need a background that will prepare them for the expanding range of computing opportunities. The opportunities for computer professionals are varied and increasing in diversity. However, undergraduate computer science programs tend to be narrowly focused on programming and related technical skills. Female students in particular tend to be highly interested in exploring connections between computer science and other fields.

How can we leverage these observations at a liberal arts college, where interdisciplinary connections are highly desirable, and where …

Exploring Loci In Geometry, Owen Byer, Deirdre Smeltzer

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

No abstract provided.

Introduction (2007), Angela Hare

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

Sixteenth Conference of the Association of Christians in the Mathematical Sciences

Table Of Contents (2007), Association Of Christians In The Mathematical Sciences

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

Sixteenth Conference of the Association of Christians in the Mathematical Sciences

Schedule (2007), Association Of Christians In The Mathematical Sciences

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

Sixteenth Conference of the Association of Christians in the Mathematical Sciences

An Open Approach To Contextualising Heterogeneous Cultural Heritage Datasets, John Mcauley, James Carswell

Conference papers

This paper describes a semantic museum application, which aims to present a holistic impression of the Etruscan civilisation. Through the use of a distributed computing paradigm and the CIDOC CRM ontology, the system presents a unified view of a fragmented heritage, while supporting browse and search at a semantic level. Within the cultural heritage world, however, much value is placed on ‘context’, both in describing and presenting heritage artefacts. From this perspective, a platform built upon the distributed search paradigm, although useful in many respects, does not convey how an artefact sits within a broader setting. Narrative concepts are proposed …

Impact Of Computers On Cultures In Third World Countries: A Case Of Computers In Education, James R. Ochwa-Echel

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Computers On Cultures In Third World Countries: A Case Of Computers In Education, James Ochwa-Echel

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

No abstract provided.

Video Game Development With 3d Studio Max And The Xna Framework, Cole Mahoukau Koffi

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this project on game design and development is to experiment with actual technology tools used in computer games and get experience in three deminsional game development using 3D Studio Max and Microsoft XNA.

An Augustinian Perspective On The Philosophy Of Mathematics, James Bradley

ACMS Journal 2007

From a Christian perspective, both modern and post-modern approaches to the philosophy of mathematics have significant shortcomings. This paper explores an alternative. It summarizes Augustine of Hippo’s views on the four classical themes of the philosophy of mathematics-the ontology of mathematical objects, their epistemology, the nature of truth in mathematics, and how we account for the effectiveness of mathematics in describing the natural world. It then traces what has happened to Augustine’s perspective in the roughly 1600 years since it was written concluding with a discussion of some spiritual and intellectual problems with the currently dominant secular perspective.

A New Member Of The Family? The Continuum Of Being, Artificial Intelligence, And The Image Of God, Noreen L. Herzfeld

Theology Faculty Publications

Are the scientific and religious definitions of life irreconcilable or do they overlap in significant areas? What is life? Religion seems to imply that there is a qualitative distinction between human beings and the rest of creation; however, there is a strong tradition in Christianity and in Eastern thought that suggests that the natural world also has a relationship with God. Human dominion over other parts of creation exists, but does not obviate this connection, nor give humans a circle unto themselves. The concept of humans being created in the image of God can be used to explain why we …

A Short Tutorial On Reconstructability Analysis, Martin Zwick

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

This talk will present the basic ideas of Reconstructability Analysis. RA is a general modeling methodology developed in the systems community since the early 60s (pioneered by Ross Ashby) for exploratory (data mining, machine learning) and confirmatory modeling. RA is based in graph theory, set theory, information theory, and statistics. It is applicable to qualitative (nominal) and, via binning, to quantitative (continuous) data, with both statistical & non-statistical applications. It overlaps and augments more widely known methods, e.g., log-linear modeling and Bayesian networks.

Keywords: Reconstructability Analysis, Log-Linear Modeling, categorical data, multivariate statistics, exploratory modeling, confirmatory modeling

2nd Annual Undergraduate Research Conference Abstract Book, University Of Missouri--Rolla

Undergraduate Research Conference at Missouri S&T

No abstract provided.

A Component Based Formal Ontology Model, A Method For Evaluating Such A Model, And The Results Of An Application Of That Method, Charles Tumitsa

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

For systems to truly communicate effectively, more than just data interchange is necessary. The systems must achieve conceptual interoperability, which implies communicating with understanding.

The LCIM (Levels of Conceptual Interoperability Model) describes a number of levels of interoperability, each of which shows systems with an increased amount of conceptual understanding of the other systems they are communicating with. The lowest levels of this model, technical and syntactic interoperability, are achieved (and there are many existing examples) via data exchange in a number of different ways. Research has shown, however, that to attain higher levels of conceptual understanding, that there must …

Understanding Powerpoint Through Rhetoric, Andrea K. Murphy

English Theses & Dissertations

PowerPoint has been described by critics and proponents alike as ubiquitous. This tool, created primarily for the business world, is now found everywhere from elementary school classes to the highest levels of government. Critics of PowerPoint, like Edward Tufte, charge the software with such crimes as the corruption of data and changing the way that people think. Meanwhile, PowerPoint proponents such as Cliff Atkinson and Richard E. Mayer assert PowerPoint's value as an excellent tool that, if designed properly, can take advantage of the promise of research into multimedia theory.

Even as we reconcile these diverse views within a larger …

A Modular Onboard Processing System For Small Unmanned Vehicles, Richard D. Garcia

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This work describes the design and implementation of a generic lightweight onboard processing system for miniature Unmanned Vehicles (UVs) that is computationally powerful and highly adaptable. First, several classical approaches to giant scale and full size UV onboard processing systems are described along with their corresponding limitations. Second, a detailed study is presented that describes the key characteristics of an onboard system along with associated limitations. Next, an implementation of a generic onboard system capable of vision processing and servo based control is presented along with detailed hardware specifications and implementation software. Last, experimental data, both laboratory and field, are …

Typography Behind The Arabetic Calligraphy Veil, Saad D. Abulhab

Publications and Research

In the change from scriptural writing systems to textual mechanical systems and most recently to digital, computer generated text, some languages and their typographic representations have suffered. One such language, along with its visible language representation, that has not made a smooth transition is Arabic. The author argues that misinterpreting language tradition prevents what he calls Arabetic typography from embracing an appropriate technological adaptation. Putting forth an evolutionary argument, he critiques the notion that calligraphic styles must prevail and that legibility and readability of Arabic characters is objective. He further states that the resulting typefaces when abandoning the so called …

Ua1b2/1/5 Oral History, Paula Trafton, Charles Anderson

WKU Administration Documents

Interview conducted by Paula Trafton with Charles Anderson, retired Vice President for Information Technology.