Majority of students are happy with university

The National Student Survey 2009 (NSS) reported a 1% drop in the level of student satisfaction back in August. The figure dropped from last year’s 82%.

Not particularly significant, I’m sure you’ll agree, however reports pin the dip on the increase in tuition fees.

If you get your money’s worth out of the education you get, does the amount you pay really matter? Or are fees still ridiculously high even if you attend an establishment like Oxbridge?

Also, can any of the unsatisfaction come from the look of the university, e.g. if its old-fashioned or not in the country? Do factors like that contribute towards students satisfaction of their university experience and is it purely education that the survey is based on or the whole package?

As pointed out by a reader’s comments on The Guardian’s report, the students who are unsatisfied with their university may be the students who are failing their degree.

So, how satisfied are you all with your universities?

Feel free to leave comments and in the meantime, I’ll be doing abit of researching myself.

The National Speological Society – Cave Diving Section (NSS-CDS) officially wrote into the minutes of the Training Committee Meeting held this month recognition of the PADI Cavern Diver course.  In addition, the Training Committee approved a proposal to develop a pre approved outline for NSS Instructor members who hold PADI MSDT certification to download and apply for the new PADI Cave Diver Distinctive Specialty which was unveiled at the DEMA show.

This is quite random, but writer BEASTmode from akp wrote in an article: ‘NSS (Netizens Stalker Society) that specializes in demeaning Korean celebrities for the sake of salvaging their own dying self-esteem.” Sort of like the organisation in the awesome K-Drama IRIS, only if you’re part of this ‘NSS’, it’s a little sad. The job description is to specialise in digging up a celebrity’s past life so then they’re disected to pieces and inspected with microscopes and only when you’ve burned them till they’ve got 3rd degree burns have you done your job.

Curiosity might bite at whether celebrities had surgery done or what not, and the rage is all about ‘natural’ looks…but who doesn’t want to look beautiful naturally?  If you cancel out the new technology that apparently allows people to pick out genes for their new borns, naturally the gene pool from how we’ll look is by the process of Meiosis.  When you enter an industry where one of the primary focuses is looks, if you’re not beautiful naturally, well, the purpose of plastic surgery is there so then people can feel better about themselves and how they feel people look at them. You udergo plastic surgery at your own risk, but if you have the money and if it means your self-esteem will be higher and you’re willing to take that risk…*shrug* why not?

I know that celebrities seem to live in ‘another world’ from ‘normal’ day to day citizens, but in the end, they’re humans too, aren’t they?!  People expect them to be ‘perfect’ because they’re now ‘idols’ to many, and what, because they’re idols now a thorough check-up of their background must be done before netizens can deem this idol can retain their status? Ok, perhaps, maybe if they were head of a deadly feared clan, then you should be a little (if not a lot) cautious, but most aren’t. Most of the time, why can’t we just appreciate them for who they are now, because most people change as they age[sometimes for good or bad], instead of trying to dig up their past and forcefully stuffing them into a grave?

New HE Framework

Follow up to earlier post on HE as food-labelling:

Lord Mandelson has launched Higher Ambitions. There’s a lot in here and much of it yet to be fully fleshed out. And the much trailed element on improved consumer information still requires some work:

All universities should publish a standard set of information setting out what students can expect in terms of the nature and quality of their programme.

This should set out how and what students will learn, what that knowledge will qualify them to do, whether they will have access to external expertise or experience, how much direct contact there will be with academic staff, what their own study responsibilities will be, what facilities they will have access to, and any opportunities for international experience. It should also offer information about what students on individual courses have done after graduation. The Unistats website will continue to bring together information in a comparable way so that students can make well-informed informed [sic] choices, based on an understanding of the nature of the teaching programme they can expect, and the long-term employment prospects it offers. We will invite HEFCE, the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) and UKCES to work with the sector and advise on how these goals should be achieved.

Hmmm. Should be an interesting consultation.

在高中一 NSS 數學課，我開始教二次圖像和二次方程之根（roots）的關係。現在課程涉及複數，卻沒有教如何利用圖像尋找複根（complex roots）或非實根（unreal roots），我在此補充一下。

以下是在下用極速粗製濫造的 ETV，同學先看看：

解說：

（甲）二次方程的情況

若 的複根是 ，則

…………………… (*)

由 (*) 可見

的圖像，其頂點（vertex）的 -坐標是 ，而 就是複根的實部（real part）。

另外，由 (*) 可知 的圖像，其頂點的 -坐標是 （即片中的 ）；

考慮在二次曲線上的一點 ，其 -坐標為 ，那麼 的 -坐標 是什麼？

只要把 代入 ，得

即是說，複根虛部中的 ，就是 的 -坐標 和 的距離。

（乙）三次方程的情況

這個要中六同學才明白，高中一同學要忍耐一下。

為簡化，只考慮 係數為 1。

即設 。

首先，實係數三次方程必有實根；若它只有一個實根 ，則設另外兩個複根為 。

那麼，片中曲線的方程可寫成

……………………… (1)

現在，設經過 並相切於曲線的直線方程為

……………………… (2)

假設曲線和直線的切點（point of contact）為 ，如何證明 的 -坐標 (say) 就是 ？

我們（想像一下）解 (1)，(2)；我們得

易知上式的解為 或 ，即

是下式的根，且是重根（repeated root）：

……………………… (2)

既是重根，把上述等式求導後， 仍是根（Why？），即 滿足：

故 真的是 。

由此可見， 滿足 (2)，故

而片中的 不過是切線的斜率，即 。

這裡有一個問題，如果切線的斜率 是負數，又會怎樣？即出現例如以下情況：

豈不是不能計出 ？

同學，試花一點時間先想想。

開估：當我們考慮 的係數為 1 （或其他正數）時， 一定是正數。

無他，

因為我們考慮的方程是 ；

故此，

代入大於 的 值，對應的 值為正。（即上圖是沒有能的）
代入小於 的 值，對應的 值為負。

這就保證了 。

The next meeting of the Phoenix Chapter of the National Space Society will be this coming Saturday at 11:00 AM at the Noble Library (quadrant 5E on the map, on McCalister Mall, about two blocks west of the light rail station near Tyler St).

It will be held in conjunction with the Earth and Space Exploration Day at ASU (10:00 AM – 4:00 PM).

The agenda will cover:

1. Welcome

2. More arrangements for Holiday Party. It will be either December 5th or 12th. It will be held at Dave Fischer’s house. We need the physical directions and map to Dave’s house. The time will be from 5pm-?. Veronica Ann is collecting names and what people are bringing. Please email her at: Veronica.Zabala@NSS.org with your RSVP and what you are bringing. There will be a 50/50 raffle at this party! All tickets are as follows:

$1.00 each ticket

$5.00 for 6 tickets

Everyone is encouraged to participate in this raffle. 50% of the proceeds go to the NSS Phoenix Chapter !!!

3. We are currently accepting applications for the following NSS Phoenix Chapter Positions:

Educational Outreach Officer
Media/PR Officer
Recruitment Officer
IT Officer

Please email Veronica Ann if you are interested.

4. We are currently seeking Speakers at our January 2010 Chapter Meeting. Sian Proctor had indicated that she would be interested in giving a talk based on her experiences getting into the Astronaut Corps. Is she still interested and what dates is she available?

5. All Chapter Members are encouraged to seek donations and sponsors for the chapter. If you are interested in helping out, please contact Veronica Ann. We need to start earning revenue for our Chapter to promote education outreach as well as to alleviate costs for upcoming field trips. It is the Chapter President’s hope to also create a scholarship for those interested in going to ISDC 2010.

6. Who is going to ISDC 2010. Thus far, the Chapter President is going and would like to know who else is going?

7. Yuri’s Night 2010: Veronica Ann would like to hold an organizational meeting sometime in January 2010 for the NSS Phoenix Chapter to hold a Yuri’s Night 2010 in the Phoenix Region. We would like to invite the following NSS Affiliates to participate:

The Mars Society
The Planetary Society
The National Space Society
SEDS
AIAA
The Moon Society

We need to find a place we can hold the event. Either at a local science center or at a college/university. Does anyone have any ideas?

8. Donate Sci-Fi books! Veronica Ann is collecting all Sci-Fi books to loan schools to promote reading (especially in Science Fiction). If you have any Sci-Fi books that you no longer need, please contact Veronica Ann.

9. All NSS Phoenix Chapter members need to send the Chapter President their updated contact information by the end of October 2009. Please included the following in your email:

Name
Mailing Address
Phone Number
Email Address
Please send this information to: Veronica.Zabala@asu.edu

10. Chapter website update:

How many people have visited our site
From where are people visiting our site from

Any new developments, new features to the site?

11. Chapter dues? Should we begin to incorporate Chapter dues to our Chapter again to help raise funding? if so, does $5.00 every six months sound like a plan? we can collect these Chapter dues January 1st and July 1st of every year.

12. The NSS Chapter needs to get more involved in schools. Veronica Ann would like to know who would be interested in giving lectures about human and robotic space exploration? No experience necessary. Veronica Ann will train! Please contact her for more information and the dates that you may be available to give lectures to school children.

13. Veronica Ann is working to redo the Chapter Bylaws. If you would like to help out and proof the Bylaws, please let Veronica Ann know.

14. Next Chapter Meeting will be held on January 30, 2009, from 11AM – 1PM. Location TBD.

15. Q & A session

16. Reminder that the ASU School of Earth and Space Exploration is holding their Earth & Space Exploration day in front of the Physical Sciences F-wing (across from the library) from 9-3pm. All members are encouraged to participate in this venue after the meeting.

17. Meeting adjourned!

為讓 NSS 的同學多一點探究，在下嘗試在數學課引入一些活動，其中一個舊活動是「交通擠塞」，見

http://mathforum.org/alejandre/java/jam/Jam.html

當天和同學探究 對「人」和「最少步數」的關係，易知

當 ，「最少步數」是 3；
當 ，「最少步數」是 8；

隨即，我著同學「估」：當 時，「最少步數」如何？

本來我希望透過 Jump 和 Slide 的數目，教同學估計「最少步數」的上下限，再透過直接參與那個遊戲，看看和估計的相差多遠，結果，我那堂是徹底失敗。

遊戲未開始，歐同學已說出：當 ，「最少步數」是 15；

問他的計算方法，原來是純觀察數型

f(1) = 3
f(2) = 8
f(3) = ____

他就是推論到 f(3) = 15。

這不是嚴謹的方式。脫離了「背景」，所謂數型的問題是沒有意義，比如

2,4,8,16,…

之後是什麼？不知道，根本沒有定義！

不是 32 嗎？不一定。

舉一個舊例子說明：

連起圓周上 點，得出的對角線把圓最多可分割成 份；當 = 2,3,4,5 時， 值分別是 2,4,8,16；見下

上面就是給了 2,4,8,16 這個數列一個「特殊背景」，於是問：「當 時， 是什麼？」就有意義了。

那麼，當 時， 是什麼？是 32 嗎？不是！

且看：

可見，當 時，。

那天開始教授等差數列（Arithmetic sequence） ，我問：「1,2,3,4 之後是什麼？」同學當然視之為無聊，亂答之。正中下懷！

f(1) = 1
f(2) = 2
f(3) = 3
f(4) = 4

那麼 f(5) 一定是 5 嗎？甚或， 一定是真的嗎？

不一定。

如果認為，由

f(1) = 1
f(2) = 2
f(3) = 3
f(4) = 4

可推論

就是犯了「以偏概全」的謬誤。

比如

也可以出現以下效果：

f(1) = 1
f(2) = 2
f(3) = 3
f(4) = 4

但 f(5) 就不是 5 了，而是 5 + (5-1)(5-2)(5-3)(5-4) = 29。

甚至更一般地：

，其中， 是任你「天花龍鳳」的函數，一樣有以下效果：

f(1) = 1
f(2) = 2
f(3) = 3
f(4) = 4

當然，如果知道數列的「背景」，比方說：已知以下數列是等差數列，那麼第 5 項是什麼：

1,2,3,4,…

我們才敢說：1,2,3,4 之後是 5。

昨天和科主任討論到如何教授 function 的概念：domain 和 largest domain，equality of functions 等…對於剛由中三升高中一的同學，好像有點無從入手之感（是我想得太多嗎？）。在 2005 年的初中數學老師訓練中，討論過把中六七才教的函數概念，教授中一同學的情況（當時，我的難點是：constant function，random function 等），嗯，都是有實戰經驗再說。

順帶一問，書中有一道題：

＂It is given that the term of a sequence is , where . Consider treating as a function of , write down its domain.＂

大家覺得怎樣？

話說回來，有些初中學生確實可以吸收更多數學知識，那就可以讓他們發掘更多。

數學建模和數學科展，在國內和台灣歷史悠久，累積不少資源，同學有興趣可以找找看。

以前聽聞有關數學建模比賽，參與的都是大專生；我孤陋寡聞，現在才知道連初中一年級也有數學建模比賽，參考

2009 中國青少年數學論壇(香港區)「數學建模小論文比賽」獲獎名單

網頁下方有 2008 年數學建模小論文評選活動獲獎作品展示：

《買賣基金中的奧祕》
《計程車司機如何維持生計》

文章作者都是初中同學。看到他們懂「算幾不等式」，並不奇怪。

另外，部分恆隆數學獎的參賽同學（中學生），其數學知識也有研究生的水平。

以下是一群高中學生集體管理的數學網誌，源起是麻省理工學院召集一群高中學生參與的科研工作（參考 http://web.mit.edu/rsi/www/）

http://deltaepsilons.wordpress.com/

他們寫的東西，我只能放在 “to study list” 內了，比如下篇由其中一名高中生 Akhil Mathew 寫的：Grothendieck Groups and the Eilenberg Swindle

http://deltaepsilons.wordpress.com/2009/07/12/grothendieck-groups-and-the-eilenberg-swindle/

是專門的。

“…write this post partially to help myself understand it better” 這是不錯的方法，同學，你又會嘗試透過把學到的知識（透過網誌或其他）詳細寫下來，從而可以幫助自己明白更多？

近日高錕教授奪得諾貝爾物理學獎的消息，或可刺激一下港人對科研的「與趣」，但，有志的同學，希望大家抓緊這個容易冷卻下來的熱情，把握學習機會，不純以功利心態，認真對待學問。（係老套 D，但認真的。）

also read the (old) news about ISEF 2009
http://www.intel.com/pressroom/kits/events/isef2009/
http://www.oc.com.tw/readvarticlen.asp?id=15721

The Educational Outreach programs of the National Space Society of Phoenix and the Planetary Society participated in today’s The World At Night exhibition at Christown Mall in Phoenix.

Between 1,000 and 1,500 children and parents stopped by between 10 AM and 3 PM to ask questions, collect trading cards, copies of the Ad Astra magazine, coloring sheets, stickers, decals, bookmarks, photographs and fact sheets from the members. Activities included making soda straw rockets and mission patches. Around a hundred soda straw rockets were built and launched.

The Challenger Space Center in Peoria brought out their Liquid Nitrogen demonstrations, the Dry Ice Comet, Freeze Dried Ice Cream and the Space Helmet Activity.

The Arizona State University School of Earth and Space Exploration put on some captivating exhibits including the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera results from the spacecraft currently orbiting the Moon, and information on Mars, Robotics and Meteorites.

Hard At Work

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Exhibit

難以轉化

校長隨便抽問我校兩名教師楷模：CC 老師和程 sir，結果是大部份 checklist 的細項，他們也做得很好，叫我羨慕不已。

A recent report had a lot to say on strategy, always the subject of much debate and confusion. On page 12 it includes a Top Ten Pitfalls list:

1. Failure to recognize or take seriously the scarcity of resources.
2. Mistaking strategic goals for strategy.
3. Failure to recognize or state the strategic problem.
4. Choosing poor or unattainable strategic goals.
5. Not defining the strategic challenge competitively.
6. Making false presumptions about one’s own competence or the likely causal linkages
   between one’s strategy and one’s goals.
7. Insufficient focus on strategy due to such things as trying to satisfy too many different
   stakeholders or bureaucratic processes.
8. Inaccurately determining one’s areas of comparative advantage relative to the opposition.
9. Failure to realize that few individuals possess the cognitive skills and mindset to be
   competent strategists.
10. Failure to understand the adversary.

A lot can be said about how we strategize. I’m pretty confused as to why the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) might well come out after the President’s new National Security Strategy. I’m sure there is some exchange going on between the two efforts, but there is no formal linkage or flow.  A lot can be said for a prescribed timeline that forces long view thinking and actions to flow from them. Furthermore, this shouldn’t just be a DoD thing but an interagency mandate, promoting a whole of government approach. With the State Department conducting its own QDResque, Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR), this is encouraging. Overall, I wish it was tied to appropriations, forcing the power of the purse to think more strategically.

Three points on number 9 though. First, number 9 makes me think of Ender’s Game, where prodigies in strategic thought are chosen at an early age to fight in a war. How do you even measure this? Second, while the government should try and get the “best and the brightest” it should also remember that being a democracy means politicians, who haven’t always had the best long view, will be the deciders. Any system in place should always factor that in. Third, my use of “best and the brightest” is deliberate, the smartest people in the room often have the worst ideas.

Now that big action drama Iris is about to premiere, here’s a look at Kim Tae-hee in new stills from the spy show, where she plays the country’s top profiler. As a member of the NSS (the national security agency), she develops romantic storylines with two of her colleagues, played by Lee Byung-heon and Jung Jun-ho. Actress Kim So-yeon rounds out the main love rectangle as a fellow spy.

This is Kim Tae-hee’s first drama in five years; after her 2004 series Love Story in Harvard, she attempted a jump to film with movies like The Restless and Venus and Mars, but both were flops and she was generally panned for the role. Now two years since her last screen performance, hopefully she has better luck here as part of a very solid ensemble cast; aside from Lee Byung-heon and Jung Jun-ho, it also includes Kim Seung-woo and TOP.

Iris is planned for 20 episodes with a budget of approximately 20 billion won, and premieres on KBS in October.

source: joy news
Translations: dramabeans

Sebelum cerita… keknya lebih becik kalo foto nampang dulu…

Oke itu foto utamanya… tampang-tampang aib, jadul namun bagus bin gemagus yang biasanya mecucu di kantor meratapi layar monitor dan setumpuk kertas dan urek-urekan laporan… terutama yang pojok kanan sendiri ituh… yang hobinya nanyain “sat? udah sat?” 15 kali sehari setiap pagi… tapi kali ini beda karna bisa sedikit sumringah dan jumawa… mengapa?

KARENA PADA TANGGAL… AS MBUH LUPA… SEABREG-ABREG STAFF FINANCE DAN FINANCE ABAL-ABAL TELAH SUKSES MENDATANGKAN KERUSUHAN DI SARANA OUTBOND TREE TOP KOPENG!

*FINANCE ABAL-ABAL merujuk pada Ige dan Luki yang ngga jelas divisi finance ngurusin apa dan gw sendiri divisi IT yang secara semena-mena di masukin ke finance…

Apa yang bisa kita jumpai di Tree Top kopeng ini? Yah secara overall ini adalah sarana outbond… ada menek-menek pohon… titian tali… ngglayut ala tarzan… bergaya spiderman sampe flying fox…

Sebelum menikmati semua itu… kita di bagi kedalam kelompok-kelompok tertentu ber-15-an kalo ga salah ingat… lalu kita di saingkan dengan yang lain… persaingan ini macem-macem tapi semuanya itu cuman bersifat permainan dan hura-hura…

Inti dari outbond ini adalah soal kerjasama dan kebersamaan… supaya susah senang di pikul bersama… misalnya saat laporan belom selesai di proses supaya yang pojok kanan itu ngga nanyain terus sampe 15 kali… *sumpel Citra pake bantal…

Oh ya ini juga sebagai outbond pertama ku sejak gabung di keluarga besar Nusantara Sakti… moga-moga besok-besok masih ada outbond lagi… padahal kmaren swaktu ndaftar sempet ogah-ogah-an… emang pertama karna waktunya mepet dan lagi engga mood aja… tapi berkat ketangkasan dan kelincihan marketingnya… Bu Woro… yang berhasil memaksa sambil nyengkiwing meyakinkan aku… maka akhirnya ayuk aja deh… toh ga rugi…

Yah semoga anak lantai 3 makin kompak aja deh! Hahahaha!

Postingan terkait: http://satrioaja.blogdetik.com/2009/09/14/buber-asmbuh/

Sunday Times League Table is now out

The 2010 Sunday Times Good University Guide. Change at the top but not really “a year of upheaval” as billed:

1. Oxford (2)
2. Cambridge (1)
3. Imperial (3)
4. UCL (6)
5. St Andrews (5)
6. Warwick (7)
7. Durham (8)
8. York (9)
9. LSE (4)
10. Bristol (16)
11. Bath (10)
12. Southampton (12)
13. King’s College London (17)
14. Nottingham (13)
15= Edinburgh (15)
15= Loughborough (11)
17. Exeter (14)
18. Sheffield (19)
19. Lancaster (20)
20= Leicester (18)
20= Birmingham

The University of Oxford is on something of a winning streak. After a second successive victory over Cambridge in the boat race this year, the university has now knocked its light-blue rival off the top of The Sunday Times university league table for the first time.

This feat, after 11 years in second place, earns Oxford The Sunday Times University of the Year award. It edged narrowly ahead of its principal British rival in a year of upheaval in our league table, prompted by the first research assessments in seven years and the move to measuring teaching quality primarily by levels of student satisfaction expressed through the annual national student survey (NSS).

Not really a huge change to the table since last year apart from the diversion of a bit of a boat race going on at the top. Although new NSS scores and 2008 RAE do figure they don’t seem to have made a big difference. The numbers involved in the survey of Heads and peers, which results in one indicator, aren’t obviously identified.

During the first NSS mathematics lesson in F.4D, I gave my students a piece of worksheet for practicing simple algebraic computation. (Well, I could collect money during the time when they were doing classwork)

Not bad, right? some students had done PRE-LESSON PREPARATION already, not need to USE teaching schedule to force them to do so..hopefully…

New Star Soccer 3 futbolcu olma hayallerinizi sanal dünyaya taşıyor. Oyuna 17 yaşında bir futbolcu olaraka başlıyorsunuz kendinize bir takım seçiyorsunuz ve o takımın seçmelerine katılıp başarılı olursanız sizi takıma alıyorlar ve maçlara çıkmamaya başlıyorsunuz.Grafik açısından kötü bir oyun olsada oynaması çok zevki bir oyun tüm futbol tutkunlarına öneririz.

Oyunda 10 maç yaptıktan sonra sizden serial code isteyecek biz de size serial code ve oyunu veriyoruz :

oyunu indirmek için tıklayın

rar şifresi: cswi

Türkçe yama isterseniz

Türkçe yama yüklenmesi sırasında şifre isterse: socceroyun.net

Chenga 2

Click more for the rest.

Chenga 57

Chenga 2 Photos
Chenga 57 Photos

RideNSS Tour Videos

Previously:
RideNSS @ Ollie’s and The Flow Update