Designing Science Games and Science Toys from the Perspective of Scientific Creativity

This study was conducted with the participation of 21 pre-service science teachers attending the faculty of education of a university in Turkey. The study aims to evaluate pre-service science teachers’ science games and science toy designs in terms of scientific creativity. Participants were given a four-week period to design science games or science toys to complement the contents of a biology course. The science games and science toys developed were then evaluated in terms of scientific creativity, using the following four criteria: “science knowledge, fluency, flexibility, and originality”. The science games and science toys developed by the pre-service science teachers were found to be satisfactory in terms of science knowledge and flexibility, and unsatisfactory in terms of fluency. There was an inconsistent distribution in the dimension of originality. Keywords: scientific creativity, science games, science toys, creative desig

Mobile games and science learning: A comparative study of 4 and 5 years old playing the game Angry Birds

A popular activity among young children is the use of mobile devices and apps. Yet, the impact of mobile devices on learning and development is rather underexplored. The limited studies identified explore effects on literacy development and communication and report on mixed findings. A considerable gap is observed as to how the use of mobile apps relates to young children's understanding in diverse domains including science learning, and to extend, whether and how mobile apps should be used and how in early years' settings. The aim of this paper is to shed light on this area by examining the learning effects of touch screen mobile game applications, in particular the game Angry Birds, on two groups of preschoolers 4 and 5 years old respectively. Evidence from a comparative study with 32 participants reveal significant differences between the two groups in terms of game skills and their understanding of projectile motion. Implications for educational stakeholders, parents and app designers are discussed along with future research directions

“I’d Rather Be in Afghanistan”: Antinomies of \u3cem\u3eBattle: Los Angeles\u3c/em\u3e

This article reads Battle: Los Angeles (2011) against the grain to argue that the film possesses an antiwar undertow running unexpectedly counter to its surface-level pro-military politics. The article uses the antinomy structuring Battle: Los Angeles as the opportunity to explore the pro- and anti-war politics of science fiction alien invasion film more generally, as well as consider the role of cooperation with the military in Hollywood blockbusters. The article closes with a Jamesonian reading of “the army”: as a kind of utopia as registered by mainstream cultural texts like Battle: Los Angeles

Universal Fluctuations of AEX index

We compute the analytic expression of the probability distributions F{AEX,+} and F{AEX,-} of the normalized positive and negative AEX (Netherlands) index daily returns r(t). Furthermore, we define the \alpha re-scaled AEX daily index positive returns r(t)^\alpha and negative returns (-r(t))^\alpha that we call, after normalization, the \alpha positive fluctuations and \alpha negative fluctuations. We use the Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistical test, as a method, to find the values of \alpha that optimize the data collapse of the histogram of the \alpha fluctuations with the Bramwell-Holdsworth-Pinton (BHP) probability density function. The optimal parameters that we found are \alpha+=0.46 and \alpha-=0.43. Since the BHP probability density function appears in several other dissimilar phenomena, our results reveal universality in the stock exchange markets.Comment: 16 pages, 12 figure

Optimal Control and Sensitivity Analysis of a Fractional Order TB Model

A Caputo fractional-order mathematical model for the transmission dynamics of tuberculosis (TB) was recently proposed in [Math. Model. Nat. Phenom. 13 (2018), no. 1, Art. 9]. Here, a sensitivity analysis of that model is done, showing the importance of accuracy of parameter values. A fractional optimal control (FOC) problem is then formulated and solved, with the rate of treatment as the control variable. Finally, a cost-effectiveness analysis is performed to assess the cost and the effectiveness of the control measures during the intervention, showing in which conditions FOC is useful with respect to classical (integer-order) optimal control.Comment: This is a preprint of a paper whose final and definite form is with 'Statistics Opt. Inform. Comput.', Vol. 7, No 2 (2019). See [http://www.IAPress.org]. Submitted 09/Sept/2018; Revised 10/Dec/2018; Accepted 11/Dec/2018. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1801.09634, arXiv:1810.0690