Symbolic Maximum Likelihood Estimation with Mathematica

Mathematica is a symbolic programming language that empowers the user to undertake complicated algebraic tasks. One such task is the derivation of maximum likelihood estimators, demonstrably an important topic in statistics at both the research and expository level. In this paper, a Mathematica package is provided that contains a function entitled SuperLog. This function utilises pattern-matching code that enhances Mathematica's ability to simplify expressions involving the natural logarithm of a product of algebraic terms. This enhancement to Mathematica's functionality can be of particular benefit for maximum likelihood estimation

Lessons from the carnival: the implications for Australian teacher education of a distance education program designed for the children of the Showmen's Guild of Australasia.

This paper examines implications for teacher education derived from the evaluation of a distance education program for the Showmen's Guild of Australasia. The program was established in 1989 to meet the educational needs of Guild members who travel from town to town providing agricultural and equestrian shows. A review of the literature reveals that there are numerous difficulties faced by highly mobile students and by rural students and teachers. Interviews conducted with children, parents, home tutors, and itinerant teachers focused on their perceptions of their lives and their general views on education. Data from the interviews revealed the existence of extended and intensive social networks that sustain the itinerant lifestyle. Respondents evaluated the distance education program positively as meeting the educational needs of show children. Work and the work ethic played an important role in the development of children's distinctive identity, while sport and play were associated with local schools and socializing with local children. This study points out the importance of teacher graduates being acquainted with the increasing variety of educational experiences, implications of distance education for children, and benefits and limitations of distance education programs. (LP

Margins within margins?: voices Speaking through a study of the provision of an educational program for the children of one Australian show circuit

This paper examines the tactics used by the Showmen's Guild of Australasia in successfully lobbying for the development of a distance education program for their children. The Guild is considered to be a 'marginalized' group, meaning members have less access to wealth, power, and status. Since 1930, members of the Showmen's Guild and their families have traveled from town to town providing agricultural and equestrian shows. Despite the diversity of backgrounds and experiences among people connected with the show circuit, the Guild is highly organized and has been politically active. Informal sanctions have been effective in enforcing group discipline and in presenting the image of a single body of opinion. In addition, investment in sophisticated machinery and technology has resulted in show people having the financial resources to buy homes and have a political voice via more 'normalized channels'. Although members learn early that they are a marginalized group and are perceived as different from the mainstream, the group maintains close ties and often celebrates its difference. Implications for educational program development center on the goals of educational programs designed for disadvantaged groups, and the status of other marginalized groups and their efforts to contest their marginalized status. (LP

Early-Middle Pleistocene Beheading of the River Thames

This paper marks the centenary of the first of three articles by W.M. Davis on the beheading of the Thames, beginning with a statement of his capture hypothesis in 1895 and concluding with attempts to explain anomalous misfit streams in 1899 and 1909. It discusses Davis's classic thesis of river capture by slow, long-term landscape evolution and his apparent reluctance to accept the fact of rapid Quaternary climate change. In contrast, recent work based on lithostratigraphy, biostratigraphy and morphostratigraphy emphasises the dynamism of the Quaternary Period and its influence on river capture. Possible mechanisms for the beheading of the Thames, tectonism, glacial erosion and conventional Davisian river capture, and the timing of the event, are discussed. In conclusion, the paper summarises known and unknown components of the problem of the beheading of the Thames, and discusses the extent of Davis's influence on later Thames studies.Cet article marque le centenaire du premier de trois articles consacrés par W.M. Davis à la capture de la Tamise qui commençait par une déclaration de son hypothèse de capture en 1895 et concluait par des tentatives d'explication du réseau inadapté, en 1899 et 1909. L'article discute de la thèse classique de Davis de capture suivant une évolution lente, à long terme, du paysage, et son apparente réticence à accepter le fait des changements climatiques rapides survenus au Quaternaire. Par opposition, les travaux récents, fondés sur la lithostratigraphie, la biostratigraphie et la morphostratigraphie, soulignent l'importance de la période quaternaire et son influence sur les captures. Les mécanismes pouvant être responsables de la capture de la Tamise, notamment la tectonique, l'érosion glaciaire, la capture fluviale classique selon Davis, ainsi que la chronologie des événements, sont discutés. En conclusion, cet article résume les faits connus et les éléments méconnus du problème de la capture de la Tamise et discute des limites de l'influence de Davis sur les études postérieures sur la Tamise.Dieser Artikel hebt den hundertsten Jahrestag des Erscheinens des ersten von drei Artikeln von W.M. Davis ïiber die Ablenkung der Themse hervor. Dieser begann 1895 mit der Darlegung seiner Ablenkungs-Hypothese und schloss 1899 und 1909 mit Erklàrungsversuchen anomaler unteroder uberfâhiger Strômungen. Der Artikel setzt sich mit Davis' klassischer These der Flussablenkung durch langsame langzeitige Landschaftsentwicklung auseinander sowei seinem Widerstreben, die Tatsache einer schnellen Klimaverànderung im Quartâr zu akzeptieren. Im Gegensatz dazu betonen neuere Arbeiten ausgehend von Lithostratigraphie, Biostratigraphie und Morphostratigraphie die Dynamik der Quartâr-Zeit und ihren Einfluss auf die Flussablenkung. Môgliche Mechanismen bei der Ablenkung der Themse wie Tektonik, glaziale Erosion und die konventionelle Flussablenkung nach Davis, sowie der zeitliche Ablauf dieses Geschehens werden diskutiert. Abschliessend fasst der Artikel bekannte und unbekannte Elemente des Problems der Ablenkung der Themse zusammen und erôrtert, inwieweit Davis spâtere Themse-Studien beeinflusst hat

Education Research Gender, Education and Development - A Partially Annotated and Selective Bibliography

Community/Rural/Urban Development,

Evidence for improved urban flood resilience by sustainable drainage retrofit

The rapid growth of cities under modern development pressure has resulted in surface water flooding becoming an increasing hazard and future climate change uncertainties may exacerbate this threat still further: retrofitting sustainable drainage systems to attenuate stormwater runoff has been advocated as part of an integrated solution required to address this problem. Many of these adaptations not only enhance a community’s resilience to flooding, but may also offer additional benefits in terms of improved environmental amenity and quality of life. The evidence base for sustainable drainage is critically evaluated in respect of the implications for urban planning, as applied to existing housing stocks and business properties in urban areas worldwide. It is concluded that this approach can make a substantial contribution towards urban resilience as part of an integrated approach to managing extreme storms. This will be of interest to urban planners and designers considering the implementation of integrated flood risk management

“To be remedied of any vendetta” : Petitions and the Avoidance of Violence in early modern Parma

The Farnese dukes dominated the province of Parma, north Italy, from the period 1548 to 1731. An important characteristic of their rule was their receptiveness to petitions and supplications from their subjects. Petitions from subjects of varying social positions to absolutist rulers provide a wealth of information pertaining to the relationships between dukes or princes and the populations they ruled. This article argues that the subjects of the Farnese duchy of Parma relied on the relationships of channels of communication provided by a well-entrenched system of petitions and appeals as a way to relieve themselves of the obligation to resolve quarrels and social conflicts through violence. Importantly, malefactors also seem to have calculated their crimes in accordance with the likelihood of receiving a ducal pardon, tending to threaten rather than wound, or insult rather than attack. The system of petitioning was operated by the Council of Sentencing (Consiglio della Dettatura), a tribunal that developed as an integral part of the Farnese judiciary system. By the waning of the Farnese dynasty, petitioning allowed a broad swath of Farnese subjects to protect their own interests while submitting to the authority of the ducal regime.Les Ducs de Farnèse dominèrent la province de Parme, en Italie du Nord, de 1548 à 1731. Un aspect important de leur domination fut leur ouverture aux requêtes et supplications de leurs sujets. Ces pétitions destinées à des souverains absolus, émanant de sujets de diverses positions sociales, fournissent une documentation très riche sur les relations entre ducs ou princes et les populations sur lesquelles ils régnaient. La thèse de cet article est que les sujets du duché de Parme utilisaient les canaux de communications offerts par le système bien établi des pétitions et des requêtes en appel pour s’épargner l’obligation de résoudre querelles et conflits sociaux par la violence. Il est important de noter que les malfaiteurs paraissent eux-mêmes avoir calculé leurs crimes en fonction de la probabilité d’un pardon ducal, en cherchant à menacer plutôt qu’à blesser, ou à insulter plutôt qu’à agresser. Le système des requêtes était géré par le Consiglio della Dettatura, tribunal faisant partie intégrante du système judiciaire farnésien. Lors du déclin de cette dynastie, ce système permettait à une grande partie des sujets des Farnèse de protéger leurs intérêts tout en se soumettant à l’autorité ducale

Systems for reuse, repurposing and upcycling of existing building components

The construction industry uses natural resources intensively, and causes significant carbon emissions in processing resources to supply useful materials and components. Demolition generates considerable physical waste, accompanied by wastage of the impacts embodied in existing building components. This project explores the failure to capitalise on these embodied impacts, and adopts a mixed methods approach to develop interventions and identify potential mechanisms for change. The main contributions of the thesis are: Firstly, an exploration of the notion of ‘component management’. This challenges the assumption that components removed from the building stock must either be: a) directly reused, which can often be impractical, and is rarely given due attention, or b) sent to waste management, which wastes embodied impacts. Instead, the role and implementation of repurposing and upcycling are described, alongside a procedure for comprehensively checking the practicality of direct reuse; Secondly, the development of an urban-level ‘triage’: a process to separate out components for reuse, repurposing and upcycling, from those for which downcycling or energy recovery are the best option. Key to the triage is an information system; the thesis reviews current means of understanding existing buildings as material banks and presents a new approach to gathering this information; Thirdly, a proposal for an innovative manufacturing enterprise using secondary timber in a new product: cross-laminated secondary timber. This provides an exemplar case study of the potential for industrial-scale upcycling. A proof of concept study is presented, with a preliminary examination of technical feasibility and leading the way for additional investigation of socio-economic and environmental sustainability, and, ideally, future pilot- and commercial-scale implementation. The implications of this product case study are synthesised with the other parts of the thesis in a discussion of areas for future research, policy and practical action to evolve a more nuanced and sustainable management of existing building components