Mathematical investigations involve searching for patterns, formulating, testing, and justifying conjectures, reflecting, and generalising. Doing investigations in the classroom is a powerful activity for students’ learning but poses many challenges to the teacher. To study the professional knowledge involved in this kind of work was the aim of a collaborative action-research project that involved one classroom teacher and two university teacher educators. We used narratives to depict relevant elements of teachers’ activity and to show key aspects of their dilemmas and uncertainties. This paper discusses the role of the collaborative work undertaken by the participants in the project as they reflected about classroom practices and curriculum issues, based on a narrative of a class where sixth grade students worked on a mathematical investigation.; Investigações matemáticas envolvem a procura de regularidades, a formulação, teste e justificação de conjecturas, reflexão e generalização. Fazer investigações na sala de aula é uma actividade poderosa para a aprendizagem dos alunos mas coloca muitos desafios ao professor. O estudo do conhecimento profissional envolvido neste tipo de trabalho constituiu o objectivo de um projecto colaborativo de investigação-acção que envolveu uma professora de Matemática e dois educadores matemáticos universitários. Usámos narrativas para ilustrar aspectos relevantes da actividade da professora e para mostrar elementos importantes dos seus dilemas e incertezas. Tendo por base uma aula do 6.º ano de escolaridade em que os alunos trabalharam numa investigação matemática...

There are good reasons why we may involve the students in doing mathematics investigations. Recent curricula encourage this sort of activity but we notice that its application in the classroom is not a simple matter. We discuss the issues that arise when students are presented with investigative tasks, with special interest in the dynamics of the classroom and in the role of the teacher. Our aim is to derive suggestions for classroom practice as well as for further research and teacher development.

Clostridium perfringens is a common cause of food-borne illness. The illness is characterized by profuse diarrhea and acute abdominal pain. Since the illness is usually self-limiting, many cases are undiagnosed and/or not reported. Investigations are often pursued after an outbreak involving large numbers of people in institutions, at restaurants, or at catered meals. Serotyping has been used in the past to assist epidemiologic investigations of C. perfringens outbreaks. However, serotyping reagents are not widely available, and many isolates are often untypeable with existing reagents. We developed a pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) method for molecular subtyping of C. perfringens isolates to aid in epidemiologic investigations of food-borne outbreaks. Six restriction endonucleases (SmaI, ApaI, FspI, MluI, KspI, and XbaI) were evaluated with a select panel of C. perfringens strains. SmaI was chosen for further studies because it produced 11 to 13 well-distributed bands of 40 to ∼1,100 kb which provided good discrimination between isolates. Seventeen distinct patterns were obtained with 62 isolates from seven outbreak investigations or control strains. In general, multiple isolates from a single individual had indistinguishable PFGE patterns. Epidemiologically unrelated isolates (outbreak or control strains) had unique patterns; isolates from different individuals within an outbreak had similar...

Systematic studies of 618 fishing vessel losses between January 1961 and December 1982 have shown a significantly increased incidence of total losses from 1972 onwards. Comparison of mean pre- and post-1972 rates indicated an increase of 120% from 2.54 to 5.58 losses per 1000 vessels at risk. Parallel examination of the mortality of fishermen from all occupational accidents showed no improvement. For deaths arising from vessel losses alone, the mean crude death rate, for the same periods, increased by 13%. Despite these findings, formal investigations (courts of inquiry) into fishing losses, ordered by the Department of Transport according to specified criteria, decreased in number from about 1975 onwards. The mean number fell by 61% from 3.1 (1961-71) to 1.2 a year (1972-82). Furthermore, the reduction in the rate of formal investigations into fishing vessel losses (-84%; p less than 0.0001) was greater than the corresponding reduction (-61%; p less than 0.001) in United Kingdom merchant vessel investigations and this difference was statistically significant (p less than 0.01). During 1972-82 there were 61 fewer fishing investigations than predicted from the rate at which these were ordered during 1961-71. The last took place in 1979. None of the 141 fishing vessel losses between January 1980 and December 1982 proceeded to formal investigation. The possibility that the criteria for ordering formal investigations have not been fulfilled by the circumstances of fishing vessel losses from 1975 onwards is assessed as one explanation for this paradoxical finding of an inverse relation between losses and investigations. The accident investigation and public reporting procedures for aviation accidents should be adobted for marine accidents in general and fishing vessel losses in particular.

Individual genetic factors which underlie variation in quantitative traits of maize were investigated in each of two F2 populations by examining the mean trait expressions of genotypic classes at each of 17–20 segregating marker loci. It was demonstrated that the trait expression of marker locus classes could be interpreted in terms of genetic behavior at linked quantitative trait loci (QTLs). For each of 82 traits evaluated, QTLs were detected and located to genomic sites. The numbers of detected factors varied according to trait, with the average trait significantly influenced by almost two-thirds of the marked genomic sites. Most of the detected associations between marker loci and quantitative traits were highly significant, and could have been detected with fewer than the 1800–1900 plants evaluated in each population. The cumulative, simple effects of marker-linked regions of the genome explained between 8 and 40% of the phenotypic variation for a subset of 25 traits evaluated. Single marker loci accounted for between 0.3% and 16% of the phenotypic variation of traits. Individual plant heterozygosity, as measured by marker loci, was significantly associated with variation in many traits. The apparent types of gene action at the QTLs varied both among traits and between loci for given traits...

In a prospective study of 400 patients admitted for elective surgery, the value of preoperative investigations in identifying the group at high risk of complications was assessed. In order to evaluate methods of reducing the number of investigations a preoperative questionnaire was used and patients were also grouped with regard to age and extent of surgery. Sixteen per cent of the results of the preoperative investigations showed some abnormality but only 0.013% caused a change in management. Abnormal results were significantly associated with complications (P less than 0.05). A positive (abnormal) questionnaire and increased age together defined a group more likely to have abnormal results (P less than 0.05) but age was a more specific indicator. The extent of surgery was not associated with abnormal results other than biochemistry results but was associated with complications (P less than 0.01) and with the need to repeat investigations postoperatively. It was concluded that a preoperative questionnaire might be useful in the assessment of day case patients, where a larger fraction would be expected to fall into the low risk group. A policy for routine preoperative investigation was drawn up. Full blood count should be performed in all patients over 40 years...

Our objective was to determine the availability and utilization of urodynamic investigations by gynecologists in the preoperative evaluation of women with urinary incontinence. Gynecologists in the UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand and Canada were asked what urodynamic investigations were required for four clinical scenarios. Analysis was restricted to frequent operators. Urodynamic investigations were available to 70% of frequent operators. For uncomplicated stress incontinence, cystometry was utilized by 72% of subspecialists and 44% of generalists (P<0.001) who had access to urodynamic investigations. For stress incontinence and straining to void, uroflowmetry was utilized by 73% of subspecialists and 46% of generalists (P<0.001) who had access to urodynamic investigations. We concluded that many gynecologists who frequently operate for female urinary incontinence do not have access to urodynamic investigations or do not utilize urodynamic investigations, or utilize investigations in a way that may be inadequate for the clinical problem. There are differences in utilization between subspecialists and generalists that are not explained by access. These observations could be explained by poor understanding or a lack of belief in the value of urodynamic investigations.; Paul M. Duggan...

The research presented in this thesis focuses on the quantification of the effect of limited site investigations on the design and performance of pile foundations. Limited site investigation is one of the main causes of structural foundation failures. Over the last 30 years, most site investigations conducted for infrastructure projects have been dictated by minimum cost and time of completion, rather than meeting the need to appropriately characterise soil properties (Institution of Civil Engineers 1991; Jaksa et al. 2003). As a result, limited site investigations remain common, resulting in a higher risk of structural foundation failure, unforeseen additional construction, and/or repair costs. Also, limited site investigations can result in over-designing foundations, leading to increased and unnecessary cost (ASFE 1996). Based on the reliability examination method for site investigations introduced by Jaksa et al. (2003) and performed by Goldsworthy (2006), this research investigated the effect of limited site investigations on the design of pile foundations. This was achieved by generating three-dimensional random fields to obtain a virtual site consisting of soil properties at certain levels of variability, and by simulating various numbers of cone penetration tests (CPTs) and pile foundations on the generated site. Once the site and the CPTs were simulated...

CHDS State/Local; From maintaining aviation security, to patrolling the country's borders, to granting immigration documentation, the Homeland Security has tremendous responsibilities. As such, it is imperative that the Department has a robust internal investigative mechanism to prevent, deter and investigate allegations of public corruption. Currently, there are eight agencies that have authority to conduct public corruption investigations within the Department. For every allegation of corruption within the Department, there are three agencies that have concurrent jurisdiction to investigate; in some cases, four agencies have overlapping jurisdiction to investigate the same matter. To maximize efficiency of operations, avoid duplication of efforts and best serve the American public, collaboration is essential. This thesis will examine other domestic and foreign institutions that have grappled with overlapping jurisdiction and leadership issues and provide analysis as to how those lessons learned can be applied to the DHS anti-corruption community. Several policy options are provided to enhance collaborative efforts, improve information sharing and create synergy of efforts. The policy options include: recognition and utilization of an already existent megacommunity; expanding the cross-designation of agency personnel; and the formation of public corruption task forces.; Resident Agent in Charge...

This thesis evaluates the systemic investigations role of the Commonwealth Ombudsman and explores the relationship between its dual roles of system-fixer and individual complaint­-handler. This research is unique as to date no other empirical research has explored the interaction between the dual roles of the Commonwealth Ombudsman. The outcomes of this study provide insight into the operation of the Ombudsman institution as an instrument of democratic accountability and allow for assessment of the operation and effectiveness of the Commonwealth Ombudsman in terms of the citizen, government agencies and the wider legal system. Specifically, this empirical study uses a quantitative approach to test the following two hypotheses about the operation of the Commonwealth Ombudsman: 1. that the Commonweald1 Ombudsman is increasingly using its systemic investigatory function; and 2. that the systemic investigations role is linked to that of individual complaint handling. To address the hypotheses, four subordinate research aims were formulated: 1. To create two longitudinal data sets: one for a select portion of the systemics role of the Commonwealth Ombudsman and the other for the individual complaint handling role. 2. To develop a methodology to facilitate comparative evaluation of the systemic investigations role (formal reports and own motion investigations) and the individual complaint handling role. 3. To conduct a systematic...

Agency theory has had little to say about the control of bureaucratic corruption, perhaps the greatest agency problem that exists. The author considers the role of incentive contracting in reducing corruption through the use of independent investigations-a common way to monitor corruption. In simple settings, bureaucratic corruption can be suppressed by rewarding and penalizing bureaucrats, depending on the independent investigators' findings. But the author shows that incentive contracts can change behavior in both undesirable and beneficial ways. He analyzes three possible harmful behavioral responses to investigations. 1) Many investigations are (officially) instigated by customer complaints. Bureaucrats could become overinterested in "keeping the customer happy," even when it is not efficient to do so. 2) Bureaucrats often have private information on how cases should be handled, information that is hard for investigators to verify. The author shows that investigations can give bureaucrats excessive incentives to "do things by the book...

In recent years Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has been extensively used in the study of the indoor environment and the thermal comfort conditions for the design of modern buildings, however, there remains the need to thoroughly evaluate the accuracy of the results given by CFD methods. In the present work, numerical investigations of the indoor thermal environment in the atria of two existing buildings and in a simple three-storey atrium building design have been undertaken using CFD techniques. The initial work involved the evaluation of various turbulence models and a radiation model used in CFD simulations for the prediction of the thermal environment in atria of different geometrical configurations in two buildings for which experimental data is available. The airflow patterns and temperature distributions were determined, under both forced and hybrid ventilation conditions and thermal comfort conditions were evaluated. The numerical predictions were compared with the available experimental measurements and, in general, good agreement was obtained between the numerical and experimental results. After the evaluation of the adequacy of available turbulence models and the validation of the accuracy of the CFD model used...

X38CrMoV5-1 steel is a typical tool steel commonly used in forging and plastic moulding industry for production of ejectors, slides, dies, etc. In plastics moulding a lot of these parts sustain relative movement. Because of this, some seizing or micro-welding may appear, especially when lubrication is not used. For many years, the different types of protective coatings were developed to avoid such problems. Most of the obtained solutions relate to the manufacturing of low friction coatings obtained by different nitriding processes and by CVD or PVD methods. In this article, the friction coefficients and the wear resistances of TiC+a-C:H protective coatings manufactured on X38CrMoV5-1 steel samples by using PVD technology are studied. The investigations are based on tribometer tests in different temperature conditions. The process of deposition of PVD coatings was realized by using multisource, hybrid factory-scale equipment of type URM 079. This equipment allows for deposition of coatings by a physical method. The tribological tests were performed using a precision high temperature tribometer under ambient and high temperature conditions with a steel and corundum balls as a counter-samples. In this paper, the results of these tribological tests are presented. It is shown that the measured friction coefficient of steel samples with PVD coatings is significantly lower than the friction coefficient of uncoated steel. It is also shown that X38CrMoV5-1 steel samples with manufactured TiC+a-C:H coatings are characterized by a very low friction coefficient and high wear resistance.

Mathematical investigations may be important educational activities, proving to be useful in the development of mathematical ideas. The principal difficulties may concern students' content knowledge, reasoning processes, and general attitudes and appreciation. This paper refers to a computer-based investigation undertaken by three eight-grade students, discussing in special their cognitive processes and social interactions.; Investigações matemáticas podem ser atividades educacionais importantes, úteis para o desenvolvimento de idéias matemáticas. As principais dificuldades podem incidir sobre os conhecimentos dos alunos de conteúdos, processos de raciocínio e atitudes gerais e sua apreciação da Matemática. Este artigo refere-se a uma investigação baseada no computador realizada por três alunos do 8.º ano de escolaridade, discutindo em especial os seus processos cognitivos e interações sociais.

The use that 30 general practitioners in four group practices made of open access laboratory and radiological facilities was studied for one year. We were particularly interested in whether general practitioners hoped to exclude rather than confirm abnormality when requesting investigations. All but two of the general practitioners studied used investigations to exclude abnormality to a greater extent than to confirm it. The rate at which the practices investigated patients and the number of investigations requested were appreciably different and were different for individual general practitioners, part time general practitioners requesting more investigations than trainees and full time general practitioners. Haematological investigations accounted for over 30% of requests for investigations in all but one practice, biochemical investigations being requested as often as bacteriological investigations in two of the four practices. The ratio of expected to unexpected results varied among general practitioners; no general practitioner had more unexpected results and the range of ratios was similar for full time and part time general practitioners and for trainees. The proportion of patients with abnormalities uncovered by each practice increased disproportionately as the use of investigations increased...

This paper presents some work developed through a collaborative project involving mathematics teachers and teacher educators, aimed at the development of classroom tasks involving students in mathematical investigations and the study of related teaching styles. We give a general overview of the project and present one task dealing with the concepts of powers and exponents. Then, we describe how it was used in the classroom (grade levels 5-7), and present our experience about the role and the activity of the teacher in the process of organizing, conducting and reflecting about this kind of activity.

The use of automation in digital forensic investigations is not only a technological issue, but also has political and social implications. This work discusses some challenges with the implementation and acceptance of automation in digital forensic investigation, and possible implications for current digital forensic investigators. Current attitudes towards the use of automation in digital forensic investigations are examined, as well as the issue of digital investigators knowledge acquisition and retention. The argument is made for a well planned, careful use of automation going forward that allows for a more efficient and effective use of automation in digital forensic investigations while at the same time attempting to improve the overall quality of expert investigators. Targeting and carefully controlling automated solutions for beginning investigators may improve the speed and quality of investigations while at the same time letting expert digital investigators spend more time utilizing expert level knowledge required in manual phases of investigations. By considering how automated solutions are being implemented into digital investigations, investigation unit managers can increase the efficiency of their unit while at the same time maximizing their return on investment for expert level digital investigator training.; Comment: 17 pages...

This is the plan to coordinate domestic and foreign post-earthquake investigations supported by the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP). The plan addresses coordination of both the NEHRP agencies-Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), National Science Foundation (NSF), and U. S. Geological Survey (USGS)- and their partners. The plan is a framework for both coordinating what is going to be done and identifying responsibilities for post-earthquake investigations. It does not specify what will be done. Coordination is addressed in various time frames ranging from hours to years after an earthquake. The plan includes measures for (1) gaining rapid and general agreement on high-priority research opportunities, and (2) conducting the data gathering and field studies in a coordinated manner. It deals with identification, collection, processing,processing, documentation, archiving, and dissemination of the results of post-earthquake work in a timely manner and easily accessible format. For the purposes of this plan a significant domestic earthquake is defined as either (1) an earthquake resulting in a Presidential disaster declaration, or (2) an earthquake considered by NEHRP agencies to provide an opportunity to learn how to reduce future earthquake losses in the United States. The plan organizes domestic post-earthquake investigation and information dissemination activities into three phases...

The goal of OBI is to enable a formal representation of biomedical investigations that captures the experimental evidence on which their findings are based. The scope of OBI includes: materials made in and produced for investigations, research objectives, experimental protocols, roles of people in investigations and processing and publication of data gathered in investigations. Use of OBI will allow comparison of experimental data from the wide array of scientific disciplines represented by domain experts in the OBI consortium. OBI follows the principles laid out by the OBO foundry, and integrates tightly with other foundry candidate ontologies, such as GO (www.geneontology.org) and ChEBI (www.ebi.ac.uk/chebi/) whose terms are used to describe biological reality. The use of OBI by the scientific community to represent or annotate their investigations within electronic data resources will facilitate interdisciplinary data synthesis, enable access to their data on the semantic web and improve third-party understanding of information related to life-science and clinical investigations.