Understanding new ways of learning in the 21st century: A preliminary study into mobile technologies

In this paper, we describe a theoretical framework and design of a study of mobile technologies in a first year university course, where students use mobile phones, or smartphones as cognitive tools. The paper describes a broader study into the use of mobile technologies with authentic learning environments, and then outlines a plan for an investigation into the nature of use of the devices in the completion of an authentic task

Problem solving in technology-supported learning environments

The increasing availability of technology-supported learning environments designed to enhance the development of skills for life-long learning in the classroom and the wider community provides opportunities for student-centred and cooperative learning. Researchers experimenting with these learning environments are attempting to use cognitive tools to scaffold learners in the process of a cognitive task, usually presented in the form of a problem. Constructivist approaches to learning shifts the focus for organising knowledge construction from the teacher to the learner. Learners therefore need to develop a range of information processing skills to cope with this approach to learning. When faced with the responsibility for knowledge construction, they are thrown on their own management resources. While some may have the metacognitive skills to cope, many fend poorly in the increased complexity of such a learning environment. Many see the task as daunting and complex and feel ill-prepared for such creative freedom and choice of direction. Such learners need tools to help them represent the knowledge they are acquiring. This study explores ways in which a range of support frameworks may be used to assist learners when solving problems of an ill-structured nature. The main objective was to gain a better understanding of how learners identify, organize and present information when problem solving in technology supported learning environments. The research has focussed on the three main areas: problem clarification (identifying the nature of the task and what information was required or provided); solution formulation including data collection and the solution process (sorting out the resources and generating new information as required); and presentation of argument for the solution (identifying propositions and the appropriate evidence for support or refuting the argument). The primary data gathering strategies adopted for the study focussed on individual participants\u27 notes, audio transcripts of think-aloud protocols, participant observation and participant interviews. The results from the analysis of the collected data indicate that many learners have underdeveloped skills and find it difficult to adopt a systematic approach to both information gathering and in the analysis of supporting information. In constructing a response to the problems under investigation many participants preferentially consider one or two pieces of information rather than discriminating between issues. As a result of poor search strategies a number of participants missed access to essential information. Consequently this resulted in the formation of poorly constructed responses when developing an argument to support the answer to the problem under investigation. Of the four frameworks introduced into the study, the Six Hats framework and the Critical Thinking framework appear to offer clearer strategies to assist learners with problem clarification and solution formulation. There was little difference in the quality of argument produced by participants using the different frameworks. The findings arising from the research suggest that many learners would benefit from cognitive support tools when engaged in solving ill-structured problems within technology supported learning environments

The ‘Copy and Paste’ Function, Patterns of Learner Activity and Enhancing Cognitive Tools

This research analyses video data to examine changes between levels of process of textbased content of learners using two versions of the ‘Copy and Paste’ function, an unmodified control version and an experimental version with an embedded interaction strategy designed to prompt learners to process more content effectively. Observed learner activity types were categorized as involving Low, Medium or High levels of cognitive processing and the pattern of learner switching between these levels is examined. The conclusions drawn from this analysis indicate that learners not only need mediating artifacts that prompt them to use appropriate processing strategies but that they also need to be made aware of; i) the level of cognitive processing in which they are engaged and ii) more importantly to be prompted to switch activities to those involving higher levels of cognitive processing when they have been conducting low level processing for extended periods

What is the topology of a Schwarzschild black hole?

We investigate the topology of Schwarzschild's black hole through the immersion of this space-time in spaces of higher dimension. Through the immersions of Kasner and Fronsdal we calculate the extension of the Schwarzschild's black hole.Comment: 7 pages. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1102.446

On the Theory of Killing Orbits in Space-Time

This paper gives a theoretical discussion of the orbits and isotropies which arise in a space-time which admits a Lie algebra of Killing vector fields. The submanifold structure of the orbits is explored together with their induced Killing vector structure. A general decomposition of a space-time in terms of the nature and dimension of its orbits is given and the concept of stability and instability for orbits introduced. A general relation is shown linking the dimensions of the Killing algebra, the orbits and the isotropies. The well-behaved nature of "stable" orbits and the possible miss-behaviour of the "unstable" ones is pointed out and, in particular, the fact that independent Killing vector fields in space-time may not induce independent such vector fields on unstable orbits. Several examples are presented to exhibit these features. Finally, an appendix is given which revisits and attempts to clarify the well-known theorem of Fubini on the dimension of Killing orbits.Comment: Latex, 19 pages, no figur

The combinatorics of generalised cumulative arrays.

In this paper we present a combinatorial analysis of generalised cumulative arrays. These are structures that are associated with a monotone collections of subsets of a base set and have properties that find application in areas of information security. We propose a number of basic measures of efficiency of a generalised cumulative array and then study fundamental bounds on their parameters. We then look at a number of construction techniques and show that the problem of finding good generalised cumulative arrays is closely related to the problem of finding boolean expressions with special properties

The complications of ‘hiring a hubby’: gender relations and the commoditisation of home maintenance in New Zealand

This paper examines the commoditization of traditionally male domestic tasks through interviews with handymen who own franchises in the company ‘Hire a Hubby’ in New Zealand and homeowners who have paid for home repair tasks to be done. Discussions of the commoditization of traditionally female tasks in the home have revealed the emotional conflicts of paying others to care as well as the exploitative and degrading conditions that often arise when work takes place behind closed doors. By examining the working conditions and relationships involved when traditionally male tasks are paid for, this paper raises important questions about the valuing of reproductive labour and the production of gendered identities. The paper argues that while working conditions and rates of pay for ‘hubbies’ are better than those for people undertaking commoditized forms of traditionally female domestic labour, the negotiation of this work is still complex and implicated in gendered relations and identities. Working on the home was described by interviewees as an expression of care for family and a performance of the ‘right’ way to be a ‘Kiwi bloke’ and a father. Paying others to do this labour can imply a failure in a duty of care and in the performance of masculinity

Combinatorial Bounds and Characterizations of Splitting Authentication Codes

We present several generalizations of results for splitting authentication codes by studying the aspect of multi-fold security. As the two primary results, we prove a combinatorial lower bound on the number of encoding rules and a combinatorial characterization of optimal splitting authentication codes that are multi-fold secure against spoofing attacks. The characterization is based on a new type of combinatorial designs, which we introduce and for which basic necessary conditions are given regarding their existence.Comment: 13 pages; to appear in "Cryptography and Communications

Homothetic perfect fluid space-times

A brief summary of results on homotheties in General Relativity is given, including general information about space-times admitting an r-parameter group of homothetic transformations for r>2, as well as some specific results on perfect fluids. Attention is then focussed on inhomogeneous models, in particular on those with a homothetic group $H_4$ (acting multiply transitively) and $H_3$. A classification of all possible Lie algebra structures along with (local) coordinate expressions for the metric and homothetic vectors is then provided (irrespectively of the matter content), and some new perfect fluid solutions are given and briefly discussed.Comment: 27 pages, Latex file, Submitted to Class. Quantum Gra