TechAndComputer (Apr. 5, 2012) Researchers have found a way to measure the likelihood of global stock market losses by identifying periods in which shocks may be more likely to spread across many national markets.
This "fragility index" identifies periods in which international equity markets are more susceptible to widespread pull-backs by identifying common risk exposures. The index identifies when systemic risk exposure is high in markets across multiple countries, and shows an increasing probability of a global stock market draw-down.
For example, the likelihood of a global decline was one in three on days in which the index was high, but less than one in 20 following days in which the index was low.
Dave...
Mathematics
New index identifies periods when global stock markets might decline
- 05 April 2012
- Editor
Can mathematics help Usain Bolt run faster?
- 04 April 2012
- Editor
TechAndComputer (Apr. 4, 2012) Usain Bolt can achieve faster running times with no extra effort on his part or improvement to his fitness, according to a study published today in Significance, the magazine of the Royal Statistical Society and the American Statistical Association. Cambridge Professor of Mathematical Sciences John D. Barrow illustrates how, based on concrete mathematical evidence, Bolt can cut his world record from 9.58 seconds to 9.45.
Usain Bolt holds the current...
Usain Bolt holds the current...
Neural variability linked to short-term memory and decision making
- 02 April 2012
- Editor
TechAndComputer (Apr. 2, 2012) A team of University of Pittsburgh mathematicians is using computational models to better understand how the structure of neural variability relates to such functions as short-term memory and decision making. In a paper published online April 2 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the Pitt team examines how fluctuations in brain activity can impact the dynamics of cognitive tasks.
Previous recordings of neural activity...
Previous recordings of neural activity...
Physicists explain the collective motion of particles called fermions
- 29 March 2012
- Editor
TechAndComputer (Mar. 29, 2012) Some people like company. Others prefer to be alone. The same holds true for the particles that constitute the matter around us: Some, called bosons, like to act in unison with others. Others, called fermions, have a mind of their own.
Different as they are, both species can show "collective" behavior -- an effect similar to the wave at a baseball game, where all spectators carry out the same motion regardless of whether they like each...
Different as they are, both species can show "collective" behavior -- an effect similar to the wave at a baseball game, where all spectators carry out the same motion regardless of whether they like each...
Getting in rhythm helps children grasp fractions, study finds
- 22 March 2012
- Editor
TechAndComputer (Mar. 22, 2012) Tapping out a beat may help children learn difficult fraction concepts, according to new findings due to be published in the journal Educational Studies in Mathematics. An innovative curriculum uses rhythm to teach fractions at a California school where students in a music-based program scored significantly higher on math tests than their peers who received regular instruction.
"Academic Music" is a hands-on curriculum that uses music notation...
"Academic Music" is a hands-on curriculum that uses music notation...
Research examines momentum in the NFL
- 15 March 2012
- Editor
TechAndComputer (Mar. 15, 2012) New research out of the University of Cincinnati supports the argument that momentum is more like a myth in the NFL. The research by Michael J. Fry, a UC associate professor of operations and business analytics, and UC alumnus F. Alan Shukairy, who earned his master's of science in business analytics, is published in the current issue of the Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports.
The word, "momentum," is often described by coaches, players...
The word, "momentum," is often described by coaches, players...
Mathematical methods predicts movement of oil and ash following environmental disasters
- 12 March 2012
- Editor
TechAndComputer (Mar. 12, 2012) Mathematical methods help predict the movement of oil and ash following environmental disasters.
When oil started gushing into the Gulf of Mexico in late April 2010, friends asked George Haller whether he was tracking its movement. That's because the McGill engineering professor has been working for years on ways to better understand patterns in the seemingly chaotic motion of oceans and air. Meanwhile, colleagues of Josefina Olascoaga in Miami...
When oil started gushing into the Gulf of Mexico in late April 2010, friends asked George Haller whether he was tracking its movement. That's because the McGill engineering professor has been working for years on ways to better understand patterns in the seemingly chaotic motion of oceans and air. Meanwhile, colleagues of Josefina Olascoaga in Miami...
Market exchange rules responsible for wealth concentration, physicists say
- 07 March 2012
- Editor
TechAndComputer (Mar. 7, 2012) Two Brazilian physicists have shown that wealth concentration invariably stems from a particular type of market exchange rules -- where agents cannot receive more income than their own capital. The authors concluded that maximum inequalities ensue from free markets, which are governed by such seemingly fair rules.
This study, published in European Physical Journal B, was conducted by J. Roberto Iglesias and Rita de Almeida from the Brazilian...
This study, published in European Physical Journal B, was conducted by J. Roberto Iglesias and Rita de Almeida from the Brazilian...
Girls' verbal skills make them better at arithmetic, study finds
- 23 February 2012
- Editor
TechAndComputer (Feb. 23, 2012) While boys generally do better than girls in science and math, some studies have found that girls do better in arithmetic. A new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, finds that the advantage comes from girls' superior verbal skills.
"People have always thought that males' advantage is in math and spatial skills, and girls' advantage is in language," says Xinlin Zhou of Beijing Normal...
"People have always thought that males' advantage is in math and spatial skills, and girls' advantage is in language," says Xinlin Zhou of Beijing Normal...