Friday, February 26, 2010

Criminals Profile Their Targets

A variety of mathematical models have been developed to help law enforcement find lawless hotspots that can develop once a crime has happened.
This is excellent research, and it seems to me that police and other agencies could benefit from using the data.
clipped from www.nsf.gov

Researchers teamed up with the LAPD to model the math behind spikes in crime.

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Researchers teamed up with the LAPD to model the math behind spikes in crime.
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View a video showing how math modeling is used to understand crime spikes.

What causes a crime wave and what measures should law enforcement use to reduce the spread of criminal offense? Researchers at UCLA and the University of California, Irvine, who are funded by the Human and Social Dynamics program at the National Science Foundation, say they may have an answer.

Bertozzi's conclusions come from research involving a system of mathematical equations that uses empirical evidence for how repeat offenders move and mix in society, as well as how they choose their targets. She and her colleagues report their findings this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The models "provide a useful framework in which to investigate the formation of crime patterns and the impact of alternative policing strategies on crime hotspot stability,"
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Thursday, February 25, 2010

New Archetypes of Learning

This is an excellent portrayal of the new archetype of learning: student centered, team oriented and driven by real life problems or projects. This type of learning is at the far end of the Sutman scale.

Thanks to @teromakatero from my Plurk network for this link.
clipped from www.youtube.com




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Hyper Island in a Nutshell


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Monday, February 8, 2010

Join with Me Today!

The Cause by Shavar Ross
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License

While I'm not much a joiner, there are a few groups and activities that I believe deserve a multitude of participants.

If I do join a group, it's because the cause is educational and worthy in its mission. One of these is the ad hoc affiliation promoting the international blogging day, Ada Lovelace Day, Wednesday, March 24, 2010. It was initiated last year to recognize the aspirations and accomplishments of women in science, mathematics, engineering and technology.

Last year was their founding year, and I joined. I selected a young programmer, Tamsin Bowles, to honor on Ada Lovelace Day 2009. Read my Ada Lovelace Day 2009 post.

I'd like to invite you, my readers, to join me and pledge to blog for the Ada Lovelace Day 2010. It's a very simple process:
  • Go to the Finding Ada website.
  • Complete the simple pledge form.
  • Decide who you will blog about on Ada Lovelace Day 2010.
  • Blog on Ada Lovelace Day 2010, Wednesday, March 24th.
  • Link your blog post to the Finding Ada website.
  • Share your blog post on your networks.

Additional Resources:
Who is Ada Lovelace?
Finding Ada Blog
Finding Ada on Twitter
Finding Ada FaceBook Group