What is the object of the encapsulation of a process?

Several theories have been proposed to describe the transition from process to object in mathematical thinking. Yet, what is the nature of this ''object'' produced by the ''encapsulation'' of a process? Here, we outline the development of some of the theories (including Piaget, Dienes, Davis, Greeno, Dubinsky, Sfard, Gray, and Tall) and consider the nature of the mental objects (apparently) produced through encapsulation and their role in the wider development of mathematical thinking. Does the same developmental route occur in geometry as in arithmetic and algebra? Is the same development used in axiomatic mathematics? What is the role played by imagery

Getting the most from venous occlusion plethysmography: proposed methods for the analysis of data with a rest/exercise protocol

In this methodological manuscript, we suggest a more detailed approach to processing venous occlusion plethysmography data, one which could provide additional physiological information. Six parameters are described, all of which are easily derived from a simple and reproducible experimental rest/exercise venous occlusion plethysmography protoco

Using sound to understand protein sequence data:New sonification algorithms for protein sequences and multiple sequence alignments

Funding: This work was supported by the UKRI Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) grant number BB/M010996/1.Background The use of sound to represent sequence data – sonification – has great potential as an alternative and complement to visual representation, exploiting features of human psychoacoustic intuitions to convey nuance more effectively. We have created five parameter-mapping sonification algorithms that aim to improve knowledge discovery from protein sequences and small protein multiple sequence alignments. For two of these algorithms, we investigated their effectiveness at conveying information. To do this we focussed on subjective assessments of user experience. This entailed a focus group session and survey research by questionnaire of individuals engaged in bioinformatics research. Results For single protein sequences, the success of our sonifications for conveying features was supported by both the survey and focus group findings. For protein multiple sequence alignments, there was limited evidence that the sonifications successfully conveyed information. Additional work is required to identify effective algorithms to render multiple sequence alignment sonification useful to researchers. Feedback from both our survey and focus groups suggests future directions for sonification of multiple alignments: animated visualisation indicating the column in the multiple alignment as the sonification progresses, user control of sequence navigation, and customisation of the sound parameters. Conclusions Sonification approaches undertaken in this work have shown some success in conveying information from protein sequence data. Feedback points out future directions to build on the sonification approaches outlined in this paper. The effectiveness assessment process implemented in this work proved useful, giving detailed feedback and key approaches for improvement based on end-user input. The uptake of similar user experience focussed effectiveness assessments could also help with other areas of bioinformatics, for example in visualisation.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Avifauna and Anthropogenic Forest Disturbance in Two Biodiversity Hotspots.

The primary objective of this thesis is to examine the impact of anthropogenic forest disturbance on avifaunal communities in two biodiversity hotspots- lowland tropical forest in the Lambusango Forest Reserve within the Wallacean archipelago and Neotropical cloud forest in Cusuco National Park, Mesoamerica. Both these study areas possess diverse bird communities with high rates of endemism, yet are under severe pressure from anthropogenic activity. The research also evaluates the optimal methodologies for surveying bird communities in these poorly studied ecosystems and examines the extent to which under-managed protected areas can be successful in preserving bird species with high conservational importance, and the habitat associations of these avifaunal communities. Results demonstrate that point count methods are more effective than mist-nets for describing cloud forest bird communities. Research also shows that many Wallacean species are tolerant of moderate habitat disturbance, although endemic species are sensitive to heavy disturbance. Cloud forest endemics appear to be sensitive to moderate disturbance, although protected areas can be effective in preserving these species even where severely undermanaged. Endemic birds in the two hotspots display different responses to habitat disturbance; this may be due to differential community compositions, niche competition and biogeography. Research has also demonstrated that richness and composition of Wallacean bird communities have strong associations with a range of habitat variables which can be used to provide proxy data for identifying priority conservation areas when appropriate scales of data aggregation are used. The findings of this thesis demonstrate the value of using multiple research perspectives to fully investigate geographical problems

Dynamic Atomic Scale Sintering of Nanoparticle Catalysts

The classical view of a chemical reaction involves the formation and breaking of bonds, facilitated by the transfer of electrons between atoms. To fundamentally understand the mechanisms occurring, atomic resolution of the catalysts enabling the reaction is required. Using the recently developed York JEOL Nanocentre Environmental Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope, single atoms and nanoparticles can be observed in representative industrial reaction conditions, allowing for atomic scale quantification of catalyst deactivation mechanisms, such as Ostwald Ripening. This is initially understood through the industrially important process of methanol synthesis. Copper nanoparticles, one component of a methanol synthesis catalyst, are imaged under both Hydrogen and high vacuum conditions. This is the first use of ESTEM to study sintering, which is shown to be governed by the Ostwald Ripening mechanism and significantly enhanced by the presence of Hydrogen. Further understanding is developed by comparison with kinetic models to deconvolute the variables affecting Ostwald Ripening. In order to study Ostwald Ripening at the single atom scale in Hydrogen, Platinum nanoparticles are used as a model system. Particle decay is found to be initiated by a lack of local single atoms, and a subsequent increase in single atom density suggests anchoring of atoms onto sites on the Carbon substrate. These observations build an atomic level understanding of Ostwald Ripening, informing both traditional nanoparticle, and the emerging field of single atom, catalysis

Power or Benevolence: Towards a New Participatory Photography Approach in the NGO Environment

In recent years participatory photography projects have been put to use by Non-Government Organisations around the world. Rooted in the emancipatory approach of the Brazilian theorist Paulo Freire(1970) these projects hand cameras to people in marginalised communities and ask them what they see. The participatory project’s benevolent aim is to speak to oppressive power relationships, empowering participants to visualize and share their problems from their own perspective. But is all as it seems? In this investigation I draw on my experiences as a participatory photography practitioner to explore how, in the context of contemporary neoliberal globalisation and its influence on NGOs, participatory methods are being pulled away from their emancipatory motive into an increasingly complex political relationship. The practice-based element of this project takes place in Kigali, where I use Participatory Action Research (PAR) as a methodology to test a fresh approach to participatory photography. My aim is to build from current participatory photography method sand reconnect the process with its Freireian roots. To address the questions of power at play with visual representation in the NGO environment I bring Allan Sekula’s counter-political approach to photography (1984) to the educational ideas of Paulo Freire. At the heart of Freire’s concept is a process by which through inquiry, humans become more aware of the sources of their oppression. Freire defined this as ‘conscientisation’ (1970). Allan Sekula developed ideas about the ‘traffic in photographs’ (1984), the nature of power and representation, and proposed a potential for the reversal of the flow of power-knowledge. I seek to merge and adapt these methods and ideas to the present as a participant-led, live, arts-based political practice

“Somebody to Say ‘Come On We Can Sort This’”:A Qualitative Study of Primary Care Consultation Among Older Adults With Symptomatic Foot Osteoarthritis

OBJECTIVE: To examine the experiences of primary care consultation among older adults with symptomatic foot osteoarthritis (OA). METHODS: Eleven participants (6 women and 5 men) ages 56–80 years who had radiographically confirmed symptomatic foot OA and consulted a general practitioner in the last 12 months for foot pain were purposively sampled. Semistructured interviews explored the nature of the foot problem, help-seeking behaviors, and consultation experiences. Verbatim transcripts were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. RESULTS: The decision to consult a physician was often the outcome of a complex process influenced by quantitative and qualitative changes in symptoms, difficulty maintaining day-to-day roles and responsibilities and the effect this had on family and work colleagues, and a reluctance to present a fragile or aging self to the outside world. Self-management was commonly negotiated alongside multimorbidities. Upon seeking help, participants often believed they received limited information, they were given a brief or even cursory assessment, and that treatment was focused on the prescription of analgesic drugs. CONCLUSION: This is the first qualitative study of primary care experiences among patients with symptomatic foot OA. The experience of primary care seldom appeared to move beyond a label of arthritis and an unwelcome emphasis on pharmacologic treatment

Major Powers and Militarized Conflict

This article attempts to answer the question of why major powers engage in more active foreign policy behaviors than minor powers. It does so by comparing two explanations for the increased conflict propensity of major powers. The first explanation focuses on major powers’ observable capabilities, while the second stresses their different behavior. We incorporate both into an ultimatum model of conflict in which a state’s cost of conflict consists of both observable and behavioral components. Using data from the period from 1870 to 2001, we empirically illustrate the observable and behavioral differences between major and minor powers. We then utilize a decomposition model to assess the relative significance of the two explanations. The results suggest that most of the difference in conflict propensity between major and minor powers can be attributed to observable differences

Symbols and the bifurcation between procedural and conceptual thinking

Symbols occupy a pivotal position between processes to be carried out and concepts to be thought about. They allow us both to d o mathematical problems and to think about mathematical relationships. In this presentation we consider the discontinuities that occur in the learning path taken by different students, leading to a divergence between conceptual and procedural thinking. Evidence will be given from several different contexts in the development of symbols through arithmetic, algebra and calculus, then on to the formalism of axiomatic mathematics. This is taken from a number of research studies recently performed for doctoral dissertations at the University of Warwick by students from the USA, Malaysia, Cyprus and Brazil, with data collected in the USA, Malaysia and the United Kingdom. All the studies form part of a broad investigation into why some students succeed yet others fail