Proposals
Below are some proposals for talks from the past (and current). By clicking on the ID number, more details are shown. By default, these are sorted chronologically (recent first) and by then by last name. The data can be sorted by alternate means by using the links at the top right, each allowing ascending or descending orders.
Displaying 161-180 of 471 results.
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ID:
242
Year: 2008
Name: Palle Jorgensen
Institution: University of Iowa
Subject area(s): Analysis
Title of Talk: Matrix functions
Abstract: When I was little my father, for reasons unbeknownst to me, told me about low-pass and high-pass filters. He was a telephone engineer and worked on filters in signal processing. The 'high' and 'low' part of the story refers to frequency bands. Not that this meant much to me at the time. Rather, I was fascinated by the pictures of filter designs in the EE journals stacked up on the floor. And it was only many years later I came across this stuff in mathematics: quadrature mirror filters and all that; yet the visual impression still lingered. The talk will cover some of this math, especially wavelets: Subband filters define operators in Hilbert space which satisfy all kinds of abstract relations, and they are terribly useful. They are used in math and in signal processing. Matrix functions from math are called poly-phase matrices by engineers, and they are scattering matrices in other circles, and quantum gates in physics. In fact a lot of the things we do in math are known and used in other fields, but under different names, and known in different ways.
Year: 2008
Name: Palle Jorgensen
Institution: University of Iowa
Subject area(s): Analysis
Title of Talk: Matrix functions
Abstract: When I was little my father, for reasons unbeknownst to me, told me about low-pass and high-pass filters. He was a telephone engineer and worked on filters in signal processing. The 'high' and 'low' part of the story refers to frequency bands. Not that this meant much to me at the time. Rather, I was fascinated by the pictures of filter designs in the EE journals stacked up on the floor. And it was only many years later I came across this stuff in mathematics: quadrature mirror filters and all that; yet the visual impression still lingered. The talk will cover some of this math, especially wavelets: Subband filters define operators in Hilbert space which satisfy all kinds of abstract relations, and they are terribly useful. They are used in math and in signal processing. Matrix functions from math are called poly-phase matrices by engineers, and they are scattering matrices in other circles, and quantum gates in physics. In fact a lot of the things we do in math are known and used in other fields, but under different names, and known in different ways.
ID:
243
Year: 2008
Name: Monica Meissen
Institution: Clarke College
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: Using Artificial Intelligence in the Teaching of Algebra and Precalculus
Abstract: Clarke College has been using software developed by Hawkes Learning to teach their Elementary Algebra, Intermediate Algebra and Precalculus courses with great success, especially during the current academic year. In addition to giving a demonstration of the software, Monica will describe how using Hawkes' products has helped with student placement and success in the classroom.
Year: 2008
Name: Monica Meissen
Institution: Clarke College
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: Using Artificial Intelligence in the Teaching of Algebra and Precalculus
Abstract: Clarke College has been using software developed by Hawkes Learning to teach their Elementary Algebra, Intermediate Algebra and Precalculus courses with great success, especially during the current academic year. In addition to giving a demonstration of the software, Monica will describe how using Hawkes' products has helped with student placement and success in the classroom.
ID:
244
Year: 2008
Name: Elgin Johnston
Institution: Iowa State University
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: Running a Math Circle
Abstract: For the last ten years I have been running a Math Circle for local middle and high school students. I will talk a little about the organization of the circle, how the circle is conducted, and about the mathematics we investigate.
Year: 2008
Name: Elgin Johnston
Institution: Iowa State University
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: Running a Math Circle
Abstract: For the last ten years I have been running a Math Circle for local middle and high school students. I will talk a little about the organization of the circle, how the circle is conducted, and about the mathematics we investigate.
ID:
245
Year: 2008
Name: Patsy Fagan
Institution: Drake University
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: Activities to Nspire College Algebra and Calculus
Abstract: This hands-on workshop will present activities for a College Algebra and Calculus class. This is for the novice user of the TI-Nspire CAS handheld.
Year: 2008
Name: Patsy Fagan
Institution: Drake University
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: Activities to Nspire College Algebra and Calculus
Abstract: This hands-on workshop will present activities for a College Algebra and Calculus class. This is for the novice user of the TI-Nspire CAS handheld.
ID:
246
Year: 2008
Name: Patsy Fagan
Institution: Drake University
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: Activities to Nspire College Algebra and Calculus
Abstract: This hands-on workshop will present activities for a College Algebra and Calculus class. This is for the novice user of the TI-Nspire CAS handheld. This is a repeat of the earlier session.
Year: 2008
Name: Patsy Fagan
Institution: Drake University
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: Activities to Nspire College Algebra and Calculus
Abstract: This hands-on workshop will present activities for a College Algebra and Calculus class. This is for the novice user of the TI-Nspire CAS handheld. This is a repeat of the earlier session.
ID:
247
Year: 2008
Name: Carl Cowen
Institution: Indiana University--Purdue University Indianapolis
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: Connections Between Mathematics and Biology
Abstract: Dr. Rita Colwell, a research microbiologist and former Director of the National Science Foundation, regards the mathematical sciences as the backbone for US Scientific and Engineering research. Many scholars see the next few decades as a time of intensive progress in the biological sciences. Dr. Colwell sees mathematics as being an integral part of the progress in biology, not a traditional view, but a forward looking one. In this talk, Carl Cowen will outline some of the research areas in the emerging collaborations between mathematical and biological scientists. In addition, Cowen, who began his study of the mathematics of neuroscience in 2002-03 at the Mathematical Biosciences Institute at Ohio State University, and who worked in 2003-04 as a junior post-doc in the lab of Prof. Christie Sahley in the Purdue University Biology Department, will illustrate the connection between mathematics and neuroscience with a discussion of the Pulfrich phenomenon, an experiment that helps illuminate how the brain processes visual images. There are few mathematical or biological prerequisites for this discussion.
Year: 2008
Name: Carl Cowen
Institution: Indiana University--Purdue University Indianapolis
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: Connections Between Mathematics and Biology
Abstract: Dr. Rita Colwell, a research microbiologist and former Director of the National Science Foundation, regards the mathematical sciences as the backbone for US Scientific and Engineering research. Many scholars see the next few decades as a time of intensive progress in the biological sciences. Dr. Colwell sees mathematics as being an integral part of the progress in biology, not a traditional view, but a forward looking one. In this talk, Carl Cowen will outline some of the research areas in the emerging collaborations between mathematical and biological scientists. In addition, Cowen, who began his study of the mathematics of neuroscience in 2002-03 at the Mathematical Biosciences Institute at Ohio State University, and who worked in 2003-04 as a junior post-doc in the lab of Prof. Christie Sahley in the Purdue University Biology Department, will illustrate the connection between mathematics and neuroscience with a discussion of the Pulfrich phenomenon, an experiment that helps illuminate how the brain processes visual images. There are few mathematical or biological prerequisites for this discussion.
ID:
248
Year: 2008
Name: Carl Cowen
Institution: Indiana University--Purdue University Indianapolis
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: Rearranging the Alternating Harmonic Series
Abstract: The commutative property of addition is so familiar to all of us as school children that it comes as a shock to those studying college level mathematics that NOT all 'natural extensions' of the law are true! One of the first instances that we see the failure of an extended commutative law of addition is in infinite series. Often in the introduction to infinite series in calculus, one sees Riemann's Theorem: A conditionally convergent series can be rearranged to sum to any number. Unfortunately, the usual proof of this theorem does not indicate what the sum of a given rearrangement is. In this talk, we will examine the best known conditionally convergent series, the alternating harmonic series, and show how to find the sum of any rearrangement in which the positive terms and the negative terms are each in their usual order.
Year: 2008
Name: Carl Cowen
Institution: Indiana University--Purdue University Indianapolis
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: Rearranging the Alternating Harmonic Series
Abstract: The commutative property of addition is so familiar to all of us as school children that it comes as a shock to those studying college level mathematics that NOT all 'natural extensions' of the law are true! One of the first instances that we see the failure of an extended commutative law of addition is in infinite series. Often in the introduction to infinite series in calculus, one sees Riemann's Theorem: A conditionally convergent series can be rearranged to sum to any number. Unfortunately, the usual proof of this theorem does not indicate what the sum of a given rearrangement is. In this talk, we will examine the best known conditionally convergent series, the alternating harmonic series, and show how to find the sum of any rearrangement in which the positive terms and the negative terms are each in their usual order.
ID:
256
Year: 2009
Name: Donald Peterson
Institution: Iowa State University
Subject area(s): Encryption, Number Theory
Title of Talk: The 1/P Pseudo-Random Number Generator
Abstract: Seemingly suitable for encryption, the 1/P pseudo-random number generator quickly outputs a long, well-distributed sequence of digits from a small seed. However, without any prior knowledge of the seed, it can be determined and the sequence can be predicted both forwards and backwards by careful examination of 2|P| + 1 digits of the sequence. This article examines how to develop the generator, and more importantly given a small bit of any sequence, how to predict the remaining sequence.
Year: 2009
Name: Donald Peterson
Institution: Iowa State University
Subject area(s): Encryption, Number Theory
Title of Talk: The 1/P Pseudo-Random Number Generator
Abstract: Seemingly suitable for encryption, the 1/P pseudo-random number generator quickly outputs a long, well-distributed sequence of digits from a small seed. However, without any prior knowledge of the seed, it can be determined and the sequence can be predicted both forwards and backwards by careful examination of 2|P| + 1 digits of the sequence. This article examines how to develop the generator, and more importantly given a small bit of any sequence, how to predict the remaining sequence.
ID:
257
Year: 2009
Name: Michael Hilgemann
Institution: Iowa State University
Subject area(s): Algebra
Title of Talk: The classification of finite-dimensional Hopf algebras
Abstract: Hopf algebras can be considered generalizations of groups, and group algebras are basic examples of such objects. In recent years there have been developments in the classification of finite-dimensional Hopf algebras over an algebraically closed field of characteristic 0, which include many examples which are neither group algebras nor the linear dual of group algebras. In this talk, we will highlight these classification results and some of the useful properties that general finite-dimensional Hopf algebras share with finite group algebras. In particular, we will discuss recent joint work with Richard Ng that completes the classification of Hopf algebras of dimension 2p^2, for p an odd prime.
Year: 2009
Name: Michael Hilgemann
Institution: Iowa State University
Subject area(s): Algebra
Title of Talk: The classification of finite-dimensional Hopf algebras
Abstract: Hopf algebras can be considered generalizations of groups, and group algebras are basic examples of such objects. In recent years there have been developments in the classification of finite-dimensional Hopf algebras over an algebraically closed field of characteristic 0, which include many examples which are neither group algebras nor the linear dual of group algebras. In this talk, we will highlight these classification results and some of the useful properties that general finite-dimensional Hopf algebras share with finite group algebras. In particular, we will discuss recent joint work with Richard Ng that completes the classification of Hopf algebras of dimension 2p^2, for p an odd prime.
ID:
258
Year: 2009
Name: Eugene Herman
Institution: Grinnell College
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: Hankel Operators and Combinatorial Identities
Abstract: We show that every bounded Hankel operator H on the Hilbert space of square-summable sequences can be factored as H = MM^*, where M maps a space of square-integrable functions to their corresponding moment sequences. By expanding these functions in a Fourier series of orthogonal polynomials, we obtain identities that connect the entries of the Hankel matrices with the orthogonal polynomials.
Year: 2009
Name: Eugene Herman
Institution: Grinnell College
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: Hankel Operators and Combinatorial Identities
Abstract: We show that every bounded Hankel operator H on the Hilbert space of square-summable sequences can be factored as H = MM^*, where M maps a space of square-integrable functions to their corresponding moment sequences. By expanding these functions in a Fourier series of orthogonal polynomials, we obtain identities that connect the entries of the Hankel matrices with the orthogonal polynomials.
ID:
259
Year: 2009
Name: Christian Roettger
Institution: Iowa State University
Subject area(s): Algebra, elementary number theory
Title of Talk: Sequences and their annihilators
Abstract: Annihilating polynomials have been widely used in geometry and to study sequences over fields and over the integers Z. We use the same simple ideas to study sequences over Z modulo n. There are surprising difficulties, surprisingly nice results and an open conjecture. We can demonstrate some applications to recurrence sequences like the Fibonacci and Lucas numbers, or discrete dynamical systems. Joint work with John Gillespie. Prerequisites: ring, ideal, quotient ring, Chinese Remainder theorem - suitable for undergraduates with a first course in algebra.
Year: 2009
Name: Christian Roettger
Institution: Iowa State University
Subject area(s): Algebra, elementary number theory
Title of Talk: Sequences and their annihilators
Abstract: Annihilating polynomials have been widely used in geometry and to study sequences over fields and over the integers Z. We use the same simple ideas to study sequences over Z modulo n. There are surprising difficulties, surprisingly nice results and an open conjecture. We can demonstrate some applications to recurrence sequences like the Fibonacci and Lucas numbers, or discrete dynamical systems. Joint work with John Gillespie. Prerequisites: ring, ideal, quotient ring, Chinese Remainder theorem - suitable for undergraduates with a first course in algebra.
ID:
260
Year: 2009
Name: Eric Errthum
Institution: Winona State University
Subject area(s): Number Theory
Title of Talk: A p-adic Euclidean Algorithm
Abstract: A brief introduction to the p-adic numbers will be given. Then a p-adic Division Algorithm and a p-adic Euclidean Algorithm will be defined in such a way that they mimic the classical algorithms. Lastly these methods are used to compute a generalized GCD and a p-adic simple continued fraction.
Year: 2009
Name: Eric Errthum
Institution: Winona State University
Subject area(s): Number Theory
Title of Talk: A p-adic Euclidean Algorithm
Abstract: A brief introduction to the p-adic numbers will be given. Then a p-adic Division Algorithm and a p-adic Euclidean Algorithm will be defined in such a way that they mimic the classical algorithms. Lastly these methods are used to compute a generalized GCD and a p-adic simple continued fraction.
ID:
261
Year: 2009
Name: Steven Dunbar
Institution: University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: MAA's American Mathematics Competitions: Easy Problems, Hard Problems, History and Outcomes
Abstract: How do you get bright students hooked on mathematics? How do you keep teachers intellectually engaged and pedagogically innovative? A proven way is to involve them both in mathematics competitions with great problems that span the curriculum. The Mathematical Association of America has continuously sponsored nationwide high-school level math contests since 1952. The sequence of contests now has 5 different contests at increasing levels of mathematical sophistication. Students who succeed at the top level on these contests become the team representing the U.S. at the annual International Mathematical Olympiad. I'll showcase some interesting, easy and hard contest problems, and a little bit of history. Along the way, I'll comment about the intersection of these contests with the school mathematics curriculum.
Year: 2009
Name: Steven Dunbar
Institution: University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: MAA's American Mathematics Competitions: Easy Problems, Hard Problems, History and Outcomes
Abstract: How do you get bright students hooked on mathematics? How do you keep teachers intellectually engaged and pedagogically innovative? A proven way is to involve them both in mathematics competitions with great problems that span the curriculum. The Mathematical Association of America has continuously sponsored nationwide high-school level math contests since 1952. The sequence of contests now has 5 different contests at increasing levels of mathematical sophistication. Students who succeed at the top level on these contests become the team representing the U.S. at the annual International Mathematical Olympiad. I'll showcase some interesting, easy and hard contest problems, and a little bit of history. Along the way, I'll comment about the intersection of these contests with the school mathematics curriculum.
ID:
262
Year: 2009
Name: Louis Kauffman
Institution: University of Illinois at Chicago
Subject area(s): MAA George Polya Lecturer
Title of Talk: Introduction to Knot Theory
Abstract: The theory of knots is a recent part of mathematics. It originated in the tabulation of tables of knots by the mathematicians Tait, Kirkman and Little in the 19th century. These tables were prepared at the behest of Lord Kelvin (Sir William Thompson) who had developed a theory that atoms were three dimensional knotted vortices in the luminiferous aether. Along with these speculations came the development of geometry and topology in the hands of Gauss, Riemann, Poincare and others. As the knotted vortex theory declined (it has never entirely disappeared!), the mathematics of topology ascended, and the theory of knots came into being as part of the study of low dimensional manifolds, using the fundamental group of Poincare and early versions of homology theory. Max Dehn used the fundamental group to show that a trefoil knot and its mirror image are topologically distinct. J. W. Alexander in the 1920's found a polynomial invariant of knots that bears his name to this day. Kurt Reidemeister, in the 1920's, discovered a set of moves on diagrams for knots that made their classification a (difficult) combinatorial problem. In the 1980's there came a rebirth of these combinatorial schemes in the discovery of the Jones polynomial invariant of knots and links (and its relatives and descendants). Along with the new combinatorial invariants came new relationships with physics and with many fields of mathematics (combinatorics, graph theory, Hopf algebras, Lie algebras, von Neumann algebras, functional integration, category theory) and new kinds of mathematics such as higher categories and categorification. This talk will discuss the history of knot theory and then it will concentrate on describing the Jones polynomial, its relationships with physics, and recent developments related to categorification.
Year: 2009
Name: Louis Kauffman
Institution: University of Illinois at Chicago
Subject area(s): MAA George Polya Lecturer
Title of Talk: Introduction to Knot Theory
Abstract: The theory of knots is a recent part of mathematics. It originated in the tabulation of tables of knots by the mathematicians Tait, Kirkman and Little in the 19th century. These tables were prepared at the behest of Lord Kelvin (Sir William Thompson) who had developed a theory that atoms were three dimensional knotted vortices in the luminiferous aether. Along with these speculations came the development of geometry and topology in the hands of Gauss, Riemann, Poincare and others. As the knotted vortex theory declined (it has never entirely disappeared!), the mathematics of topology ascended, and the theory of knots came into being as part of the study of low dimensional manifolds, using the fundamental group of Poincare and early versions of homology theory. Max Dehn used the fundamental group to show that a trefoil knot and its mirror image are topologically distinct. J. W. Alexander in the 1920's found a polynomial invariant of knots that bears his name to this day. Kurt Reidemeister, in the 1920's, discovered a set of moves on diagrams for knots that made their classification a (difficult) combinatorial problem. In the 1980's there came a rebirth of these combinatorial schemes in the discovery of the Jones polynomial invariant of knots and links (and its relatives and descendants). Along with the new combinatorial invariants came new relationships with physics and with many fields of mathematics (combinatorics, graph theory, Hopf algebras, Lie algebras, von Neumann algebras, functional integration, category theory) and new kinds of mathematics such as higher categories and categorification. This talk will discuss the history of knot theory and then it will concentrate on describing the Jones polynomial, its relationships with physics, and recent developments related to categorification.
ID:
263
Year: 2009
Name: Bridgette Stevens
Institution: University of Northern Iowa
Subject area(s): Mathematics Education
Title of Talk: Mathematics Courses for Elementary Education Majors
Abstract: At the recent IMSEP Summit for math and science educators in August, it was discussed that mathematics educators should begin a dialogue regarding a set of core competencies (content) for teaching elementary mathematics in the state of Iowa. To in part meet that need, this is a working group session in which participants will discuss a variety of issues around the mathematics courses offered for prospective elementary mathematics teachers at Iowa
Year: 2009
Name: Bridgette Stevens
Institution: University of Northern Iowa
Subject area(s): Mathematics Education
Title of Talk: Mathematics Courses for Elementary Education Majors
Abstract: At the recent IMSEP Summit for math and science educators in August, it was discussed that mathematics educators should begin a dialogue regarding a set of core competencies (content) for teaching elementary mathematics in the state of Iowa. To in part meet that need, this is a working group session in which participants will discuss a variety of issues around the mathematics courses offered for prospective elementary mathematics teachers at Iowa
ID:
264
Year: 2009
Name: Catherine Miller and Megan Balong
Institution: University of Northern Iowa
Subject area(s): Mathematics Education
Title of Talk: An overview of Mathematics in the Iowa Core Curriculum
Abstract: Information about the Iowa Core Curriculum's mathematics component will be shared. Focus will be on the grades 9-12 component as it is to be implemented in Iowa classrooms first. We will also discuss some ways in which the Iowa Core Curriculum may affect college mathematics curriculum and instruction.
Year: 2009
Name: Catherine Miller and Megan Balong
Institution: University of Northern Iowa
Subject area(s): Mathematics Education
Title of Talk: An overview of Mathematics in the Iowa Core Curriculum
Abstract: Information about the Iowa Core Curriculum's mathematics component will be shared. Focus will be on the grades 9-12 component as it is to be implemented in Iowa classrooms first. We will also discuss some ways in which the Iowa Core Curriculum may affect college mathematics curriculum and instruction.
ID:
265
Year: 2009
Name: Mariah Birgen
Institution: Wartburg College
Subject area(s): Mathematics Education
Title of Talk: Mathematics Courses for Prospective Secondary Teachers at Small Colleges
Abstract: At the recent IMSEP Summit for math and science educators in August, it was discussed that faculty should have more opportunities to share with each other what is going on in their classrooms. To in part meet that need, this is a working group session in which participants will discuss a variety of issues around the mathematics courses offered for prospective secondary mathematics teachers at small colleges . Topics may include curriculum, instruction, technology, best practices, challenges, and dilemmas.
Year: 2009
Name: Mariah Birgen
Institution: Wartburg College
Subject area(s): Mathematics Education
Title of Talk: Mathematics Courses for Prospective Secondary Teachers at Small Colleges
Abstract: At the recent IMSEP Summit for math and science educators in August, it was discussed that faculty should have more opportunities to share with each other what is going on in their classrooms. To in part meet that need, this is a working group session in which participants will discuss a variety of issues around the mathematics courses offered for prospective secondary mathematics teachers at small colleges . Topics may include curriculum, instruction, technology, best practices, challenges, and dilemmas.
ID:
266
Year: 2009
Name: Theron Hitchman
Institution: University of Northern Iowa
Subject area(s): teaching, geometry
Title of Talk: Proof in Geometry: Euclid and a Class Journal
Abstract: I'll discuss how I use Euclid as a text, and a class journal as assessment in a Euclidean Geometry course aimed at pre-service teachers.
Year: 2009
Name: Theron Hitchman
Institution: University of Northern Iowa
Subject area(s): teaching, geometry
Title of Talk: Proof in Geometry: Euclid and a Class Journal
Abstract: I'll discuss how I use Euclid as a text, and a class journal as assessment in a Euclidean Geometry course aimed at pre-service teachers.
ID:
267
Year: 2009
Name: Martha Ellen Waggoner
Institution: Simpson College
Subject area(s): Teaching
Title of Talk: Using Toilet Paper to Help Students Make Generalizations
Abstract: When students are given a specific problem to solve, they do not naturally create a general solution method that could be applied in other situations. In this presentation, I will discuss a project that I use to help students learn the value of generalization and give them an introduction to sensitivity testing. The project starts by having students find the number of sheets of paper on a specific sealed roll of toilet paper, but they must take that method and produce a formula that could find the number of sheets of paper on a general roll of perforated paper. They then test the various models created by the class for sensitivity to measurement error to find the
Year: 2009
Name: Martha Ellen Waggoner
Institution: Simpson College
Subject area(s): Teaching
Title of Talk: Using Toilet Paper to Help Students Make Generalizations
Abstract: When students are given a specific problem to solve, they do not naturally create a general solution method that could be applied in other situations. In this presentation, I will discuss a project that I use to help students learn the value of generalization and give them an introduction to sensitivity testing. The project starts by having students find the number of sheets of paper on a specific sealed roll of toilet paper, but they must take that method and produce a formula that could find the number of sheets of paper on a general roll of perforated paper. They then test the various models created by the class for sensitivity to measurement error to find the
ID:
268
Year: 2009
Name: Corey Gevaert
Institution: University of Northern Iowa
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: Isometries of a Giant Product Space
Abstract: I'll be discussing the isometries of the product space Y which is formed by an infinite amount of hyperbolic plane fibers lined up from 0 to 1. I'll be discussing how the hyperbolic isometries are carried over and the Lebesgue transformations that influence these isometries.
Year: 2009
Name: Corey Gevaert
Institution: University of Northern Iowa
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: Isometries of a Giant Product Space
Abstract: I'll be discussing the isometries of the product space Y which is formed by an infinite amount of hyperbolic plane fibers lined up from 0 to 1. I'll be discussing how the hyperbolic isometries are carried over and the Lebesgue transformations that influence these isometries.