The effects of using graphing calculators to enhance college students' performance in precalculus

This study extended through three academic semesters and involved 710 subjects. It compared the performance of college students taught precalculus using a graphing calculator and a textbook written to be used with a graphing utility, to the performance of students using the traditional approach, a regular textbook, and a scientific calculator. On a comprehensive common final exam, students who were taught precalculus using the graphing calculator had significantly higher scores than those taught by traditional methods.PosthumousPreliminary partial results of this experiment were presented at the Fourth Annual International Conference on Technology in Collegiate Mathematics, Portland, Oregon, November 15–17,1991.     

Professional Learning Community Assessment-Revised (PLCA-R) questionnaire: translation and validation in Spanish context

Learning Environments Research - The analysis of professional community is a good indicator of the degree of professional and institutional development of a school. The Professional Learning...     

``Weighing' the Earth: a Newtonian Test and the Origin of an Anachronism

The measure G, the universal gravitational constant, is attributed to Henry Cavendish. Nevertheless, the intention of the English physicist was to measure the density of the earth, which at that time was necessary in order to decide between different theories about the composition of this planet. G was measured much later. In this article I will try to explain how Cavendish accomplished the famous experiment and what his results were. Likewise, I will consider the problems that can arise in the scientific training of students from maintaining anachronisms such as this.     

An assessment of the sources of the reversal error through classic and new variables

We present two empirical studies with 241 and 211 pre-service teachers that evaluate the explanatory power of word order matching and static comparison as models for the reversal error. We used tasks consisting of generating an algebraic equation representing a comparison given in a verbal statement. We introduce the types of magnitude involved in the statement as variables of analysis, something that was not previously tackled in previous works. Our results show that there are no statistical differences in the production of reversal errors depending on the information included in the name used to designate the variable, and that there are statistical differences depending on the syntactic configuration as well as the type of magnitude involved in the statement. The interpretation of these results indicates that both word order matching and static comparison have some potential as explanatory models for the reversal error, and that neither one of them, alone, is enough to completely explain the phenomenon.     

水平支座上独立式刚性块的摆动模型（英文）

目的:本研究集中探讨水平支座上独立放置简单叠合的双刚性块的动力学行为,旨在通过构建并求解合适的动力学数值模型以助于设计可广泛适用于博物馆、实验室和医院的保护小型艺术品或装置的隔振系统。创新点:1.研究对象为两个叠合在一起的刚性块,较以往同类问题中的单一刚性块,更具现实意义;2.同时研究了刚性块的摆动和滑动两类运动模式。方法:1.基于达朗贝尔原理构建摆动控制方程,分析单刚体情形下的摆动并利用数值手段描述其滑动状态;2.在分析单刚体的基础上构建双刚体控制方程组并对其进行数值求解。结论:1.通过研究大理石雕塑置于蹲式刚性基底上且基底独立放置在移动地面上的情形发现,相比于滑动,雕塑自身的摆动是造成其损坏的主要原因;2.在某些情况下,刚体表面延迟的存在可以避免细长刚性块的翻转,尤其是对于那些细长的摇摆块体以及上部块体质量增加的情形;3.本文提出的数值分析可以成为优化简易隔振系统的一个有效工具。     

The Impact of Corporate Media News on Market Valuation

This article explores the influence of Web-based corporate reporting on the investors' valuation of companies in the information and communications technology industry. This study compiled 8,111 news items issued in the “Press Releases” tab of the firms' Web sites between January 2003 and April 2005, and analyzed what type of news items affects stock returns. The results show a positive price reaction to news regarding new customers, completion of acquisitions, strategic long-term decisions, and non-technological alliances. In contrast, the results show a negative price reaction to news regarding the launch of new or upgraded products.     

Implicit indexing of natural language text by reorganizing bytecodes

Word-based byte-oriented compression has succeeded on large natural language text databases, by providing competitive compression ratios, fast random access, and direct sequential searching. We show that by just rearranging the target symbols of the compressed text into a tree-shaped structure, and using negligible additional space, we obtain a new implicitly indexed representation of the compressed text, where search times are drastically improved. The occurrences of a word can be listed directly, without any text scanning, and in general any inverted-index-like capability, such as efficient phrase searches, can be emulated without storing any inverted list information. We experimentally show that our proposal performs not only much more efficiently than sequential searches over compressed text, but also than explicit inverted indexes and other types of indexes, when using little extra space. Our representation is especially successful when searching for single words and short phrases.     

Book reviews

Mike Huggins, Flat Racing and British Society, 1790–1914: A Social and Economic History (London and Portland, OR: Frank Cass, 2000). Pp. xv + 270, 25 illustrations, index. £39.50/$57.50 (cloth); £17.50/$26.50 (paper). ISBN 0–7146–4982–1; 0–7146–8045–1.

Bill Mallon and Ian Buchanan, The 1908 Olympic Games: Results for All Competitions in All Events, with Commentary (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2000). Pp. xx + 516, index. $45.00. ISBN 0–7864–0598–8.

Randy Shaw. Reclaiming America: Nike, Clean Air, and the New National Activism (University of California Press, 1999). Pp. ix + 312, index. ISBN 0–520–21359–9.

Mark Douglas Lowes, Inside the Sports Pages: Work Routines, Professional Ideologies, and the Manufacture of Sports News (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999). Pp. xiii + 126, index, bibliography. $40.00 (cloth); $16.95 (paper). ISBN 0–8020–4359–3; 0–8020–8183–5.

C. Gaddy, An Olympic Journey: The Saga of an American Hero: LeRoy T. Walker. (Griffin Publishing Group: California, 1998). Pp. xiv + 265, illustrations, bibliographical references, achievements. $24.95. ISBN 1–882180–92–5.

William Marshall, Baseball's Pivotal Era, 1945–1951 (Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, 1999). Pp. xii + 513, 81 photographs, index. $29.95. ISBN 0–8131–2041–1.

Bob Allen with Bill Gilbert, The 500 Home Run Club: Baseball's 15 Greatest Home Run Hitters from Aaron to Williams (Champaign, IL: Sports Publishing Inc., 1999). Pp. x + 273, photographs. $22.95. ISBN 1582610312.

Simon Rae, W.G. Grace: A Life (London, Faber and Faber, 1999). Pp. xx + 548, 30 illustrations, index. £20.00 (cloth); £9.99 (paper). ISBN 0–571–17855–3; 0–571–19573‐ 3.

David W. Anderson. More Than Merkle: A History of the Best and Most Exciting Baseball Season in Human History (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2000). Pp. xxx + 285, 17 photographs, bibliography, index, $29.95. ISBN 0–8032–1056–6.

Joanna Avery and Julie Stevens, Too Many Men on the Ice: Women's Hockey in North America (Vancouver: Polestar Book Publishers, 1997). Pp. 286, 62 photographs, 37 tables, index, bibliography. CANS 19.95; US$ 16.95. ISBN 1–896095–33‐X.

John Fizel, Elizabeth Gustafson and Lawrence Hadley (eds.), Sports Economics: Current Research. (Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers, 1999). Pp. xiv + 246, index, bibliography. $59.95. ISBN 0–275–96330–6.

Frank P. Jozsa, Jr. and John J. Guthrie, Jr., Relocating Teams and Expanding Leagues in Professional Sports: How the Major Leagues Respond to Market Conditions (Westport, CT: Quorum Books, 1999). Pp. 206, index, bibliography. $59.95. ISBN 1–56720–193–8.

Adrian Shubert, Death and Money in the Afternoon: A History of the Spanish Bullfight (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999). Pp. 270, 17 illustrations, 2 appendices, index. $25.00. ISBN 0–19–509524–3.

Cindy S. Aron, Working at Play: A History of Vacations in the United States (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999). Pp. xii + 324. 30 photographs, index. $35.00. ISBN 019–5055845.

L. Koppett, Koppett's Concise History of Major League Baseball (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1998). Pp. xiv + 521, index. $34.95. ISBN 1–56639–638–7. J.H. Bready, Baseball in Baltimore: The First 100 Years (Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998). Pp. ix + 242, photographs throughout, index. $34.95. ISBN 0–9018–5833‐X.

L. Koppett, Koppett's Concise History of Major League Baseball (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1998). Pp. xiv + 521, index. $34.95. ISBN 1–56639–638–7. J.H. Bready, Baseball in Baltimore: The First 100 Years (Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998). Pp. ix + 242, photographs throughout, index. $34.95. ISBN 0–9018–5833‐X.

J. Zoss and J. Bowman, Diamonds in the Rough: The Untold History of Baseball (Chicago: Contemporary Books, 1996). Pp. xiv + 433, many photographs, index. $16.95. ISBN 0–8092–3234–0. M. Stang and L. Harkness, Baseball by the Numbers: A Guide to the Uniform Numbers of Major League Teams. American Sports History Series, No. 4 (Lanham, MD and London: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1997). Pp. xix + 1125, 8 photographs. ISBN 0–8108–3054‐X.

R. Ruck, The Tropic of Baseball: Baseball in the Dominican Republic (Lincoln and London: Nebraska University Press, 1999). Pp. xx + 215, 19 photographs, 3 maps, index. $12.00. ISBN 0–8032–8978–2.

D.Q. Voigt, The League That Failed. American Sports History Series, No. 10 (Lanham, MD and London: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1998). Pp. xiv + 322, 23 photographs, index. $45.00. ISBN 0–8108–3309–3.

J. Zoss and J. Bowman, Diamonds in the Rough: The Untold History of Baseball (Chicago: Contemporary Books, 1996). Pp. xiv + 433, many photographs, index. $16.95. ISBN 0–8092–3234–0.

M. Stang and L. Harkness, Baseball by the Numbers: A Guide to the Uniform Numbers of Major League Teams. American Sports History Series, No. 4 (Lanham, MD and London: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1997). Pp. xix + 1125, 8 photographs. ISBN 0–8108–3054‐X.

R. Ruck, The Tropic of Baseball: Baseball in the Dominican Republic (Lincoln and London: Nebraska University Press, 1999). Pp. xx + 215, 19 photographs, 3 maps, index. $12.00. ISBN 0–8032–8978–2.

D.Q. Voigt, The League That Failed. American Sports History Series, No. 10 (Lanham, MD and London: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1998). Pp. xiv + 322, 23 photographs, index. $45.00. ISBN 0–8108–3309–3.

Eddie Irvine, with Jane Nottage, Life in the Fast Lane: The Inside Story of the Ferrari Years (London: Ebury Press, 1999; distributed in the US by Trafalgar Square Publishing, North Pomfret, Vermont). Pp. xxiii + 232, 32 photographs. $29.95. ISBN 0–09–18746–02.

J.S. Todd, Physical Culture and the Body Beautiful: Purposive Exercise in the Lives of American Women, 1800–1875 (Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 1998). Pp. ix + 369, 81 illustrations, methodology, bibliography, index. US$39.95. ISBN 0–86554–561–8.

Eric G. Dunning, Joseph A. Maguire and Robert E. Pearton (eds.), The Sports Process: A Comparative and Developmental Approach (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Publishers, 1993). Pp. 279 + xiii, index. £37.50 (cloth). ISBN 0–87322–419–1.

Christiane Eisenberg, "English Sports “ und deutsche Bürger: Eine Gesellschaftsgeschichte 1800–1939 (Paderborn: Ferdinand Schöningh, 1999). Pp. 523.

M.L. Biscotti (comp.), A Bibliography of American Sporting Books, 1926–1985 (Far Hills, NJ: Meadow Run Press, 1997). Pp. ix + 573. $80.00. ISBN 1–886967–06–7.

J.L. Arbena (comp.), Latin American Sport: An Annotated Bibliography, 1988–1998, Bibliographies and Indexes on Sports History No 3 (Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1999). Pp. vii + 264. $75.00. ISBN 0–313–29611–1.

D. Kyle, H. Lee, T. Scanlon and K. Kitchell, Entering the Stadium: Approaches to Ancient Greek Athletics. Editor K. Kitchell, The Classical Bulletin, Vol.74 (1998), No.2 (Wauconda, IL: Bolchazy‐Carducchi). Pp. 100–200. $20.00. ISSN 0009–8337.

Wendy Long, Celebrating Excellence: Canadian Women Athletes (Vancouver: Polestar Book Publishers, 1995). Pp. 255. CAN$ 29.95. ISBN 1–896095–04–6.

Steven J. Overman, The Influence of the Protestant Ethic on Sport and Recreation (Aldershot: Avebury Press, 1997. Pp. + 394, index. ISBN 1 ‐85972–387‐X.

Douglas Booth, The Race Game: Sport and Politics in South Africa (London and Portland, OR: Frank Cass, 1998). Pp. xxi + 250, 10 photographs, index. £42.50/$59.50 (cloth); £17.50/$26.50 (paper). ISBN 0–7146–4799–3; 0–7146–4354–8.

Mike Cronin, Sport and Nationalism in Ireland: Gaelic Games, Soccer and Irish Identity since 1884 (Dublin and Portland, OR: Four Courts Press, 1999). Pp.214. £14.95. ISBN 1–85182–456–1.