This book addresses interconnections between contemporary advances in mathematics, especially algebra, with applications in the social sciences and the arts. It promotes the idea that knowledge cannot remain in disciplinary silos, rather, it belongs to all people, and is dedicated to associative relationships in a variety of mathematics applications, from sociology to linguistics, including anthropology, semiotics, education, and cognitive science. Contributions illuminate some of the ways in which algebra is developed, learned, understood, communicated, and applied in the social sciences and the humanities. The content in this book has its origins in a conference, Mathematics for Social Sciences and Arts–Algebraic Modelling, virtually hosted by the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Niš, Serbia, from the 24th to the 26th of May, 2021. This conference brought together scholars from various disciplines and geographic regions and focused on the juxtaposition of algebra and social science applications. The conference organizers, higher education institutes from four different continents, invited leading scientists in social sciences and algebra, to contribute to this volume. The first part of this book addresses algebraic and mathematical thinking, specifically learning and practicing mathematics from a cognitive science perspective, as well as illustrative applications to distinctly human concerns, like education and semiotics. The second part focuses on algebraic semigroups and some of their generalizations. This book and the conference that engendered it provide an example of a fruitful collaboration, in which the skills and deep knowledge of algebraic structures, modeling, social sciences and arts brought in by the authors from different countries and continents merge in harmonious ways. These expositions are a rich resource and are of interest both to mathematicians and non-mathematicians.

This first book in the series will describe the Net Generation as visual learners who thrive when surrounded with new technologies and whose needs can be met with the technological innovations. These new learners seek novel ways of studying, such as collaborating with peers, multitasking, as well as use of multimedia, the Internet, and other Information and Communication Technologies. Here we present mathematics as a contemporary subject that is engaging, exciting and enlightening in new ways. For example, in the distributed environment of cyber space, mathematics learners play games, watch presentations on YouTube, create Java applets of mathematics simulations and exchange thoughts over the Instant Messaging tool. How should mathematics education resonate with these learners and technological novelties that excite them?

This book brings together ideas from experts in cognitive science, mathematics, and mathematics education to discuss these issues and to present research on how mathematics and its learning and teaching are evolving in the Information Age. Given the ever-broadening trends in Artificial Intelligence and the processing of information generally, the aim is to assess their implications for how math is evolving and how math should now be taught to a generation that has been reared in the Information Age. It will also look at the ever-spreading assumption that human intelligence may not be unique-an idea that dovetails with current philosophies of mind such as posthumanism and transhumanism. The role of technology in human evolution has become critical in the contemporary world. Therefore, a subgoal of this book is to illuminate how humans now use their sophisticated technologies to chart cognitive and social progress. Given the interdisciplinary nature of the chapters, this will be of interest to all kinds of readers, from mathematicians themselves working increasingly with computer scientists, to cognitive scientists who carry out research on mathematics cognition and teachers of mathematics in a classroom.

This book brings together researchers from Israel and Canada to discuss the challenges today's teachers and teacher-educators face in their practice. There is a growing expectation that the 21st century STEM teachers re-examine their teaching philosophies and adjust their practices to reflect the increasing role of digital technologies. This expectation presents a significant challenge to teachers, who are often asked to implement novel technology-rich pedagogies they did not have a chance to experience as students or become comfortable with. To exacerbate this challenge, the 21st century teachers function not only in a frequently-changing educational reality manifested by continuous reforms, but are also bombarded by often contradictory and competing demands from the legislators, administrators, parents, and students. How do we break the vicious circle of reforms and support STEM teachers in making a real change in student learning? This book is unique for at least three reasons. First, it showcases research situated in Israel and Canada that examines the challenges today's teachers and teacher-educators face in their practice. While the governments of both countries emphasize STEM education, their approaches are different and thus provide for interesting comparisons. Second, in addition to including research-based chapters, prominent scholars discuss the contributions in each of the book sections, problematizing the issues from a global perspective. Third, technology has a potential to empower teachers in this era of change, and this book provides the unique insights from each country, while allowing for comparisons, discussing solutions, and asking new questions. This book will be of interest to all involved in STEM teacher education programs or graduate programs in education, as well as to educational administrators interested in implementing technology in their schools.