9:50 Opening & welcome: Professor Jim Pratley (R208 LU1)

Session 1 - Chair Bernard Ellem

10:00 Mike Osborne - Large Systems of DE's

10:25 Irfan Altas - Data Mining

10:50 Morning Tea

Session 2 – Chair Markus Hegland

11:10 Joe Gani - Stylometry: Quantitative methods in Literature

11:35 Geoff Aldis and Rodney Weber – Ultrasound and Bushfires

12:00 Andy Close – Water and Irrigation Issues

12:30 Lunch in Staff Club

Session 3 – Chair Irfan Altas

1:30 Nigel Brito - Changes required in the teaching and assessment practice of mathematics teachers, with the implementation of the New HSC

1:55 Geoff Aldis - Linux for Teachers

2:20 John Louis - Mathematics Teaching: Distance Education Techniques & Maple

2:45 ANZIAM ACT Branch AGM

3:00 Winery Tour & Tasting

5:00 BBQ at Winery
 
 

Title: Large Systems of DE’s

Speaker: Mike Osborne, School of Mathematical Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200

Speaker: Irfan Altas, School of Information Studies, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga,2678

Data Mining draws on many technologies to deliver novel and actionable discoveries from very large collections of data. The goal of data mining is to produce new knowledge that helps the user in decision making. A data mining model can generally be categorised as one of six types: classification, regression, time series, clustering, association analysis and sequence discovery. Classification, regression and time series models are the primary predictive modelling tools. Clustering, association analysis and sequence discovery models are useful to describe some behaviours that exist in database. Classification and regression are the most common types of data mining models.

In this talk, we present some parallel scalable algorithms for high dimensional predictive data mining modelling and surface fitting. These algorithms can be classified as multi-variate regression models based on techniques like finite elements, thin plate splines and additive models. They consist of two phases: First, data is read from secondary storage and a linear system is assembled. Secondly, the linear system is solved. The assembly can be done with almost no communication and the size of the linear system is independent of the data size. Thus, the presented algorithms are both scalable with the data size and the number of processors.
 
 

Title: Stylometry: Quantitative methods in Literature

Speaker: Joe Gani, School of Mathematical Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200

Quantitative methods have been used in literature to attribute authorship, compile dictionaries and date literary texts. We outline the history of such quantitative studies, and discuss a few stochastic models designed to estimate the size of an author's vocabulary. These methods are applied to the authentication of the poem discovered in 1985 by G. Taylor in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, and attributed to Shakespeare.
 
 

Title: Mathematics of Ultrasound

Speaker: Geoff Aldis, Mathematics and Statistics, ADFA

Clinical ultrasound is a fascinating example of the way mathematics underlies modern technology. It could be used as an open-ended case study for student exploration. In this talk I will explain `mathematically' why an ultrasound beam can give detailed images, such as the familiar foetus in womb pictures. We will also look at some artefacts in ultrasound images and how mathematics can predict their presence and their severity.

Ultrasound imaging can exploit the Doppler effect to visualise blood flowing in vessels, and examples will be shown. The more one explores ultrasound the wider the range of applications becomes. A brief treatment of lithotripsy (shattering kidney stones), sonoluminescence, nebulisers and the ultrasonic welding of metals and plastics will also be given.
 
 

Title: Changes required in the teaching and assessment practice of mathematics teachers, with the implementation of the New HSC

Speaker: Nigel Brito, Mathematics Consultant, R/Senior Adviser, Research and Evaluation School Assessment and Reporting Unit, NSW Department of Education and Training, Block C, 3A Smalls Road

This talk will focus on the General Mathematics course implementation in 2000. The presentation will examine the different approaches required by teachers to effectively assess and teach mathematics to students under the New HSC framework. The presentation will look at the applied nature of the course and the integration of technology into mathematics.
 
 

Title: Bushfires: Causes and Effects

Speaker: Rodney Weber, School of Mathematics and Statistics, UNSW at ADFA, Canberra ACT 2600

Understanding the initiation, spread and effects of bushfires is of considerable international interest. This presentation will put some of the issues into perspective, including the main sources of ignition, some models of the spread and predicting the effects on plants.
 
 

Title: Linux for Teachers

Speaker: Geoff Aldis, Mathematics and Statistics, ADFA

There are a number of reasons for the recent rise in popularity of Linux (the PC version of Unix). First, it is free. A user can buy a full boxed set of Linux with manuals for under \$100. That person is free to put Linux up on as many PCs as they wish, lend the Linux CDs to their friends and so on. Second, recent distributions of Linux are easy to install and the desktop environment they provide is of a high quality. For those users who don't know Unix, almost everything can be controlled with a mouse and through menus. Third, PCs can be easily set up as `dual-boot'. With the current popular hard disks (13Gb to 20Gb), there is no problem fitting both Microsoft Windows and Linux on a PC. A 2Gb partition would fit Linux and a lot of useful packages. Fourth, Linux (and Unix systems) are not plagued by computer viruses. Fifth, most Linux distributions include a huge range of (free) software.

In this talk I want to delve into the Aladdin's cave of software that comes with SuSE Linux. Of particular interest to mathematics teachers should be xmupad and scilab (functionally similar to Maple and Matlab). Star Office (similar to MS-Office), gimp (similar to Adobe Photoshop), and the suite of compilers apply also to a wider group of teachers. Linux now offers quality software at almost zero cost. It could enable a school to save significantly on software, particularly with computer laboratory groups. One obstacle to Linux's acceptance is the shortage of staff familiar with it. However Linux is now so easy to set up in a dual-boot mode with Windows that staff can safely try it out.

A large number of Linux distributions are currently on sale. Essentially these all run the s ame Linux kernel, but they differ in the choice of packages (programs) bundled in, and in how some of the system administration tools are customised. Most distributions handle packages in an rpm (RedHat package manager) format. This means a user can easily delete or update packages, or download new packages from the internet. Installation and configuration of packages is simple with the rpm management tools.
 
 

Title: Mathematics Teaching: Distance Education Techniques & Maple

Speaker: John Louis, School of Information Studies, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga,2650

The rapid changes in computing technology over the past two decades have lead to a significant revolution in the tools available for both practicing and teaching mathematics. Significant among these changes has been the advent of cheap electronic calculators, the availability of powerful symbolic algebra, programming & visualisation environments such as Maple6 and Mathematica and, of course, the development of the Internet into a potentially significant communications media for educational purposes.

This talk outlines the experiences of the mathematics department at Charles Sturt University in integrating Maple6 into the undergraduate mathematics curriculum and of the challenges faced in adapting a text oriented web environment to support online teaching of courses with significant mathematics and other technical content.
 
 

Title: Discrete Dynamics: A 3-week Course at ADFA

Speaker: Harvinder Sidhu, School of Mathematics and Statistics, UNSW at ADFA, Canberra ACT 2600

This course was presented to all First Year Undergraduate Science and Engineering students at the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA). In my talk, I will outline our reasons for having such a course, the content matter and the role of the graphics calculator in this course.