The End of Time?

I discuss J. Barbour's Machian theories of dynamics, and his proposal that a Machian perspective enables one to solve the problem of time in quantum geometrodynamics (by saying that there is no time). I concentrate on his recent book 'The End of Time' (1999).Comment: 48 pages Latex. A shortened version will appear in 'The British Journal for Philosophy of Science

Knowledge and Multisemiosis in Undergraduate Physics

Physics is arguably the most fundamental of the sciences, yet many students disengage with it at a very early level. This thesis lays the groundwork to understanding why this is the case by using Systemic Functional theory to study how knowledge is conveyed to students within two undergraduate physics textbooks. Further to this, it uses Bernstein’s (1999) notion of ‘knowledge structure’ to describe the nature of knowledge within the discipline of physics itself. The thesis finds that mathematics and images work with written language to convey technical knowledge. Moreover, these semiotic resources can become technical, transcending the text to become part of the assumed knowledge of the field. Finally, it shows that mathematics in particular allows physics to integrate its various sub-fields and produce general theories that can be applied to real world. This thesis presents the first attempt using linguistic analysis at describing the nature of physics and how it is recontextualised for pedagogical purposes. As part of this, the thesis extends multiple theoretical frameworks including multimodality, theory of knowledge and genre theory

The coaching ripple effect: The effects of developmental coaching on wellbeing across organisational networks

Background It has been argued that the quality of daily interactions within organisations effects the wellbeing of both individuals and the broader organisation. Coaching for leadership development is one intervention often used to create organisation-wide changes in culture and wellbeing. Leadership style has been associated with employee stress and wellbeing. Coaching has also been shown to improve individual level measures of wellbeing. However, almost all the research into the effectiveness of coaching interventions assumes a linear model of change, and expects that any flow-on effects are also linear. In other words, much of the research assumed that any change in the leader has relatively uniform effects on the wellbeing of others, and that these effects can be adequately accessed via standard linear statistical analyses. We argue that linear approaches do not take the complexity of organisations seriously, and that Complex Adaptive Systems theory (CAS) provides a useful non-linear approach to thinking about organisational change and the wellbeing of individuals embedded in these systems. The relatively new methodology of Social Network Analysis (SNA) provides researchers with analytic tools designed to access the relational components of complex systems. This paper reports on changes observed in the relational networks of an organisation following a leadership coaching intervention. Methods An AB design coaching intervention study was conducted across an organisation (N = 225). Wellbeing measures were taken for all employees and a social network analysis was conducted on the degree and quality of all organisational interactions. Twenty leaders (n = 20) received 8 coaching sessions. Individual self report measures of goal attainment as well as 360 feedbacks on transformational leadership were assessed in the control, pre and post intervention periods. Results A significant increase in the goal attainment, transformational leadership and psychological wellbeing measures were observed for those who received coaching. Average change in the perceived quality of interaction improved for those who received coaching. However there was a decline in the perceived quality of the interaction others believed they were having with those who were coached. It was also found that the closer any member of the network was identified as being connected to those who received coaching, the more likely they were to experience positive increases in wellbeing. Conclusions This research highlights the influence of leadership coaching beyond the individual leader, and has important implications for organisational wellbeing initiatives and how we measure the impact of interventions aimed at organisational change. Our findings suggest a more nuanced approach is needed in designing interventions in complex adaptive systems

VISUAL AND SYMBOLIC REPRESENTATION FORMING: A CASE OF RELATIONAL UNDERSTANDING ON ELEMENTARY STUDENT

This study investigates the process of forming Anna’s visual and symbolic representations at each stage of the development of relational understanding in solving fractional problems. This study focuses on Anna (pseudonym), a 4th-grade elementary school student in Sidoarjo Regency. Anna possessed the complete process of forming visual and symbolic representations and is the only student who is able to provide logical arguments to support her answer. This research is qualitative in nature with a case study. The results were analyzed using the Miles and Huberman model by reducing the data, presenting the data, and drawing conclusions. Results show the process of forming Anna’s visual and symbolic representations at each stage of the development of relational understanding in solving fractional problems. Anna has difficulty forming visual representations because she has weaknesses in the concept of fractional equations and fractional operations. This resulted in the process of forming symbolic representations and procedural knowledge that tends to be rote. These findings indicate that Anna developed a relational understanding, namely, a conceptual understanding of fractions. The process of forming a visual representation is the main basis before the formation of a symbolic representation

Explaining export regional involvement through marketing strategy : the case of Spanish companies exporting to Latin America

The equivalence between the absence of arbitrage and the existence of an equivalent martingale measure fails when an infinite number of trading dates is considered. By enlarging the set of states of nature and the probability measure through a projective system of topological spaces and Radon measures, we characterize the absence of arbitrage when the time set is countable

EXPLAINING EXPORT REGIONAL INVOLVEMENT THROUGH MARKETING STRATEGY: THE CASE OF SPANISH COMPANIES EXPORTING TO LATIN AMERICA

The equivalence between the absence of arbitrage and the existence of an equivalent martingale measure fails when an infinite number of trading dates is considered. By enlarging the set of states of nature and the probability measure through a projective system of topological spaces and Radon measures, we characterize the absence of arbitrage when the time set is countable.

Mathematical thinking in differential equations through a computer algebra system

This study is an effort to promote the mathematical thinking of students in differential equations through a computer algebra system. Mathematical thinking enhances the complexity of the mathematical ideas as an important goal of mathematics education which has not been widely achieved yet in mathematics instruction. This study was conducted in two parts comprising the teaching experiment in the main study and task based interviews in the follow up study. The experiment was conducted with an undergraduate class of differential equations with thirty-seven chemical engineering students in a public university in Malaysia. Maxima, an open source software, was the computer algebra system chosen to be used as a cognitive tool in the learning activities. The instruments included the worksheets designed by the researcher based on instrumental genesis, Three Worlds of Mathematics, and prompts and questions. Seventeen observation sessions and twelve semi-structured task based in-depth interviews with six students were conducted in the main study. In addition, eighteen interviews were carried out in the follow up study with the same six students. Qualitative analysis was used to classify the type of mathematical thinking powers as well as the mathematical structures. The findings showed that mathematical thinking powers to make sense of mathematical structures were interwoven and students used them in a non-sequential manner. The students applied specializing powers, imagining and expressing, changing, varying, comparing, sorting, and organizing, and checking the calculation in general to make sense of mathematical structures such as facts, techniques, and representations. In addition, the relationships among the main contributing factors that support this innovative approach were determined which include the type of tasks, the role of the teacher, class discourse, and the capabilities of technology. The approach can be incorporated not only in the mathematics curriculum at the tertiary level but could also be extended to schools

SciTech News Volume 71, No. 1 (2017)

Columns and Reports From the Editor 3 Division News Science-Technology Division 5 Chemistry Division 8 Engineering Division Aerospace Section of the Engineering Division 9 Architecture, Building Engineering, Construction and Design Section of the Engineering Division 11 Reviews Sci-Tech Book News Reviews 12 Advertisements IEEE

Investigating students' learning of differential equations in physics

There are numerous cases in physics where the value of a quantity and changes in that quantity are related. For example, the speed of an object depends on its acceleration; the radioactivity of a sample depends on the amount of the sample present. Except in highly idealised settings, the analysis of these cases requires students to recognize, set up, and solve an ordinary differential equation (ODE). In many universities, ODEs are studied in mathematics before they are applied in physics. However, the aims of mathematicians and physicists can be very different. Mathematics modules tend to emphasise theoretical aspects of ODEs. In contrast, physics modules often emphasise modelling. This project is a multi-stage investigation that began by identifying the issues experienced by physics students during their study of ODEs before addressing them through the design and implementation of a set of tutorials. Having surveyed a cohort of physics students who completed a typical service module on ODEs, we found that many of them possessed a fragmented concept image of ODEs and insufficient instrumental understanding. Fifteen tutorials were designed to address these issues. Issues with instrumental understanding (primarily the manipulation of exponents and indefinite integration), and broadening the students’ concept image were the focuses. The effectiveness of the tutorials was measured using immediate pre/post-testing, delayed post-tests, and interviews with students. Together, these revealed significant gains in the understanding of ODEs as well as an appreciation of the guided-inquiry approach employed. Although some gaps in instrumental understanding were found to remain, students are hampered more by an incomplete concept image of ODEs. By studying the conceptual difficulties of physics students with ODEs and designing a guided teaching-learning sequence, we have been able to improve students’ conceptual understanding of ODEs without impacting negatively on their instrumental understanding