Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Addressing Challenges In Creating Math Presentations, David Schweitzer

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2019

When it comes to composing presentation slides with extensive mathematical content, each of the slide creation platforms has at least one significant drawback. Whether it is Beamer and its steep learning curve, PowerPoint and its relative inefficiency with math, Google Slides and its complete lack of math capabilities, or some other platform, no one tool single-handedly offers an ideal solution. Additionally, if users desire creative flexibility, such as the ability to easily change fonts or colors, the platforms’ respective limitations can become even more pronounced. In a project that has been well suited for undergraduate research, the presenter and his …

Is Mathematical Truth Time Dependent? Comments From A Paper By Judith Grabiner, Richard Stout

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2019

Judith Grabiner, a renowned historian of mathematics, has written many papers related to signifi- cant changes in the content and nature of analysis, from the 17th through the 19th century. In her paper “Is Mathematical Truth Time Dependent?” Professor Grabiner gives several reasons for the changing nature and requirements in rigor that occurred over this period of two hundred years. In this talk I will briefly summarize her conclusions, particularly in light of how they might influence a Christian perspective on mathematics.

Numerical Range Of Toeplitz Matrices Over Finite Fields, Derek Thompson, Maddison Guillaume Baker, Amish Mishra

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2019

We characterize the kth numerical range of all n×n Toeplitz matrices with a constant main diagonal and another single, non-zero diagonal, where the matrices are over the field Zp[i], with p a prime congruent to 3 mod 4. We find that, for k ∈ Z∗, the kth numerical range is always equal to Zp[i] with the exception of the scaled identity. We also use similar techniques to discover a general connection between the 0th numerical range and the kth numerical range. Lastly, we conclude with a conjecture regarding the general numerical range of all triangular Toeplitz matrices.

Charles Babbage And Mathematical Aspects Of The Miraculous, Courtney K. Taylor

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2019

Charles Babbage is widely known as the father of the computer, but he is lesser known for his contributions to natural theology and apologetics. In 1837 Babbage wrote the Ninth Bridgewater Treatise in response to a series of writings concerning faith and science that had been commissioned by the Royal Society. Among the remarkable features of the Ninth Bridgewater are mathematical analogies concerning the miraculous. We will explore these ideas, which range from the difference engine to a family of fourth degree curves, illustrating that for Babbage, miracles are not exceptions to natural law, but rather instances of a larger …

Replacing Remedial Mathematics With Corequisites In General Education Mathematics Courses, Alana Unfried

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2019

Many colleges and universities offer courses, such as Remedial Mathematics or Elementary Algebra, that underprepared students must complete before they can take a college-level mathematics course. However, nationally there is a push to replace remedial mathematics courses with corequisite courses instead. This design allows students to enter directly into their general education mathematics course instead of first overcoming the barrier of a remedial course. Corequisite mathematics courses were implemented across the 23-campus California State University system during the 2018-19 academic year. I will discuss the design and implementation of a corequisite structure at California State University, Monterey Bay, in particular …

Maximum Elements Of Ordered Sets And Anselm's Ontological Argument, Doug Ward

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2019

I will present a simple theorem concerning maximal elements of a set T endowed with an ordering “>” that is antisymmetric, i.e., if A and B are elements of T , we cannot have both A > B and B > A. A special case of this theorem is a simple version of the ontological argument, one of the classical proofs for the existence of God.

Models, Values, And Disasters, Michael H. Veatch

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2019

Decision-support models have values embedded in them and are subjective to varying degrees. Philosophical and ethical perspectives on operations research models are used to describe this subjectivity. Approaches to model building are then suggested that take into account subjectivity and values. For the decisions to reflect the right values, the model must align with the decision-maker’s values. I argue that it is appropriate and important for Christians applying mathematical models to be keenly aware of decision-maker’s values and seek to reflect them in the model. Disaster response planning is presented as an example where incorporating values is challenging. The responding …

Computer Science: Creating In A Fallen World, Russell Tuck

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2019

When God created people in his image, he gave us the gift of sub-creation. One of the great joys of Computer Science is exercising that gift to create tools : software and computer systems that serve people and solve problems. Like all God’s gifts, he charges us to exercise the gift of sub-creation wisely and for good. While there are many obvious implications and challenges, being good stewardship of users’ time and reducing discrimination are particularly relevant and perhaps less obvious examples. Although computer scientists exercise the gift of sub-creation, we do so as fallen people in a fallen world. …

Overcoming Stereotypes Through A Liberal Arts Math Course, Jessica Hamm

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2019

"I'm just not a math person.” We’ve heard this comment countless times from our students. It is a mentality that both paralyzes and strangely comforts them. In this talk I will describe how I use my liberal arts Joy of Mathematics course to help students address and overcome stereotypes. In particular, I will discuss a specific assignment as well as share some student comments and perspectives on how this course helped change their viewpoint on more than just math.

Teaching Mathematics At An African University -- My Experience, Kathleen Lewis

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2019

For eight years (2010-2018), I was the head of the math department at The University of The Gambia, a small, new (started in 1999) university in a very small, mostly Muslim, West African country that most Americans have never heard of. During that time, a number of other Americans and Europeans came to teach for shorter periods of time. I will talk about what this experience was like for us, both the good and the bad. I will describe the possibilities for others to spend either a sabbatical or an extended period of time at such a university and suggest …

A Unifying Project For A Tex/Cas Course, Andrew Simoson

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2019

We describe a CAS and TEX usage course for mathematics majors. As a unifying project, each student selects two primes p and q with pq < 100, explores mathematical pq ideas, and generates associated graphs, figures, tables for a final TEX paper. We summarize several pq explorations: stu- dents render page pq from Schwartz’s picture book about primes, You Can Count on Monsters, via Mathematica and TEX’s picture environment; students generate fractal images of pq; and students discover the primes of the ring Z r√pql.

Thinking Beautifully About Mathematics: A View Of Mathematics As The Science Of Measurable Orders, James M. Turner

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2019

At Calvin College, First Year Students are required to take a section of our Discovering the Christian Mind course during our January term. For the past 3 years, I have taught a section of this course titled Thinking Beautiful ly about Mathematics. In it, I explored, with the students, various areas of mathematics, as well as how mathematicians have explored them, while addressing such questions as “Is mathematics invented or discovered?” and “Why is mathematics unreasonably effective?” Ultimately, we look to identify ways and characterizations for how beauty displays itself in mathematics and how and it what ways beauty is …

Introduction (2019), Association Of Christians In The Mathematical Sciences

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2019

No abstract provided.

Paper Abstracts (2019), Association Of Christians In The Mathematical Sciences

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2019

No abstract provided.

Hacking The Extended Mind: The Security Implications Of The New Metaphysics, Robin L. Zebrowski

Computer Ethics - Philosophical Enquiry (CEPE) Proceedings

Computer security expert Paul Syverson has argued that there is a computer security equivalent of gaslighting: where a clever adversary could convince some system that some component that is not really a part of the system is in fact a part of the system. If non-biological items from our environments (or even pieces of our environments themselves) can be part of our minds (the standard Extended Mind hypothesis, EM), they are therefore part of our selves, and therefore subject to Syverson’s worry about boundary in a way that has not been explored before. If some version of EM holds, then …

Confucian Robot Ethics, Qin Zhu, Tom Williams, Ruchen Wen

Computer Ethics - Philosophical Enquiry (CEPE) Proceedings

In the literature of artificial moral agents (AMAs), most work is influenced by either deontological or utilitarian frameworks. It has also been widely acknowledged that these Western “rule-based” ethical theories have encountered both philosophical and computing challenges. To tackle these challenges, this paper explores a non-Western, role-based, Confucian approach to robot ethics. In this paper, we start by providing a short introduction to some theoretical fundamentals of Confucian ethics. Then, we discuss some very preliminary ideas for constructing a Confucian approach to robot ethics. Lastly, we briefly share a couple of empirical studies our research group has recently conducted that …

Rethinking Algorithmic Bias Through Phenomenology And Pragmatism, Johnathan C. Flowers

Computer Ethics - Philosophical Enquiry (CEPE) Proceedings

In 2017, Amazon discontinued an attempt at developing a hiring algorithm which would enable the company to streamline its hiring processes due to apparent gender discrimination. Specifically, the algorithm, trained on over a decade’s worth of resumes submitted to Amazon, learned to penalize applications that contained references to women, that indicated graduation from all women’s colleges, or otherwise indicated that an applicant was not male. Amazon’s algorithm took up the history of Amazon’s applicant pool and integrated it into its present “problematic situation,” for the purposes of future action. Consequently, Amazon declared the project a failure: even after attempting to …

Table Of Contents (2019), Association Of Christians In The Mathematical Sciences

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2019

No abstract provided.

Schedule (2019), Association Of Christians In The Mathematical Sciences

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2019

No abstract provided.

Association Of Christians In The Mathematical Sciences Proceedings 2019, Association Of Christians In The Mathematical Sciences

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2019

The conference proceedings of the Association of Christians in the Mathematical Sciences biannual conference, May 29-June 1, 2019 at Indiana Wesleyan University.

Responding To Some Challenges Posed By The Re-Identification Of Anonymized Personal Data, Herman T. Tavani, Frances S. Grodzinsky

Computer Ethics - Philosophical Enquiry (CEPE) Proceedings

In this paper, we examine a cluster of ethical controversies generated by the re-identification of anonymized personal data in the context of big data analytics, with particular attention to the implications for personal privacy. Our paper is organized into two main parts. Part One examines some ethical problems involving re-identification of personally identifiable information (PII) in large data sets. Part Two begins with a brief description of Moor and Weckert’s Dynamic Ethics (DE) and Nissenbaum’s Contextual Integrity (CI) Frameworks. We then investigate whether these frameworks, used together, can provide us with a more robust scheme for analyzing privacy concerns that …

Human Supremacy As Posthuman Risk, Daniel Estrada

Computer Ethics - Philosophical Enquiry (CEPE) Proceedings

Human supremacy is the widely held view that human interests ought to be privileged over other interests as a matter of public policy. Posthumanism is an historical and cultural situation characterized by a critical reevaluation of anthropocentrist theory and practice. This paper draws on Rosi Braidotti’s critical posthumanism and the critique of ideal theory in Charles Mills and Serene Khader to address the use of human supremacist rhetoric in AI ethics and policy discussions, particularly in the work of Joanna Bryson. This analysis leads to identifying a set of risks posed by human supremacist policy in a posthuman context, specifically …

Autonomous Vehicles And The Ethical Tension Between Occupant And Non-Occupant Safety, Jason Borenstein, Joseph Herkert, Keith W. Miller

Computer Ethics - Philosophical Enquiry (CEPE) Proceedings

Autonomous vehicle manufacturers, people inside an autonomous vehicle (occupants), and people outside the vehicle (non-occupants) are among the distinct stakeholders when addressing ethical issues inherent in systems that include autonomous vehicles. As responses to recent tragic cases illustrate, advocates for autonomous vehicles tend to focus on occupant safety, sometimes to the exclusion of non-occupant safety. Thus, we aim to examine ethical issues associated with non-occupant safety, including pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcyclists, and riders of motorized scooters. We also explore the ethical implications of technical and policy ideas that some might propose to improve non-occupant safety. In addition, if safety (writ large) …

Difference Between Algorithmic Processing And The Process Of Lifeworld (Lebenswelt), Domenico Schneider

Computer Ethics - Philosophical Enquiry (CEPE) Proceedings

The following article compares the temporality of the life-world with the digital processing. The temporality of the life-world is determined to be stretched and spontaneous. The temporality of the digital is given by discrete step-by-step points of time. Most ethical issues can be traced back to a mismatch of these two ways of processing. This creates a foundation for the ethics of the digital processing. Methodologically, phenomenological considerations are merged with media-philosophical considerations in the article.

On The Responsibility For Uses Of Downstream Software, Marty J. Wolf, Keith W. Miller, Frances S. Grodzinsky

Computer Ethics - Philosophical Enquiry (CEPE) Proceedings

In this paper we explore an issue that is different from whether developers are responsible for the direct impact of the software they write. We examine, instead, in what ways, and to what degree, developers are responsible for the way their software is used “downstream.” We review some key scholarship analyzing responsibility in computing ethics, including some recent work by Floridi. We use an adaptation of a mechanism developed by Floridi to argue that there are features of software that can be used as guides to better distinguish situations where a software developer might share in responsibility for the software’s …

Legal And Technical Issues For Text And Data Mining In Greece, Maria Kanellopoulou - Botti, Marinos Papadopoulos, Christos Zampakolas, Paraskevi Ganatsiou

Computer Ethics - Philosophical Enquiry (CEPE) Proceedings

Web harvesting and archiving pertains to the processes of collecting from the web and archiving of works that reside on the Web. Web harvesting and archiving is one of the most attractive applications for libraries which plan ahead for their future operation. When works retrieved from the Web are turned into archived and documented material to be found in a library, the amount of works that can be found in said library can be far greater than the number of works harvested from the Web. The proposed participation in the 2019 CEPE Conference aims at presenting certain issues related to …

The Right To Human Intervention: Law, Ethics And Artificial Intelligence, Maria Kanellopoulou - Botti, Fereniki Panagopoulou, Maria Nikita, Anastasia Michailaki

Computer Ethics - Philosophical Enquiry (CEPE) Proceedings

The paper analyses the new right of human intervention in use of information technology, automatization processes and advanced algorithms in individual decision-making activities. Art. 22 of the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) provides that the data subject has the right not to be subject to a fully automated decision on matters of legal importance to her interests, hence the data subject has a right to human intervention in this kind of decisions.

Mobile Music Development Tools For Creative Coders, Daniel Stuart Holmes

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This project is a body of work that facilitates the creation of musical mobile artworks. The project includes a code toolkit that enhances and simplifies the development of mobile music iOS applications, a flexible notation system designed for mobile musical interactions, and example apps and scored compositions to demonstrate the toolkit and notation system.

The code library is designed to simplify the technical aspect of user-centered design and development with a more direct connection between concept and deliverable. This sim- plification addresses learning problems (such as motivation, self-efficacy, and self-perceived understanding) by bridging the gap between idea and functional prototype …

Shayna T. Blum: Design Research, Shayna Blum

Shayna Blum

No abstract provided.

Phantoms In Science: Nietzsche's Nonobjectivity On Planck's Quanta, Donald Richard Dickerson Iii

Undergraduate Theses

What does Maxwell Planck's concept of phantomness suggest about the epistemological basis of science and how might a Nietzschean critique reveal solution to the weaknesses revealed? With his solution to Kirchoff's equation, Maxwell Planck launched the paradigm of quantum physics. This same solution undermined much of current understandings of science versus pseudoscience. Using Nietzsche's perspectivism and other philosophical critiques, Planck's answer to blackbody radiation is used to highlight the troubles with phantom problems in science and how to try to direct science towards a more holistic and complete scientific approach.