8,519 research outputs found
Refined Characterization of Student Perspectives on Quantum Physics
The perspectives of introductory classical physics students can often
negatively influence how those students later interpret quantum phenomena when
taking an introductory course in modern physics. A detailed exploration of
student perspectives on the interpretation of quantum physics is needed, both
to characterize student understanding of physics concepts, and to inform how we
might teach traditional content. Our previous investigations of student
perspectives on quantum physics have indicated they can be highly nuanced, and
may vary both within and across contexts. In order to better understand the
contextual and often seemingly contradictory stances of students on matters of
interpretation, we interviewed 19 students from four introductory modern
physics courses taught at the University of Colorado. We find that students
have attitudes and opinions that often parallel the stances of expert
physicists when arguing for their favored interpretations of quantum mechanics,
allowing for more nuanced characterizations of student perspectives in terms of
three key interpretive themes. We present a framework for characterizing
student perspectives on quantum mechanics, and demonstrate its utility in
interpreting the sometimes-contradictory nature of student responses to
previous surveys. We further find that students most often vacillate in their
responses when what makes intuitive sense to them is not in agreement with what
they consider to be a correct response, underscoring the need to distinguish
between the personal and the public perspectives of introductory modern physics
students.Comment: 24 pages, 31 references, 1 Appendix (5 pages
Interpretive Themes in Quantum Physics: Curriculum Development and Outcomes
A common learning goal for modern physics instructors is for students to
recognize a difference between the experimental uncertainty of classical
physics and the fundamental uncertainty of quantum mechanics. Our prior work
has shown that student perspectives on the physical interpretation of quantum
mechanics can be characterized, and are differentially influenced by the myriad
ways instructors approach interpretive themes in their introductory courses. We
report how a transformed modern physics curriculum (recently implemented at the
University of Colorado) has positively impacted student perspectives on quantum
physics, by making questions of classical and quantum reality a central theme
of the course, but also by making the beliefs of students (and not just those
of scientists) an explicit topic of discussion.Comment: Supporting materials available at
http://tinyurl.com/baily-dissertatio
Teaching Quantum Interpretations: Revisiting the goals and practices of introductory quantum physics courses
Most introductory quantum physics instructors would agree that transitioning
students from classical to quantum thinking is an important learning goal, but
may disagree on whether or how this can be accomplished. Although (and perhaps
because) physicists have long debated the physical interpretation of quantum
theory, many instructors choose to avoid emphasizing interpretive themes; or
they discuss the views of scientists in their classrooms, but do not adequately
attend to student interpretations. In this synthesis and extension of prior
work, we demonstrate: (1) instructors vary in their approaches to teaching
interpretive themes; (2) different instructional approaches have differential
impacts on student thinking; and (3) when student interpretations go
unattended, they often develop their own (sometimes scientifically undesirable)
views. We introduce here a new modern physics curriculum that explicitly
attends to student interpretations, and provide evidence-based arguments that
doing so helps them to develop more consistent interpretations of quantum
phenomena, more sophisticated views of uncertainty, and greater interest in
quantum physics.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures; submitted to PRST-PER: Focused Collection on
Upper-Division PER. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1409.849
StakeNet: using social networks to analyse the stakeholders of large-scale software projects
Many software projects fail because they overlook stakeholders or involve the wrong representatives of significant groups.
Unfortunately, existing methods in stakeholder analysis are
likely to omit stakeholders, and consider all stakeholders as equally influential. To identify and prioritise stakeholders, we have developed StakeNet, which consists of three main steps: identify stakeholders and ask them to recommend other stakeholders and stakeholder roles, build a social network whose nodes are stakeholders and links are recommendations, and prioritise stakeholders using a variety of social network measures. To evaluate StakeNet, we conducted one of the first empirical studies of requirements stakeholders on a software project for a 30,000-user system. Using the data
collected from surveying and interviewing 68 stakeholders,
we show that StakeNet identifies stakeholders and their roles with high recall, and accurately prioritises them. StakeNet uncovers a critical stakeholder role overlooked in the project, whose omission significantly impacted project success
StakeSource: harnessing the power of crowdsourcing and social networks in stakeholder analysis
Projects often fail because they overlook stakeholders. Unfortunately, existing stakeholder analysis tools only capture stakeholders' information, relying on experts to manually identify them. StakeSource is a web-based tool that automates stakeholder analysis. It "crowdsources" the stakeholders themselves for recommendations about other stakeholders and aggregates their answers using social network analysis
Consistency analysis of Kaluza-Klein geometric sigma models
Geometric sigma models are purely geometric theories of scalar fields coupled
to gravity. Geometrically, these scalars represent the very coordinates of
space-time, and, as such, can be gauged away. A particular theory is built over
a given metric field configuration which becomes the vacuum of the theory.
Kaluza-Klein theories of the kind have been shown to be free of the classical
cosmological constant problem, and to give massless gauge fields after
dimensional reduction. In this paper, the consistency of dimensional reduction,
as well as the stability of the internal excitations, are analyzed. Choosing
the internal space in the form of a group manifold, one meets no
inconsistencies in the dimensional reduction procedure. As an example, the
SO(n) groups are analyzed, with the result that the mass matrix of the internal
excitations necessarily possesses negative modes. In the case of coset spaces,
the consistency of dimensional reduction rules out all but the stable mode,
although the full vacuum stability remains an open problem.Comment: 13 pages, RevTe
Representations of U(1,q) and Constructive Quaternion Tensor Products
The representation theory of the group U(1,q) is discussed in detail because
of its possible application in a quaternion version of the Salam-Weinberg
theory.
As a consequence, from purely group theoretical arguments we demonstrate that
the eigenvalues must be right-eigenvalues and that the only consistent scalar
products are the complex ones. We also define an explicit quaternion tensor
product which leads to a set of additional group representations for integer
``spin''.Comment: 28 pages, Latex, Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita di Lecce
INFN-Sezione di Lecc
Scottish compositor poets and the typographical trade press, 1850-1880
© 2018 Association for Scottish Literary Studies. All rights reserved. Past studies of the pulsing dynamism of the Chartist movement and its poets active between 1838-1848 have either ignored print trade workers or categorised them as members of the 'labour aristocracy': privileged, skilled, conservative figures at one remove from class based struggles, intent on protecting trade guild privileges. Yet, creative compositor poets did utilise their talents to engage with issues of social reform, welfare, educational aspirations and civic nationalism subsequent to the ebbing of Chartist inspired creative writing. Poetry featured in Scottish print trade journals of the mid-to late-nineteenth century in ways that suggested a strong engagement with an enfranchised labouring class, focused on civic nationalism, citizenship, union politics and self-improvement. This piece examines such themes in the work of three Scottish compositor poets (Alexander Smart, James Smith and Robert Brough) who featured in the Scottish Typographical Circular from the late 1850s through to the late 1870s as de facto poets in residence. Though forgotten now, during their lifetimes they were lauded as 'labour laureates', speaking of and to the Scottish labouring classes in general, and to print trade colleagues in particular, and writing in the Scottish vernacular
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