Nabokov as Translator: Passion and Precision

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Non-Discriminatory Service Robot Placement Using Geometric Median

Service robots are becoming increasingly common, and businesses are adopting their use at an increasingly rapid rate in order to reduce costs and provide efficiencies in performing mundane tasks. However, very little research has been performed in order to understand and address ethical concerns regarding their deployment and use. One such concern is how one can ensure placement of a service robot such that is does not discriminate either in favor of or against individuals. This research explores techniques that can be used to provide a quantitative methodology to ensure fairness in terms of service robot placement such that discrimination does not occur. These techniques include the development and further enhancement of a heuristic hill climbing algorithm used to approximate the Geometric Median (GM). This algorithm is then benchmarked against Weiszfeld’s Algorithm, a well-known algorithm commonly used to solve the GM problem. iii These two algorithms are then visualized using Dynamics Explorer, an open source software tool, to create 2d maps of the dynamics of their convergence rates along with maps of F(), the “sum of the Euclidean distances” function underlying the calculations used by both GM approximation algorithms. The heuristic hill climbing algorithm is also extended to handle obstacles being introduced into the service robot’s workspace. It is further shown that as the size of ξ approaches ∞+, the Geometric Median converges to the centroid, given certain assumptions, such as the target points being evenly distributed in the plane

Effects of state tests in Ohio on assessment practices in mathematics education.

Classroom tests from nine eighth-grade mathematics teachers were collected from the 2003-04 and 2005-06 school years. These years represent one school year prior to the eighth-grade Ohio Achievement Test (OAT) in mathematics being implemented and the year after the eighth-grade OAT in mathematics was implemented, respectively. In addition, teachers were interviewed to gain insight into their classroom assessment practices. Classroom assessment data were compared between the two years, and interview data were examined, to investigate the impact that the new state test was having on classroom assessment practices. Teachers increased the percentage of their items that assessing content below the eighth-grade to nearly one-third of their items, and an average of 86% of teachers\u27 classroom assessment items were at the lowest depth of knowledge level during both years. The assessment analysis and interview analysis indicate that teachers\u27 reliance on curriculum materials for their tests, along with teachers\u27 inability to accurately interpret the eighth-grade indicators, are partly responsible for these two findings. The presence of a state test did not entice teachers to assess more eighth-grade mathematics content or higher depths of knowledge

Guidelines for Estimating Unmetered Industrial Water Use

The document provides a methodology to estimate unmetered industrial water use for evaporative cooling systems, steam generating boiler systems, batch process applications, and wash systems. For each category standard mathematical relationships are summarized and provided in a single resource to assist Federal agencies in developing an initial estimate of their industrial water use. The approach incorporates industry norms, general rules of thumb, and industry survey information to provide methodologies for each section

Particle kinetic simulation of high altitude hypervelocity flight

In this grant period, the focus has been on the effects of thermo-chemical nonequilibrium in low-density gases, and on interactions between such gases and solid surfaces. Such conditions apply to hypersonic flows of re-entry vehicles, and to the expansion plumes of small rockets. Due to the nonequilibrium nature of these flows, a particle approach has been adopted. The method continues to undergo refinement and application to typical flows of interest. A number of studies have been performed for flows in thermo-chemical nonequilibrium. The effects of vibrational nonequilibrium on the rate of dissociation were studied for diatomic nitrogen. It was found that a new model reproduced the nonequilibrium behavior observed experimentally

Haploinsufficiency of the Myc regulator Mtbp extends survival and delays tumor development in aging mice.

Alterations of specific genes can modulate aging. Myc, a transcription factor that regulates the expression of many genes involved in critical cellular functions was shown to have a role in controlling longevity. Decreased expression of Myc inhibited many of the deleterious effects of aging and increased lifespan in mice. Without altering Myc expression, reduced levels of Mtbp, a recently identified regulator of Myc, limit Myc transcriptional activity and proliferation, while increased levels promote Myc-mediated effects. To determine the contribution of Mtbp to the effects of Myc on aging, we studied a large cohort of Mtbp heterozygous mice and littermate matched wild-type controls. Mtbp haploinsufficiency significantly increased longevity and maximal survival in mice. Reduced levels of Mtbp did not alter locomotor activity, litter size, or body size, but Mtbp heterozygous mice did exhibit elevated markers of metabolism, particularly in the liver. Mtbp(+/-) mice also had a significant delay in spontaneous cancer development, which was most prominent in the hematopoietic system, and an altered tumor spectrum compared to Mtbp(+/+) mice. Therefore, the data suggest Mtbp is a regulator of longevity in mice that mimics some, but not all, of the properties of Myc in aging

A Curriculum for Excellence: a review of approaches to recognising wider achievement

The is the report of work undertaken by the Quality in Education Centre of the University of Strathclyde on behalf of Learning and Teaching Scotland into Recognising WiderAchievements of young people both in and out of school.Desk research and empirical research were undertaken in January and February 2007. This short timescale inevitably limited the extent of the work undertaken. The views ofstakeholders were sought through interviews and questionnaires. Definitions of wider achievement have been emerging in the UK since four key areaswere identified by the DfES (DfES, 1984). These were recognised in 'National Records of Achievement' and included recognition of achievement (exams and other activities), motivation and personal development, curriculum organisation, and a document of recordthat is 'recognised and valued'. Further policy development in the 1990s and into this century raised further issues including the range of activities and variation in types oflearning, equity of access to opportunities, and challenges of assessment

Creating Democratic Classroom Communities with Morning Meeting Humanizing Social Practices. A Response to The Morning Meeting: Fostering a Participatory Democracy Begins with Youth in Public Education

In our response to Tilhou’s article published last issue, “The Morning Meeting: Fostering a Participatory Democracy Begins with Youth in Public Education,” we share and discuss ethnographic data from Morning Meetings in two U.S. elementary classrooms. We detail ways the democratic potential of Morning Meetings is being cultivated in these classroom communities where one teacher has extended the Responsive Classroom model while the other has developed his own structures. We show how classroom democratic norms are established through humanizing community-building social practices as we argue that Morning Meetings must be understood across time and activities that may have an academic function