THE SYSTEM OF COORDINATES AS AN OBSTACLE IN UNDERSTANDING THE CONCEPT OF DIMENSION

The concept of dimension, one of the most fundamental ideas in mathematics, is firmly rooted in the basis of the school geometry in such a way that mathematics teachers rarely feel the need to mention anything about it. However, the concept of dimension is far from being fully understood by students, even at the college level. In this paper, we examine whether the Cartesian x-y plane is responsible for student difficulty in estimating the value of the dimension of an object, or is it only students misconceptions about dimension that lead them to a false estimation of the value of the dimension of various objects. A second question discussed in this paper examines whether the system of coordinates acts as an epistemological obstacle or whether it has only a didactical character.     

Pre-Service Elementary Teachers' Conceptions about Wind

This paper presents a study concerning Greek pre-service elementary teachers' (PET) conceptions about wind. The study focuses on their (i) understanding of scientific concepts used to explain wind formation, (ii) conceptions about wind measurement and (iii) ability to read and translate symbols of wind on weather maps. Our research reveals a lack of understanding in wind formation mechanism, and difficulties in orientation and in weather maps reading. Our findings are consistent with previous research carried out in different national and educational contexts. In the final section, we outline the implications of these findings for the design of learning activities concerning wind in primary, secondary and tertiary education including Environmental Science courses attended by PET.     

Distance training for operating equipment: A cost‐benefit and return‐on‐investment analysis

Abstract

This study takes the perspective of an equipment vendor that is providing training on its equipment. The study shows that the total cost of Remote Access Distance Learning (RADL), training provided over a voice and data network, is higher than the total cost of classroom‐based training (CBT). However, the profits from RADL are higher than the profits from CBT, since it is possible to charge students a higher price for RADL than for CBT.     

Motivational aspects of community support for school‐based comprehensive sexuality education

Various surveys have documented widespread support among US parents, students, teachers and health professionals for school‐based comprehensive sexuality education. In many school districts, however, the sexuality education provided is minimal, incomplete or fragmented, and essential topics are often omitted or inaccurately presented. To help explain the discrepancy between support and accomplishment, this study develops a set of theory‐based research hypotheses regarding the potential motivational roles of stakeholders' goals, emotions and personal agency belief patterns in explaining this lack of achievement. A series of exploratory interviews and focus groups with 36 California parents, adolescents and professionals was conducted. A modified grounded‐theory approach was used to guide the collection and analysis of qualitative data, and the development of a theoretical framework anchored in Martin Ford's motivational systems theory. This framework suggests the complexity of the interacting factors involved, and provides a basis for specific hypotheses for further research. Potentially important goals, emotions and personal agency belief patterns are identified and discussed.     

Foreign Film

George Perry's The Great British Picture Show from the 90s to the 70s (New York: Hill and Wang, 1974---$12.50)

Mildred Constantine and Alan Fern's Revolutionary Soviet Film Posters (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1974---$12.95)

Michael Jon Stoil's Cinema Beyond the Danube: The Camera and Politics (Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1974---$6.00)

Antonin J. Liehn's Closely Watched Films: The Czechoslovak Experience (International Artistic Sciences Press, 901 North Broadway, White Plains, N.Y. 10603, 1974---$15.00)

Eleanor Beatty's A Handbook of Canadian Film (Toronto: Peter Martin Association with Take One, 1973---price not known, paper)

Kuleshov on Film: Writings by Lev Kuleschov (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1974--- $10.00)

Susan Sontag's Brother Carl (New York: Noonday Press/Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1974---$10.95/4.95)     

“Nothing is impossible”: characteristics of Hispanic females participating in an informal STEM setting

Cultural Studies of Science Education - Factors that influence the underrepresentation of females in STEM careers begin early in childhood when gender biases and stereotypes emerge. Stereotypes...     

Ndebele culture of Zimbabwe's views of giftedness

This study explored Ndebele culture of Zimbabwe's views of giftedness. Using questionnaire narratives, data were collected from thirty Zimbabwean teachers and lecturers of Ndebele cultural background. The study established that Ndebele culture views giftedness as an unusually outstanding ability blessed in an individual from birth, which manifests in extraordinary performances and expertise including creativity and inspirational power. The hallmarks of Ndebele culture's views of giftedness are achieving exceptionally outstanding success, creativity, ability to solve problems and inspirational power. Indigenous views warrant attention since contemporary psychology now recognizes multiple views of giftedness. The study therefore recommends considering the implications of indigenous views in planning and implementing broad‐based culturally sensitive gifted programs in Zimbabwe.     

Length of Residence,Cultural Adjustment Difficulties,and Psychological Distress Symptoms in Asian and Latin American International College Students

The authors examined cultural adjustment and psychological distress issues in 190 Asian and Latin American international college students. Findings revealed that Latin American students reported higher levels of psychological distress than did their Asian peers. Moreover, length of residence in the U.S. was negatively associated with psychological distress symptoms, and acculturative distress and intercultural competence concerns were positively related to psychological distress in both groups. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

A Memory-Based Approach to Anti-Spam Filtering for Mailing Lists

This paper presents an extensive empirical evaluation of memory-based learning in the context of anti-spam filtering, a novel cost-sensitive application of text categorization that attempts to identify automatically unsolicited commercial messages that flood mailboxes. Focusing on anti-spam filtering for mailing lists, a thorough investigation of the effectiveness of a memory-based anti-spam filter is performed using a publicly available corpus. The investigation includes different attribute and distance-weighting schemes, and studies on the effect of the neighborhood size, the size of the attribute set, and the size of the training corpus. Three different cost scenarios are identified, and suitable cost-sensitive evaluation functions are employed. We conclude that memory-based anti-spam filtering for mailing lists is practically feasible, especially when combined with additional safety nets. Compared to a previously tested Naive Bayes filter, the memory-based filter performs on average better, particularly when the misclassification cost for non-spam messages is high.