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In Thailand, the Center for Research in Mathematics Education (CRME) has been implementing Japanese Lesson Study (LS) since 2002. An adaptive feature of this implementation was the incorporation of four phases of the Open Approach as a teaching approach within the three steps of the LS process. Four phases of this open approach are: 1) Posing open-ended problem, 2) Students' self learning, 3) Whole class discussion and comparison, and 4) Summing-up by connecting students' emergent mathematical ideas. The three phases of the LS model were: collaboratively design a research lesson; collaboratively observe the research lesson; and collaboratively discuss and reflect on the research lesson. In the research project run by CRME across the country, LS teams have been facing the problem of how to engage students with self learning in the second phase. The LS teams planned the research lesson with an emphasis on "how to learn" which was a key influence for engaging students in the self learning phase (i.e. students' problem solving). This paper is mainly descriptive of the features of the adaptive LS in a school context but presents a snippet of evidence where students successfully use "how to learn" sections from the "decomposing unit" in the "Addition unit". (Contains 7 figures and 1 footnote.)

Targeted environmental and ecosystem management remain crucial in control of dengue. However, providing detailed environmental information on a large scale to effectively target dengue control efforts remains a challenge. An important piece of such information is the extent of the presence of potential dengue vector breeding sites, which consist primarily of open containers such as ceramic jars, buckets, old tires, and flowerpots. In this paper we present the design and implementation of a pipeline to detect outdoor open containers which constitute potential dengue vector breeding sites from geotagged images and to create highly detailed container density maps at unprecedented scale. We implement the approach using Google Street View images which have the advantage of broad coverage and of often being two to three years old which allows correlation analyses of container counts against historical data from manual surveys. Containers comprising eight of the most common breeding sites are detected in the images using convolutional neural network transfer learning. Over a test set of images the object recognition algorithm has an accuracy of 0.91 in terms of F-score. Container density counts are generated and displayed on a decision support dashboard. Analyses of the approach are carried out over three provinces in Thailand. The container counts obtained agree well with container counts from available manual surveys. Multi-variate linear regression relating densities of the eight container types to larval survey data shows good prediction of larval index values with an R-squared of 0.674. To delineate conditions under which the container density counts are indicative of larval counts, a number of factors affecting correlation with larval survey data are analyzed. We conclude that creation of container density maps from geotagged images is a promising approach to providing detailed risk maps at large scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the past decade, researchers have documented the effects of textbooks on achievement in developing countries, but no research has explored the mechanisms that account for this contribution. This paper analyzes longitudinal data from a national sample of eighth- grade mathematics classrooms in Thailand and explores the effects of textbooks and other factors on student achievement gain. The results indicate that textbooks may affect achievement by substituting for additional postsecondary mathematics education of teachers and by delivering a more comprehensive curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poor mathematical performance is a major issue for children with ADHD. The aim of this study is to assess the impact of attention deficit and hyperactivity in relation to mathematical performance. We probed (1) The relationship among the tendency of attention deficit, hyperactivity symptoms, working memory, and mathematical performance. (2) The mediated model of these variables. Seventy-eight students from three primary schools in Tainan, and Kaohsiung areas were recruited. Teachers filled in SNAP-IV questionnaires according to their observations of inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity in school. The students received computerized working memory batteries and standardized mathematical tests. Inattention and hyperactivity are both related to poor mathematical performance. Inattention is negatively related to working memory and mathematical performance. Working memory plays a mediated role between inattention and mathematical performance. Poor working memory could be a mediator between inattention which is a core of ADHD tendency and poor mathematical scores. Mathematical performance in children with ADHD might be improved by improving working memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper we introduce the notion of the fractional weak discrepancy of a poset, building on previous work on weak discrepancy in [J.G. Gimbel and A.N. Trenk, On the weakness of an ordered set, SIAM J. Discrete Math. 11 (1998) 655–663; P.J. Tanenbaum, A.N. Trenk, P.C. Fishburn, Linear discrepancy and weak discrepancy of partially ordered sets, ORDER 18 (2001) 201–225; A.N. Trenk, On k-weak orders: recognition and a tolerance result, Discrete Math. 181 (1998) 223–237]. The fractional weak discrepancy of a poset is the minimum nonnegative k for which there exists a function satisfying (1) if then and (2) if then . We formulate the fractional weak discrepancy problem as a linear program and show how its solution can also be used to calculate the (integral) weak discrepancy. We interpret the dual linear program as a circulation problem in a related directed graph and use this to give a structural characterization of the fractional weak discrepancy of a poset. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to provide the convergence theory for the iterative approach given by M.T. Chu [Numerical methods for inverse singular value problems, SIAM J. Numer. Anal. 29 (1992), pp. 885–903] in the context of solving inverse singular value problems. We provide a detailed convergence analysis and show that the ultimate rate of convergence is quadratic in the root sense. Numerical results which confirm our theory are presented. It is still an open issue to prove that the method is Q-quadratic convergent as claimed by M.T. Chu. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

It can be shown that the stress produced by a spatially uniform dislocation density field in a body comprising a linear elastic material under no loads vanishes. We prove that the same result does not hold in general in the geometrically nonlinear case. This problem of mechanics establishes the purely geometrical result that the curl of a sufficiently smooth two-dimensional rotation field cannot be a non-vanishing constant on a domain. It is classically known in continuum mechanics, stated first by the brothers Cosserat (SIAM J. Appl. Math. 25(3):483–491, 1973), that if a second order tensor field on a simply connected domain is at most a curl-free field of rotations, then the field is necessarily constant on the domain. It is shown here that, at least in dimension 2, this classical result is in fact a special case of a more general situation where the curl of the given rotation field is only known to be at most a constant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study in-group favouritism and out-group discrimination in a multiplayer dictator game in a naturally occuring group setting. An allocator divides a large sum of money among three groups of around 20 recipients each and also to themselves. The groups are supporters of two rival political movements in Thailand and politically neutral subjects. The non-rival out-group acts as a reference point and allows us to measure in-group favouritism and out-group discrimination. A treatment with artificial groups serves as a control. We find both in-group favouritism and out-group discrimination among the naturally occurring groups. In artificial groups, favouritism is observed, but not discrimination. Our results suggest that the two behaviours are not driven by the same motive, and only when groups are in conflict that out-group discrimination is likely to occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]