Uses of peer assessment in database teaching and learning

This discussion paper introduces three very different methods and contexts for the use of peer assessment in introductory database classes, each of which is supported by different learning software tools. In the first case study, at Glasgow Caledonian University, Contributing Student Pedagogy is used, where students contribute to the learning of others through the collaborative creation of a bank of self-assessment questions. This is supported by the Peerwise software tool. Secondly, at the University of Strathclyde, students undertake formative assessment of others in providing feedback on an initial element of a larger coursework assessment. A number of virtual learning environments (VLEs) are capable of supporting this method through customisable discussion fora. Finally, at the Abertay University, peer and self assessment are used in a group project to adjust the group grade for individual students. This is effected through the use of the WebPA software tool

STOCK PRICES AND EXCHANGE RATES IN AUSTRALIA: ARE COMMODITY PRICES THE MISSING LINK?

The relationship between stock prices and exchange rates is an important topic of long standing. But there are still significant gaps in our knowledge of this area, not least, the ambiguity about the sign of the effect of a change in one of these variables on the other. While there are many possible reasons for this ambiguity, one which we explore in the Australian context in this paper is the omission of commodity prices. We show that a bivariate relationship which omits commodity prices performs badly but that once commodity prices are added to the relationship, our results are plausible and robust. We also throw light on the commodity-currency issue and show that the link from the exchange rate to commodity prices is stronger and more consistent than that in the opposite direction.

The Quantisation of Constrained Systems Using the Batalin, Fradkin, Vilkovisky Formalism

The purpose of this work is to examine the problem of quantising constrained dynamical systems within the Batalin Fradkin Vilkovisky (BFV) formalism. The work concentrates almost entirely on theories with a finite number of dimensions and constraints linear in the phase space momenta. Chapters four and five give some discussion of possible extensions of the work to more general constraints. Chapter two will give a discussion of the classical theory of constrained systems and, in particular, will study the symmetries present in such theories. The main result in this chapter is that the constraint rescaling symmetry (this is the freedom to transform to new sets of constraints which describe the same true degrees of freedom) is a canonical transformation in the BFV phase space. An implicit definition of the most general form of this transformation will be given. After chapter two we will study the quantisation of constrained systems. We will always work with the basic assumption that the correct constraint quantisation should give the same results as one obtains from quantising the classical true degrees of freedom. Chapter three will examine the quantisation of finite dimensional linear constraints. It will be shown that, to obtaining the correct constraint quantisation, one must use four symmetries. These symmetries are coordinate transformations on the classical configuration space, coordinate transformations on the true configuration space (i. e. the configuration space obtained by solving the constraints), weak changes to observables (i. e. adding terms which vanish when the constraints are applied) and rescaling of constraints. The main result of chapter three is that enforcing these four symmetries is sufficient to fix the main ambiguities in the quantisation and that the resultant quantum theory is equivalent to classically solving the constraints and then quantising. These results rely on the fact that the classical canonical rescaling transformation can, for the restricted class of rescalings which are of interest in gauge theories, be made into a unitary quantum transformation. This quantum transformation is the main tool used in chapter three and enables us to maintain a Hilbert space structure on the extended state space (i. e the state space which contains both physical and unphysical states). Previous attempts by other authors to quantise finite dimensional gauge theories without ghost variables have failed to maintain a Hilbert space structure. This is one of the main advantages of the work presented here. In chapter four we will look at the use of the BFV method in geometric quantisation. The main motivation for this is to study constraints which depend quadratically on the phase space momenta e. g. the constraints which arise in general relativity. Chapter four does not give a proper quantisation of quadratic constraints but it does give some indication of the new features which arise in these theories. The main result seems to be the need to use polarisations, in the BFV phase space, which genuinely mix the bosonic and fermionic degrees of freedom. Chapter five will look at some classical aspects of constraint rescaling for Yang-Mills field theories. The various possible field theory constraint rescalings will be discussed and a few results will be proven showing to what extent it is possible to simplify the conventional Yang-Mills constraints via rescalings. These simplifications consist of forming an equivalent set of constraints which commute with respect to Poisson brackets. These simplified constraints were very useful in the analysis of the finite dimensional case

A Hybrid Approach to Network Robustness Optimization using Edge Rewiring and Edge Addition

Networks are ubiquitous in the modern world. From computer and telecommunication networks to road networks and power grids, networks make up many crucial pieces of infrastructure that we interact with on a daily basis. These networks can be subjected to damage from many different sources, both random and targeted. If one of these networks receives too much damage, it may be rendered inoperable, which can have disastrous consequences. For this reason, it is in the best interests of those responsible for these networks to ensure that they are highly robust to failure. Since it is not usually feasible to rebuild most existing networks from scratch to make them more resilient, it is necessary to have an approach that can modify an existing network to make it more robust to failure. Previous work has established several methods of accomplishing this task, including edge rewiring and edge addition. Both of these methods can be very useful for optimizing network robustness, but each comes with its own set of limitations. This thesis proposes a new hybrid approach to network robustness optimization that combines both of these approaches. Four edge rewiring based metaheuristic approaches were modified to incorporate one of three different edge addition strategies. A comparative study was performed on these new hybrid optimizers, comparing them to each other and to the vanilla edge rewiring only approach on both synthetic and real world networks. Experiments showed that this new hybrid approach to network robustness optimization leads to much more highly robust networks than an edge rewiring only approach

Alien Registration- Paterson, James (Saco, York County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/3338/thumbnail.jp

Study of the compounds formed by the interaction of sugars with the hydroxides of the alkaline earth metals

#1. Lime unites with glucose, fructose, maltose and lactose respectively to give one Compound only, consisting of one molecule of lime combined with one molecule of the sugar. #2. Lime fructose exists as a hexahydrate and di_ hydrate, lime glucose as a dihydrate, while lime maltose and lime lactose give only a monohydrate. When apparently completely dehydrated, these compounds retain from a half to one molecule of water. #3, As methyl glucoside, methyl fructoside, methyl maltoside and methyl lactoside do not unite with the alkaline earths, it is probably that the above lime sugars are formed by the interaction of the reducing group of the sugar with lime to give a 'lime glucoside' and water. #4. No trace of a and B forms can be encountered in the lime glucosides. #5. Sucrose unites with lime to give a monolime_ monosucrose which exists as a hexahydrate and a dihydrate, but which may not be a true compound, and dilime-monosucrose and trilime monosucrose, which are probably hexahydrates. Strontia and sucrose give monostrontia_monosucrose which is probably a hexahydrate, and distrontia_ monosucrose which is anhydrous. Baryta and sucrose yield only anhydrous monobaryta- monosucrose. #6. It is suggested that the compounds of sucrose with the alkaline earths are neither alcoholates nor colloids, but of the same type as the double salts obtained when sucrose unites with potassium chloride