Confidence assessment in the teaching of basic science

A scheme is described for including information about confidence in the computer‐based assessment of students. After each answer, students declare a confidence level of 1, 2, or 3. If the answer is correct, then this is the mark awarded. If not, marks of 0, ‐2, or ‐6 are awarded Students do well on this scheme if they can discriminate between when they are sure of correct answers and when they are partly guessing. In self‐assessment, students are trained to reflect on their reasoning, and to develop the skills of correct confidence judgement. The task of writing tests is simplified, since it becomes less important to ask complex questions. Simple direct questions discriminate better between students than they do with ordinary marking. Good students answer correctly with high confidence, while weak students moderate their confidence level if they know they are uncertain, or else lose heavily when they make mistakes. Preliminary data are presented from self‐assessment trials amongst medical students

Mathematical model predictions and optimization study of the gamma ray atmospheric density sensor

Mathematical model predictions and optimization study of gamma ray atmospheric density senso

U.S. Law of the Sea Cruise to Map the Foot of the Slope of the Northeast U.S. Atlantic Continental Margin: Leg 6

U.S. Law of the Sea Cruise to Map the Foot of the Slope of the Northeast U.S. Atlantic Continental Margin: Leg 6 Cruise KNOX17RR May 1 – 31, 2008 Ft. Lauderdale, FL to Woods Hole, M

U.S. Law of the Sea Cruise to Map the Southern Flank of the Kingman Reef-Palmyra Atoll section of the Line Islands, Equatorial Pacific Ocean

U.S. Law of the Sea Cruise to Map the Southern Flank of the Kingman Reef-Palmyra Atoll section of the Line Islands, Equatorial Pacific Ocean CRUISE KM1009 May 17, to June 16, 2010 Pago Pago, American Samoa to Honolulu, H

U.S. Law of the Sea Cruise to Complete the Mapping of Necker Ridge, Central Pacific Ocean

U.S. Law of the Sea Cruise to Complete the Mapping of Necker Ridge, Central Pacific Ocean CRUISE KM1121 July 31, to August 10, 2011 Honolulu, HI to Honolulu, H

Experimental verification of gamma ray atmospheric density sensor mathematical model predictions

Experimental verification of mathematical model performance predictions for gamma ray atmospheric density sensor

Capturing UK real estate volitility

Volatility, or the variability of the underlying asset, is one of the key fundamental components of property derivative pricing and in the application of real option models in development analysis. There has been relatively little work on volatility in real terms of its application to property derivatives and the real options analysis. Most research on volatility stems from investment performance (Nathakumaran & Newell (1995), Brown & Matysiak 2000, Booth & Matysiak 2001). Historic standard deviation is often used as a proxy for volatility and there has been a reliance on indices, which are subject to valuation smoothing effects. Transaction prices are considered to be more volatile than the traditional standard deviations of appraisal based indices. This could lead, arguably, to inefficiencies and mis-pricing, particularly if it is also accepted that changes evolve randomly over time and where future volatility and not an ex-post measure is the key (Sing 1998). If history does not repeat, or provides an unreliable measure, then estimating model based (implied) volatility is an alternative approach (Patel & Sing 2000). This paper is the first of two that employ alternative approaches to calculating and capturing volatility in UK real estate for the purposes of applying the measure to derivative pricing and real option models. It draws on a uniquely constructed IPD/Gerald Eve transactions database, containing over 21,000 properties over the period 1983-2005. In this first paper the magnitude of historic amplification associated with asset returns by sector and geographic spread is looked at. In the subsequent paper the focus will be upon model based (implied) volatility

Heating and cooling system

A heating and cooling apparatus capable of cyclic heating and cooling of a test specimen undergoing fatigue testing is discussed. Cryogenic fluid is passed through a block clamped to the speciment to cool the block and the specimen. Heating cartridges penetrate the block to heat the block and the specimen to very hot temperaures. Control apparatus is provided to alternatively activate the cooling and heating modes to effect cyclic heating and cooling between very hot and very cold temperatures. The block is constructed of minimal mass to facilitate the rapid temperature changes

Charm-System Tests of CPT with FOCUS

We discuss a search for CPT violation in neutral charm meson oscillations. The data come from the Fermilab fixed-target experiment FOCUS. While flavor mixing in the charm sector is predicted to be small by the standard model, it is still possible to investigate CPT violation through study of the proper time dependence of the asymmetry in right-sign decay rates for D0 and D0-bar. Using present limits for D0-D0-bar mixing we infer bounds on charm CPT violation using data from FOCUS.Comment: 8 pages, invited talk at the Second Meeting on CPT and Lorentz Symmetry, Indiana University, Bloomington, August 15-18, 200