Drama in the service of mathematics and social justice

In this essay, I argue that drama can be put in the service of mathematics education to promote social justice and human rights. The use of basic and simple theatre techniques in the classroom, in particular those involving mapping activities that bring people, land, and numbers together, can enhance the role that mathematics education plays in the fight for justice across the globe. In a world where ethnic cleansing, refugee and immigration chaos, and climate catastrophes are on the rise, human suffering is widespread. It affects 7 billion people worldwide, that is, 99 percent of the population living on planet Earth. Meanwhile, the combined wealth of the richest 1 percent will very likely overtake that of the other 99 percent of people in 2016. The numbers clearly show the situation is quickly getting worse, not better, by any global or local measure. What can we do? This article presents an introduction of a promising attempt sprouting worldwide at bringing mathematics and theatre together to promote a better understanding of the ways in which mathematics can be embodied, brought into our body and under our skin, in order to empower communities to make sense of the world we live in and help create it

Kinetic modelling of epitaxial film growth with up- and downward step barriers

The formation of three-dimensional structures during the epitaxial growth of films is associated to the reflection of diffusing particles in descending terraces due to the presence of the so-called Ehrlich-Schwoebel (ES) barrier. We generalize this concept in a solid-on-solid growth model, in which a barrier dependent on the particle coordination (number of lateral bonds) exists whenever the particle performs an interlayer diffusion. The rules do not distinguish explicitly if the particle is executing a descending or an ascending interlayer diffusion. We show that the usual model, with a step barrier in descending steps, produces spurious, columnar, and highly unstable morphologies if the growth temperature is varied in a usual range of mound formation experiments. Our model generates well-behaved mounded morphologies for the same ES barriers that produce anomalous morphologies in the standard model. Moreover, mounds are also obtained when the step barrier has an equal value for all particles independently if they are free or bonded. Kinetic roughening is observed at long times, when the surface roughness w and the characteristic length $\xi$ scale as $w ~ t^\beta$ and $\xi ~ t^\zeta$ where $\beta \approx 0.31$ and $\zeta \approx 0.22$, independently of the growth temperature.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figure

¿Con cuántos dispositivos se produce una subjetividad?

El objetivo de este artículo es contestar una serie de cuestiones planteadas por Sánchez-Criado sobre la ANT, especialmente sobre su posible carácter metafísico. Para esto ha sido propuesta la búsqueda de una definición sobre lo que es la agencia, sobre el papel que juega el principio de simetría, sobre el sentido de la in/distinción humanos-no humano, y sobre cómo debemos aproximarnos al estudio de la subjetividad o del self. Para tal cosa, se esfuerzo de atravesar estas cuestiones, sin responderlas de forma categórica. El esfuerzo será una toma de posición sobre una serie de apuestas estratégicas. Así, será defendido el carácter de teoría solvente de la ANT, y se apunta un abordaje de la producción de subjetividad de forma más radical que el propuesto en el interior de la ANT. Partiendo de estas posiciones, también, se discutirán los conceptos de simetría y la distinción entre humanos y no humanosThe aim of this article is to answer some questions proposed by Sánchez-Criado about ANT and its possible metaphysical character. For that some subjects of discussion such as the concepts of agency, symmetry, the distinction between human & non-human and the nature of our self were proposed. As well as some strategic positions, trying to answer in a nondogmatic way. So, the "solvent" character of ANT theory and a more radical theory of subjectivity production will be defended. The concepts of symmetry and the distinction between humans and non-humans will be discussed considering these position

Faceted anomalous scaling in the epitaxial growth of semiconductor films

We apply the generic dynamical scaling theory (GDST) to the surfaces of CdTe polycrystalline films grown in glass substrates. The analysed data were obtained with a stylus profiler with an estimated resolution lateral resolution of $l_c=0.3 \mu$m. Both real two-point correlation function and power spectrum analyses were done. We found that the GDST applied to the surface power spectra foresees faceted morphology in contrast with the self-affine surface indicated by the local roughness exponent found via the height-height correlation function. This inconsistency is explained in terms of convolution effects resulting from the finite size of the probe tip used to scan the surfaces. High resolution AFM images corroborates the predictions of GDST.Comment: to appear in Europhysics Letter

Fandom, culture, and videogames: analysing what makes a successful videogame franchise through Final Fantasy

This study intends to validate the importance of discussing media in the modern world by exploring how the concepts of media, fandoms and culture are related, why fandoms exist and the power of media over culture. The object of study is videogames, and more specifically the videogame franchise ‘Final Fantasy’, There is also focus in understanding their appeal over other types of media, the history and evolution of videogames and the history and business model of Square Enix, the company behind ‘Final Fantasy’ products. Additionally, object of study includes how corporate practices and decisions affect the franchise, the evolution of the franchise throughout the years and what makes it a successful videogame franchise, taking into account all the previous information. In order to achieve its purpose, the methodology used was based on qualitative methods of investigation. Document research about the topic at hand, from bibliography, ludography, and other pre-existing materials was gathered and triangulated with an online questionnaire. The information gathered from 85 participants was analysed and it was possible to conclude how the target audience for Final Fantasy experiences the games and the fandom, how it perceives cultural elements and how do they feel about corporate decisions as frequent customers, as well as their opinions on the importance of discussing media

Magnetic fields around evolved stars: further observations of H2_2O maser polarization

We aim to detect the magnetic field and infer its properties around four AGB stars using H$_2$O maser observations. The sample we observed consists of the following sources: the semi-regular variable RT Vir and the Mira variables AP Lyn, IK Tau, and IRC+60370. We observed the 6$_{1,6}-5_{2,3}$ H$_2$O maser rotational transition, in full-polarization mode, to determine its linear and circular polarization. Based on the Zeeman effect, one can infer the properties of the magnetic field from the maser polarization analysis. We detected a total of 238 maser features, in three of the four observed sources. No masers were found toward AP Lyn. The observed masers are all located between 2.4 and 53.0 AU from the stars. Linear and circular polarization was found in 18 and 11 maser features, respectively. We more than doubled the number of AGB stars in which magnetic field has been detected from H$_2$O maser polarization, as our results confirm the presence of fields around IK Tau, RT Vir and IRC+60370. The strength of the field along the line of sight is found to be between 47 and 331 mG in the H$_2$O maser region. Extrapolating this result to the surface of the stars, assuming a toroidal field ($\propto$ r$^{-1}$), we find magnetic fields of 0.3-6.9 G on the stellar surfaces. If, instead of a toroidal field, we assume a poloidal field ($\propto$ r$^{-2}$), then the extrapolated magnetic field strength on the stellar surfaces are in the range between 2.2 and $\sim$115 G. Finally, if a dipole field ($\propto$ r$^{-3}$) is assumed, the field strength on the surface of the star is found to be between 15.8 and $\sim$1945 G. The magnetic energy of our sources is higher than the thermal and kinetic energy in the H$_2$O maser region of this class of objects. This leads us to conclude that, indeed, magnetic fields probably play an important role in shaping the outflows of evolved stars. (abridged)Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, 7 tables. Accepted for publication in A&

Compreensão da prosódia emocional em indivíduos com doença de Parkinson

Projeto de Graduação apresentado à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do grau de Licenciada em Terapêutica da FalaA Doença de Parkinson é uma doença neurológica degenerativa (Barbosa & Sallem, 2005; Lana et al., 2007) caracterizada por distúrbios motores e por alterações não motoras. Pessoas com esta doença revelam dificuldades na compreensão da prosódia emocional, pelo que o presente estudo teve como objetivo verificar se os participantes (indivíduos com Doença de Parkinson) apresentam dificuldades no reconhecimento de emoções através da prosódia. Para a elaboração deste estudo, foram selecionadas as emoções raiva, alegria, tristeza, surpresa, desdém e medo. Para esse efeito, foi pedido a 12 participantes com Doença de Parkinson que ouvissem duas frases, uma com palavras reais e uma com pseudo-palavras, 12 vezes, representando cada uma das emoções, e que identificassem a emoção presente. Foi também pedido a adultos e jovens sem Doença de Parkinson, que realizassem o mesmo procedimento. Para tal, foram utilizados como materiais o programa Logic 5, microfone, colunas, computador e hipóteses de resposta. Foi possível observar que o grupo com Doença de Parkinson revelou uma performance significativamente inferior à dos restantes grupos, o que pode ter sido devido ao fator idade, e não apenas às consequências da Doença de Parkinson. Parkinson’s disease is a neurological and degenerative disease (Barbosa & Sallem, 2005; Lana et al., 2007) characterized by motor and non-motor disorders. Individuals who suffer from this disease reveal difficulties in the recognition of emotional prosody, whereby the goal of this study was to access if the participants (people with Parkinson’s disease) have difficulties in the recognition of emotional prosody. The selected emotions were anger, happiness, sadness, surprise, disgust and fear. For that matter, 12 individuals with Parkinson’s disease were asked to listen to two sentences, one with real words and the other one with non-words, representing the emotions chosen, and to identify the emotion present in each sentence. Other individuals were asked to do the same procedure (12 adults and 12 juveniles). The materials used were the program Logic 5, microphone, columns, computer and the possible answers. In conclusion, the Parkinson’s Disease group performed worse than the control groups, which may be due to age, and not to the Parkinson’s Disease itself