The London Mathematical Society (LMS) have developed a “Good Practice Scheme” which aims to help university mathematics departments “to take practical actions to improve the participation of women and to share examples of good practice with other departments.”
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MAA MathFest 2012
MathFest, the annual summer meeting of the Mathematical Association of America which “offers a substantial mathematical program that promises to be informative, inspiring, and productive”, will take place from 2nd-4th August in Madison, Wisconsin. This promises
Educational Programs, Informative Sessions, Dynamic Exhibits, Memorable Collaborations, Engaging Meetings, Special Events and Activities, Plenty of Mathematics FUN, …and Much more!
The early-bird and regular registration periods have passed, but you can still register at the slightly-increased late rate, from \$60 for graduate/undergraduate students up to \$350 for members of the MAA.
Find out more: MAA MathFest 2012.
Topology Gossip
Brubeck is a database of topological information, à la the classic Counterexamples in Topology. It contains descriptions of several important topological spaces and properties and the interrelationships between each of them.
This is quite interesting. Brubeck, by James Dabbs, is a bit like Number Gossip but for topological spaces: it presents you with a search box into which you can type a list of properties you want a topology to have or not have, and it returns a list of matches. It also automatically geenerates proofs (really simple implication trees) based on theorems it’s been told and the facts it is given about spaces, and displays its working-out graphically.
Site: Brubeck
Source: /r/math
Advisory Committee on Mathematics Education Conference 2012
The Advisory Committee on Mathematics Education Conference 2012 will take place on 10 July 2012 at the Royal Society in London.
Draft UK primary mathematics changes for consultation
The UK Government have released a draft primary school Programme of Study for mathematics for consultation.
The announcement was much covered in the press, which focused on the ‘back to basics’ approach. The Daily Mail reported that “times tables are to be put back at the heart of the curriculum for children’s first years at school for the first time in decades” with other details reported including learning how to calculate using decimal places and fractions, and dealing with numbers up to ten million.
“Collective dynamics of ‘small-world’ networks” – 10 years on
ScienceWatch has published an interview with Duncan Watts and Steve Strogatz on the decennial of the publication of their paper “Collective dynamics of ‘small-world’ networks”, which contained some counter-intuitive results about the spread of disease and sparked the development of network theory.
The interview covers what they did, what it means and what they hope will happen in the future. It’s quite interesting.
Interview: Duncan Watts & Steve Strogatz on ScienceWatch
Paper: Collective dynamics of ‘small-world’ networks (£22 to the unwashed)
Math52 reaches Kickstarter goal
Math52, a project by Mathalicious to “offer a fresh vision of what it means to teach math”, has surpassed its Kickstarter funding goal, which means that the project will receive the pledged money and can go ahead. At the time of writing, over $36,500 have been raised, well over the target of $27,000.
The aim is to “create a new video exploring a unique application of math in everyday life” each week for a year. The Kickstarter closes on Saturday the 16th of June, so there’s still time to throw some money into the pot and get what I assume is a discounted year’s subscription to all the material they produce.
Information: Math52 on Kickstarter
Source: Keith Devlin on Twitter
Previously: Math52: A Fresh Way to Teach?