• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.103-121
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• 2017

Taxicab geometry was a typical non-Euclid geometry for mathematically gifted. Most educational material related quadratic curves on taxicab geometry for mathematically gifted served them to inquire the graph of the curves defined by focis and constant. In this study, we provide a shape of quadratic curves on taxicab geometry by applying three definitions(geometric algebraic definition, eccentricity definition, conic section definition).

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.83 no.1
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• pp.1-17
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• 2022

The static design approach in the current code implies that the inherent torsional moment represents the state of zero inertial torsional moments at the center of mass (CM). However, both experimental and analytical results prove the existence of a large amount of the inertial torsional moment at the CM. Also, the definition of eccentricity by engineers, which is referred to as the resistance eccentricity, is defined as the distance between the center of mass and the center of resistance, which is conceptually different from the static eccentricity in the current codes, defined as the arm length about the center of rotation. The difference in the definitions of eccentricity should be made clear to avoid confusion about the torsion design. This study proposed prediction equations as a function of resistance eccentricity based on a resistance eccentricity model with advantages of (1) the recognition of the existence of torsional moment at the CM, (2) the avoidance of the confusion by using resistance eccentricity instead of the design eccentricity, and (3) a clear relationship of applied inertial forces at the CM and resisting forces. These predictions are compared with the seismic responses obtained from time-history analyses of a five-story building structure under moderate and severe earthquakes. Then, the trend of the resistance eccentricity corresponding to the maximum edge drift is investigated for elastic and inelastic responses. The comparison given in this study shows that these prediction equations can serve as a useful reference for the prediction in both the elastic and the inelastic ranges.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.59-77
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• 2020

The code static eccentricity model for elastic torsional design of structures has two critical shortcomings: (1) the negation of the inertial torsional moment at the center of mass (CM), particularly for torsionally-unbalanced (TU) building structures, and (2) the confusion caused by the discrepancy in the definition of the design eccentricity in codes and the resistance eccentricity commonly used by engineers such as in FEMA454. To overcome these shortcomings, using the resistance eccentricity model that can accommodate the inertial torsional moment at the CM, interactive relations between shear and torsion are proposed as follows: (1) elastic responses of structures at instants of peak edge-frame drifts are given as functions of resistance eccentricity, and (2) elastic hysteretic relationships between shear and torsion in forces and deformations are bounded by ellipsoids constructed using two adjacent dominant modes. Comparison of demands estimated using these two interactive relations with those from shake-table tests of two TU building structures (a 1:5-scale five-story reinforced concrete (RC) building model and a 1:12-scale 17-story RC building model) under the service level earthquake (SLE) show that these relations match experimental results of models reasonably well. Concepts proposed in this study enable engineers to not only visualize the overall picture of torsional behavior including the relationship between shear and torsion with the range of forces and deformations, but also pinpoint easily the information about critical responses of structures such as the maximum edge-frame drifts and the corresponding shear force and torsion moment with the eccentricity.

• School Mathematics
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.995-1013
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• 2013

The purpose of this paper was to investigate mathematics teachers' mathematical content knowledge about quadratic curves. Three components of mathematical knowledge are needed for teaching: (i) knowing school mathematics, (ii) knowing process of school mathematics, (iii) making connections between school mathematics and advanced mathematics. 24 mathematics teachers were asked to perform 10 questions based on mathematics curriculum. The results showed that mathematics teachers had some difficulties in conic section definitions and eccentricity definitions of ellipse and hyperbola. And they also got difficulty in Dandellin sphere proof of the equivalence of conic section definitions and quadratic curve definitions. Especially, no one answered correctly to the question about the definition of eccentricity. The ratio of correct answer for the question about constructing tangent lines of quadratic curves is less than that for the question about the applications of the properties of tangent lines. These findings suggests that it is needed that to provide plenty of opportunities to learn mathematical content knowledge in teacher education programs.

• English & American cultural studies
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.209-230
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• 2010

This paper reads Tristram Shandy around the issue of hobbyhorse, Sterne's main contribution to novelistic techniques as well as his insightful understanding of the modern condition. First, Sterne represents his characters according to the principle of hobbyhorse, declaring "I will draw my uncle Toby's character from his HOBBY-HORSE." Gradually distancing himself from the Juvenalian satiric mode as well as Henry Fielding's grand narrative and Samuel Richardson's psychological realism, as is seen in the early episode of Yorick's death, Sterne suggests that the best way to represent his characters lies in describing their hobbyhorses. Sterne's foregrounding of hobbyhorse is linked with his embrace of madness as part of the modern identity. He accepts that hobbyhorse-riding, a quirky and mad habit of mind or behavior, is indispensable for some people, like Uncle Toby, to survive and get along with their otherwise unbearable lives. Uncle Toby's hobbyhorse of waging mock battles in the bowling green saves him from the perplexing real world of language and sexuality, while the fictionality of his hobbyhorsical world is exposed by Widow Wadman. Since a hobbyhorse is by definition a world of private pleasure and eccentricity, sentimentalism comes along to bridge the two virtually incommensurable hobbyhorsical world in place of linguistic communication. Yet if Tristram Shandy fully stages sentimentalism, a cardinal part of hobbyhorse riding, it also offers an awareness of it, which is a significant development in the cult of sentimentalism in the eighteenth century. Tristram Shandy performs a version of sentimental journey where each character rides his hobbyhorse and the reader is invited to ride his/her own hobbyhorse.