Integrating Case Studies in Engineering Mathematics: A response to SARTOR 3

Case studies have long been used to support the mathematics education of undergraduate engineers. Changes in the mathematical ability of entrants to engineering programmes and, indeed, the changing nature of many of the programmes themselves indicate the need to make the students' mathematical experiences more 'user friendly'. We describe here an approach which uses case studies, not as illustrations of applications of mathematics after a mathematical topic has been discussed, but in a fully integrated central role as vehicles for whole group discussion from which the students 'discover' the necessary mathematics which is taught subsequently. Not only is the 'carrot' of the application then central to their learning, but the need for the mathematics being taught is also clearly demonstrated. This approach has been tried with a group of 50 first year engineers. The effects on student motivation, ability and knowledge retention are discussed together with an indication of the Integrated Case Studies which were used.     

好莱坞特效行业衰落

尽管《少年派的奇幻漂流》在全球范围内收获了超过5亿美元的票房成绩,但凭借此片在第85届奥斯卡颁奖典礼上获得"最佳视觉效果奖"的特效公司Rhythm&Hues Studios却在2013年2月13日沦落到申请破产保护的境地。这家已经拥有25年历史的好莱坞老牌视觉效果制作公司曾多次获得各大颁奖礼上的"最佳视觉效果奖",而如今的境遇则让人唏嘘不已。在如今高度商业化的好莱坞,艺术家们只有得到真正的尊重,才能创造出更好的作品。     

Self‐constructed exoticism: gender and Nation in Hōrōki by Hayashi Fumiko

This paper is a reading of Hōrōki (1928–30) by Hayashi Fumiko (1903–1951). The analysis demonstrates how the marginal status of the female protagonist is used as a literary device to create a challenging gendered critique of Japanese urban culture in the early 20th century. The paper discusses how the work reflects concepts of a ‘hybrid’ national identity as defined by Homi Bhabha, and highlights the links between gender and national identity using the concept of the exotic in relation to Alcoff’s concept of gender as positionality. It focuses in particular on the structure of the work, bringing out the idea that by using a disjointed narrative and a fragmented telling of the self, Hayashi Fumiko evokes ideas of the self in relation to the nation that are both unstable and destabilising, thus creating a revolutionary and anarchistic view of Japanese culture; the fluidity and hybridity of the nation are reflected in the fluid and hybrid nature of the work itself.     

Populist linguistic tone in recent U.S. presidential campaign discourse: a DICTION analysis

ABSTRACT

This study analyzed the tone of public campaign remarks of right- and left-wing populist (Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, respectively) and right and left-wing non-populist (Mitt Romney and Hillary Clinton, respectively) U.S. presidential candidates using DICTION 7.0. Findings suggest that populists tended to use a linguistic tone that is high in pessimism, group abstractness, and exclusion. Pessimism and group abstractness were positively associated with immigration language in right-wing populist speech. Commonality and “we-ness” were positively associated with populist language in left-wing populist speech.     

Who are We?

This article scrutinises the usage of the words “we”, “us” and “our” by BBC radio journalists when reporting and discussing news and current affairs. By analysing reports and discussions on the “flagship” Radio 4 Today, a daily news programme whose centrality to political and public debate is widely recognised, the article raises substantive questions about clarity, accuracy and impartiality in senior broadcast journalists’ choice of language. In exploring the assumptions which may underlie the invocation, via such language choices, of an implied community, and against the backdrop of the BBC's commitment to impartiality in its Editorial Guidelines, the article identifies numerous recent examples where the choice of words and identifiers can be seen as undermining the BBC's impartiality and which show several of its senior journalists adopting the first-person plural “we” when reporting on matters of public policy. The findings therefore indicate a general need to codify norms which are seen to integrate the need for accuracy as well as impartiality, and for these norms to take into account issues which might at first glance seem to be inconsequential, micro-level features of the journalists’ language. The evidence suggests that more fine-grained guidelines on permissible circumstances for BBC journalists’ usage of “we” and “our” need revising and disseminating in the light of these findings.     

Conflict and the friendship relations of young children

The purpose of this investigation was to compare conflicts occurring between young children and their friends to those occurring between nonfriends. 53 children with a median age of 4 years, 3 months were observed and interviewed to determine who were mutual friends, unilateral associates, or neutral associates. 146 conflicts were also observed. Conflicts between mutual friends, as compared to those occurring between neutral associates: (a) did not occur less frequently, differ in length, or differ in the situations that instigated them, but (b) were less intense, were resolved more frequently with disengagement, and more frequently resulted in equal or partially equal outcomes. Continued socialization was also more likely following conflicts between friends. Conflicts between unilateral associates resembled those between nonfriends, although postconflict interaction resembled that between mutual friends. Conflict resolution strategies favored by friends maximize the likelihood that their interaction and their relationships will continue.     

Coming Back from Disaster: Progress to Date and Next Steps at Elliot Lake Public Library

In this article, I do two things. First, I describe and evaluate progress that has been made to date on implementing five recommendations made by the author to the leadership of Elliot Lake Public Library in 2014, intended to assist in disaster recovery efforts following the destruction of the library in an anthropogenic disaster in 2012. Second, I provide three revised recommendations, this time intended to assist library leadership address some continuing challenges that are preventing the complete recovery of the library, and ultimately, negatively impacting the effectiveness of the library within the community.     

An exploration of the relationship between argumentative prompts and depth to elicit alternative positions in ill-structured problem solving

Educational technology research and development - Little is known about the role of prompts to help learners solve ill-structured learning problems. Instructors do not devote adequate time to...     

Helping Business Students Acquire the Skills Needed for a Career in Analytics: A Comprehensive Industry Assessment of Entry‐Level Requirements

Fact‐based decision making is changing job functions within organizations more than any other technology. Analytics, once the purview of the data scientist, is now spread throughout organizations. No longer is there a single job title, job function, or set of required skills and credentials for an analytics career. Companies have moved away from seeking applicants with a specific degree to now recruiting analytics talent based on required skill sets. For more than a decade, business schools have been developing new programs in analytics in response to industry's needs. However, in developing meaningful career‐ready professionals, business programs must understand the skills required across different analytics job functions. In this article, the authors present a comprehensive assessment of the skills sought by employers when considering a candidate for an entry‐level analytics position. The authors describe the demand for various types of analytics professionals, identify the job titles and functions with the most significant demand, and then draw a comparison of the job requirements of hard skills, soft skills, software skills, and credentials between three of the most sought‐after analytics areas: data science, data analytics, and business analytics. The authors conclude by providing faculty and administrators with recommendations on how to adapt their courses and programs to provide students with the fundamental preparation necessary for careers in data science, data analytics, and business analytics.