Influence of girls’ attitude performance in mathematics

Attitude towards school subject is very important to learning. Gender bias by society’s stereotyping of mathematics as a male domain, which has often been used to explain females’ lower performance and participation in mathematics (Mondoh 2001). There is a common belief that positive attitude and particular liking for, and interest in mathematics often leads to greater effort and in turn higher achievement (Ng’eno 2005). Various studies on the relationship between attitude and achievement have been done. Fennema & Leder (1990) found that when a gender difference in mathematics achievement in favor of males was observed it was followed by gender difference in confidence in favor of males. The value of mathematics to a female learner can be affected by whether or not she thinks studying mathematics is a sexrole appropriate activity. The value of mathematics to a girl can be affected by whether or not she thinks studying mathematics is inappropriate for females, and then her achievement in mathematics could result in a perception that she has not adequately fulfilled her sex role.

Hyde and Mertz (2009) in their study on gender, culture and performance reported that boys and girls acquire early number concepts similarly in preschool years and performance throughout elementary school is similar. They however noted that the boys’ skills in mathematics increased faster than girls by around twelve years of age creating a significant gender gap in performance in high school. They noted that women are willing and able to learn the mathematics needed for advanced degrees in these areas when provided with appropriate socio-cultural environment along with education and career opportunities. The current study established the differences in teachers’ perception of their preparedness to implement secondary school mathematics by gender.

The prevailing stereotype is that mathematics is a male domain and therefore a very appropriate subject for male students’ achievement. Studies have demonstrated that males attributed success to ability and more strongly than did the females whereas attributed success to effort and luck more strongly than the males (Fennema & Leder 1990). It should be noted that a student who attribute success to ability has every reason to expect success since ability will remain relatively constant however a student who attributes success to luck has no such assurance since luck by its nature is outside one’s control

Uganda Weather

Uganda Weather has got an ideal condition. While the low lands enjoy a warm weather and the Kigezi highlands enjoy a cool atmosphere. Most of the time Uganda encounters bright sunny days. The average temperature is 26 degrees. It rarely rise above 29 degrees. The highest temperature can be 35 degrees while the lowest can be 8 dergree. Humidity ranges between 70% to 100%.

Weather of Uganda includes a rain season that lasts from March to May. The country encounters light rain from November to December. Rainfall ranges between 500 mm to 2500 mm. The country is completely landlocked. It is 800 km inland from the Indian Ocean. But the Weather in Uganda does not hold extreme conditions.

Since Uganda climate is tropical the country has three distinct seasons. The summer, winter and rain season can be distinguished very well. Lake Victoria a major source of atmospheric moisture and thunderstorms. The Southwesterly wind from Congo brings rain to this country.

THE POWER OF A LETTER

Most of you know John Wayne as an actor. You may notknow what happened to him before he died. This isthat story! Robert Schuller's teenage daughter,Cindy, was in a motorcycle accident and had to haveher leg amputated. John Wayne is a big fan of RobertSchuller. He heard Dr. Schullersay on one of hisprograms that his daughter had been in an accident andhad to have her leg amputated. John Wayne wrote anote to her saying: Dear Cindy, Sorry to hear aboutyour accident. Hope you will be all right. Signed,John Wayne The note was delivered to her and shedecided she wanted to write John Wayne a note inreply. She wrote: Dear Mr. Wayne, I got your note.Thanks for writing to me. I likeyou very much. I amgoing to be all right because Jesus is going to helpme. Mr. Wayne, do you know Jesus? I sure hope youknow Jesus, Mr. Wayne, because I cannot imagine Heavenbeing complete without John Wayne being there. I hope,if you don't know Jesus, that you will give your heartto Jesus right now. See you in Heaven. And shesigned her name. She had just put that letter in anenvelope, sealed it, and written across the front ofit "John Wayne" when a visitor came into her room tosee her. He said to her: What are you doing? Shesaid: I just wrote a letter to John Wayne, but I don'tknow how to get it to him. He said: That's funny, I amgoing to have dinner with JohnWayne tonight at theNewport Club down at Newport Beach. Give it to me andI will give it to him. She gave him the letter and heput it in his coat pocket. There were twelve of themthat night sitting around the table for dinner. Theywere laughing and cutting up and the guy happened toreach in his pocket and felt that letter andremembered. John Wayne was seated at the end of thetable and the guy took the letter out and said: Hey,Duke, I was in Schuller's daughter's room today andshe wrote you a letter and wanted me to give it toyou. Here it is. They passed it down to John Wayneand he opened it. They kept on laughing and cuttingup and someone happened tolook down at John Wayne.He was crying. One of them said: Hey, Duke, what isthe matter? He said (and can't you hear him sayingit), " I want to read you this letter." He read theletter. Then he began to weep. He folded it, put itin his pocket, and he pointed to the man who deliveredit to him and said: "You go tell that little girl thatright now, in this restaurant, right here, John Waynegives his heart to Jesus Christ and I will see her inheaven." Three weeks later John Wayne died. You neverknow how your witness to another will effect their eternity!

Everyone is important

During Mark's first month of college, the professor gave his students a pop quiz. He was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until he read the last one: "What is the first name ofthe woman who cleans the school?" Surely this was some kind of joke. He had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would he know her name? He handed in his paper, leaving the last question blank.Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward the quiz grade. "Absolutely," said the professor."In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They each deserve your attention and care, even if allyou do is smile and say 'hello'". Mark neverforgot that lesson. He also learned her name was Dorothy.

Using Eyes in The Religious Life

God wants us to see something with our eyes- our vision. Those who open the eyes for the lord will surely gain from it. In the bible Genesis God helped Adam see eve, he saw the beauty in her and how helpful she would be in his life, same way god does to man today

In life we are meant to pick something after seeing it, God doesn’t give what you have not seen. And when you see you decide to go on with the miracle or to discontinue with achieving your dreams

There are types of sights; there are things you can see as failures and others see as prosperity and this is all determined by the brain.

Problems of sight or seeing in the religious word is associated with the thought we have in our minds and not specifically physical as most people claim.

In the book of kings David used his eyes to see the weaknesses of goliath to defeat him, all the soldiers of the time feared Goliath thinking he was un defeat able (negative thoughts).

Your failures come from what you hear for example you want to go abroad but because a friend told you about the strict white man at the embassy who makes it hard to get what you, you also don’t go. You’re put in a position to believe what you have not seen. Push yourself to go ahead and see

Many Christians today make a mistake of going somewhere for something yet what they need is in a different place. Befriend people with a vision and similar interests to yours, once you have contrasting visions the friendship won’t be productive. Avoid people with negative thoughts

The way you see your problems will determine whether you will be a winner or failure. See what other people see as failure, a success

Accept God to help you see big things in Jesus name

Islamic State: Thousands of Syrian refugees flee into Turkey as Kurds battle militants for town of Tal Abyad

The Syrians, many carrying sacks of possessions and small children, flooded through the Akcakale border gate onto Turkish territory after Turkish authorities reopened the border after days of closure.
There had earlier been chaotic scenes as some of the refugees crossed the border illegally through holes in fences, prompting rapid intervention from the Turkish army.
Turkey had for several days been blocking the Syrians from entering Turkey, saying it would only allow them into the country in the event of a humanitarian tragedy.
However, local officials in Akcakale said earlier that permission had been received from Ankara to allow the refugees into Turkey.
The decision came as Kurdish forces advanced on Tal Abyad, which is controlled by the IS group that has captured swathes of Syria and Iraq.
A delay followed which Turkish television said was due to IS jihadists trying to stop the refugees from crossing the border into Turkey.
Chaos ensued with some Syrians managing to push their way through the fences away from the main Akcakale border gate to enter Turkey illegally.
Some squeezed under the mesh-wire barrier while others managed to climb over, throwing their bags over the fence.
They then had to negotiate the border trench with dozens managing to scramble across. The army used water cannon and tear gas in a bid to restore control.
But in the early evening Turkish authorities opened the Akcakale border gate and the refugees began to enter in an orderly fashion.
Many had relatives already waiting for them on the other side. The queue of refugees could be seen extending up the hillside.

Child abuse royal commission puts spotlight on entertainment industry

Royal commission chief executive Philip Reed said anyone who had experienced child sexual abuse in the Australian entertainment industry, or had information about it, should come forward.
"Institutions within the royal commission's scope may include television networks, film and television production companies, theatrical production companies, dance, drama and performing arts schools or colleges, casting agencies or any other company, agency or organisation, public or private," he said in a statement.
"Anyone thinking of coming forward should rest assured that the confidentiality of their information will be protected."
Hughes, 65, is serving a minimum sentence of six years' jail after being convicted last year of 10 sexual and indecent assault charges dating back to the 1980s.
He had pleaded not guilty to 11 charges of sexually or indecently assaulting five girls, aged between seven and 15, between 1985 and 1990.
Harris is serving more than five years in a British prison after being found guilty of indecently assaulting four girls.
He recently generated further controversy by reportedly writing a song mocking his victims and calling them "woodworms".
The royal commission has conducted 28 public hearings across Australia into religious and state-run institutions and schools, sporting bodies and a yoga ashram since the Gillard government announced its creation in November 2012.

OpenEars headphones designed to bring binaural sound recording to the mainstream

Binaural recordings use two microphones to capture sound in the same way it is captured by human ears. The spatial depth of the resulting 3D sound is often impressive, but it can only be fully appreciated when wearing headphones and the recording process tends to be reserved for professionals as it usually involves a dummy head with a microphone placed in each ear. A German company called Binauric is looking to bring binaural recording to a wider audience with its OpenEars Bluetooth in-ear headphones that feature a microphone in each earpiece.
 

Binaural recordings are different to regular stereo recordings for a number of reasons. The sound perceived by the ear/microphone closer to the sound source arrives earlier (inter-aural time difference or ITD) and is louder (inter-aural level difference or ILD) than that further away from the sound source. Additionally, the sound arriving at the furthermost ear will be slightly modified as a result of traveling around the head and being reflected off surfaces around the head (masking and head-related transfer functions or HRTFs).

Since, binaural recordings don't offer much of an advantage for studio recordings since studios aren't that interesting spatially, the technology never really took off for musical artists. However, its ability to provide the acoustic impression of another space makes it more applicable to recordings in the outdoors or locations with interesting acoustic spatial qualities, such as concert halls. It is these markets Binauric is targeting with its OpenEars headphones that are the subject of a crowdfunding campaign.
In addition to the 25 Hz to 22 kHz in-ear speakers, the headphones feature MEMs condenser microphones with a frequency range of 18 Hz to 23 kHz. The wireless units feature an inline volume control connect to iOS or Android devices via Bluetooth and boast a play and record time of 6 hours on a single charge. They can be fully recharged in under an hour, with a 15 minute fast charge providing 1.5 hours of playback time. The headphones are also designed to be water repellent and dust- and sweat-proof.
One group of prolific video content creators whose work Binauric believes could benefit from binaural recordings are GoPro aficionados. To this end, the company has developed OpenMics, a pair of optional standalone microphones that can be attached to a helmet (or drone) and wirelessly relay the sound to a connected GoPro via 2.4 GHz radio frequency.
OpenEars can of course be used as regular Bluetooth headphones for listening to music or for hands-free calls. Thanks to the “Hear Through” functionality users are able to listen to music and their surroundings at the same time and customize how much ambient sound they want to hear, which is a big plus for safety-conscious cyclists and pedestrians.
However, you don't have to be a skater or a bungee jumper to use OpenEars. Binauric wants users to record binaural sound with every video or photo they take and start using spatial sounds to help someone viewing the material feel like they were there with you. The headphones could also appeal to ASMR devotees, many of which have already embraced the technology.
The companion app for iOS and Android lets users share recordings via Dropbox, email or SoundCloud, or stream them in real time.

Binauric has taken to Kickstarter to raise funds to get the OpenEars headphones into production. If all goes well, the company expects the headphones to retail for €199 (US$222), but early bird backers can stake a claim for a pair at €119 (US$133). Delivery is estimated for November, but the team is still some way off the €125,000 goal with just over two weeks left to run.
You can check out a binaural recording of some New York City sightseeing below, but just be sure to use headphones to get the effect.

Antibiotic-free method to protect animals from common infections

A herd of cattle or a flock of chickens may appear very bucolic, but they're actually ground zero for an ongoing arms race between scientists and disease-causing bacteria. Antibiotics have been a major weapon in the fight against animal infection, but they've also sparked evolutionary forces that create drug-resistant bacteria that render those very antibiotics ineffective, posing a major risk to animals and humans alike. Now a University of Wisconsin-Madison team is developing a method of fighting a major group of animal infections without antibiotics.

Antibiotics have been a tremendous boon to animal husbandry as they prevent losses of livestock from once common infections that could bankrupt farmers and even cripple national economies. Small wonder that 80 percent of antibiotics in the United States are used on farm animals to protect against disease and promote growth. However, this has proved to be a double-edged sword because such heavy use kicked off an evolutionary arms race against these medicines. It's one reason why some antibiotics have become less effective against certain resistant strains and why doctors have kept some antibiotics in reserve against future needs.
The problem is how antibiotics work. Tailored to interfere with the biochemical mechanisms of microbes and parasites, they disrupt enzymes or attack the membranes of bacteria. It's effective, but it's also exactly the sort of thing that kicks natural selection into top gear; producing a new super germ, which can spread to other farms and the general population, but does not respond to antibiotics.
A team led by Mark Cook, a professor of animal sciences, attacked this problem by turning it around. According to Cook, microbes evolve so quickly, an antibiotics arms race is a losing proposition, so instead of going after the microbes, Cook's team addressed an ancient weakness in the animals that the microbes exploit. Normally, an animal's immune system can see off an infection, but a surprisingly diverse group of organisms, including bacteria, single- and multi-celled parasites, protozoa, and some viruses produce a chemical known as macrophage Migratory Inhibition Factor (MIF). This triggers an "off switch" in the animal's immune system called Interleukin 10 (IL-10), which allows the pathogen to slip by and attack without triggering a counterattack.

Cook's approach was to create a vaccine by introducing an antibody to IL-10 in hens' eggs, which could then be introduced into animal feed. According to the UW-Madison team, the antibody works in the gastrointestinal tract and marks the first time this kind of immune system manipulation has been used in such an area.
The largest experiment included 300,000 chickens, which became fully immune to coccidiosis, a major farm animal infection that takes hold inside the intestine. Another test where beef steers were fed the antibodies for two weeks cut the rate of bovine respiratory disease in half, while newborn dairy calves treated for 10 days showed similar results.
Another UW-Madison professor of animal science, Dan Schaefer, plans a larger bovine trial with other universities in the near future. Meanwhile, one of the four patents filed by Cook and his team has just been granted and they are turning the research into a commercial enterprise called Ab E Discovery LLC.

MX3D gets go-ahead for 3D-printed bridge in Amsterdam

The project is a collaboration with, among others, design software company Autodesk and construction firm Heijmans and will incorporate robotics, software engineering, craftsmanship and design. Designer Joris Laarman, who has previously worked with MX3D printing free-standing 3D sculptures, is using Autodesk software to design what is described as "an ornate metal bridge."
"I strongly believe in the future of digital production and local production, in the new craft," says Laarman. "This bridge will show how 3D printing finally enters the world of large-scale, functional objects and sustainable materials while allowing unprecedented freedom of form."
MX3D says the project is made feasible by its robotic 3D printing technology that effectively makes it possible to draw in mid-air. The multi-axis industrial robots to be used can print metals, plastics and combinations of materials.

For the bridge project, the robots will be printing in steel. They will use specially-designed arms that heat up the metal to 1,500° C (2,732° F) before welding the structure. This approach means structures can be created that are strong, durable and complex.
What's more, it is hoped that the entire process will take place on-site. Assuming that is the case, the robots will begin creating the structure on one side of the water and will create rail-supports as they go. They will then be able to gradually slide forward on the supports, literally creating the bridge upon which they are crossing the canal

A visitor center where people can follow the progress of the robots is expected to be opened to the public in September, although the exact location of the bridge is yet to be confirmed.
(C) dreamworld 2015

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter detects impact glass

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has detected deposits of impact glass on the Red Planet that may provide a fresh avenue for investigating the question of whether life ever existed there. The hope is that glass forged in the intense conditions created by an asteroid impact may have preserved microscopic signs of life, as it has here on Earth.

Detecting the signature of the glass deposits proved to be no small feat for the MRO, as the weak spectral signal from the glass is usually overwhelmed by the rock entombed inside it.
In order to make the orbiter's instruments more sensitive to detecting the relatively weak signal, Jack Mustard, deputy investigator of the MRO mission, placed a Martian rock substitute in a kiln and fired it in order to create an impact glass-like substance.
He then analyzed the spectral qualities of the glass and used an algorithm to pick out similar deposits on Mars. This resulted in the detection of several large glass deposits located at the central peaks of various Martian impact craters.
“The researchers’ analysis suggests glass deposits are relatively common impact features on Mars,” states Jim Green, director of NASA’s planetary science division. Green continues, “These areas could be targets for future exploration as our robotic scientific explorers pave the way on the journey to Mars with humans in the 2030s.”
Impact glass back on Earth has been found to be a surprisingly effective medium for preserving clues to life, such as organic molecules and even plant life. Such was the case for a glass deposit found at the site of an impact crater in Argentina, which is believed to have formed millions years ago.
Scientist Peter Schultz of Brown University, Ohio, who was responsible for discovering the preserved specimens of life in the Argentinian impact glass, believes that a similar phenomenon on Mars could provide clues to life having existed in the planet's ancient past. However, for organic molecules to be preserved, they must have existed at the location and time of the impact event.
One deposit of glass was found at the Hargraves crater near Nili Fossae trough, which happens to be in the proximity of one of the candidate landing sites for NASA's 2020 Mars rover. The discovery of the glass deposits may well inform the eventual landing site of the mission, which will collect samples from the Martian landscape for analysis and possible return to Earth.

Lockheed Martin's Todd Danko on the DRC Finals and the future of robotics

One of the 24 teams competing at the 2015 DARPA Robotics Challenge, and the only team fielded by a large private company, was Lockheed Martin's Team Trooper and its robot Leo. To find out more about what goes into programming a humanoid robot and the future of robotics, we talked to the team leader, Todd Danko.
We think that investing in mobile manipulation, which is effectively what we're doing, will be very useful in future applications like underwater or space robotics; places where it's very difficult or impossible to get people to do those tasks. You can use our systems to tell robots what to do, and let the robots do those things.

We're in a world that's complementary to the humanoid form. If you have a very constrained task, like in a factory, a humanoid isn't the right answer. You want to optimize your robot to solve those problems. If you don't have a single problem to optimize, and you want a more general robot, then a humanoid robot makes more sense.
It produces tremendous challenges. For a humanoid robot just to stay still and not fall over if you touch it. That's a lot of software on its own. You have to have a good dynamic model of the robot and run it constantly at a thousand Hertz, so it's harder for the robot to fall over. Meanwhile, a robot with wheels, if you turn everything off, it will be mechanically stable. It just sits there. 





Generally, one thing that surprised me is the state of the art of robotics and especially humanoid robotics. It's one thing to see them in a movie or some real robots in specific demos, but with those demos you're seeing the best of what could be, so the state of the art is actually a lot more primitive than many people think it is. It's exciting to be able to help grow that.

 

It's going to be a long time before we see a robot like this. Look at what [happened in the competition] and how many people it took to keep that robot from destroying itself. There's a lot of work that needs to be done before we're contributing in a way that's not a burden to the operators.

 (C)jonahnsubuga