Environmental Science and Research Foundation. Annual technical report, April 11, 1994--December 31, 1994

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reynolds, T.D.; Morris, R.C.; Markham, O.D. [eds.

1995-06-01

This Annual Technical Report describes work conducted for the Department of Energy, Idaho Operations Office, by the Environmental Science and Research Foundation (Foundation) for work under contract DE-AC07-94ID13268. The Foundation began, on April 11, 1994, to conduct environmental surveillance near to and distant from the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, provide environmental public relations and education related to INEL natural resource issues, and conduct ecological and radioecological research benefiting major DOE-ID programs including Waste Management, Environmental Restoration, Spent Nuclear Fuels, and Infrastructure.

The National Science Foundation and the History of Science

Science.gov (United States)

Rothenberg, Marc

2014-01-01

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is the major funder of the history of science in the United States. Between 1958 and 2010, the NSF program for the history of science has given 89 awards in the history of astronomy. This paper analyzes the award recipients and subject areas of the awards and notes significant shifts in the concentration of award recipients and the chronological focus of the research being funded.

[Applications and approved projects on traditional Chinese medicine in National Natural Science Foundation of China in 2010].

Science.gov (United States)

Shang, Hong-cai; Huang, Jin-ling; Han, Li-wei; Pei, Ling-peng; Guo, Lin; Lin, Na; Wang, Chang-en

2011-10-01

In this article, the authors firstly summarized the number of applications submitted to and projects supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) in the field of traditional Chinese medicine research in 2010. Then they described the district distribution, research direction layout and allotment of the approved projects in the three primary disciplines (traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese materia medica and integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine) and their 43 subdisciplines. The targeting suggestions for improvement were given respectively by concluding the reason of disapproved projects from the point of view of applicants and supporting institution, and by stating the common problems existing in the review process from the perspectives of fund managers and evaluation experts. Lastly, the major funding fields in the near future were predicted in the hope of providing guidance for applicants.

[Review and analysis of transplant biological research projects funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China].

Science.gov (United States)

Gong, Weihua; Sun, Ruijuan; Dong, Erdan

2015-08-01

To study the funding and achievements in the field of organ transplantation support by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC). A search of NSFC database was made by using the key word "transplantation" and excluding "bone marrow transplantation" for the projects funded between 1988 and 2013. SCI indexed publications that marked with NSFC project number were collected by searching each grant number in the database of the Web of Science. Six hundreds fifty-five projects were identified and received about 220 million yuan in grant funding. These funded research projects were distributed among 25 provinces and autonomous regions, however, which were mainly in the developed coastal areas; of them, 43 (6.56%) projects were granted in xenotransplantation and 17 projects (2.60%) were funded in the field of traditional Chinese medicine-related organ transplantation; Transplantation on blood vessels, heart, kidney, liver, lung, small intestine, pancreatic, cornea, trachea, skin, etc. were primarily performed in research. Nine hundreds and sixty-one SCI-indexed publications were achieved. Magnitude and intensity of NSFC funding, output of SCI publications have been increasing, suggesting that NSFC positively promotes the development of organ transplantation. Although a great progress of transplantation has been made, basic and translational studies should be vigorously strengthened.

[Analysis of projects of infectious disease epidemiology sponsored by National Natural Science Foundation of China].

Science.gov (United States)

Jian-Ming, Wang; Yan-Kai, Xia; Hui-Juan, Zhu; Feng, Chen; Hong-Bing, Shen

2016-05-10

To analyze the projects on the infectious disease epidemiology sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), explore the hotspot and development trend, and offer a reference for researchers in this field. Based on the NSFC database, the projects on the infectious disease epidemiology (H2609) sponsored from 1987 to 2014 were analyzed. The changes of fund numbers, amounts and research fields were described. During the study period, NSFC sponsored 373 projects, including 228 general projects (61.1%), 78 youth projects (20.9%) and 67 other projects (18.0%). The average amount of the grant was 358.2 thousand Yuan (20 thousand-8 million). The main sponsored research fields were mechanisms of pathogen and immunity (36.2%) and population-based epidemiological studies (33.0%). The top three diseases were hepatitis, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. The amount of funding on researches of infectious disease epidemiology has increased continuously, which has played an important role in training scientific talents in the field of prevention and control of infectious diseases.

Monitoring the southwestern Wyoming landscape—A foundation for management and science

Science.gov (United States)

Manier, Daniel J.; Anderson, Patrick J.; Assal, Timothy J.; Chong, Geneva W.; Melcher, Cynthia P.

2017-08-29

Natural resource monitoring involves repeated collections of resource condition data and analyses to detect possible changes and identify underlying causes of changes. For natural resource agencies, monitoring provides the foundation for management and science. Specifically, analyses of monitoring data allow managers to better understand effects of land-use and other changes on important natural resources and to achieve their conservation and management goals. Examples of natural resources monitored on public lands include wildlife habitats, plant productivity, animal movements and population trends, soil chemistry, and water quality and quantity. Broader definitions of monitoring also recognize the need for scientifically valid data to help support planning efforts and informed decisions, to develop adaptive management strategies, and to provide the means for evaluating management outcomes.

Swiss Life Sciences - a science communication project for both schools and the wider public led by the foundation Science et Cité.

Science.gov (United States)

Röthlisberger, Michael

2012-01-01

The foundation Science et Cité was founded 1998 with the aim to inform the wider Swiss public about current scientific topics and to generate a dialogue between science and society. Initiated as an independent foundation by the former State Secretary for Science and Research, Dr. Charles Kleiber, Science et Cité is now attached to the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences as a competence center for dialogue with the public. Due to its branches in all language regions of the country, the foundation is ideally suited to initiate and implement communication projects on a nationwide scale. These projects are subdivided into three categories: i) science communication for children/adolescents, ii) establishing a dialogue between science and the wider public, and iii) conducting the role of a national center of competence and networking in science communication. Swiss Life Sciences is a project that fits into all of these categories: a year-round program for schools is complemented with an annual event for the wider public. With the involvement of most of the major Swiss universities, the Swiss National Science Foundation, the foundation Gen Suisse and many other partners, Swiss Life Sciences also sets an example of national networking within the science communication community.

Logic, mathematics, and computer science modern foundations with practical applications

CERN Document Server

Nievergelt, Yves

2015-01-01

This text for the first or second year undergraduate in mathematics, logic, computer science, or social sciences, introduces the reader to logic, proofs, sets, and number theory. It also serves as an excellent independent study reference and resource for instructors. Adapted from Foundations of Logic and Mathematics: Applications to Science and Cryptography © 2002 Birkhӓuser, this second edition provides a modern introduction to the foundations of logic, mathematics, and computers science, developing the theory that demonstrates construction of all mathematics and theoretical computer science from logic and set theory.  The focus is on foundations, with specific statements of all the associated axioms and rules of logic and set theory, and  provides complete details and derivations of formal proofs. Copious references to literature that document historical development is also provided. Answers are found to many questions that usually remain unanswered: Why is the truth table for logical implication so uni...

Prototype bucket foundation for wind turbines - natural frequency estimation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ibsen, Lars Bo; Liingaard, M.

2006-12-15

The first full scale prototype bucket foundation for wind turbines has been installed in October 2002 at Aalborg University offshore test facility in Frederikshavn, Denmark. The suction caisson and the wind turbine have been equipped with an online monitoring system, consisting of 15 accelerometers and a real-time data-acquisition system. The report concerns the in service performance of the wind turbine, with focus on estimation of the natural frequencies of the structure/foundation. The natural frequencies are initially estimated by means of experimental Output-only Modal analysis. The experimental estimates are then compared with numerical simulations of the suction caisson foundation and the wind turbine. The numerical model consists of a finite element section for the wind turbine tower and nacelle. The soil-structure interaction of the soil-foundation section is modelled by lumped-parameter models capable of simulating dynamic frequency dependent behaviour of the structure-foundation system. (au)

How Multidisciplinary Are the Multidisciplinary Journals Science and Nature?

Science.gov (United States)

Solomon, Gregg E A; Carley, Stephen; Porter, Alan L

2016-01-01

Interest in cross-disciplinary research knowledge interchange runs high. Review processes at funding agencies, such as the U.S. National Science Foundation, consider plans to disseminate research across disciplinary bounds. Publication in the leading multidisciplinary journals, Nature and Science, may signify the epitome of successful interdisciplinary integration of research knowledge and cross-disciplinary dissemination of findings. But how interdisciplinary are they? The journals are multidisciplinary, but do the individual articles themselves draw upon multiple fields of knowledge and does their influence span disciplines? This research compares articles in three fields (Cell Biology, Physical Chemistry, and Cognitive Science) published in a leading disciplinary journal in each field to those published in Nature and Science. We find comparable degrees of interdisciplinary integration and only modest differences in cross-disciplinary diffusion. That said, though the rate of out-of-field diffusion might be comparable, the sheer reach of Nature and Science, indicated by their potent Journal Impact Factors, means that the diffusion of knowledge therein can far exceed that of leading disciplinary journals in some fields (such as Physical Chemistry and Cognitive Science in our samples).

Dr. William C. Harris, Director-General, Science Foundation Ireland

CERN Multimedia

Maximilien Brice

2002-01-01

Pictured with Robert Eisenstein, former assistant director for mathematical and physical sciences (MPS) at the US National Science Foundation (NSF), who is spending a year at CERN as a member of the ATLAS collaboration.

Seven propositions of the science of improvement: exploring foundations.

Science.gov (United States)

Perla, Rocco J; Provost, Lloyd P; Parry, Gareth J

2013-01-01

The phrase "Science of Improvement" or "Improvement Science" is commonly used today by a range of people and professions to mean different things, creating confusion to those trying to learn about improvement. In this article, we briefly define the concepts of improvement and science, and review the history of the consideration of "improvement" as a science. We trace key concepts and ideas in improvement to their philosophical and theoretical foundation with a focus on Deming's System of Profound Knowledge. We suggest that Deming's system has a firm association with many contemporary and historic philosophic and scientific debates and concepts. With reference to these debates and concepts, we identify 7 propositions that provide the scientific and philosophical foundation for the science of improvement. A standard view of the science of improvement does not presently exist that is grounded in the philosophical and theoretical basis of the field. The 7 propositions outlined here demonstrate the value of examining the underpinnings of improvement. This is needed to both advance the field and minimize confusion about what the phrase "science of improvement" represents. We argue that advanced scientists of improvement are those who like Deming and Shewhart can integrate ideas, concepts, and models between scientific disciplines for the purpose of developing more robust improvement models, tools, and techniques with a focus on application and problem solving in real world contexts. The epistemological foundations and theoretical basis of the science of improvement and its reasoning methods need to be critically examined to ensure its continued development and relevance. If improvement efforts and projects in health care are to be characterized under the canon of science, then health care professionals engaged in quality improvement work would benefit from a standard set of core principles, a standard lexicon, and an understanding of the evolution of the science of

Reasoning by analogy: rational foundation of natural analogue studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petit, J.-C.

1992-01-01

Long-term extrapolations concerning the safety of a nuclear waste repository cannot be satisfactorily made on the sole basis of short-term laboratory investigations. Most nuclear countries have hence developed an approach relying on the following research directions: 1. laboratory experiments; 2. in situ testing; 3. modeling; and 4. natural analogues, which are the only means by which very slow mechanisms can be identified and by which long-term predictions of models can be tested for pertinence (if not truly validated). Although the field of natural analogues has grown very rapidly in recent years, receiving support from varied specialists and institutions involved in radioactive waste disposal, there is not yet a full consensus on their actual usefulness. More problematic is the criticism sometimes made that analogical reasoning is not ''true science'' and that information retrieved from the study of natural analogues will always remain questionable. The present paper gives some clues about the exact status of reasoning by analogy, compared to more ''scientific'' ways of deriving information from investigated systems. It is not a thorough discussion of this very complex, and by far too philosophical issue but we hope, at least, to present to readers of papers devoted to natural analogue studies arguments showing that this approach has some sound foundation. (author)

How Multidisciplinary Are the Multidisciplinary Journals Science and Nature?

Science.gov (United States)

Solomon, Gregg E. A.; Carley, Stephen; Porter, Alan L.

2016-01-01

Interest in cross-disciplinary research knowledge interchange runs high. Review processes at funding agencies, such as the U.S. National Science Foundation, consider plans to disseminate research across disciplinary bounds. Publication in the leading multidisciplinary journals, Nature and Science, may signify the epitome of successful interdisciplinary integration of research knowledge and cross-disciplinary dissemination of findings. But how interdisciplinary are they? The journals are multidisciplinary, but do the individual articles themselves draw upon multiple fields of knowledge and does their influence span disciplines? This research compares articles in three fields (Cell Biology, Physical Chemistry, and Cognitive Science) published in a leading disciplinary journal in each field to those published in Nature and Science. We find comparable degrees of interdisciplinary integration and only modest differences in cross-disciplinary diffusion. That said, though the rate of out-of-field diffusion might be comparable, the sheer reach of Nature and Science, indicated by their potent Journal Impact Factors, means that the diffusion of knowledge therein can far exceed that of leading disciplinary journals in some fields (such as Physical Chemistry and Cognitive Science in our samples). PMID:27043924

[Analysis of hot spots and trend of molecular pharmacognosy research based on project supported by National Natural Science Foundation of 1995-2014].

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jun-Wen; Liu, Yang; Tong, Yuan-Yuan; Yang, Ce; Li, Hai-Yan

2016-05-01

This study collected 1995-2014 molecular pharmacognosy study, a total of 595 items, funded by Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC). TDA and Excel software were used to analyze the data of the projects about general situation, hot spots of research with rank analytic and correlation analytic methods. Supported by NSFC molecular pharmacognosy projects and funding a gradual increase in the number of, the proportion of funds for pharmaceutical research funding tends to be stable; mainly supported by molecular biology methods of genuine medicinal materials, secondary metabolism and Germplasm Resources Research; hot drugs including Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae, Radix Rehmanniae, Cordyceps sinensis, hot contents including tanshinone biosynthesis, Rehmannia glutinosa continuous cropping obstacle. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

Natural frequencies of Euler-Bernoulli beam with open cracks on elastic foundations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shin, Young Jae; Yun, Jong Hak; Seong, Kyeong Youn; Kim, Jae Ho; Kang, Sung Hwang

2006-01-01

A study of the natural vibrations of beam resting on elastic foundation with finite number of transverse open cracks is presented. Frequency equations are derived for beams with different end restraints. Euler-Bernoulli beam on Winkler foundation and Euler-Bernoulli beam on Paster nak foundation are investigated. The cracks are modeled by massless substitute spring. The effects of the crack location, size and its number and the foundation constants, on the natural frequencies of the beam, are investigated

Plasma Physics at the National Science Foundation

Science.gov (United States)

Lukin, Vyacheslav

2017-10-01

The Town Meeting on Plasma Physics at the National Science Foundation will provide an opportunity for Q&A about the variety of NSF programs and solicitations relevant to a broad cross-section of the academic plasma science community, from graduating college seniors to senior leaders in the field, and from plasma astrophysics to basic physics to plasma engineering communities. We will discuss recent NSF-hosted events, research awards, and multi-agency partnerships aimed at enabling the progress of science in plasma science and engineering. Future outlook for plasma physics and broader plasma science support at NSF, with an emphasis on how you can help NSF to help the community, will be speculated upon within the uncertainty of the federal budgeting process.

Symmetry rules How science and nature are founded on symmetry

CERN Document Server

Rosen, Joe

2008-01-01

When we use science to describe and understand the world around us, we are in essence grasping nature through symmetry. In fact, modern theoretical physics suggests that symmetry is a, if not the, foundational principle of nature. Emphasizing the concepts, this book leads the reader coherently and comprehensively into the fertile field of symmetry and its applications. Among the most important applications considered are the fundamental forces of nature and the Universe. It is shown that the Universe cannot possess exact symmetry, which is a principle of fundamental significance. Curie's principle - which states that the symmetry of the effect is at least that of the cause - features prominently. An introduction to group theory, the mathematical language of symmetry, is included. This book will convince all interested readers of the importance of symmetry in science. Furthermore, it will serve as valuable background reading for all students in the physical sciences.

A new foundation for the social sciences?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjerre, Jørn

2015-01-01

The aim of John Searle’s philosophy of society is to provide a foundation for the social sciences. Arguing that the study of social reality needs to be based on a philosophy of language, Searle claims that sociology has little to offer, since no sociologist ever took language seriously. Attacking...

Theoretical foundation, goals, and methodology of a new science--biospherics

Science.gov (United States)

Shaffer, J A

1994-01-01

Scientific endeavor is motivated by mankind's needs, desires, and inherent nature to explore. The history of scientific revolutions involves paradigmatic breakthroughs that uncover previously unknown perspectives by which a phenomenon can be viewed. In this issue a noted scientist, Nickolai Pechurkin, gives a seminal brief on the theoretical foundation, goals, and methodology leading to a new science--biospherics. While biospherics has so far eluded a simple definition, it is not something taken from "whole cloth." Biospherics has many antecedents, but most noticeably arises from the global scale research and theory associated with the technological advances of the Space-Age. The Space-Age also created the need for totally closed life-support systems which involve experimentation with artificial biospheres.

"Monkeys, babies, idiots" and "primitives": nature-nurture debates and philanthropic foundation support for American anthropology in the 1920s and 1930s.

Science.gov (United States)

Biehn, Kersten Jacobson

2009-01-01

There has been a long discussion among historians about the impact that foundation policies had on the development of the social sciences during the interwar era. This discussion has centered on the degree to which foundation officers, particularly from the Rockefeller boards, exercised a hegemonic influence on research. In this essay, I argue that the field of American cultural anthropology has been neglected and must be reconsidered as a window into foundation intervention in nature-nurture debates. Despite foundation efforts to craft an anthropology policy that privileged hereditarian explanations, I contend that cultural anthropologists were committed to proving the primacy of "nurture," even when that commitment cost them valuable research dollars. It was this commitment that provided an essential bulwark for the discipline. Ironically, it was the need to negotiate with foundations about the purpose of their research that helped cultural anthropologists to articulate their unique, and thus intrinsically valuable, approach to nature-nurture debates.

Symmetry rules. How science and nature are founded on symmetry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rosen, J.

2008-07-01

When we use science to describe and understand the world around us, we are in essence grasping nature through symmetry. In fact, modern theoretical physics suggests that symmetry is a, if not the, foundational principle of nature. Emphasizing the concepts, this book leads the reader coherently and comprehensively into the fertile field of symmetry and its applications. Among the most important applications considered are the fundamental forces of nature and the Universe. It is shown that the Universe cannot possess exact symmetry, which is a principle of fundamental significance. Curie's principle - which states that the symmetry of the effect is at least that of the cause - features prominently. An introduction to group theory, the mathematical language of symmetry, is included. This book will convince all interested readers of the importance of symmetry in science. Furthermore, it will serve as valuable background reading for all students in the physical sciences. (orig.)

General Atomics Sciences Education Foundation Outreach Programs

Science.gov (United States)

Winter, Patricia S.

1997-11-01

Scientific literacy for all students is a national goal. The General Atomics (GA) Foundation Outreach Program is committed to playing a major role in enhancing pre-college education in science, engineering and new technologies. GA has received wide recognition for its Sciences Education Program, a volunteer effort of GA employees and San Diego science teachers. GA teacher/scientist teams have developed inquiry-based education modules and associated workshops based on areas of core competency at GA: Fusion -- Energy of the Stars; Explorations in Materials Science; Portrait of an Atom; DNA Technology. [http://www.sci-ed-ga.org]. Workshops [teachers receive printed materials and laboratory kits for ``hands-on" modules] have been presented for 700+ teachers from 200+ area schools. Additional workshops include: University of Denver for Denver Public Schools; National Educators Workshop; Standard Experiments in Engineering Materials; Update '96 in Los Alamos; Newspapers in Education Workshop (LA Times); American Chemical Society Regional/National meetings, and California Science Teachers Association Conference. Other outreach includes High School Science Day, school partnerships, teacher and student mentoring and the San Diego Science Alliance [http://www.sdsa.org].

Introductory Statistics Education and the National Science Foundation

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Megan R.; Rowell, Ginger Holmes

2008-01-01

This paper describes 27 National Science Foundation supported grant projects that have innovations designed to improve teaching and learning in introductory statistics courses. The characteristics of these projects are compared with the six recommendations given in the "Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education (GAISE)…

Elucidating elementary science teachers' conceptions of the nature of science: A view to beliefs about both science and teaching

Science.gov (United States)

Keske, Kristina Palmer

The purpose of this interpretive case study was to elucidate the conceptions of the nature of science held by seven elementary science teachers. The constructivist paradigm provided the philosophical and methodological foundation for the study. Interviews were employed to collect data from the participants about their formal and informal experiences with science. In addition, the participants contributed their perspectives on four aspects of the nature of science: what is science; who is a scientist; what are the methods of science; and how is scientific knowledge constructed. Data analysis not only revealed these teachers' views of science, but also provided insights into how they viewed science teaching. Four themes emerged from the data. The first theme developed around the participants' portrayals of the content of science, with participant views falling on a continuum of limited to universal application of science as procedure. The second theme dealt with the participants' views of the absolute nature of scientific knowledge. Participants' perceptions of the tentative nature of science teaching provided the basis for the third theme concerning the need for absolutes in practice. The fourth theme drew parallels between participants' views of science and science teaching, with two participants demonstrating a consistency in beliefs about knowledge construction across contexts. This study revealed both personal and contextual factors which impacted how the participants saw science and science teaching. Many of the participants' memories of formal science revolved around the memorization of content and were viewed negatively. All the participants had limited formal training in science. Of the seven participants, only two had chosen to be science teachers at the beginning of their careers. The participants' limited formal experiences with science provided little time for exploration into historical, philosophical, and sociological studies of science, a necessary

Explicitly Targeting Pre-Service Teacher Scientific Reasoning Abilities and Understanding of Nature of Science through an Introductory Science Course

Science.gov (United States)

Koenig, Kathleen; Schen, Melissa; Bao, Lei

2012-01-01

Development of a scientifically literate citizenry has become a national focus and highlights the need for K-12 students to develop a solid foundation of scientific reasoning abilities and an understanding of nature of science, along with appropriate content knowledge. This implies that teachers must also be competent in these areas; but…

Emphaty as the foundation of the social sciences and of social life: a reading of Husserl's phenomenology of transcendental intersubjectivity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frédéric Vandenberghe

2002-12-01

Full Text Available Starting with an overview of possible solutions to the problem of social order, the author presents a non-acritical reconstruction of Edmund Husserl's transcendental phenomenology of intersubjectivity as a sympathetic alternative to Habermas's theory of communicative action. By means of a detailed analysis of the concept of empathy (Einfühlung, he shows that Husserl's phenomenology of intersubjectivity offers a triple foundation of the sciences. As a warrant of the objectivity of the world, it grounds the natural sciences; as a presupposition of sociality, it founds the social sciences; as mediated by culture, it grounds the social sciences as human sciences.

Naturalized Philosophy of Science and Natural Science Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Siegel, Harvey

1993-01-01

Reviews the philosophical controversy concerning naturalism, and investigates the role it might play in the science classroom. Argues that science students can benefit from explicit study of this controversy and from explicit consideration of the extent to which philosophy of science can be studied naturalistically. (PR)

Simple webs of natural environment theme as a result of sharing in science teacher training

Science.gov (United States)

Tapilouw, M. C.; Firman, H.; Redjeki, S.; Chandra, D. T.

2018-03-01

Thematic learning is one type of integrated science (Biology, Physics, Chemistry and Earth Science) in Science Education. This study is concerning about simple webs of natural environment theme in science learning, as one of training material in science teacher training program. Making simple web is a goal of first step in teacher training program. Every group explain their web illustration to other group. Twenty Junior High School science teacher above one education foundation participate in science teacher training program. In order to gather simple webs, sharing method was used in this first step of science teacher training. The result of this study is five different simple web of natural environment themes. These webs represent science learning in class VII/Semester I, class VII/Semester II, Class VIII, Class IX/Semester I, Class IX/Semester II based on basic competency in National Curriculum 2013. Each group discussed web of natural environment theme based on their learning experience in real class which basic competency and subject matters are linked with natural environment theme. As a conclusion, simple webs are potential to develop in the next step of science teacher training program and to be implemented in real class.

Goethe's phenomenology of nature: a juvenilization of science.

Science.gov (United States)

Skaftnesmo, Trond

2009-01-01

Empirical science is not a mere collection of facts. It builds theories and frames hypotheses within those theories. Empirical theories are stated as plausible answers to questions we pose to nature. According to the Galilean-Baconian tradition within science, these questions should basically explore the causes of observed phenomena, and further be restricted to the measurable and quantitative realm. Thus, the answers are generally expected to explain the effective causes behind the actual phenomena. By framing falsifiable hypotheses, the theories are tested against the empirical foundation on which they rest. In this way we try to relieve science from false theories. Thus, we have two epistemological levels: First, the theoretical level; the scientific theory explaining the phenomena, and second, the empirical level; the phenomena or facts verifying or falsifying those theories. According to the poet and multi-scientist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), there is however another way of science, namely an approach where these two levels fuse and become one. Goethe intended this approach to be a complementation of the Galilean-Baconian method, more than an alternative. He considered his "hypothesis-free method" to be a more comprehensive and secure way to understand nature. Whereas the Galilean-Baconian method aimed at explaining the effective causes of natural phenomena, in order to control and exploit nature for technical and industrial purposes, Goethe aimed at an exposition of the inherent meaning of the phenomena.We will explore, exemplify and discuss this approach with reference to the inherently Goethean phenomenology of evolution credited to the Dutch anatomist Louis Bolk (1866-1930), later commented and complemented by Stephen Jay Gould (1941-2002) and Jos Verhulst (1949 ). In the course of this presentation we will outline the Goethean approach as a method representing a juvenilization or in Bolk's terms, a fetalization of science.

Nature of Science or Nature of the Sciences?

Science.gov (United States)

Schizas, Dimitrios; Psillos, Dimitris; Stamou, George

2016-01-01

The present essay examines the emerging issue of domain-general versus domain-specific nature of science (NOS) understandings from a perspective that illuminates the value of domain-specific philosophies of science for the growth and development of the NOS educational field. Under the assumption that individual sciences do have their own…

Broadening participation in Natural Sciences and Mathematics at the University of Maryland Baltimore County

Science.gov (United States)

Rous, Philip

2013-03-01

Over the past two decades, UMBC has undertaken a series of efforts to broaden participation in the natural sciences and mathematics, beginning with the establishment of the Meyerhoff program. Using as examples the multiple initiatives that followed, and with a focus on the challenge of increasing access and success of all students who enter as both freshmen and transfer students, I will describe a model of culture change that we have employed repeatedly to understand and guide our efforts in broadening participation. Particular attention will be paid to the concept of cultural capital, the role of innovators and the challenge of scaling small-scale innovations towards institutional change. Supported by the National Science Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The Eugenides Foundation Interactive Exhibition of Science and Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Kontogiannis, Ioannis

2010-01-01

The Interactive Exhibition of Science and Technology is installed in an area of 1200 m2 at the Eugenides Foundation. 65 interactive exhibits, designed by the "Cites des Science et de l' Industrie" are organised in themes, stimulate the visitors' mind and provoke scientific thinking. Parallel activities take place inside the exhibition, such as live science demonstrations, performed by young scientists. Extra material such as news bulletins (short news, science comics and portraits), educational paths and treasure-hunting based games, all available online as well, are prepared on a monthly basis and provided along with the visit to the exhibition. Through these exhibits and activities, scientific facts are made simple and easy to comprehend using modern presentation tools. We present details on how this exhibition acts complementary to the science education provided by schools, making it a highly sophisticated educational tool.

Sciences & Nature

African Journals Online (AJOL)

AFRICAN JOURNALS ONLINE (AJOL) · Journals · Advanced Search · USING AJOL ... Sciences & Nature, the Scientific Journal edited by the University of ... Subjects covered include agronomy, sciences of the earth, environment, biological, ...

45 CFR 630.400 - What are my responsibilities as a(n) National Science Foundation awarding official?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

....400 What are my responsibilities as a(n) National Science Foundation awarding official? As a(n... 45 Public Welfare 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false What are my responsibilities as a(n) National Science Foundation awarding official? 630.400 Section 630.400 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to...

[Analysis of the application and funding projects of National Natural Science Foundation of China in the field of burns and plastic surgery from 2010 to 2016].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Z C; Dou, D; Wang, X Y; Xie, D H; Yan, Z C

2017-02-20

We analyzed the data of application and funding projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) during 2010-2016 in the field of burns and plastic surgery and summarized the NSFC funding pattern, the research hotspots, and weaknesses in this field. The NSFC has funded 460 projects in the field of burns and plastic surgery, with total funding of RMB 227.96 million. The scientific issues involved in the funding projects include orthotherapy against malformations, wound repair, basic research of burns, skin grafting, scars prevention, and regeneration of hair follicle and sweat glands. The research techniques involved in the funding projects are diversified. NSFC plays an important role in the scientific research and talents training in the field of burns and plastic surgery.

Social Science Boot Camp: Development and Assessment of a Foundational Course on Academic Literacy in the Social Sciences

Science.gov (United States)

Eaton, Judy; Long, Jennifer; Morris, David

2018-01-01

We developed a course, as part of our institution's core program, which provides students with a foundation in academic literacy in the social sciences: how to find, read, critically assess, and communicate about social science research. It is not a research methods course; rather, it is intended to introduce students to the social sciences and be…

The naturalism of the sciences.

Science.gov (United States)

Dawes, Gregory W; Smith, Tiddy

2018-02-01

The sciences are characterized by what is sometimes called a "methodological naturalism," which disregards talk of divine agency. In response to those who argue that this reflects a dogmatic materialism, a number of philosophers have offered a pragmatic defense. The naturalism of the sciences, they argue, is provisional and defeasible: it is justified by the fact that unsuccessful theistic explanations have been superseded by successful natural ones. But this defense is inconsistent with the history of the sciences. The sciences have always exhibited what we call a domain naturalism. They have never invoked divine agency, but have always focused on the causal structure of the natural world. It is not the case, therefore, that the sciences once employed theistic explanations and then abandoned them. The naturalism of the sciences is as old as science itself. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Continuous funding of National Natural Science Foundation of China has boosted the development of the discipline of ophthalmology over the past 25 years].

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, Ren-bing; Fan, Xian-qun; Xu, Yan-ying; Dong, Er-dan

2012-02-01

To analyze the role of National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) on the development of the discipline of Ophthalmology from 1986 to 2010. Data on the total number of projects and funding of NSFC allocated to Ophthalmology, as well as papers published, awards, personnel training, subject construction were collected, and the role of NSFC on other sources of funding was evaluated. From 1986 to 2010, NSFC supported a total of 593 scientific research projects of Ophthalmology, funding a total amount of 152.44 million Yuan, among which were 371 free application projects, 156 Young Scientist Funds, 9 Key Programs, 5 National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, 3 Major international (regional) joint research programs, 1 Science Fund for Creative Research Group and 48 other projects. Over the past 25 years, the number of NSFC projects received by Ophthalmology has been an overall upward trend in the share in the Department of Life (Health) Sciences. Take the projects (186 of 292, 63.7%) as examples completed between 2002 and 2010, a total 262 papers were published in Science Citation Index (SCI) included journals and 442 papers were published in Chinese journals. Meanwhile, 8 Second prizes of National Science and Technology Progress Award and 1 State Technological Invention Award were received. As of 2010, the training of a total of more than 40 postdoctoral, more than 400 doctoral students and more than 600 graduate students have been completed. 5 national key disciplines and 1 national key laboratory have been built. Moreover, 2 "973" programs from Ministry of Science and Technology and 1 project of special fund in the public interest from Ministry of Public Health were obtained. 2 scholars were among the list of Yangtze Fund Scholars granted by Ministry of Education. Over the past 25 years, a full range of continuous funding from NSFC has led to fruitful results and a strong impetus to the progress of discipline of Ophthalmology.

Learning and teaching natural science in the early years: A case study of three different contexts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angela James

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Currently many children in early childhood education cannot be accommodated in provincial department schools. Consequently, different non-governmental institutions offer Grade R programmes in an attempt to support the DBE. Pre-primary schools that traditionally took responsibility for early childhood education also offer Grade R education. The recent policy decision to include Grade R in the primary school is an innovation, which is still in its infancy. It is against this background that the national South African Curriculum (NCS has to be implemented. This paper focuses on the teaching of natural science in Grade R and attempts to determine if the teaching and learning of natural science has different outcomes in the different contexts described above. An oral questionnaire was administered to capture children’s understanding of natural science phenomena, while interviews provided data with regard to teachers’ understanding of natural science in the foundation phase. The results show that there are differences in children’s understanding of natural phenomena in the different contexts and these differences are related to teachers’ understanding of the curriculum, as well as their views of the nature of science.

God, design, and naturalism: Implications of methodological naturalism in science for science-religion relation

OpenAIRE

Piotr Bylica; Dariusz Sagan

2015-01-01

The aim of this paper is to analyze the implications flowing from adopting methodological naturalism in science, with special emphasis on the relation between science and religion. Methodological naturalism, denying supernatural and teleological explanations, influences the content of scientific theories, and in practice leads to vision of science as compatible with ontological naturalism and in opposition to theism. Ontological naturalism in turn justifies the acceptance of methodological na...

The Taskforce on Conceptual Foundations of Earth System Governance: Sustainability Science

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Barry Ness

2017-02-01

Full Text Available We are pleased to introduce the second special issue from Challenges in Sustainability, this time as a part of the Taskforce on Conceptual Foundations of Earth System Governance, an initiative by the Earth System Governance Project (ESG (http://www.earthsystemgovernance.net/conceptual-foundations/. The ESG Project is a global research alliance. It is the largest social science research network in the field of governance and global environmental change. ESG is primarily a scientific effort but is also designed to assist policy responses to pressing problems of earth system transformation.

God, design, and naturalism: Implications of methodological naturalism in science for science-religion relation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Piotr Bylica

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to analyze the implications flowing from adopting methodological naturalism in science, with special emphasis on the relation between science and religion. Methodological naturalism, denying supernatural and teleological explanations, influences the content of scientific theories, and in practice leads to vision of science as compatible with ontological naturalism and in opposition to theism. Ontological naturalism in turn justifies the acceptance of methodological naturalism as the best method to know the reality. If we accept realistic interpretation of scientific theories, then methodological naturalism conflicts science with religion. Theistic evolution does not seem to be a proper way to reconcile Darwinism and methodological naturalism with theism. Many of such propositions are boiled down to deism. Although evolution can be interpreted theistically, it is not the way in which majority of modern scientists and respectable scientific institutions understand it.

Community College Economics Instruction: Results from a National Science Foundation Project

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Maier, Mark; Chi, W. Edward

2016-01-01

The principal investigator of a National Science Foundation project, "Economics at Community Colleges," surveyed community college economics faculty and organized workshops, webinars, and regional meetings to address community college faculty isolation from new ideas in economics and economics instruction. Survey results, combined with…

Eclecticism as the foundation of meta-theoretical, mixed methods and interdisciplinary research in social sciences.

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Kroos, Karmo

2012-03-01

This article examines the value of "eclecticism" as the foundation of meta-theoretical, mixed methods and interdisciplinary research in social sciences. On the basis of the analysis of the historical background of the concept, it is first suggested that eclecticism-based theoretical scholarship in social sciences could benefit from the more systematic research method that has been developed for synthesizing theoretical works under the name metatheorizing. Second, it is suggested that the mixed methods community could base its research approach on philosophical eclecticism instead of pragmatism because the basic idea of eclecticism is much more in sync with the nature of the combined research tradition. Finally, the Kuhnian frame is used to support the argument for interdisciplinary research and, hence, eclecticism in social sciences (rather than making an argument against multiple paradigms). More particularly, it is suggested that integrating the different (inter)disciplinary traditions and schools into one is not necessarily desirable at all in social sciences because of the complexity and openness of the research field. If it is nevertheless attempted, experience in economics suggests that paradigmatic unification comes at a high price.

Science Olympiad students' nature of science understandings

Science.gov (United States)

Philpot, Cindy J.

2007-12-01

Recent reform efforts in science education focus on scientific literacy for all citizens. In order to be scientifically literate, an individual must have informed understandings of nature of science (NOS), scientific inquiry, and science content matter. This study specifically focused on Science Olympiad students' understanding of NOS as one piece of scientific literacy. Research consistently shows that science students do not have informed understandings of NOS (Abd-El-Khalick, 2002; Bell, Blair, Crawford, and Lederman, 2002; Kilcrease and Lucy, 2002; Schwartz, Lederman, and Thompson, 2001). However, McGhee-Brown, Martin, Monsaas and Stombler (2003) found that Science Olympiad students had in-depth understandings of science concepts, principles, processes, and techniques. Science Olympiad teams compete nationally and are found in rural, urban, and suburban schools. In an effort to learn from students who are generally considered high achieving students and who enjoy science, as opposed to the typical science student, the purpose of this study was to investigate Science Olympiad students' understandings of NOS and the experiences that formed their understandings. An interpretive, qualitative, case study method was used to address the research questions. The participants were purposefully and conveniently selected from the Science Olympiad team at a suburban high school. Data collection consisted of the Views of Nature of Science -- High School Questionnaire (VNOS-HS) (Schwartz, Lederman, & Thompson, 2001), semi-structured individual interviews, and a focus group. The main findings of this study were similar to much of the previous research in that the participants had informed understandings of the tentative nature of science and the role of inferences in science, but they did not have informed understandings of the role of human imagination and creativity, the empirical nature of science, or theories and laws. High level science classes and participation in

Interactional nursing - a practice-theory in the dynamic field between the natural, human and social sciences

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Scheel, Merry Elisabeth; Pedersen, Birthe D.; Rosenkrands, Vibeke

2008-01-01

Nursing is often described from the point of view of either the natural or the human sciences. In contrast to this, the value foundation in Interactional nursing practice is understood from the point of view of the natural sciences as well as that of the human and social sciences. This article...... presents many-faceted practice-theory of nursing, which is situated in the dynamic field between these three sciences. The focus of the theory is on interaction and practice resulting in a caring practice. Here practice is based on Taylor's and MacIntyre's interpretation of this concept. Action in nursing...... is based on Habermas' three varied modes of action seen in the light of an understanding of the world as a system world and a life world. Nursing as an interactional practice-theory is presented with examples of interpretative nursing science, seen in the ethical action-oriented, socio-cultural framework...

The achievements of solar children from the natural created octave whose source is the emanating sun reflected by the Foundation for Solar Achievement with the Arts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petacchi, D.V.

1997-01-01

The Foundation for Solar Achievement With The Arts is a not-for-profit school training gifted children in the use of their talent in accordance with the philosophy and experience that children in harmony with their natural environment based upon the sun's position in the course of the day have the greater capacity of attention necessary to enhance learning and creativity. Uncluttered as much as possible by the distractions of technology or the artificial glare of electricity, the learning environment of the Foundation for Solar Achievement With The Arts is conducive to this hands-on action. The Foundation was started by an individual whose life long search for the meaning of his life and whose pondering on the meaning human life on this planet led him to many conclusions modern science is just beginning to reach. With the help of dedicated architect John Jehring and likeminded others, Mr. Petacchi is utilizing natural sunlight in an environment conducive to the psyche of children. A building is planned that will expand into indoor form the natural lighting and free space of the out-of-doors

Natural hazards science strategy

Science.gov (United States)

Holmes, Robert R.; Jones, Lucile M.; Eidenshink, Jeffery C.; Godt, Jonathan W.; Kirby, Stephen H.; Love, Jeffrey J.; Neal, Christina A.; Plant, Nathaniel G.; Plunkett, Michael L.; Weaver, Craig S.; Wein, Anne; Perry, Suzanne C.

2012-01-01

The mission of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in natural hazards is to develop and apply hazard science to help protect the safety, security, and economic well-being of the Nation. The costs and consequences of natural hazards can be enormous, and each year more people and infrastructure are at risk. USGS scientific research—founded on detailed observations and improved understanding of the responsible physical processes—can help to understand and reduce natural hazard risks and to make and effectively communicate reliable statements about hazard characteristics, such as frequency, magnitude, extent, onset, consequences, and where possible, the time of future events.To accomplish its broad hazard mission, the USGS maintains an expert workforce of scientists and technicians in the earth sciences, hydrology, biology, geography, social and behavioral sciences, and other fields, and engages cooperatively with numerous agencies, research institutions, and organizations in the public and private sectors, across the Nation and around the world. The scientific expertise required to accomplish the USGS mission in natural hazards includes a wide range of disciplines that this report refers to, in aggregate, as hazard science.In October 2010, the Natural Hazards Science Strategy Planning Team (H–SSPT) was charged with developing a long-term (10-year) Science Strategy for the USGS mission in natural hazards. This report fulfills that charge, with a document hereinafter referred to as the Strategy, to provide scientific observations, analyses, and research that are critical for the Nation to become more resilient to natural hazards. Science provides the information that decisionmakers need to determine whether risk management activities are worthwhile. Moreover, as the agency with the perspective of geologic time, the USGS is uniquely positioned to extend the collective experience of society to prepare for events outside current memory. The USGS has critical statutory

Surface Science Foundations of Catalysis and Nanoscience

CERN Document Server

Kolasinski, Kurt K

2012-01-01

Surface science has evolved from being a sub-field of chemistry or physics, and has now established itself as an interdisciplinary topic. Knowledge has developed sufficiently that we can now understand catalysis from a surface science perspective. No-where is the underpinning nature of surface science better illustrated than with nanoscience. Now in its third edition, this successful textbook aims to provide students with an understanding of chemical transformations and the formation of structures at surfaces. The chapters build from simple to more advanced principles with each featuring exerc

How to compare the social foundations of science culture: A trial with five cities in Korea.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Jinwoong; Chung, Minkyung; Choi, Eunjeong; Kim, Leekyoung; Cho, Sook-Kyoung

2013-01-01

Though there have been several indicator systems to monitor the status quo of science and technology and of scientific literacy, few are especially designed for science culture, especially for its social dimension. Furthermore there is little agreement on how to measure it. In a previous study, an indicator system, SCI (Science Culture Indicators), had been developed to monitor the status quo of the science culture of a nation at both individual and social dimensions. The purpose of this study was to explore a practical way to measure and compare local cities' social foundation of science culture by revising and standardizing the social dimension of SCI and by applying it to five metropolitan cities in Korea. Despite some limits, the results of this study appear not only to reflect the cities' current situations but also to show the strength and weakness of their social foundation of science culture.

Reasoning by analogy: rational foundation of natural analogue studies. [Application to radioactive waste disposal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Petit, J.-C. (CEA Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires de Fontenay-aux Roses, (France). DRDD/SESD)

1992-01-01

Long-term extrapolations concerning the safety of a nuclear waste repository cannot be satisfactorily made on the sole basis of short-term laboratory investigations. Most nuclear countries have hence developed an approach relying on the following research directions: 1. laboratory experiments; 2. in situ testing; 3. modeling; and 4. natural analogues, which are the only means by which very slow mechanisms can be identified and by which long-term predictions of models can be tested for pertinence (if not truly validated). Although the field of natural analogues has grown very rapidly in recent years, receiving support from varied specialists and institutions involved in radioactive waste disposal, there is not yet a full consensus on their actual usefulness. More problematic is the criticism sometimes made that analogical reasoning is not ''true science'' and that information retrieved from the study of natural analogues will always remain questionable. The present paper gives some clues about the exact status of reasoning by analogy, compared to more ''scientific'' ways of deriving information from investigated systems. It is not a thorough discussion of this very complex, and by far too philosophical issue but we hope, at least, to present to readers of papers devoted to natural analogue studies arguments showing that this approach has some sound foundation. (author).

Kick-Starting the Nature of Science

Science.gov (United States)

Bull, Ally; Joyce, Chris; Spiller, Lorraine; Hipkins, Rosemary

2010-01-01

Nature of Science is the core strand of science in "The New Zealand Curriculum". This resource aims to support teachers to understand the different aspects of the Nature of Science and what this might mean in practice. All aspects of this strand are covered: Understanding about science; Investigating in science; Communicating in science;…

Nature of Science Contextualized: Studying Nature of Science with Scientists

Science.gov (United States)

Tala, Suvi; Vesterinen, Veli-Matti

2015-01-01

Understanding nature of science (NOS) is widely considered an important educational objective and views of NOS are closely linked to science teaching and learning. Thus there is a lively discussion about what understanding NOS means and how it is reached. As a result of analyses in educational, philosophical, sociological and historical research,…

The Jan Korec Foundation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2007-01-01

In this video-film activities of the the Jan Korec Foundation are presented. The Jan Korec Foundation supports students of technical sciences, sport activities, science and support of book publishing, humanitarian supports, the environment protection as well as support of different social projects.

Exploring the nature of science through courage and purpose: a case study of Nikolai Vavilov and plant biodiversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Joel I; Loskutov, Igor G

2016-01-01

Historical biographies facilitate teaching the 'nature of science'. This case study focuses on how Nikolai Vavilov's unrelenting sense of purpose, courage, and charismatic personality was maintained during violent revolutionary change in Russia. The rediscovery of Gregor Mendel's laws of inheritance provided Vavilov with a scientific foundation for crop improvement, this foundation was later bolstered by Vavilov's personal drive to conserve plant biodiversity. As he advanced theories and pragmatic approaches for genetic improvement and conservation of plants, political leaders in Russian came to reject Mendel's principles and eventually Vavilov's work. This rejection occurred because Joseph Stalin was desperate for a quick remedy to the famine and suffering from forced collective agriculture. Vavilov's work continued, modernizing Russian crop research while inspiring other scientists to save seeds stored in the world's first gene bank. Three themes illustrating the nature of science help examine Vavilov's life: explaining natural phenomena, uncompromising human endeavor, and revising scientific knowledge. The case study concludes with four questions to stimulate student inquiry and self-guided research. They also deepen student understanding of Vavilov's personal sacrifices to ensure use and conservation of plant biodiversity.

Mathematical logic foundations for information science

CERN Document Server

Li, Wei

2014-01-01

Mathematical logic is a branch of mathematics that takes axiom systems and mathematical proofs as its objects of study. This book shows how it can also provide a foundation for the development of information science and technology. The first five chapters systematically present the core topics of classical mathematical logic, including the syntax and models of first-order languages, formal inference systems, computability and representability, and Gödel’s theorems. The last five chapters present extensions and developments of classical mathematical logic, particularly the concepts of version sequences of formal theories and their limits, the system of revision calculus, proschemes (formal descriptions of proof methods and strategies) and their properties, and the theory of inductive inference. All of these themes contribute to a formal theory of axiomatization and its application to the process of developing information technology and scientific theories. The book also describes the paradigm of three kinds...

Why natural science needs phenomenological philosophy.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosen, Steven M

2015-12-01

Through an exploration of theoretical physics, this paper suggests the need for regrounding natural science in phenomenological philosophy. To begin, the philosophical roots of the prevailing scientific paradigm are traced to the thinking of Plato, Descartes, and Newton. The crisis in modern science is then investigated, tracking developments in physics, science's premier discipline. Einsteinian special relativity is interpreted as a response to the threat of discontinuity implied by the Michelson-Morley experiment, a challenge to classical objectivism that Einstein sought to counteract. We see that Einstein's efforts to banish discontinuity ultimately fall into the "black hole" predicted in his general theory of relativity. The unavoidable discontinuity that haunts Einstein's theory is also central to quantum mechanics. Here too the attempt has been made to manage discontinuity, only to have this strategy thwarted in the end by the intractable problem of quantum gravity. The irrepressible discontinuity manifested in the phenomena of modern physics proves to be linked to a merging of subject and object that flies in the face of Cartesian philosophy. To accommodate these radically non-classical phenomena, a new philosophical foundation is called for: phenomenology. Phenomenological philosophy is elaborated through Merleau-Ponty's concept of depth and is then brought into focus for use in theoretical physics via qualitative work with topology and hypercomplex numbers. In the final part of this paper, a detailed summary is offered of the specific application of topological phenomenology to quantum gravity that was systematically articulated in The Self-Evolving Cosmos (Rosen, 2008a). Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Demystifying Nature of Science

Science.gov (United States)

Lederman, Judith; Bartels, Selina; Lederman, Norman; Gnanakkan, Dionysius

2014-01-01

With the emergence of the "Next Generation Science Standards" ("NGSS"; NGSS Lead States 2013), it is apparent that teaching and learning about nature of science (NOS) continues to be an important goal of science education for all K-12 students. With this emphasis on NOS, early childhood teachers are asking how to design…

[Analysis of funding of projects on obstetrics and gynecology supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China from 2007 to 2016].

Science.gov (United States)

Qin, S H; Huang, Q S; Yao, S Z

2017-04-25

Objective: To summarize the funding of scientific research projects on obstetrics and gynecology by National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) from 2007 to 2016 and to display the hotspots of scientific research on obstetrics and gynecology. Methods: A systemic search was performed for the information of projects supported by NSFC from 2007 to 2016. The indicators for analysis included the number of projects, total investment, project categories, research units and research field. The research direction of each project was decided based on title, summary and key words provided by the profile of each project. Results: The total investment on obstetrics and gynecology by NSFC was 23.214 million with a total of 82 projects in 2007. It increased year by year and reached the peak in 2014 (359 projects 208.990 million). The investment and number of projects remained stable after 2014. General projects (1 109 projects 608.000 million) formed the majority of projects. Youth science fund projects (1 035 projects 214.976 million) increased steadily and the number was nearly equal to general projects. There were only a small amount of key projects (20 projects 54.720 million) and major projects (7 projects 38.400 million). The investment varied in different research units. The greatest 10 units (less than 6% of total), including 7 comprehensive universities, 2 medical universities and 1 institute of medicine, got 1 113 projects invested (43.84% of total, 1 113/2 539). The hot areas like gynecological tumor (920 projects 350.615 million), hypertensive disorders complicating pregnancy (91 projects 37.470 million) and polycystic ovarian syndrome (77 projects 29.540 million) were more likely to receive investment, while some interdisciplinary science like maternal and child health (28 projects 12.050 million), imaging and biomedicine (37 projects 14.770 million) began to achieve attention in recent years. Conclusions: The number of researches invested will be increased

The Ford Foundation and the rise of behavioralism in political science.

Science.gov (United States)

Hauptmann, Emily

2012-01-01

How did behavioralism, one of the most influential approaches to the academic study of politics in the twentieth century, become so prominent so quickly? I argue that many political scientists have either understated or ignored how the Ford Foundation's Behavioral Sciences Program gave form to behavioralism, accelerated its rise, and helped root it in political science. I then draw on archived documents from Ford as well as one of its major grantees, U. C. Berkeley, to present several examples of how Ford used its funds to encourage the behavioral approach at a time when it had few adherents among political scientists. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

When Nature of Science Meets Marxism: Aspects of Nature of Science Taught by Chinese Science Teacher Educators to Prospective Science Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Wan, Zhi Hong; Wong, Siu Ling; Zhan, Ying

2013-01-01

Nature of science (NOS) is beginning to find its place in the science education in China. In a study which investigated Chinese science teacher educators' conceptions of teaching NOS to prospective science teachers through semi-structured interviews, five key dimensions emerged from the data. This paper focuses on the dimension, "NOS content…

Theoretical computer science and the natural sciences

Science.gov (United States)

Marchal, Bruno

2005-12-01

I present some fundamental theorems in computer science and illustrate their relevance in Biology and Physics. I do not assume prerequisites in mathematics or computer science beyond the set N of natural numbers, functions from N to N, the use of some notational conveniences to describe functions, and at some point, a minimal amount of linear algebra and logic. I start with Cantor's transcendental proof by diagonalization of the non enumerability of the collection of functions from natural numbers to the natural numbers. I explain why this proof is not entirely convincing and show how, by restricting the notion of function in terms of discrete well defined processes, we are led to the non algorithmic enumerability of the computable functions, but also-through Church's thesis-to the algorithmic enumerability of partial computable functions. Such a notion of function constitutes, with respect to our purpose, a crucial generalization of that concept. This will make easy to justify deep and astonishing (counter-intuitive) incompleteness results about computers and similar machines. The modified Cantor diagonalization will provide a theory of concrete self-reference and I illustrate it by pointing toward an elementary theory of self-reproduction-in the Amoeba's way-and cellular self-regeneration-in the flatworm Planaria's way. To make it easier, I introduce a very simple and powerful formal system known as the Schoenfinkel-Curry combinators. I will use the combinators to illustrate in a more concrete way the notion introduced above. The combinators, thanks to their low-level fine grained design, will also make it possible to make a rough but hopefully illuminating description of the main lessons gained by the careful observation of nature, and to describe some new relations, which should exist between computer science, the science of life and the science of inert matter, once some philosophical, if not theological, hypotheses are made in the cognitive sciences. In the

Towards a Philosophically and a Pedagogically Reasonable Nature of Science Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Yacoubian, Hagop Azad

This study, primarily theoretical in nature, explores a philosophically and pedagogically reasonable way of addressing nature of science (NOS) in school science. NOS encompasses what science is and how scientific knowledge develops. I critically evaluate consensus frameworks of NOS in school science, which converge contentious philosophical viewpoints into general NOS-related ideas. I argue that they (1) lack clarity in terms of how NOS-related ideas could be applied for various ends, (2) portray a distorted image of the substantive content of NOS and the process of its development, and (3) lack a developmental trajectory for how to address NOS at different grade levels. As a remedy to these problems, I envision a NOS curriculum that (1) explicates and targets both NOS as an educational end and NOS as a means for socioscientific decision making, (2) has critical thinking as its foundational pillar, and (3) provides a developmental pathway for NOS learning using critical thinking as a progression unit. Next, I illustrate a framework for addressing NOS in school science referred to as the critical thinking—nature of science (CT-NOS) framework. This framework brings together the first two of the three elements envisioned in the NOS curriculum. I address the third element by situating the CT-NOS framework in a developmental context, borrowing from the literature on learning progressions in science and using critical thinking as a progression unit. Finally, I present an empirical study of experienced secondary science teachers’ views of a NOS lesson prepared using the CT-NOS framework. The teachers attended a professional development workshop at which the lesson, and the characteristics of the CT-NOS framework, were presented. The analysis of the qualitative data revealed that most teachers found the lesson to be somewhat feasible for a secondary science classroom, useful or somewhat useful to their students, and interesting. The teachers focused on 14 features of

The Nature of Science in Science Curricula: Methods and Concepts of Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Ferreira, Sílvia; Morais, Ana M.

2013-01-01

The article shows methods and concepts of analysis of the nature of science in science curricula through an exemplary study made in Portugal. The study analyses the extent to which the message transmitted by the Natural Science curriculum for Portuguese middle school considers the nature of science. It is epistemologically and sociologically…

Cognitive Foundations for Visual Analytics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Greitzer, Frank L.; Noonan, Christine F.; Franklin, Lyndsey

2011-02-25

In this report, we provide an overview of scientific/technical literature on information visualization and VA. Topics discussed include an update and overview of the extensive literature search conducted for this study, the nature and purpose of the field, major research thrusts, and scientific foundations. We review methodologies for evaluating and measuring the impact of VA technologies as well as taxonomies that have been proposed for various purposes to support the VA community. A cognitive science perspective underlies each of these discussions.

INSTRUMENTS OF SUPPORT FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FUNDED BY LEADING DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irina E. Ilina

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Introduction: one of the key aspects of the knowledge economy development is the growing significance of the results of research and development. The education and basic research play a key role in this process. Funding for education and fundamental science is carried out mainly at the expense of the state resources, including a system of foundations for scientific, engineering and innovation activities in Russia. The purpose of this article is to present recommendations for improving the tools of domestic foundations in funding fundamental research and development, including education and training. The propositions are made with a comparative analysis of the domestic and foreign science foun dations’ activities. Materials and Methods: the authors used analysis, comparison, induction, deduction, graphical analysis, generalisation and other scientific methods during the study. Results: the lack of comparability between domestic and foreign scientific funds in the volume of funding allocated for basic research and development is revealed. This situation affects the scientific research. The foreign foundations have a wide range of instruments to support research projects at all stages of the life cycle of grants for education and training prior to release of an innovative product to market (the use of “innovation elevator” system. The Russian national scientific foundations have no such possibilities. The authors guess that the Russian organisations ignore some of the instruments for supporting research and development. Use of these tools could enhance the effectiveness of research projects. According to the study of domestic and foreign experience in supporting research and development, the authors proposed a matrix composed of instruments for support in the fields of basic scientific researches and education with such phases of the project life cycle as “research” and “development”. Discussion and Conclusions: the foreign science

Analysis of students’ science motivation and nature of science comprehension in middle school

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Azizul Ghofar Candra Wicaksono

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to explore the pattern of science motivation and nature of science (NoS and the relationship between science motivation and nature of science in middle school students located in Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia. The design of this study was survey followed by the correlation study to discover the relationship between science motivation level and nature of science comprehension. This research included 113 students as sample. The instrument used for data collection was SMQ and seven essay test from NoS indicator. This study revealed that the students had a median score of science motivation and the low score in nature of science comprehension. There were students’ science motivation and nature of science comprehension urgently need to be improved. It can be done by developing learning process and any support from school or family.

Design, science and naturalism

Science.gov (United States)

Deming, David

2008-09-01

The Design Argument is the proposition that the presence of order in the universe is evidence for the existence of God. The Argument dates at least to the presocratic Greek philosophers, and is largely based on analogical reasoning. Following the appearance of Aquinas' Summa Theologica in the 13th century, the Christian Church in Europe embraced a Natural Theology based on observation and reason that allowed it to dominate the entire world of knowledge. Science in turn advanced itself by demonstrating that it could be of service to theology, the recognized queen of the sciences. During the heyday of British Natural Theology in the 17th and 18th centuries, the watchmaker, shipbuilder, and architect analogies were invoked reflexively by philosophers, theologians, and scientists. The Design Argument was not systematically and analytically criticized until David Hume wrote Dialogues on Natural Religion in the 1750s. After Darwin published Origin of Species in 1859, Design withered on the vine. But in recent years, the Argument has been resurrected under the appellation "intelligent design," and been the subject of political and legal controversy in the United States. Design advocates have argued that intelligent design can be formulated as a scientific hypothesis, that new scientific discoveries validate a design inference, and that naturalism must be removed as a methodological requirement in science. If science is defined by a model of concentric epistemological zonation, design cannot be construed as a scientific hypothesis because it is inconsistent with the core aspects of scientific methodology: naturalism, uniformity, induction, and efficient causation. An analytical examination of claims by design advocates finds no evidence of any type to support either scientific or philosophical claims that design can be unambiguously inferred from nature. The apparent irreducible complexity of biological mechanisms may be explained by exaptation or scaffolding. The argument

77 FR 12331 - Membership of National Science Foundation's Senior Executive Service Performance Review Board

Science.gov (United States)

2012-02-29

... Director, Division of Human Resource Management, National Science Foundation, Room 315, 4201 Wilson... Resource Management and Chief Human Capital Officer. Deborah F. Lockhart, Deputy Director, Division of.... Sunley, Director, Division of Human Resource Management and PRB Executive Secretary. Dated: February 21...

The nature of science in science education: theories and practices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Maria Morais

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The article is based on results of research carried out by the ESSA Group (Sociological Studies of the Classroom centred on the inclusion of the nature of science (metascience on science education. The results, based on analyses of various educational texts and contexts – curricula/syllabuses, textbooks and pedagogic practices – and of the relations between those texts/contexts, have in general shown a reduced presence and low conceptualization of metascience. The article starts by presenting the theoretical framework of the research of the ESSA Group which was focused on the introduction of the nature of science in science education. It is mostly based on Ziman’s conceptualization of metascience (1984, 2000 and on Bernstein’s theorization of production and reproduction of knowledge, particularly his model of pedagogic discourse (1990, 2000 and knowledge structures (1999. This is followed by the description of a pedagogical strategy, theoretically grounded, which explores the nature of science in the classroom context. The intention is to give an example of a strategy which privileges a high level learning for all students and which may contribute to a reflection about the inclusion of the nature of science on science education. Finally, considerations are made about the applicability of the strategy on the basis of previous theoretical and empirical arguments which sustain its use in the context of science education.

[Research progresses of the completed pediatrics projects funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China from 2002 to 2006].

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Ling; Hao, Jie; Deng, Min; Xu, Yan-ying

2009-05-01

To understand the projects completion and research progresses in pediatrics which were funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), and evaluate the accomplishment objectively and justly. The completion status of projects in pediatrics funded by department of clinical medicine II from 2002 to 2006 was analysed retrospectively, and important research achievement and outstanding development in some projects were reported. During the period between 2002 and 2006, 420 articles were published, and the average was 8.1 papers per project, which included 56 papers that were published in journals indexed by SCI (the average was 1.1 papers per project). The completion of general project was better than that of "the Young Researchers Fund" and small grant project. Ten post-doctors, 102 doctors and 109 masters were trained. Two projects were awarded with the first grade prize and another 2 with the second grade prize at the provincial and ministerial level, 4 items applied for patent and 1 was granted. These completed projects, which were mainly related to 7 of 12 subspecialties in the field of pediatrics, such as the respiratory disease, nephrology, neurology, cardiology, endocrinology, hematology, neonatology, are the major portion of the application projects and subsidized projects funded by NSFC, and achieved great research progresses. During the period between 2002 and 2006, the 52 completed projects in pediatrics showed difference in the distribution and quality of accomplishment among subspecialties and among types of supported projects; there are some gaps between pediatrics and some other clinical basic subspecialties II, this situation released the research status and problems in development of pediatrics in China. The general projects completion was good, and many projects obtained research achievements, which reflect the leading function of NSFC in pediatric research.

Integrating the Nature of Science

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Weiland, Ingrid; Blieden, Katherine; Akerson, Valarie

2014-01-01

The nature of science (NOS) describes what science is and how knowledge in science is developed (NSTA 2013). To develop elementary students' understandings of how scientists explore the world, the authors--an education professor and a third-grade teacher--endeavored to integrate NOS into a third-grade life science unit. Throughout the lesson,…

Technology, society and nature. Technik, Gesellschaft und Natur

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kraemer, S

1982-01-01

This paper intends to counter with a demand for systematics the boom of ecological oriented criticism passed on technical science and engineering and on the fact that individual sciences make a subject of engineering. It deals with the theoretical foundations of relationships between technology, society and nature. An interdisciplinary approach attempts to do justice to the multi-dimensionality of engineering and ''technology''. This approach includes the formulation of questions and the findings of social sciences, philosophy, and technology. The object is to determine technology as a form of social practice - a practice which includes the vital adjustment of man to his natural environment as well as the organisation of his social behaviour.

Scientific foundation of regulating ionizing radiation: application of metrics for evaluation of regulatory science information.

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Moghissi, A Alan; Gerraa, Vikrham Kumar; McBride, Dennis K; Swetnam, Michael

2014-11-01

This paper starts by describing the historical evolution of assessment of biologic effects of ionizing radiation leading to the linear non-threshold (LNT) system currently used to regulate exposure to ionizing radiation. The paper describes briefly the concept of Best Available Science (BAS) and Metrics for Evaluation of Scientific Claims (MESC) derived for BAS. It identifies three phases of regulatory science consisting of the initial phase, when the regulators had to develop regulations without having the needed scientific information; the exploratory phase, when relevant tools were developed; and the standard operating phase, when the tools were applied to regulations. Subsequently, an attempt is made to apply the BAS/MESC system to various stages of LNT. This paper then compares the exposure limits imposed by regulatory agencies and also compares them with naturally occurring radiation at several cities. Controversies about LNT are addressed, including judgments of the U.S. National Academies and their French counterpart. The paper concludes that, based on the BAS/MESC system, there is no disagreement between the two academies on the scientific foundation of LNT; instead, the disagreement is based on their judgment or speculation.

Preservice Teachers' Perception about Nature of Science

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Nuangchalerm, Prasart

2009-01-01

Teacher student is an important role improving their own perception what science should be anticipated in classroom. Also, science learning in the current studies try to have relied understanding in the nature of science. This research aimed to study teacher students' perception in the nature of science. One hundred and one of junior teacher…

Interactional nursing--a practice-theory in the dynamic field between the natural, human and social sciences.

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Scheel, Merry Elisabeth; Pedersen, Birthe D; Rosenkrands, Vibeke

2008-12-01

Nursing is often described from the point of view of either the natural or the human sciences. In contrast to this, the value foundation in Interactional nursing practice is understood from the point of view of the natural sciences as well as that of the human and social sciences. This article presents many-faceted practice-theory of nursing, which is situated in the dynamic field between these three sciences. The focus of the theory is on interaction and practice resulting in a caring practice. Here practice is based on Taylor's and MacIntyre's interpretation of this concept. Action in nursing is based on Habermas' three varied modes of action seen in the light of an understanding of the world as a system world and a life world. Nursing as an interactional practice-theory is presented with examples of interpretative nursing science, seen in the ethical action-oriented, socio-cultural framework of Taylor and Habermas. It is concluded that phenomenologic and socio-cultural research into caring practice as well as an in-depth, comprehensive interpretation of nursing practice are both highly suited to forming the fundamental theoretical framework in nursing, here seen as an interpretative nursing science. Finally, a comparison is drawn between Interactional nursing practice and Benner's theory of nursing practice.

Reconceptualizing the Nature of Science for Science Education: Why Does it Matter?

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Dagher, Zoubeida R.; Erduran, Sibel

2016-01-01

Two fundamental questions about science are relevant for science educators: (a) What is the nature of science? and (b) what aspects of nature of science should be taught and learned? They are fundamental because they pertain to how science gets to be framed as a school subject and determines what aspects of it are worthy of inclusion in school…

Foundation of the Outstanding Toughness in Biomimetic and Natural Spider Silk.

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Anton, Arthur Markus; Heidebrecht, Aniela; Mahmood, Nasir; Beiner, Mario; Scheibel, Thomas; Kremer, Friedrich

2017-12-11

Spider dragline silk is distinguished through the highest toughness of all natural as well as artificial fiber materials. To unravel the toughness's molecular foundation and to enable manufacturing biomimetic analogues, we investigated the morphological and functional structure of recombinant fibers, which exhibit toughness similar to that of the natural template, on the molecular scale by means of vibrational spectroscopy and on the mesoscale by X-ray scattering. Whereas the former was used to identify protein secondary structures and their alignment in the natural as well as artificial silks, the latter revealed nanometer-sized crystallites on the higher structural level. Furthermore, a spectral red shift of a crystal-specific absorption band demonstrated that macroscopically applied stress is directly transferred to the molecular scale, where it is finally dissipated. Concerning this feature, both the natural as well as the biomimetic fibers are almost indistinguishable, giving rise to the toughness of both fiber materials.

On the Motivation and Foundation of Natural Time Analysis: Useful Remarks

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Varotsos, Panayiotis A.; Sarlis, Nicholas V.; Skordas, Efthimios S.

2016-08-01

Since its introduction in 2001, natural time analysis has been applied to diverse fields with remarkable results. Its validity has not been doubted by any publication to date. Here, we indicate that frequently asked questions on the motivation and the foundation of natural time analysis are directly answered if one takes into account the following two key points that we have considered as widely accepted when natural time analysis was proposed: first, the aspects on the energy of a system forwarded by Max Planck in his Treatise on Thermodynamics; second, the theorem on the characteristic functions of probability distributions which Gauss called Ein Schönes Theorem der Wahrscheinlichkeitsrechnung (beautiful theorem of probability calculus). The case of the time series of earthquakes and of the precursory Seismic Electric Signals are discussed as typical examples.

Using Decision Tree Analysis to Understand Foundation Science Student Performance. Insight Gained at One South African University

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Kirby, Nicola Frances; Dempster, Edith Roslyn

2014-11-01

The Foundation Programme of the Centre for Science Access at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa provides access to tertiary science studies to educationally disadvantaged students who do not meet formal faculty entrance requirements. The low number of students proceeding from the programme into mainstream is of concern, particularly given the national imperative to increase participation and levels of performance in tertiary-level science. An attempt was made to understand foundation student performance in a campus of this university, with the view to identifying challenges and opportunities for remediation in the curriculum and processes of selection into the programme. A classification and regression tree analysis was used to identify which variables best described student performance. The explanatory variables included biographical and school-history data, performance in selection tests, and socio-economic data pertaining to their year in the programme. The results illustrate the prognostic reliability of the model used to select students, raise concerns about the inefficiency of school performance indicators as a measure of students' academic potential in the Foundation Programme, and highlight the importance of accommodation arrangements and financial support for student success in their access year.

Representing the nature of science in a science textbook: Exploring author-editor-publisher interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Digiuseppe, Maurizio

Current reforms in elementary and secondary science education call for students and teachers to develop more informed views of the nature of science---a process in which learning materials like science textbooks play a significant role. This dissertation reports on a case study of the development of representations of the nature of science in one unit of a senior high school chemistry textbook by the book's author, editor, and publisher. The study examines the multiple discourses that arose as the developers reflected on their personal and shared understandings of the nature of science; squared these understandings with mandated curricula, the educational needs of chemistry students and teachers, and the exigencies of large-scale commercial textbook publishing; and developed and incorporated into the textbook representations of the nature of science they believed were the most suitable. Analyses of the data in this study indicate that a number of factors significantly influenced the development of representations of the nature of science, including representational accuracy (the degree to which suggested representations of the nature of science conformed to what the developers believed were contemporary understandings of the nature of science), representational consistency (the degree to which similar representations of the nature of science in different parts of the textbook conveyed the same meaning), representational appropriateness (the age-, grade-, and reading-level suitability of the suggested nature of science representations), representational alignment (the degree to which suggested representations of the nature of science addressed the requirements of mandated curricula), representational marketability (the degree to which textbook developers believed suggested representations of the nature of science would affect sales of the textbook in the marketplace), and a number of "Workplace Resources" factors such as the availability of time, relevant expertise

25 October 2017- Austrian, German and Swiss Science Foundations signing the guest book in the Globe of Science and Innovation

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Ordan, Julien Marius

2017-01-01

Austrian, German and Swiss Science Foundations in Globe: Professor Klement Tockner, Präsident, Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung, Austria; Professor Peter, Strohschneider, Präsident, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft Germany; Professor Matthias Egger, Präsident, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, Switzerland

Examining Preservice Science Teacher Understanding of Nature of Science: Discriminating Variables on the Aspects of Nature of Science

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Jones, William I.

This study examined the understanding of nature of science among participants in their final year of a 4-year undergraduate teacher education program at a Midwest liberal arts university. The Logic Model Process was used as an integrative framework to focus the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of the data for the purpose of (1) describing participant understanding of NOS and (2) to identify participant characteristics and teacher education program features related to those understandings. The Views of Nature of Science Questionnaire form C (VNOS-C) was used to survey participant understanding of 7 target aspects of Nature of Science (NOS). A rubric was developed from a review of the literature to categorize and score participant understanding of the target aspects of NOS. Participants' high school and college transcripts, planning guides for their respective teacher education program majors, and science content and science teaching methods course syllabi were examined to identify and categorize participant characteristics and teacher education program features. The R software (R Project for Statistical Computing, 2010) was used to conduct an exploratory analysis to determine correlations of the antecedent and transaction predictor variables with participants' scores on the 7 target aspects of NOS. Fourteen participant characteristics and teacher education program features were moderately and significantly ( p Middle Childhood with a science concentration program major or in the Adolescent/Young Adult Science Education program major were more likely to have an informed understanding on each of the 7 target aspects of NOS. Analyses of the planning guides and the course syllabi in each teacher education program major revealed differences between the program majors that may account for the results.

Sciences & Nature: Submissions

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Sciences & nature publish original works in French or in English that have not been ... This page should provide a summary (200 words maximum) in French and English .... one copy of the journal where his article is published, and 10 offprints.

Using Decision Tree Analysis to Understand Foundation Science Student Performance. Insight Gained at One South African University

Science.gov (United States)

Kirby, Nicola Frances; Dempster, Edith Roslyn

2014-01-01

The Foundation Programme of the Centre for Science Access at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa provides access to tertiary science studies to educationally disadvantaged students who do not meet formal faculty entrance requirements. The low number of students proceeding from the programme into mainstream is of concern, particularly…

The logical foundations of forensic science: towards reliable knowledge.

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Evett, Ian

2015-08-05

The generation of observations is a technical process and the advances that have been made in forensic science techniques over the last 50 years have been staggering. But science is about reasoning-about making sense from observations. For the forensic scientist, this is the challenge of interpreting a pattern of observations within the context of a legal trial. Here too, there have been major advances over recent years and there is a broad consensus among serious thinkers, both scientific and legal, that the logical framework is furnished by Bayesian inference (Aitken et al. Fundamentals of Probability and Statistical Evidence in Criminal Proceedings). This paper shows how the paradigm has matured, centred on the notion of the balanced scientist. Progress through the courts has not been always smooth and difficulties arising from recent judgments are discussed. Nevertheless, the future holds exciting prospects, in particular the opportunities for managing and calibrating the knowledge of the forensic scientists who assign the probabilities that are at the foundation of logical inference in the courtroom. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Teaching Development of Foundation Environmental Science Course Using Undergraduate Handbook of Buriram Rajabhat University

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Kuntida Thammamrat

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The present study is an attempt to apply the handbook as a tool for teaching foundation of environmental science. The aims of this investigation were 1 to develop a course handbook that fills the standard criteria of 80/80 2 to compare mean derived from pretest and posttest scores 3 to compare student’s attitude toward environmental science from the pretest and posttest scores and 4 to compare student’s environmental scientific skills prior to and after using a study handbook. The key informants were 56 students drawn from 1st- year students of Environmental Science Department of Buriram Rajabhat University in 2558 (B.E academic year. Four instruments of data collection were constructed including 1 the course handbook 2 test of student’s basic knowledge on environmental science, 3 the test of student’s attitude toward environmental science, and 4 the test of student’s environmental scientific skills. The statistics analysis in this study comprised frequency percentage, mean, standard deviation and dependent t – test, which were of used for examining the hypothesis. The findings of this investigation revealed that 1 the efficiency of the handbook entitled “Foundation of environmental science” met the criteria of 80/80 in all aspects with value 83.93/91.81 2 the scores derived from student’s posttest is higher than pretest with .05 statistical significant difference 3 teaching through the handbook enhanced the level of student attitude toward environmental science with .05 statistical significant difference and 4 the environmental scientific skills of the students learning through the handbook are significantly higher than before, at .05 level.

Revising Teacher Candidates' Views of Science and Self: Can Accounts from the History of Science Help?

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Lewthwaite, Brian; Murray, John; Hechter, Richard

2012-01-01

Our inquiry uses accounts from the history of science to develop teacher-candidate (student teacher) understanding of the nature of science (NOS) in a science teacher education methods course. This understanding of the NOS is then used as a foundation for developing teacher candidate appreciation of the attributes of authentic science lessons.…

Science Education and the Nature of Nature: Bruno Latour's Ontological Politics

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Gleason, Tristan

2017-01-01

This article explores recent developments in the field of science and technology, and the work of Bruno Latour in particular, to problematize the nature of Nature in science education. Although science and technology studies, and the scholarship on science education alike, have become increasingly attentive to the antidemocratic habits of science…

How Nonfiction Reveals the Nature of Science

Science.gov (United States)

Zarnowski, Myra; Turkel, Susan

2013-01-01

In this article, the authors consider whether children's trade books promote an authentic understanding of the nature of science. They begin by discussing the characteristics of the nature of science and then examine existing research in children's science books for evidence of the visibility of these features. They describe the problems…

Better Broader Impacts through National Science Foundation Centers

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Campbell, K. M.

2010-12-01

National Science Foundation Science and Technology Centers (STCs) play a leading role in developing and evaluating “Better Broader Impacts”; best practices for recruiting a broad spectrum of American students into STEM fields and for educating these future professionals, as well as their families, teachers and the general public. With staff devoted full time to Broader Impacts activities, over the ten year life of a Center, STCs are able to address both a broad range of audiences and a broad range of topics. Along with other NSF funded centers, such as Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence, Engineering Research Centers and Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers, STCs develop both models and materials that individual researchers can adopt, as well as, in some cases, direct opportunities for individual researchers to offer their disciplinary research expertise to existing center Broader Impacts Programs. The National Center for Earth-surface Dynamics is an STC headquartered at the University of Minnesota. NCED’s disciplinary research spans the physical, biological and engineering issues associated with developing an integrative, quantitative and predictive understanding of rivers and river basins. Funded in 2002, we have had the opportunity to partner with individuals and institutions ranging from formal to informal education and from science museums to Tribal and women’s colleges. We have developed simple table top physical models, complete museum exhibitions, 3D paper maps and interactive computer based visualizations, all of which have helped us communicate with this wide variety of learners. Many of these materials themselves or plans to construct them are available online; in many cases they have also been formally evaluated. We have also listened to the formal and informal educators with whom we partner, from whom we have learned a great deal about how to design Broader Impacts activities and programs. Using NCED as a case study

An approach to teaching general chemistry II that highlights the interdisciplinary nature of science.

Science.gov (United States)

Sumter, Takita Felder; Owens, Patrick M

2011-01-01

The need for a revised curriculum within the life sciences has been well-established. One strategy to improve student preparation in the life sciences is to redesign introductory courses like biology, chemistry, and physics so that they better reflect their disciplinary interdependence. We describe a medically relevant, context-based approach to teaching second semester general chemistry that demonstrates the interdisciplinary nature of biology and chemistry. Our innovative method provides a model in which disciplinary barriers are diminished early in the undergraduate science curriculum. The course is divided into three principle educational modules: 1) Fundamentals of General Chemistry, 2) Medical Approaches to Inflammation, and 3) Neuroscience as a connector of chemistry, biology, and psychology. We accurately anticipated that this modified approach to teaching general chemistry would enhance student interest in chemistry and bridge the perceived gaps between biology and chemistry. The course serves as a template for context-based, interdisciplinary teaching that lays the foundation needed to train 21st century scientists. Copyright © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

On the Nature of Science

OpenAIRE

Jennings, B. K.

2006-01-01

A 21st century view of the nature of science is presented. It attempts to show how a consistent description of science and scientific progress can be given. Science advances through a sequence of models with progressively greater predictive power. The philosophical and metaphysical implications of the models change in unpredictable ways as the predictive power increases. The view of science arrived at is one based on instrumentalism. Philosophical realism can only be recovered by a subtle use...

78 FR 20666 - Food and Drug Administration/National Institutes of Health/National Science Foundation Public...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-04-05

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration [Docket No. FDA-2013-N-0345] Food and Drug Administration/National Institutes of Health/ National Science Foundation Public Workshop... public workshop; request for comments. SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing its...

Grade six students' understanding of the nature of science

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Cochrane, Donald Brian

The goal of scientific literacy requires that students develop an understanding of the nature of science to assist them in the reasoned acquisition of science concepts and in their future role as citizens in a participatory democracy. The purpose of this study was to investigate and describe the range of positions that grade six students hold with respect to the nature of science and to investigate whether gender or prior science education was related to students' views of the nature of science. Two grade six classes participated in this study. One class was from a school involved in a long-term elementary science curriculum project. The science curriculum at this school involved constructivist epistemology and pedagogy and a realist ontology. The curriculum stressed hands-on, open-ended activities and the development of science process skills. Students were frequently involved in creating and testing explanations for physical phenomena. The second class was from a matched school that had a traditional science program. Results of the study indicated that students hold a wider range of views of the nature of science than previously documented. Student positions ranged from having almost no understanding of the nature of science to those expressing positions regarding the nature of science that were more developed than previous studies had documented. Despite the range of views documented, all subjects held realist views of scientific knowledge. Contrary to the literature, some students were able to evaluate a scientific theory in light of empirical evidence that they had generated. Results also indicated that students from the project school displayed more advanced views of the nature of science than their matched peers. However, not all students benefited equally from their experiences. No gender differences were found with respect to students' understanding of the nature of science.

The Particulate Nature of Matter in Science Education and in Science.

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Vos, Wobbe de; Verdonk, Adri H.

1996-01-01

Discusses ideas about the particulate nature of matter and assesses the extent to which these represent a compromise between scientific and educational considerations. Analyzes relations between the particulate nature of matter in science and science education in an attempt to understand children's inclination to attribute all kinds of macroscopic…

Medicine as combining natural and human science.

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Dreyfus, Hubert L

2011-08-01

Medicine is unique in being a combination of natural science and human science in which both are essential. Therefore, in order to make sense of medical practice, we need to begin by drawing a clear distinction between the natural and the human sciences. In this paper, I try to bring the old distinction between the Geistes and Naturwissenschaften up to date by defending the essential difference between a realist explanatory theoretical study of nature including the body in which the scientist discovers the causal properties of natural kinds and the interpretive understanding of human beings as embodied agents which, as Charles Taylor has convincingly argued, requires a hermeneutic account of self-interpreting human practices.

76 FR 3853 - National Science Foundation Rules of Practice and Statutory Conflict-of-Interest Exemptions

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-21

... Practice and Statutory Conflict-of-Interest Exemptions AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Final... provisions concerning statutory conflict-of- interest exemptions. DATES: The final rule is effective on.... List of Subjects in 45 CFR Part 680 Conflict of interests. Accordingly, 45 CFR part 680 is amended as...

Citizen science can improve conservation science, natural resource management, and environmental protection

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McKinley, Duncan C.; Miller-Rushing, Abe J.; Ballard, Heidi L.; Bonney, Rick; Brown, Hutch; Cook-Patton, Susan; Evans, Daniel M.; French, Rebecca A.; Parrish, Julia; Phillips, Tina B.; Ryan, Sean F.; Shanley, Lea A.; Shirk, Jennifer L.; Stepenuck, Kristine F.; Weltzin, Jake F.; Wiggins, Andrea; Boyle, Owen D.; Briggs, Russell D.; Chapin, Stuart F.; Hewitt, David A.; Preuss, Peter W.; Soukup, Michael A.

2017-01-01

Citizen science has advanced science for hundreds of years, contributed to many peer-reviewed articles, and informed land management decisions and policies across the United States. Over the last 10 years, citizen science has grown immensely in the United States and many other countries. Here, we show how citizen science is a powerful tool for tackling many of the challenges faced in the field of conservation biology. We describe the two interwoven paths by which citizen science can improve conservation efforts, natural resource management, and environmental protection. The first path includes building scientific knowledge, while the other path involves informing policy and encouraging public action. We explore how citizen science is currently used and describe the investments needed to create a citizen science program. We find that:Citizen science already contributes substantially to many domains of science, including conservation, natural resource, and environmental science. Citizen science informs natural resource management, environmental protection, and policymaking and fosters public input and engagement.Many types of projects can benefit from citizen science, but one must be careful to match the needs for science and public involvement with the right type of citizen science project and the right method of public participation.Citizen science is a rigorous process of scientific discovery, indistinguishable from conventional science apart from the participation of volunteers. When properly designed, carried out, and evaluated, citizen science can provide sound science, efficiently generate high-quality data, and help solve problems.

View of Nature of Science (VNOS Form B: An Instrument for Assessing Preservice Teachers View of Nature of Science at Borneo University Tarakan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Listiani Listiani

2017-03-01

Full Text Available NOS form B is an instrument that has been developed and revised to assess the view of nature of science of preservice science teachers through nature of science aspects.Indeed, students and teachers have to have the view of nature of science to avoid misconceptions of science concepts. Unfortunately, research on the view of Nature of Science is less conducted in Indonesia. This is a qualitative research that was conducted in Borneo University Tarakan. Respondents are preservice biology teachers in the sixth semester. The first step of this research is translating and adapting the VNOS form B into Bahasa Indonesia to make sure that the instrument is culturally fit to Indonesian and the transadapted instrument then given to the respondents. The result shows that the VNOS form B can be applied to assess the view of nature of science of preservice biology teachers. However, the result also shows that most of preservice biology teachers have few understanding on aspects of nature of scince.

Making "Nature" the history of a scientific journal

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Baldwin, Melinda

2015-01-01

Making "Nature" is the first book to chronicle the foundation and development of Nature, one of the world's most influential scientific institutions. Now nearing its hundred and fiftieth year of publication, Nature is the international benchmark for scientific publication. Its contributors include Charles Darwin, Ernest Rutherford, and Stephen Hawking, and it has published many of the most important discoveries in the history of science, including articles on the structure of DNA, the discovery of the neutron, the first cloning of a mammal, and the human genome. But how did Nature become such an essential institution? In Making "Nature," Melinda Baldwin charts the rich history of this extraordinary publication from its foundation in 1869 to current debates about online publishing and open access. This pioneering study not only tells Nature's story but also sheds light on much larger questions about the history of science publishing, changes in scientific communication, and shifting notions of "scientific comm...

Foundations of Complex Systems Nonlinear Dynamics, Statistical Physics, and Prediction

CERN Document Server

Nicolis, Gregoire

2007-01-01

Complexity is emerging as a post-Newtonian paradigm for approaching a large body of phenomena of concern at the crossroads of physical, engineering, environmental, life and human sciences from a unifying point of view. This book outlines the foundations of modern complexity research as it arose from the cross-fertilization of ideas and tools from nonlinear science, statistical physics and numerical simulation. It is shown how these developments lead to an understanding, both qualitative and quantitative, of the complex systems encountered in nature and in everyday experience and, conversely, h

Scientometrics: Nature Index and Brazilian science.

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, Valter

2016-09-01

A recent published newspaper article commented on the (lack of) quality of Brazilian science and its (in) efficiency. The newspaper article was based on a special issue of Nature and on a new resource for scientometrics called Nature Index. I show here arguments and sources of bias that, under the light of the principle in dubio pro reo, it is questionable to dispute the quality and efficiency of the Brazilian science on these grounds, as it was commented on the referred article. A brief overview of Brazilian science is provided for readers to make their own judgment.

The Pedagogy of Science Teachers from Non-Natural Science Backgrounds

Science.gov (United States)

Woods, Shaneka

2017-01-01

This is a descriptive, exploratory, qualitative, collective case study that explores the pedagogical practices of science teachers who do not hold natural science degrees. The intent of this study is to support the creation of alternative pathways for recruiting and retaining high-quality secondary science teachers in K-12 education. The…

An Approach to Teaching General Chemistry II that Highlights the Interdisciplinary Nature of Science*,†

Science.gov (United States)

Sumter, Takita Felder; Owens, Patrick M.

2012-01-01

The need for a revised curriculum within the life sciences has been well-established. One strategy to improve student preparation in the life sciences is to redesign introductory courses like biology, chemistry, and physics so that they better reflect their disciplinary interdependence. We describe a medically relevant, context-based approach to teaching second semester general chemistry that demonstrates the interdisciplinary nature of biology and chemistry. Our innovative method provides a model in which disciplinary barriers are diminished early in the undergraduate science curriculum. The course is divided into three principle educational modules: 1) Fundamentals of General Chemistry, 2) Medical Approaches to Inflammation, and 3) Neuroscience as a connector of chemistry, biology, and psychology. We accurately anticipated that this modified approach to teaching general chemistry would enhance student interest in chemistry and bridge the perceived gaps between biology and chemistry. The course serves as a template for context-based, interdisciplinary teaching that lays the foundation needed to train 21st century scientists. PMID:21445902

Connecting university science experiences to middle school science teaching

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Gordon; Laughran, Laura; Tamppari, Ray; Thomas, Perry

1991-06-01

Science teachers naturally rely on their university science experiences as a foundation for teaching middle school science. This foundation consists of knowledge far too complex for the middle level students to comprehend. In order for middle school science teachers to utilize their university science training they must search for ways to adapt their college experiences into appropriate middle school learning experience. The criteria set forth above provide broad-based guidelines for translating university science laboratory experiences into middle school activities. These guidelines are used by preservice teachers in our project as they identify, test, and organize a resource file of hands-on inquiry activities for use in their first year classrooms. It is anticipated that this file will provide a basis for future curriculum development as the teacher becomes more comfortable and more experienced in teaching hands-on science. The presentation of these guidelines is not meant to preclude any other criteria or considerations which a teacher or science department deems important. This is merely one example of how teachers may proceed to utilize their advanced science training as a basis for teaching middle school science.

Learner Characteristics and Understanding Nature of Science. Is There an Association?

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Çetinkaya-Aydın, Gamze; Çakıroğlu, Jale

2017-11-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible associations between preservice science teachers' understanding of nature of science and their learner characteristics; understanding of nature of scientific inquiry, science teaching self-efficacy beliefs, metacognitive awareness level, and faith/worldview schemas. The sample of the current study was 60 3rd-year preservice science teachers enrolled in the Nature of Science and History of Science course. Using a descriptive and associational case study design, data were collected by means of different qualitative and quantitative questionnaires. Analysis of the data revealed that preservice science teachers' understanding of nature of science and nature of scientific inquiry were highly associated. Similarly, science teaching self-efficacy beliefs, metacognitive awareness levels, and faith/worldviews of the preservice science teachers were found to be significantly associated with their understanding of nature of science. Thus, it can be concluded that there might be other factors interfering with the learning processes of nature of science.

[Overview of research projects funding in traditional Chinese medicine oncology field supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China].

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Tang, Dong-Xin; Chen, Lian-Yu; Guo, Shu-Zhen; Han, Li-Wei; Zhang, Feng-Zhu

2017-05-01

In this paper, the funding situation of traditional Chinese medicine oncology research projects supported by National Natural Science Fund from 1986-2016 was reviewed. The characteristics of funded projects were summarized from funding amount, funding expenses, funding category, and the main research contents of projects, etc. At the same time, the main problems in the projects were analyzed in this paper, in order to provide reference for the relevant fund applicants. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

[Statistics and analysis on acupuncture and moxibustion projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China of traditional Chinese medicine universities and colleges in recent 10 years: taking the General Program and National Science Fund for Young Scholars as examples].

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Li, Qingling; Ma, Qiang; Li, Dan; Liu, Nana; Yang, Jiahui; Sun, Chun; Cheng, Cheng; Jia, Xuezhao; Wang, Jing; Zeng, Yonglei

2018-03-12

To analyze statistically the situation of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) from 2007 to 2016 in the field of acupuncture and moxibustion for supporting the national Universities colleges of traditional Chinese medicine on the General Program (GP) and the National Science Fund for Young Scholars (NSFYS). In view of five aspects, named fund, supporting units, key words, method, disorder and signal path, the differences were compared between GP and NSFYS, the following characteristics were summarized. ① The fund aid was increased from 2007 through 2013 and down-regulated from 2013 through 2016. In recent ten years, the funding condition was fluctuated, but increasing in tendency generally. ② The relevant projects of the same research direction had been approved continuously for over 3 years in a part of TCM universities, in which, the research continuity was the hot topic. ③ Regarding the therapeutic methods, acupuncture was the chief therapy; electroacupuncture, moxibustion and acupoints were involved as well. ④ The disorders involved in the research were cerebral ischemia, myocardial ischemia and reperfusion injury. It is suggested that the ischemic disorder is predominated in the research. ⑤ The signal path occupied the main research index system, including cell proliferation, metabolism, immune, apoptosis and autophagy. The researches on the other aspects were less.

The Use of Clinical Interviews to Develop Inservice Secondary Science Teachers' Nature of Science Knowledge and Assessment of Student Nature of Science Knowledge

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Peters-Burton, Erin E.

2013-01-01

To fully incorporate nature of science knowledge into classrooms, teachers must be both proficient in their own nature of science knowledge, but also skillful in translating their knowledge into a learning environment which assesses student knowledge. Twenty-eight inservice teachers enrolled in a graduate course which in part required a clinical…

Foundations of resilience thinking.

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Curtin, Charles G; Parker, Jessica P

2014-08-01

Through 3 broad and interconnected streams of thought, resilience thinking has influenced the science of ecology and natural resource management by generating new multidisciplinary approaches to environmental problem solving. Resilience science, adaptive management (AM), and ecological policy design (EPD) contributed to an internationally unified paradigm built around the realization that change is inevitable and that science and management must approach the world with this assumption, rather than one of stability. Resilience thinking treats actions as experiments to be learned from, rather than intellectual propositions to be defended or mistakes to be ignored. It asks what is novel and innovative and strives to capture the overall behavior of a system, rather than seeking static, precise outcomes from discrete action steps. Understanding the foundations of resilience thinking is an important building block for developing more holistic and adaptive approaches to conservation. We conducted a comprehensive review of the history of resilience thinking because resilience thinking provides a working context upon which more effective, synergistic, and systems-based conservation action can be taken in light of rapid and unpredictable change. Together, resilience science, AM, and EPD bridge the gaps between systems analysis, ecology, and resource management to provide an interdisciplinary approach to solving wicked problems. © 2014 Society for Conservation Biology.

An Introduction to the Foundations of Chemical Information Theory. Tarski–Lesniewski Logical Structures and the Organization of Natural Sorts and Kinds

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Jerry L. R. Chandler

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Organic mathematics is an applied mathematics of philosophical atomism. The order of the chemical elements in the table of elements is the source of order for the logical operations of addition and subtraction of atomic numbers. The inverse square laws of physics are the source of organization of subatomic structures of chemical atoms (atomic and molecular structures. These facts are foundational to the logic of the chemical sciences and are therefore the scientific basis for chemical information theory. The theories and facts of the chemical sciences are so perplex that several forms of symbolic representations are necessary to communicate the broad range of scientific concepts used to inquire into the nature of natural sorts and kinds. The logics proposed by Tarski, Lesniewski and Malatesta are applied to the construction of a numerical “spine” of perplex numbers representing atomic numbers as meta-symbols in meta-languages. The orbital angular momenta of certain collections of electrical particles (also known as “handedness” are critical components in constructing the logical propositions of the perplex number “spine”. Biological communication channels can function if and only if the natural sorts and kinds are consistent with the matching patterns of the optical isomers. The terms spinners and twisters are introduced to express the electro-mechanical torques necessary for encoding chemical information. This hypothesis can be tested by several categories of experiments, including clinical pharmaco-dynamics and clinical toxico-dynamics of dissymmetric isomers of different sorts and kinds.

Public science policy and administration. [cooperation of government industry, foundations, and educational institutions

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Rosenthal, A. H. (Editor)

1973-01-01

Science, the overwhelming concern of our time, is no longer a matter of private research and development but one of public policy and administration, in which government, industry, foundations, and educational institutions must all work together as never before. Few other single tasks are of such decisive importance to the collective and individual welfare of American citizens as the formulation of public science policy and the administration of scientific programs. Eleven national authorities of varied background in science, education, and government administration contribute their experience and their judgment in an effort to deal with the major aspects of the subject. Their focus is on the meeting of actual problems; they consider the decision making process in both public and public-private organizations. Topics are grouped in three general categories: personnel needs and resources, organizational problems and techniques, and the administrative role in policy leadership.

Language and human nature: Kurt Goldstein's neurolinguistic foundation of a holistic philosophy.

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Ludwig, David

2012-01-01

Holism in interwar Germany provides an excellent example for social and political influences on scientific developments. Deeply impressed by the ubiquitous invocation of a cultural crisis, biologists, physicians, and psychologists presented holistic accounts as an alternative to the "mechanistic worldview" of the nineteenth century. Although the ideological background of these accounts is often blatantly obvious, many holistic scientists did not content themselves with a general opposition to a mechanistic worldview but aimed at a rational foundation of their holistic projects. This article will discuss the work of Kurt Goldstein, who is known for both his groundbreaking contributions to neuropsychology and his holistic philosophy of human nature. By focusing on Goldstein's neurolinguistic research, I want to reconstruct the empirical foundations of his holistic program without ignoring its cultural background. In this sense, Goldstein's work provides a case study for the formation of a scientific theory through the complex interplay between specific empirical evidences and the general cultural developments of the Weimar Republic. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The Nature of Science as Viewed by Science Teachers in Najran District, Saudi Arabia

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Saif, Abdulsalam Dale Amer

2016-01-01

This study aims to investigate the views of Saudi Science Teachers in Najran district about the nature of science (NOS). A questionnaire of fourteen items was developed and administered to a sample of 83 science teachers. The questionnaire covers five aspects of the nature of science which are: scientific theories and models; role of scientists;…

Informetrics needs a foundation in the theory of science

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hjørland, Birger

2016-01-01

Taking the Kuhnian revolution in the philosophy of science as its point of departure, this chapter discusses the lessening influence of logical positivism as well as how the recognition of the subjectivity of the researcher, the social and historical nature of bibliometric patterns, and the impor...

An examination of the relationship among science teaching actions, beliefs, and knowledge of the nature of science

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Chun, Sajin

Scholars in science education advocate curriculum and instruction practices that reflect an understanding of the nature of science. This aspect of school science is an important component of scientific literacy, a primary goal of science education. Considering teaching as a thoughtful profession, there has been a growing research interest on the issue of the consistency between teacher beliefs and actions. Yet, the self-evident assumption that teachers' beliefs about the nature of science will impact on their classroom teaching actions has not been justified. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between science teaching actions and beliefs about the nature of science. Defining teacher beliefs as a broad construct, the researcher tried to examine not only teacher's cognitive understanding about the nature of science but also teachers' affect as well as actions with regard to the nature of science. Guiding research questions were as follows: (a) what are the teachers' beliefs about the nature of science; (b) how do the teachers, pedagogical actions reflect their beliefs about the nature of science; and (c) what are the other referent beliefs that mediate the teachers, pedagogical actions within a local school culture. The methodology of this study was an interpretive, qualitative approach that included multiple sources of data, interviews, classroom observations, and instructional materials. Six science teachers from a secondary school located in a rural area of the southeastern US were chosen by convenience. The cross-case study and the grounded theory study designs were adopted as the data analysis process. The constant comparative analysis method was used to generate the emerging themes for this study. This study revealed a gap between these teachers' personal beliefs of the nature of science and the concepts of the nature of science suggested by many researchers. These teachers' personal beliefs about the nature of science have been

The Problem of Understanding of Nature in Exact Science

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Leo Näpinen

2014-10-01

Full Text Available In this short inquiry I would like to defend the statement that exact science deals with the explanation of models, but not with the understanding (comprehending of nature. By the word ‘nature’ I mean nature as physis (as a self-moving and self-developing living organism to which humans also belong, not nature as natura naturata (as a nonevolving creature created by someone or something. The Estonian philosopher of science Rein Vihalemm (2008 has shown with his conception of phi-science (φ-science that exact science is itself an idealized model or theoretical object derived from Galilean mathematical physics.

The role of foundations: Rockefeller Foundation.

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Rockefeller, David

The consequences of climate change and the impacts of human activity on the environment have made it clearer than ever before that we must evolve our current model of public health to better account for the inextricable link between human health and the natural systems on which it depends-creating a "public health 2.0" that builds on the innovations of the twentieth century to account for a world where humans have bypassed planetary boundaries to achieve well-being. First coined at the Rockefeller Foundation's Centennial gathering in Beijing in 2013, "Planetary Health" will factor in future health and environmental harms over present-day gains, particularly those that disproportionately affect the poor and those in developing nations. To build this new field, foundations must address the challenge of information, increasing support for research to bridge knowledge gaps on the links between economic development, natural systems, and human health.

Natural frequency and vibration analysis of jacket type foundation for offshore wind power

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Hung, Y.-C.; Chang, Y.-Y.; Chen, S.-Y.

2017-12-01

There are various types of foundation structure for offshore wind power, engineers may assess the condition of ocean at wind farm, and arrange the transportation, installation of each structure members, furthermore, considering the ability of manufacture steel structure as well, then make an optimum design. To design jacket offshore structure, unlike onshore cases, offshore structure also need to estimate the wave excitation effect. The aim of this paper is to study the difference of natural frequency between different kinds of structural stiffness and discuss the effect of different setting of boundary condition during analysis, besides, compare this value with the natural frequency of sea wave, in order to avoid the resonance effect. In this paper, the finite element analysis software ABAQUS is used to model and analyze the natural vibration behavior of the jacket structure.

How In-Service Science Teachers Integrate History and Nature of Science in Elementary Science Courses

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Hacieminoglu, Esme

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate how the in-service science teachers' (IST) perceptions and practices about curriculum and integration of the history of science (HOS) and the nature of science (NOS) affect their science courses. For this aim, how ISTs integrated the NOS and HOS in their elementary science courses for understanding of…

Teaching and Assessing the Nature of Science

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Clough, Michael P.

2011-01-01

Understanding the nature of science (NOS)--what science is and how it works, the assumptions that underlie scientific knowledge, how scientists function as a social group, and how society impacts and reacts to science--is prominent in science education reform documents (Rutherford and Ahlgren 1990; AAAS 1993; McComas and Olson 1998; NRC 1996; AAAS…

Conventional Principles in Science: On the foundations and development of the relativized a priori

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Ivanova, Milena; Farr, Matt

2015-11-01

The present volume consists of a collection of papers originally presented at the conference Conventional Principles in Science, held at the University of Bristol, August 2011, which featured contributions on the history and contemporary development of the notion of 'relativized a priori' principles in science, from Henri Poincaré's conventionalism to Michael Friedman's contemporary defence of the relativized a priori. In Science and Hypothesis, Poincaré assessed the problematic epistemic status of Euclidean geometry and Newton's laws of motion, famously arguing that each has the status of 'convention' in that their justification is neither analytic nor empirical in nature. In The Theory of Relativity and A Priori Knowledge, Hans Reichenbach, in light of the general theory of relativity, proposed an updated notion of the Kantian synthetic a priori to account for the dynamic inter-theoretic status of geometry and other non-empirical physical principles. Reichenbach noted that one may reject the 'necessarily true' aspect of the synthetic a priori whilst preserving the feature of being constitutive of the object of knowledge. Such constitutive principles are theory-relative, as illustrated by the privileged role of non-Euclidean geometry in general relativity theory. This idea of relativized a priori principles in spacetime physics has been analysed and developed at great length in the modern literature in the work of Michael Friedman, in particular the roles played by the light postulate and the equivalence principle - in special and general relativity respectively - in defining the central terms of their respective theories and connecting the abstract mathematical formalism of the theories with their empirical content. The papers in this volume guide the reader through the historical development of conventional and constitutive principles in science, from the foundational work of Poincaré, Reichenbach and others, to contemporary issues and applications of the

Antithetic Foundations of Economics

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Marin Dinu

2011-03-01

Full Text Available This paper aims at decrypting the manner in which the foundations of Economics as a science and the meanings of the relevant explanatory formulas are being shaped. My analytical endeavor focuses on understanding the peculiarities of what is referred to as the object of study of the science known as Economics, an academic synthesis of concept-related breakthroughs regarding economicity. The explicit purpose of this analysis is to identify perennial benchmarks in economic cognition whereby this ensures its consistency. The implicit purpose is to shape a cognitive model in line with the specifics of the conceptual universe of Economics, as well as with the sources of the economic realities that are subject to a sui-generis relativism. The primary benefit of this endeavor consists in systemizing the conceptual prospects with an antithetic nature that allow for the explanations of the state of economic rationality and generate the understanding of what the source of economicity is and how it behaves. As such, the conclusions are marked by the stringent need of more precisely defining economic knowledge in order to match the changing nature of economic reality, as an expression that embraces the meeting point of two ontological vistas that are methodologically separated by some theories: human nature and human condition. Economics as a science thus features, apart from a conceptual substrate that needs to be spotted, an ontological background that needs to be revealed. The role played by this background appears to be most frequently ignored. The joint identification of both direct and contextual determinants for a sensitive area of humankind, i.e. the economy, is a direction to be followed by the royal path of rational knowledge.

Political science, public administration, and natural hazards: contributions and connections

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Lindquist, E.

2009-04-01

The connection between the natural and social sciences has become stronger, and has increasingly been recognized as a vital component in the area of natural hazards research. Moving applied natural hazards research into the public policy or administration realm is not often easy, or effective. An improved understanding of the connection between the natural and social sciences can assist in this process and result in better public policy, acceptance from the public for these policies, and a safer and better educated public. This paper will present initial findings from a larger data set on natural hazards and social science research. Specifically we will review the current contribution of the formal academic disciplines of political science and public administration within recent natural hazards-related scholarship. The general characteristics of the contributions (e.g. coauthored, interdisciplinary, etc.), specific theories and methods being applied, and the types of natural hazards being scrutinized by these related fields will be assessed. In conclusion we will discuss future contributions and areas for potential collaboration between the natural and social sciences in the area of natural hazards research.

On teaching the nature of science: perspectives and resources

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Radloff, Jeffrey

2016-06-01

In this paper, I present a critical review of the recent book, On Teaching the Nature of Science: Perspectives and Resources, written by Douglas Allchin (2013). This publication presents an in-depth examination of the nature of science construct, as well as instruction for educators about how to teach it effectively utilizing historical case studies as vehicles for knowledge. Although several themes in the book merit further attention, a central issue present across all chapters is the largely masculine, monocultural nature of science presented, which is common to a multitude of scientific publications. In this review, I illustrate how culture and gender in science is not addressed throughout the book. I also discuss where we can build on the work of the author to integrate more aspects of gender and culture in teaching the nature of science.

Charitable Foundation for Education and Science as a channel of funding of universities in Germany

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Kadikina Anastasiia Aleksandrovna

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The legal, organizational and financial characteristics of charitable foundations of Germany are explored in the paper. The funds for the support of education and science as an additional channel of the financial provision of higher education are considered. Emphasizes the importance of the development of various forms and methods of financing of higher education through extra-budgetary sources.

Fitness extraction and the conceptual foundations of political biology.

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Boari, Mircea

2005-01-01

In well known formulations, political science, classical and neoclassical economics, and political economy have recognized as foundational a human impulse toward self-preservation. To employ this concept, modern social-sciences theorists have made simplifying assumptions about human nature and have then built elaborately upon their more incisive simplifications. Advances in biology, including advances in evolutionary theory, notably inclusive-fitness theory, have for decades now encouraged the reconsideration of such assumptions and, more ambitiously, the reconciliation of the social and life sciences. I ask if this reconciliation is feasible and test a path to the unification of politics and biology, called here "political biology." Two new notions, "fitness extraction" and "fitness exchange," are defined, then differentiated from each other, and lastly contrasted to cooperative gaming, the putative essential element of economics.

Epistemology & the Nature of Science: A Classroom Strategy

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Viney, Mike

2007-01-01

Efforts to enact balanced treatment laws represent an attempt to wedge the supernatural into scientific explanations. Current attempts to displace methodological naturalism from science indicate a need to make the nature of science a central theme in our instruction. This article utilizes constructivist listening to introduce students to five…

The cover stars of Nature and Science

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dekker, N.; Mooij, H.; Kouwenhoven, L.; Vermeersen, B.; Riva, R.; Dekker, C.; Godfroy, F.

For the nano-scientists at the Faculty of Applied Sciences, having their articles published in prestigious journals like Nature and Science is no longer all that special these days. The TU Delft physicists have been publishing virtually non-stop in what are regarded as the best science journals in

Exploring Natural and Social Scientists' Views of Nature of Science

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Bayir, Eylem; Cakici, Yilmaz; Ertas, Ozge

2014-01-01

Science education researchers recently turned their attention to exploring views about nature of science (NOS). A large body of research indicates that both students and teachers have many naïve views about the NOS. Unfortunately, less attention has been directed at the issue of exploring the views of the scientists. Also, the little research in…

Representations of Nature of Science in Selected Histories of Science in

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Wei, Bing; Li, Yue; Chen, Bo

2013-01-01

This study aimed to examine the representations of nature of science (NOS) in the eight histories of science selected from three series of integrated science textbooks used in junior high school in China. Ten aspects of NOS were adopted in the analytical framework. It was found that NOS had not been well treated in the selected histories of…

Does Science Presuppose Naturalism (or Anything at All)?

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Fishman, Yonatan I.; Boudry, Maarten

2013-01-01

Several scientists, scientific institutions, and philosophers have argued that science is committed to Methodological Naturalism (MN), the view that science, by virtue of its methods, is limited to studying "natural" phenomena and cannot consider or evaluate hypotheses that refer to supernatural entities. While they may in fact exist, gods,…

Does Science Presuppose Naturalism (or Anything at All)?

Science.gov (United States)

Fishman, Yonatan I.; Boudry, Maarten

2013-05-01

Several scientists, scientific institutions, and philosophers have argued that science is committed to Methodological Naturalism (MN), the view that science, by virtue of its methods, is limited to studying `natural' phenomena and cannot consider or evaluate hypotheses that refer to supernatural entities. While they may in fact exist, gods, ghosts, spirits, and extrasensory or psi phenomena are inherently outside the domain of scientific investigation. Recently, Mahner (Sci Educ 3:357-371, 2012) has taken this position one step further, proposing the more radical view that science presupposes an a priori commitment not just to MN, but also to ontological naturalism (ON), the metaphysical thesis that supernatural entities and phenomena do not exist. Here, we argue that science presupposes neither MN nor ON and that science can indeed investigate supernatural hypotheses via standard methodological approaches used to evaluate any `non-supernatural' claim. Science, at least ideally, is committed to the pursuit of truth about the nature of reality, whatever it may be, and hence cannot exclude the existence of the supernatural a priori, be it on methodological or metaphysical grounds, without artificially limiting its scope and power. Hypotheses referring to the supernatural or paranormal should be rejected not because they violate alleged a priori methodological or metaphysical presuppositions of the scientific enterprise, but rather because they fail to satisfy basic explanatory criteria, such as explanatory power and parsimony, which are routinely considered when evaluating claims in science and everyday life. Implications of our view for science education are discussed.

The Nature of Information Science: Changing Models

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Robinson, Lyn; Karamuftuoglu, Murat

2010-01-01

Introduction: This paper considers the nature of information science as a discipline and profession. Method: It is based on conceptual analysis of the information science literature, and consideration of philosophical perspectives, particularly those of Kuhn and Peirce. Results: It is argued that information science may be understood as a field of…

Scientific Communication and the Nature of Science

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Nielsen, Kristian H.

2013-01-01

Communication is an important part of scientific practice and, arguably, may be seen as constitutive to scientific knowledge. Yet, often scientific communication gets cursory treatment in science studies as well as in science education. In Nature of Science (NOS), for example, communication is rarely mentioned explicitly, even though, as will be…

Sandia National Laboratories: Research: Research Foundations: Engineering

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Foundations Bioscience Computing & Information Science Electromagnetics Engineering Science Geoscience Mexico Small Business Assistance Program Sandia Science & Technology Park Careers Community Library Events Careers View All Jobs Students & Postdocs Internships & Co-ops Fellowships

Epistemological Predictors of Prospective Biology Teachers' Nature of Science Understandings

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Köseoglu, Pinar; Köksal, Mustafa Serdar

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate epistemological predictors of nature of science understandings of 281 prospective biology teachers surveyed using the Epistemological Beliefs Scale Regarding Science and the Nature of Science Scale. The findings on multiple linear regression showed that understandings about definition of science and…

Native American Indian Successes in Natural Resources, Science and Engineering: PreK through Ph.D.

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Bolman, J. R.

2005-12-01

We are living in a definite time of change. Distinct changes are being experienced in our most sacred and natural environments. This is especially true on Native lands. Native people have lived for millennia in distinct and unique ways. The knowledge of balancing the needs of people with the needs of our natural environments is paramount in all tribal societies. This inherent knowledge has become the foundation on which to build a "blended" contemporary understanding of western science. The Dakota's and Northern California have recognized the critical need in understanding successful tribal strategies to engage educational systems (K-12 and higher education), to bring to prominence the professional development opportunities forged through working with tribal peoples and ensure the growth of Native people in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) professions. The presentation will highlight: 1) current philosophies on building a STEM Native workforce; 2) successful educational programs/activities in PreK-Ph.D. systems; 3) current Native professionals, their research and tribal applicability; and 4) forwarding thinking for creating sustainable environmental and social infrastructures for all people. South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSM&T) and Humboldt State University (HSU) have been recognized nationally for their partnerships with Native communities. SDSM&T has set record numbers for graduating Native students in science and engineering. SDSM&T had 27 graduates in five years (2000-2005) and hosted more than 1000+ Native students for programs and activities. Humboldt State University is the only university in the CSU system with a program focusing specifically on Natives in natural resources, science and engineering as well as a Native American Studies degree. Both universities have designed programs to meet current needs and address challenging issues in Earth, Wind, Fire and Water. The programs are funded through NASA, NSF, NIH and

Comparison of views of the nature of science between natural science and nonscience majors.

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Miller, Marie C Desaulniers; Montplaisir, Lisa M; Offerdahl, Erika G; Cheng, Fu-Chih; Ketterling, Gerald L

2010-01-01

Science educators have the common goal of helping students develop scientific literacy, including understanding of the nature of science (NOS). University faculties are challenged with the need to develop informed NOS views in several major student subpopulations, including science majors and nonscience majors. Research into NOS views of undergraduates, particularly science majors, has been limited. In this study, NOS views of undergraduates in introductory environmental science and upper-level animal behavior courses were measured using Likert items and open-ended prompts. Analysis revealed similarities in students' views between the two courses; both populations held a mix of naïve, transitional, and moderately informed views. Comparison of pre- and postcourse mean scores revealed significant changes in NOS views only in select aspects of NOS. Student scores on sections addressing six aspects of NOS were significantly different in most cases, showing notably uninformed views of the distinctions between scientific theories and laws. Evidence-based insight into student NOS views can aid in reforming undergraduate science courses and will add to faculty and researcher understanding of the impressions of science held by undergraduates, helping educators improve scientific literacy in future scientists and diverse college graduates.

A content analysis of physical science textbooks with regard to the nature of science and ethnic diversity

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Brooks, Kristine M.

The goal of science education is the preparation of scientifically literate students (Abd-El-Khalick & Lederman, 2000, & American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 1990). In order to instruct students in the nature of science with its history, development, methods and applications, science teachers use textbooks as the primary organizer for the curriculum (Chippetta, Ganesh, Lee, & Phillips, 2006). Science textbooks are the dominant instructional tool that exerts great influence on instructional content and its delivery (Wang, 1998). Science and science literacy requires acquiring knowledge about the natural world and understanding its application in society, or, in other words, the nature of science. An understanding of the nature of science is an important part of science literacy (Abd-El-Khalik & Lederman, 2000, & AAAS, 1990). The nature of science has four basic themes or dimensions: science as a body of knowledge, science as a way of thinking, science as a way of investigating, and science with its interaction with technology and society (Chippetta & Koballa, 2006). Textbooks must relay and incorporate these themes to promote science literacy. The results from this content analysis provide further insights into science textbooks and their content with regard to the inclusion of the nature of science and ethnic diversity. Science textbooks usually downplay human influences (Clough & Olson, 2004) whether as part of the nature of science with its historical development or its interaction with societies of diverse cultures. Minority students are underperforming in science and science is divided on ethnic, linguistic, and gender identity (Brown, 2005). Greater representations of diversity in curriculum materials enable minority students to identify with science (Nines, 2000). Textbooks, with their influence on curriculum and presentation, must include links for science and students of diverse cultures. What is the balance of the four aspects of the

Learning and Teaching about the Nature of Science through Process Skills

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Mulvey, Bridget K.

2012-01-01

This dissertation, a three-paper set, explored whether the process skills-based approach to nature of science instruction improves teachers' understandings, intentions to teach, and instructional practice related to the nature of science. The first paper examined the nature of science views of 53 preservice science teachers before and after a…

Historical Development and Key Issues of Data Management Plan Requirements for National Science Foundation Grants: A Review

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Pasek, Judith E.

2017-01-01

Sharing scientific research data has become increasingly important for knowledge advancement in today's networked, digital world. This article describes the evolution of access to United States government information in relation to scientific research funded by federal grants. It analyzes the data sharing policy of the National Science Foundation,…

A Thai pre-service teacher's understanding of nature of science in biology teaching

Science.gov (United States)

Srisawat, Akkarawat; Aiemsum-ang, Napapan; Yuenyong, Chokchai

2018-01-01

This study was conducted on the effect of understanding and instruction of the nature of science of Ms. Wanida, a pre-service student under science education program in biology, Faculty of Education, Khon Kaen University. Wanida was a teaching practicum student majoring in biology at Khon Kaen University Demonstration School (Modindaeng). She was teaching biology for 38 Grade 10 students. Methodology regarded interpretive paradigm. The study aimed to examine 1) Wanida's understanding of the nature of science, 2) Wanida's instruction of the nature of science, 3 students' understanding of the nature of science from Wanida's instruction, and 4) the effects of Wanida's understanding and instruction of the nature of science on students' understanding of the nature of science from Wanida's instruction. Tools of interpretation included teaching observation, a semi-structured interview, open-ended questionnaire, and an observation record form for the instruction of the nature of science. The data obtained was interpreted, encoded, and classified, using the descriptive statistics. The findings indicated that Wanida held good understanding of the nature of science. She could apply the deficient nature of science approach mostly, followed by the implicit nature of science approach. Unfortunately, she could not show her teaching as explicit nature of science. However, her students' the understanding of the nature of science was good.

Inaugural AGU Science Policy Conference

Science.gov (United States)

Uhlenbrock, Kristan

2012-01-01

AGU will present its inaugural Science Policy Conference, 30 April to 3 May 2012, at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, located in downtown Washington, D. C. This conference will bring together leading scientists, policy makers, industry professionals, press, and other stakeholders to discuss natural hazards, natural resources, oceans, and Arctic science and the role these sciences play in serving communities. To bridge the science and policy fields, AGU plans to host this conference every 2 years and focus on the applications of Earth and space sciences to serve local and national communities. "Our nation faces a myriad of challenges such as the sustainability of our natural resources, current and future energy needs, and the ability to mitigate and adapt to natural and manmade hazards," said Michael McPhaden, president of AGU. "It is essential that policies to address these challenges be built on a solid foundation of credible scientific knowledge."

Projects of Earth Sciences Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2001-01-01

information please contract: Director Song Changqing, Dr. Leng Shuying, Division of Geography, National Natural Science Foundation of China. P.O.Box 8610, Beijing, 100085, China. E-mail:Songcq@nsfc.gov.cn. Lengsy@mail.nsfc.gov.cn

Foundations in Science and Mathematics Program for Middle School and High School Students

Science.gov (United States)

Desai, Karna Mahadev; Yang, Jing; Hemann, Jason

2016-01-01

The Foundations in Science and Mathematics (FSM) is a graduate student led summer program designed to help middle school and high school students strengthen their knowledge and skills in mathematics and science. FSM provides two-week-long courses over a broad spectrum of disciplines including astronomy, biology, chemistry, computer programming, geology, mathematics, and physics. Students can chose two types of courses: (1) courses that help students learn the fundamental concepts in basic sciences and mathematics (e.g., "Precalculus"); and (2) knowledge courses that might be excluded from formal schooling (e.g., "Introduction to Universe"). FSM has served over 500 students in the Bloomington, IN, community over six years by acquiring funding from Indiana University and the Indiana Space Grant Consortium. FSM offers graduate students the opportunity to obtain first hand experience through independent teaching and curriculum design as well as leadership experience.We present the design of the program, review the achievements, and explore the challenges we face. We are open to collaboration with similar educational outreach programs. For more information, please visit http://www.indiana.edu/~fsm/ .

Professor Tony F. Chan Assistant Director for Mathematics and Physical Sciences National Science Foundation United States of America on 23rd May 2007. Here visiting ATLAS experiment with P. Jenni and M. Tuts.

CERN Multimedia

Maximilien Brice

2007-01-01

Professor Tony F. Chan Assistant Director for Mathematics and Physical Sciences National Science Foundation United States of America on 23rd May 2007. Here visiting ATLAS experiment with P. Jenni and M. Tuts.

Understandings of Nature of Science and Multiple Perspective Evaluation of Science News by Non-science Majors

Science.gov (United States)

Leung, Jessica Shuk Ching; Wong, Alice Siu Ling; Yung, Benny Hin Wai

2015-10-01

Understandings of nature of science (NOS) are a core component of scientific literacy, and a scientifically literate populace is expected to be able to critically evaluate science in the media. While evidence has remained inconclusive on whether better NOS understandings will lead to critical evaluation of science in the media, this study aimed at examining the correlation therein. Thirty-eight non-science majors, enrolled in a science course for non-specialists held in a local community college, evaluated three health news articles by rating the extent to which they agreed with the reported claims and providing as many justifications as possible. The majority of the participants were able to evaluate and justify their viewpoint from multiple perspectives. Students' evaluation was compared with their NOS conceptions, including the social and cultural embedded NOS, the tentative NOS, the peer review process and the community of practice. Results indicated that participants' understanding of the tentative NOS was significantly correlated with multiple perspective evaluation of science news reports of socioscientific nature (r = 0.434, p media of socioscientific nature. However, the null result for other target NOS aspects in this study suggested a lack of evidence to assume that understanding the social dimensions of science would have significant influence on the evaluation of science in the media. Future research on identifying the reasons for why and why not NOS understandings are applied in the evaluation will move this field forward.

Limitations of science and adapting to Nature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Narasimhan, T N

2007-01-01

Historically, science has pursued a premise that Nature can be understood fully, its future predicted precisely, and its behavior controlled at will. However, emerging knowledge indicates that the nature of Earth and biological systems transcends the limits of science, questioning the premise of knowing, prediction, and control. This knowledge has led to the recognition that, for civilized human survival, technological society has to adapt to the constraints of these systems. Simultaneously, spurred by explosive developments in the understanding of materials (non-biological and biological), applied scientific research pursues a contrary goal of controlling the material world, with the promise of spectacular economic growth and human well-being. If adaptation to Nature is so important, why does applied research pursue a contrary course? Adapting to Nature requires a recognition of the limitations of science, and espousal of human values. Although the concept of adapting to Nature is accepted by some, especially conservation ecologists, such an acceptance may not exist in other fields. Also, in a world dominated by democratic ideals of freedom and liberty, the discipline required for adapting to Nature may often be overridden by competition among various segments of society to exercise their respective rights. In extreme cases of catastrophic failure of Earth or biological systems, the imperative for adaptation may fall victim to instinct for survival. In essence, although adequate scientific know-how and technological competence exists to facilitate adaptation to Nature, choosing between that and the pursuit of controlling Nature entails human judgment. What that choice may be when humans have to survive under severe environmental stress cannot be predicted

Limitations of science and adapting to Nature

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Narasimhan, T N [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, 210 Hearst Memorial Mining Building, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-1760 (United States)

2007-07-15

Historically, science has pursued a premise that Nature can be understood fully, its future predicted precisely, and its behavior controlled at will. However, emerging knowledge indicates that the nature of Earth and biological systems transcends the limits of science, questioning the premise of knowing, prediction, and control. This knowledge has led to the recognition that, for civilized human survival, technological society has to adapt to the constraints of these systems. Simultaneously, spurred by explosive developments in the understanding of materials (non-biological and biological), applied scientific research pursues a contrary goal of controlling the material world, with the promise of spectacular economic growth and human well-being. If adaptation to Nature is so important, why does applied research pursue a contrary course? Adapting to Nature requires a recognition of the limitations of science, and espousal of human values. Although the concept of adapting to Nature is accepted by some, especially conservation ecologists, such an acceptance may not exist in other fields. Also, in a world dominated by democratic ideals of freedom and liberty, the discipline required for adapting to Nature may often be overridden by competition among various segments of society to exercise their respective rights. In extreme cases of catastrophic failure of Earth or biological systems, the imperative for adaptation may fall victim to instinct for survival. In essence, although adequate scientific know-how and technological competence exists to facilitate adaptation to Nature, choosing between that and the pursuit of controlling Nature entails human judgment. What that choice may be when humans have to survive under severe environmental stress cannot be predicted.

Sciences & Nature: Site Map

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Journal Home · Journals · Sciences & Nature · About · Log In · Register · Advanced Search · By Author · By Title. Issues. Current Issue · Archives · Open Journal Systems · Help. ISSN: 1812-0741. AJOL African Journals Online. HOW TO USE AJOL... for Researchers · for Librarians · for Authors · FAQ's · More about AJOL ...

Biology as an Integrating Natural Science Domain

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 13; Issue 3. Biology as an Integrating Natural Science Domain: A Proposal for BSc (Hons) in Integrated Biology. Kambadur Muralidhar. Classroom Volume 13 Issue 3 March 2008 pp 272-276 ...

System Anthropological Psychology: Methodological Foundations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vitaliy Y. Klochko

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The article considers methodological foundations of the system anthropologicalpsychology (SAP as a scientific branch developed by a well-represented groupof Siberian scientists. SAP is a theory based on axiomatics of cultural-historicalpsychology of L.S. Vygotsky and transspective analysis as a specially developedmeans to define the tendencies of science developing as a self-organizing system.Transspective analysis has revealed regularities in a constantly growing complexityof professional-psychological thinking along the course of emergence ofscientific cognition. It has proved that the field of modern psychology is shapedby theories constructed with ideation of different grades of complexity. The concept“dynamics of the paradigm of science” is introduced; it allows transitions tobe acknowledged from ordinary-binary logic characteristics of the classical scienceto a binary-ternary logic, adequate to non-classical science and then to aternary-multidimensional logic, which is now at the stage of emergence. The latteris employed in SAP construction. It involves the following basic methodologicalprinciples: the principle of directed (selective interaction and the principle ofgenerative effect of selective interaction. The concept of “complimentary interaction”applied in natural as well as humanitarian sciences is reconsidered in thecontext of psychology. The conclusion is made that the principle of selectivity anddirectedness of interaction is relevant to the whole Universe embracing all kindsof systems including the living ones. Different levels of matter organization representingsemantic structures of various complexity use one and the same principleof meaning making through which the Universe ensures its sustainability asa self-developing phenomenon. This methodology provides an explanation fornature and stages of emergence of multidimensional life space of an individual,which comes as a foundation for generation of such features of

Using History of Science to Teach Nature of Science to Elementary Students

Science.gov (United States)

Fouad, Khadija E.; Masters, Heidi; Akerson, Valarie L.

2015-01-01

Science lessons using inquiry only or history of science with inquiry were used for explicit reflective nature of science (NOS) instruction for second-, third-, and fourth-grade students randomly assigned to receive one of the treatments. Students in both groups improved in their understanding of creative NOS, tentative NOS, empirical NOS, and…

Astrobiology Outreach and the Nature of Science: The Role of Creativity

Science.gov (United States)

Oliver, Carol; Walter, Malcolm R.

2012-01-01

Abstract There is concern in many developed countries that school students are turning away from science. However, students may be choosing not to study science and dismissing the possibility of a scientific career because, in the junior secondary years, they gain a false view of science and the work of scientists. There is a disparity between science as it is portrayed at school and science as it is practiced. This paper describes a study to explore whether engaging in science through astrobiology outreach activities may improve students' understanding of the nature and processes of science, and how this may influence their interest in a career in science. The results suggest that the students attending these Mars research–related outreach activities are more interested in science than the average student but are lacking in understanding of aspects of the nature of science. A significant difference was detected between pre- and posttest understandings of some concepts of the nature of science. Key Words: Science education—School science—Creativity—Nature and processes of science—Attitudes—Astrobiology. Astrobiology 12, 1143–1153. PMID:23134090

BrightFocus Foundation

Science.gov (United States)

... About BrightFocus Foundation Featured Content BrightFocus: Investing in Science to Save Mind and Sight We're here to help. Explore ... recognition is very important. Monday, November 6, 2017 New Diagnosis? Managing a mind and sight disease is a journey. And you’ ...

On fundamentals, logic, and the connection between the natural sciences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loewdin, P.O.

1995-01-01

The importance of deductive theories in the modern natural sciences built essentially on experiments is briefly discussed. The logical structure of the deductive theories, their axioms, undefined quantities, and realizations is treated in some detail. In all the natural sciences, there is a striving to explain all the various phenomena in nature in terms of a few basic principles, and this open-quotes reductionismclose quotes leads to a certain amount of unification of these sciences. The chain that goes from biology, over molecular biology, biochemistry, chemistry, and physics to the description of nature in terms of the elementary particles obeying the laws of modern quantum chemistry is reviewed. Since all the measurements of microcosmos involve an observer, who according to the Copenhagen school experiences the outside universe as a projection on his or her mind through his or her senses, some theoreticians may be inclined to reduce the natural sciences to the human mind as the fundamental (undefined) quantity. However, since the observer is a biological structure, one is also back where one started, and it is evident that one can start the reduction or unification of the natural sciences in any point on this circle (or spiral). Hence, there are many descriptions of the natural sciences and their connections that are possible-as illustrated at this symposium. 2 refs., 2 figs

Controversy as a Blind Spot in Teaching Nature of Science: Why the Range of Different Positions Concerning Nature of Science Should Be an Issue in the Science Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Kötter, Mario; Hammann, Marcus

2017-01-01

In this article, the argument is put forth that controversies about the scope and limits of science should be considered in Nature of Science (NOS) teaching. Reference disciplines for teaching NOS are disciplines, which reflect upon science, like philosophy of science, history of science, and sociology of science. The culture of these disciplines…

Suitability of natural soils for foundations for surface facilities at the prospective Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ho, D.M.; Sayre, R.L.; Wu, C.L.

1986-11-01

In this report, the natural soils at the Yucca Mountain site are evaluated for the purpose of assessing the suitability of the soils for the foundations of the surface facilities at the prospective repository. The areas being considered for locating the surface facilities are situated on an alluvial plain at the base of Yucca Mountain. Preliminary parameters for foundation design have been developed on the basis of limited field and laboratory study of soils at four test pit locations conducted during May and June 1984. Preliminary recommendations for construction are also included in this report. The gravel-sand alluvial deposits were found to be in a dense to very dense state, which is suitable for foundations of the surface facilities. The design parameters described in this report have been developed for conceptual design, but need to be verified before final design

Hilbert's sixth problem: between the foundations of geometry and the axiomatization of physics

Science.gov (United States)

Corry, Leo

2018-04-01

The sixth of Hilbert's famous 1900 list of 23 problems was a programmatic call for the axiomatization of the physical sciences. It was naturally and organically rooted at the core of Hilbert's conception of what axiomatization is all about. In fact, the axiomatic method which he applied at the turn of the twentieth century in his famous work on the foundations of geometry originated in a preoccupation with foundational questions related with empirical science in general. Indeed, far from a purely formal conception, Hilbert counted geometry among the sciences with strong empirical content, closely related to other branches of physics and deserving a treatment similar to that reserved for the latter. In this treatment, the axiomatization project was meant to play, in his view, a crucial role. Curiously, and contrary to a once-prevalent view, from all the problems in the list, the sixth is the only one that continually engaged Hilbet's efforts over a very long period of time, at least between 1894 and 1932. This article is part of the theme issue `Hilbert's sixth problem'.

Hilbert's sixth problem: between the foundations of geometry and the axiomatization of physics.

Science.gov (United States)

Corry, Leo

2018-04-28

The sixth of Hilbert's famous 1900 list of 23 problems was a programmatic call for the axiomatization of the physical sciences. It was naturally and organically rooted at the core of Hilbert's conception of what axiomatization is all about. In fact, the axiomatic method which he applied at the turn of the twentieth century in his famous work on the foundations of geometry originated in a preoccupation with foundational questions related with empirical science in general. Indeed, far from a purely formal conception, Hilbert counted geometry among the sciences with strong empirical content, closely related to other branches of physics and deserving a treatment similar to that reserved for the latter. In this treatment, the axiomatization project was meant to play, in his view, a crucial role. Curiously, and contrary to a once-prevalent view, from all the problems in the list, the sixth is the only one that continually engaged Hilbet's efforts over a very long period of time, at least between 1894 and 1932.This article is part of the theme issue 'Hilbert's sixth problem'. © 2018 The Author(s).

Understanding Natural Sciences Education in a Reggio Emilia-Inspired Preschool

Science.gov (United States)

Inan, Hatice Zeynep; Trundle, Kathy Cabe; Kantor, Rebecca

2010-01-01

This ethnographic study explored aspects of how the natural sciences were represented in a Reggio Emilia-inspired laboratory preschool. The natural sciences as a discipline--a latecomer to preschool curricula--and the internationally known approach, Reggio Emilia, interested educators and researchers, but there was little research about science in…

Applying Landscape Science to Natural Resource Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guy M. Robinson

2013-03-01

Full Text Available This is the introduction to the Ecology and Society special feature on "Applying Landscape Science to Natural Resource Management". Primarily drawing upon examples from Australia, the nine papers in the feature illustrate how landscape science seeks to integrate information from diverse sources to generate management solutions for implementation by individual land managers, communities, and governments at different levels. This introduction refers to the genesis of the feature, briefly outlines the nature and content of landscape science, and then summarizes key features of the nine papers. These are organized into two sections: one deals with inputs from human agents in the landscape, and one with the development of models enabling different management scenarios and environmental changes to be envisaged, understood, and applied to policy development.

Thinking about television science: How students understand the nature of science from different program genres

Science.gov (United States)

Dhingra, Koshi

2003-02-01

Student views on the nature of science are shaped by a variety of out-of-school forces and television-mediated science is a significant force. To attempt to achieve a science for all, we need to recognize and understand the diverse messages about science that students access and think about on a regular basis. In this work I examine how high school students think about science that is mediated by four different program genres on television: documentary, magazine-format programming, network news, and dramatic or fictional programming. The following categories of findings are discussed: the ethics and validity of science, final form science, science as portrayed by its practitioners, and school science and television science. Student perceptions of the nature of science depicted on the program sample used in this study ranged from seeing science as comprising tentative knowledge claims to seeing science as a fixed body of facts.

Environmental Science and Research Foundation annual technical report to DOE-ID, January , 1995--December 31, 1995

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-06-01

The foundation conducts an environmental monitoring and surveillance program over an area covering much of the upper Snake River Plain and provide environmental education and support services related to INEL natural resource issues. Also, the foundation, with its university affiliates, conducts ecological and radioecological research on the Idaho National Environmental Research Park. This research benefits major DOE-ID programs including waste management, environmental restoration, spent nuclear fuels, and land management issues. Major accomplishments during CY1995 can be divided into five categories: environmental surveillance program, environmental education, environmental services and support, ecological risk assessment, and research benefitting the DOE-ID mission

Environmental Science and Research Foundation annual technical report to DOE-ID, January , 1995--December 31, 1995

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-06-01

The foundation conducts an environmental monitoring and surveillance program over an area covering much of the upper Snake River Plain and provide environmental education and support services related to INEL natural resource issues. Also, the foundation, with its university affiliates, conducts ecological and radioecological research on the Idaho National Environmental Research Park. This research benefits major DOE-ID programs including waste management, environmental restoration, spent nuclear fuels, and land management issues. Major accomplishments during CY1995 can be divided into five categories: environmental surveillance program, environmental education, environmental services and support, ecological risk assessment, and research benefitting the DOE-ID mission.

From Orthodoxy to Plurality in the Nature of Science (NOS) and Science Education: A Metacommentary

Science.gov (United States)

Bazzul, Jesse

2017-01-01

This article provides a metacommentary on the special issue on nature of science (NOS). The issue is composed of senior scholars discussing Hodson and Wong's (2017, this issue) critique of the consensus view of nature of science, which on a basic level states that there are agreed-upon aspects of science that can be taught in K-12 schools. Each…

The Next Generation of Science Standards: Implications for Biology Education

Science.gov (United States)

Bybee, Rodger W.

2012-01-01

The release of A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas (NRC, 2012) provides the basis for the next generation of science standards. This article first describes that foundation for the life sciences; it then presents a draft standard for natural selection and evolution. Finally, there is a…

Cybersemiotics: Suggestion for a Transdisciplinary Framework Encompassing Natural, Life, and Social Sciences as Well as Phenomenology and Humanities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Søren Brier

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The modern evolutionary paradigm combined with phenomenology forces us to view human consciousness as a product of evolution as well as accepting humans as observers from “within the universe”. The knowledge produced by science has first-person embodied consciousness combined with second-person meaningful communication in language as a prerequisite for third-person fallibilist scientific knowledge. Therefore, the study of consciousness forces us theoretically to encompass the natural and social sciences as well as the humanities in one framework of unrestricted or absolute naturalism. This means to view conscious quale life world with its intentionality as well as the intersubjectivity of culture as a part of nature, and therefore the whole human being as treated in modern bio-medicine. The ‘bio’ is not enough. The crucial question for a transdisciplinary theory of conscious human being is therefore: What is the role of consciousness, signs, and meaning in evolution as well as in cultural development? But this is problematic since the sciences in their present form are without concepts of qualia and meaning, and the European phenomenological-hermeneutic “sciences of meaning” does not have an evolutionary foundation. It is therefore interesting that C.S. Peirce phaneroscopic semiotics - in its modern form of a biosemiotics - was based on a phenomenological basis as well as an evolutionary thinking and ecology of sign webs at the same time drawing on knowledge from the sciences. To develop this 100 year old paradigm it is necessary to supplement it with the knowledge gained from the technologically founded information sciences, as well as systems, and cybernetics in order to produce a transdisciplinary alternative to logical positivism on the one hand and postmodern constructivism on the other. Cybersemiotics constructs such a non-reductionist naturalistic framework in order to integrate third-person knowledge from the exact sciences

Biological Evolution and the History of the Earth Are Foundations of Science

Science.gov (United States)

2008-01-01

AGU affirms the central importance of including scientific theories of Earth history and biological evolution in science education. Within the scientific community, the theory of biological evolution is not controversial, nor have ``alternative explanations'' been found. This is why no competing theories are required by the U.S. National Science Education Standards. Explanations of natural phenomena that appeal to the supernatural or are based on religious doctrine-and therefore cannot be tested through scientific inquiry-are not scientific, and have no place in the science classroom.

Special Education Teachers' Nature of Science Instructional Experiences

Science.gov (United States)

Mulvey, Bridget K.; Chiu, Jennifer L.; Ghosh, Rajlakshmi; Bell, Randy L.

2016-01-01

Special education teachers provide critical science instruction to students. However, little research investigates special education teacher beliefs and practices around science in general or the nature of science and inquiry in particular. This investigation is a cross-case analysis of four elementary special education teachers' initial…

Space Weather Research at the National Science Foundation

Science.gov (United States)

Moretto, T.

2015-12-01

There is growing recognition that the space environment can have substantial, deleterious, impacts on society. Consequently, research enabling specification and forecasting of hazardous space effects has become of great importance and urgency. This research requires studying the entire Sun-Earth system to understand the coupling of regions all the way from the source of disturbances in the solar atmosphere to the Earth's upper atmosphere. The traditional, region-based structure of research programs in Solar and Space physics is ill suited to fully support the change in research directions that the problem of space weather dictates. On the observational side, dense, distributed networks of observations are required to capture the full large-scale dynamics of the space environment. However, the cost of implementing these is typically prohibitive, especially for measurements in space. Thus, by necessity, the implementation of such new capabilities needs to build on creative and unconventional solutions. A particularly powerful idea is the utilization of new developments in data engineering and informatics research (big data). These new technologies make it possible to build systems that can collect and process huge amounts of noisy and inaccurate data and extract from them useful information. The shift in emphasis towards system level science for geospace also necessitates the development of large-scale and multi-scale models. The development of large-scale models capable of capturing the global dynamics of the Earth's space environment requires investment in research team efforts that go beyond what can typically be funded under the traditional grants programs. This calls for effective interdisciplinary collaboration and efficient leveraging of resources both nationally and internationally. This presentation will provide an overview of current and planned initiatives, programs, and activities at the National Science Foundation pertaining to space weathe research.

The Integration of Select Aspects of Educational Foundations as Applied to Health Care Education: A Religious Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Fredericks, Marcel; Kondellas, Bill; Fredericks, Janet; Langer, Michael; Ross, Michael W. V.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to establish the necessity to fully and effectively integrate the sub-disciplines of educational foundations, such as psychology and philosophy, in addition to the natural and social sciences, within medical and health-related educational programs. This is particularly pertinent in Catholic and other religiously…

The Role of Metaphysical Naturalism in Science

Science.gov (United States)

Mahner, Martin

2012-01-01

This paper defends the view that metaphysical naturalism is a constitutive ontological principle of science in that the general empirical methods of science, such as observation, measurement and experiment, and thus the very production of empirical evidence, presuppose a no-supernature principle. It examines the consequences of metaphysical…

How Elementary Teachers' Beliefs About the Nature of Science Mediate Implementing Prescribed Science Curricula in Their Classrooms

Science.gov (United States)

Giglio, Kathleen Rose Fitzgerald

This is an in depth study of two elementary school teachers, who are generalists because they teach multiple subjects to their classes, in addition to science, respectively in grade 3 and grade 6. The teachers taught and their students learned using a contemporary understanding of the nature of science (NOS), which they learned by actually doing science investigations, rather than being explicitly told about NOS (contrary to what some scholars claim). Neither teacher completed any formal/informal science training/experiences, especially connected to the construct NOS. Even though the teachers did not explicitly reference NOS in the classroom, their teaching about NOS was made possible through their implementation of the FOSS ( Full Option Science System) curriculum. Although their students enthusiastically demonstrated competence in both science process and content, as prescribed by the FOSS curriculum, the teachers' felt undermined by the state mandated assessments and the inclusion of student performance as a criterion for the state teacher evaluation system. This research was designed to answer the following questions: (1) What are elementary teachers' conceptions about NOS? (2) How are the teachers' NOS views manifested in their implementation of the FOSS program and their choices of instructional methods/materials? (3) What factors may have enhanced or hindered how the teachers sustained their NOS conceptions as they implemented the FOSS program? To explicate the relationship between teachers' views of NOS and the extent to which constructivist practices were employed in their science instruction, a multiple research methodology using grounded theory as the foundation and employing both quantitative and qualitative measures, was needed. Sources of quantitative data were written survey results using the Student Understanding of Science and Scientific Inquiry Questionnaire (SUSSI; Liang et al., 2008) Likert scale responses and constructed responses. Face

On Teaching the Nature of Science: Perspectives and Resources

Science.gov (United States)

Radloff, Jeffrey

2016-01-01

In this paper, I present a critical review of the recent book, "On Teaching the Nature of Science: Perspectives and Resources," written by Douglas Allchin (2013). This publication presents an in-depth examination of the nature of science construct, as well as instruction for educators about how to teach it effectively utilizing…

Photons in Natural and Life Sciences An Interdisciplinary Approach

CERN Document Server

Lewerenz, Hans-Joachim

2012-01-01

The book describes first the principle photon generation processes from nuclear reactions, electron motion and from discrete quantum transitions. It then focuses on the use of photons in various selected fields of modern natural and life sciences. It bridges disciplines such as physics, chemistry, earth- and materials science, proteomics, information technology, photoelectrochemistry, photosynthesis and spintronics. Advanced light sources and their use in natural and life sciences are emphasized and the effects related to the quantum nature of photons (quantum computing, teleportation) are described. The content encompasses among many other examples the role of photons on the origin of life and on homochirality in biology, femtosecond laser slicing, photothermal cancer therapy, the use of gamma rays in materials science, photoelectrochemical surface conditioning, quantum information aspects and photo-spintronics. The book is written for scientists and graduate students from all related disciplines who are int...

Science teachers' worldviews and values regarding nature and the environment

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, Wendy P.

According to the National Science Education Standards (1996), science educators are challenged with the goal of educating future citizens and policy makers to make informed decisions concerning socio-scientific issues. Previous science education research has not explored the influence of science teachers' personal worldviews and values in achieving this educational goal. The purpose of this study was to investigate secondary science teachers' worldviews and values as they relate to nature and environmental education in their science classrooms. The participants' descriptions of their environmental personae and their perception of its influence in their classrooms were also examined. The participants represented a purposeful sample of twelve certified secondary school science teachers who teach in a suburban Atlanta, Georgia school. The study employed an interpretive, qualitative methodology using a constant comparative, inductive analysis design to develop grounded theory. Each participant's worldview, values, and environmental personae regarding the natural world and the environment were explored using William Cobern's (2000) Nature Card Sort instrument, responses to five environmental scenarios and individual interviews that addressed each participant's interpretation of the effect that personal worldviews and values have in their science classrooms. The participants' worldviews and values were disproportionately reflective of both science and society with far more weight given to the contextual values of society rather than the constitutive values of science. Most of these teachers had strong spiritual worldviews of nature; however, these views were of a Puritanical nature rather than Aboriginal. The participants felt conflicted about the appropriate course of action in many environmental issues. Contrary to other studies conducted in this field, there were few philosophical differences between teachers in the different disciplines of science, with the exception

Astrobiology outreach and the nature of science: the role of creativity.

Science.gov (United States)

Fergusson, Jennifer; Oliver, Carol; Walter, Malcolm R

2012-12-01

There is concern in many developed countries that school students are turning away from science. However, students may be choosing not to study science and dismissing the possibility of a scientific career because, in the junior secondary years, they gain a false view of science and the work of scientists. There is a disparity between science as it is portrayed at school and science as it is practiced. This paper describes a study to explore whether engaging in science through astrobiology outreach activities may improve students' understanding of the nature and processes of science, and how this may influence their interest in a career in science. The results suggest that the students attending these Mars research-related outreach activities are more interested in science than the average student but are lacking in understanding of aspects of the nature of science. A significant difference was detected between pre- and posttest understandings of some concepts of the nature of science.

Changes in Pre-Service Science Teachers' Understandings After Being Involved in Explicit Nature of Science and Socioscientific Argumentation Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Kutluca, A. Y.; Aydin, A.

2017-01-01

The study explored the changes in pre-service science teachers' understanding of the nature of science and their opinions about the nature of science, science teaching and argumentation after their participation in explicit nature of science (NOS) and socioscientific argumentation processes. The participants were 56 third-grade pre-service science…

The Influence of Explicit Nature of Science and Argumentation Instruction on Preservice Primary Teachers' Views of Nature of Science

Science.gov (United States)

McDonald, Christine V.

2010-01-01

There exists a general consensus in the science education literature around the goal of enhancing learners' views of nature of science (NOS). An extensive body of research in the field has highlighted the effectiveness of explicit NOS instructional approaches in improving learners' NOS views. Emerging research has suggested that engaging learners…

A guide to understanding social science research for natural scientists.

Science.gov (United States)

Moon, Katie; Blackman, Deborah

2014-10-01

Natural scientists are increasingly interested in social research because they recognize that conservation problems are commonly social problems. Interpreting social research, however, requires at least a basic understanding of the philosophical principles and theoretical assumptions of the discipline, which are embedded in the design of social research. Natural scientists who engage in social science but are unfamiliar with these principles and assumptions can misinterpret their results. We developed a guide to assist natural scientists in understanding the philosophical basis of social science to support the meaningful interpretation of social research outcomes. The 3 fundamental elements of research are ontology, what exists in the human world that researchers can acquire knowledge about; epistemology, how knowledge is created; and philosophical perspective, the philosophical orientation of the researcher that guides her or his action. Many elements of the guide also apply to the natural sciences. Natural scientists can use the guide to assist them in interpreting social science research to determine how the ontological position of the researcher can influence the nature of the research; how the epistemological position can be used to support the legitimacy of different types of knowledge; and how philosophical perspective can shape the researcher's choice of methods and affect interpretation, communication, and application of results. The use of this guide can also support and promote the effective integration of the natural and social sciences to generate more insightful and relevant conservation research outcomes. © 2014 Society for Conservation Biology.

Learner Characteristics and Understanding Nature of Science: Is There an Association?

Science.gov (United States)

Çetinkaya-Aydin, Gamze; Çakiroglu, Jale

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible associations between preservice science teachers' understanding of nature of science and their learner characteristics; understanding of nature of scientific inquiry, science teaching self-efficacy beliefs, metacognitive awareness level, and faith/worldview schemas. The sample of the…

How do the high school biology textbooks introduce the nature of science?

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Young H.

2007-05-01

Although helping students to achieve an adequate understanding of the nature of science has been a consistent goal for science education for over half a century, current research reveals that the majority of students and teachers have naive views of the nature of science (Abd-El-khalick & Akerson, 2004; Bianchini & Colburn, 2000). This problem could be attributed not only to the complex nature of science, but also to the way the nature of science is presented to students during instruction. Thus, research must be conducted to examine how the science is taught, especially in science textbooks, which are a major instructional resource for teaching science. The aim of this study was to conduct a content analysis of the first chapter of four high school biology textbooks, which typically discusses "What is science?" and "What is biology?" This research used a content analysis technique to analyze the four high school biology textbooks, using a conceptual framework that has been used often for science textbook analysis. This conceptual framework consists of four themes of the nature of science: (a) science as a body of knowledge, (b) science as a way of thinking, (c) science as a way of investigating, and (d) the interaction of science, technology, and society. For this study, the four-theme-framework was modified to incorporate descriptors from national-level documents, such as Science for All Americans (AAAS, 1990) Benchmarks for Science Literacy (AAAS, 1993) and the National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1996), as well as science education research reports. A scoring procedure was used that resulted in good to excellent intercoder agreement with Cohen's kappa (k) ranging from .63 to .96. The findings show that the patterns of presentation of the four themes of the nature of science in the four high school biology textbooks are similar across the different locations of data, text, figures, and assessments. On the other hand, the pattern of presentation of the four

Science Lives: School choices and `natural tendencies'

Science.gov (United States)

Salehjee, Saima; Watts, Mike

2015-03-01

An analysis of 12 semi-structured interviews with university-based scientists and non-scientists illustrates their life journeys towards, or away from, science and the strengths and impact of life occurrences leading them to choose science or non-science professions. We have adopted narrative approaches and used Mezirow's transformative learning theory framework. The areas of discussion from the result have stressed on three main categories that include 'smooth transition', 'incremental wavering transition' and 'transformative transition'. The article concludes by discussing the key influences that shaped initial attitudes and direction in these people through natural inclination, environmental inspirations and perceptions of science.

Prototype bucket foundation for wind turbines

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ibsen, Lars Bo; Liingaard, Morten

The first full scale prototype bucket foundation for wind turbines has been installed in October 2002 at Aalborg University offshore test facility in Frederikshavn, Denmark. The suction caisson and the wind turbine have been equipped with an online monitoring system, consisting of 15 accelerometers...... and a real-time data-acquisition system. The report concerns the in service performance of the wind turbine, with focus on estimation of the natural frequencies of the structure/foundation. The natural frequencies are initially estimated by means of experimental Output-only Modal analysis. The experimental...... estimates are then compared with numerical simulations of the suction caisson foundation and the wind turbine. The numerical model consists of a finite element section for the wind turbine tower and nacelle. The soil-structure interaction of the soil-foundation section is modelled by lumped-parameter models...

Optimization Foundations and Applications

CERN Document Server

Miller, H Ronald

2011-01-01

A thorough and highly accessible resource for analysts in a broad range of social sciences. Optimization: Foundations and Applications presents a series of approaches to the challenges faced by analysts who must find the best way to accomplish particular objectives, usually with the added complication of constraints on the available choices. Award-winning educator Ronald E. Miller provides detailed coverage of both classical, calculus-based approaches and newer, computer-based iterative methods. Dr. Miller lays a solid foundation for both linear and nonlinear models and quickly moves on to dis

Polish Foundation for Energy Efficiency

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-12-31

The Polish Foundation for Energy Efficiency (FEWE) was established in Poland at the end of 1990. FEWE, as an independent and non-profit organization, has the following objectives: to strive towards an energy efficient national economy, and to show the way and methods by use of which energy efficiency can be increased. The activity of the Foundation covers the entire territory of Poland through three regional centers: in Warsaw, Katowice and Cracow. FEWE employs well-known and experienced specialists within thermal and power engineering, civil engineering, economy and applied sciences. The organizer of the Foundation has been Battelle Memorial Institute - Pacific Northwest Laboratories from the USA.

History and Philosophy of Science as a Guide to Understanding Nature of Science

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mansoor Niaz

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Nature of science (NOS is considered to be a controversial topic by historians, philosophers of science and science educators. It is paradoxical that we all teach science and still have difficulties in understanding what science is and how it develops and progresses. A major obstacle in understanding NOS is that science is primarily ‘unnatural’, that is it cannot be learned by a simple observation of phenomena. In most parts of the world history and philosophy of science are ‘inside’ science content and as such can guide our understanding of NOS. However, some science educators consider the ‘historical turn’ as dated and hence neglect the historical approach and instead emphasize the model based naturalist view of science. The objective of this presentation is to show that the historical approach is very much a part of teaching science and actually complements naturalism. Understanding NOS generally requires two aspects of science: Domain general and domain specific. In the classroom this can be illustrated by discussing the atomic models developed in the early 20th century which constitute the domain specific aspect of NOS. This can then lead to an understanding of the tentative nature of science that is a domain general aspect of NOS. A review of the literature in science education reveals three views (among others of understanding NOS: a Consensus view: It attempts to include only those domain-general NOS aspects that are the least controversial (Lederman, Abd-El-Khalick; b Family resemblance view: Based on the ideas of Wittgenstein, this view promotes science as a cognitive system (Irzik, Nola; c Integrated view: this view postulates that both domain general and domain specific aspects of NOS are not dichotomous but rather need to be integrated and are essential if we want students to understand ‘science in the making’ (Niaz. The following framework helps to facilitate integration: i Elaboration of a theoretical framework

Antithetic Foundations of Economics

OpenAIRE

Marin DINU

2011-01-01

This paper aims at decrypting the manner in which the foundations of Economics as a science and the meanings of the relevant explanatory formulas are being shaped. My analytical endeavor focuses on understanding the peculiarities of what is referred to as the object of study of the science known as Economics, an academic synthesis of concept-related breakthroughs regarding economicity. The explicit purpose of this analysis is to identify perennial benchmarks in economic c...

Foundations of anticipatory logic in biology and physics.

Science.gov (United States)

Bettinger, Jesse S; Eastman, Timothy E

2017-12-01

Recent advances in modern physics and biology reveal several scenarios in which top-down effects (Ellis, 2016) and anticipatory systems (Rosen, 1980) indicate processes at work enabling active modeling and inference such that anticipated effects project onto potential causes. We extrapolate a broad landscape of anticipatory systems in the natural sciences extending to computational neuroscience of perception in the capacity of Bayesian inferential models of predictive processing. This line of reasoning also comes with philosophical foundations, which we develop in terms of counterfactual reasoning and possibility space, Whitehead's process thought, and correlations with Eastern wisdom traditions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Advancing Earth System Science Literacy and Preparing the Future Geoscience Workforce Through Strategic Investments at the National Science Foundation (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Karsten, J. L.; Patino, L. C.; Rom, E. L.; Weiler, C. S.

2010-12-01

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency created 60 years ago by the U.S. Congress "to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense…" NSF is the primary funding agency in the U.S. to support basic, frontier research across all fields in science, engineering, and education, except for medical sciences. With a FY 2011 budget request of more than $955 million, the NSF Directorate for Geosciences (GEO) is the principle source of federal funding for university-based fundamental research in the geosciences and preparation of the next generation of geoscientists. Since its inception, GEO has supported the education and training of a diverse and talented pool of future scientists, engineers, and technicians in the Earth, Ocean, Atmospheric and Geospatial Sciences sub-fields, through support of graduate research assistants, post-doctoral fellows, and undergraduate research experiences. In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, GEO initiated several programs that expanded these investments to also support improvements in pre-college and undergraduate geoscience education through a variety of mechanisms (e.g., professional development support for K-12 teachers, development of innovative undergraduate curricula, and scientist-mentored research experiences for elementary and secondary students). In addition to GEO’s Geoscience Education (GeoEd), Opportunities for Enhancing Diversity in the Geosciences (OEDG), Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE), and Geoscience Teacher Training (GEO-Teach) programs, GEO participates in a number of cross-Foundation programs, including the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU), Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT), Ethics Education in Science and Engineering (EESE), NSF Graduate STEM Fellows in K-12 Education (GK-12), and Partnerships for International Research and Education

Working with the Nature of Science in Physics Class: Turning "Ordinary" Classroom Situations into Nature of Science Learning Situations

Science.gov (United States)

Hansson, Lena; Leden, Lotta

2016-01-01

In the science education research field there is a large body of literature on the "nature of science" (NOS). NOS captures issues about what characterizes the research process as well as the scientific knowledge. Here we, in line with a broad body of literature, use a wide definition of NOS including also e.g. socio-cultural aspects. It…

A Science Faculty's Transformation of Nature of Science Understanding into His Teaching Graduate Level Chemistry Course

Science.gov (United States)

Aydin, Sevgi

2015-01-01

This is an interpretive case study to examine the teaching of an experienced science faculty who had a strong interest in teaching undergraduate and graduate science courses and nature of science specifically. It was interested in how he transformed knowledge from his experience as a scientist and his ideas about nature of science into forms…

Science-based natural resource management decisions: what are they?

Science.gov (United States)

T.J. Mills; T.M. Quigley; F.J. Everest

2001-01-01

While many people interested in natural resources management propose science-based decisions, it is not clear what “science-based” means. Science-based decisions are those that result from the full and complete consideration of the relevant science information. We offer five guidelines to focus the scientist’s contributions to science-based decisionmaking and use the...

The Science of Physics

CERN Document Server

Field, Andrea

2012-01-01

As the foundation for other natural sciences, physics helps us interpret both our most basic and complex observations of the natural world. Physics encompasses such topics as mechanics, relativity, thermodynamics, and electricity, among others, all of which elucidate the nature of matter, its motion, and its relationship to force and energy. This engaging volume surveys some of the major branches of physics, the laws, and theories significant to each. Also chronicled are some of the historical milestones in the field by such great minds as Galileo and Isaac Newton.

NATURAL SCIENCE AT SCHOOL: MODERN APPROACHES TO THE DIFFERENTIATED STUDY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dechtyarenko S.G.

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The article analyzes the possibility of differentiated study natural science at school on the basis of ecological educational process. Natural science is the science about nature as a single unity or totality of the natural sciences, which constituting a single unit. The main aim of the course is to develop student’s natural science competence through integrated mastering system knowledge about nature and man, the basics of environmental knowledge, ways of improving teaching and learning activities, development of value orientations in relation to the nature. There is strong need to review approaches to teaching nature science at schools, taking into account the general trend of greening of the educational process. The aim of the work is to analyze the possibility of practical application of modern approaches to differentiated teaching of the nature science at school greening within the educational process. In our view, the environmental component may be a basis to the formation and differentiated teaching in general. The environmental component of the educational sector has been aimed to the student’s environmental consciousness and compliance with rules of environmentally safe behavior in the environment. The learning of the integrated knowledge about nature and man can be submitted through the prism of action of the environmental factors according classic approach to their classification: abiotic, biotic and anthropogenic factors. In parallel, it is reasonable to raise the issues of practical importance as some natural objects and actions of each of these factors. The new degree of the studying of the environment has been provided by the beginning of the systematization of knowledge about natural objects and structure of the universe, by the formation of primary concepts about the relationship between the world of the living and inanimate nature, between organisms and between human activities and changes that has been occurred in the

Anatomical sciences: A foundation for a solid learning experience in dental technology and dental prosthetics.

Science.gov (United States)

Bakr, Mahmoud M; Thompson, C Mark; Massadiq, Magdalena

2017-07-01

Basic science courses are extremely important as a foundation for scaffolding knowledge and then applying it in future courses, clinical situations as well as in a professional career. Anatomical sciences, which include tooth morphology, oral histology, oral embryology, and head and neck anatomy form a core part of the preclinical courses in dental technology programs. In this article, the importance and relevance of anatomical sciences to dental personnel with no direct contact with patients (dental technicians) and limited discipline related contact with patients (dental prosthetists) is highlighted. Some light is shed on the role of anatomical sciences in the pedagogical framework and its significance in the educational process and interprofessional learning of dental technicians and prosthetists using oral biology as an example in the dental curriculum. To conclude, anatomical sciences allow dental technicians and prosthetists to a gain a better insight of how tissues function, leading to a better understanding of diagnosis, comprehensive treatment planning and referrals if needed. Patient communication and satisfaction also increases as a result of this deep understanding of oral tissues. Anatomical sciences bridge the gap between basic science, preclinical, and clinical courses, which leads to a holistic approach in patient management. Finally, treatment outcomes are positively affected due to the appreciation of the macro and micro structure of oral tissues. Anat Sci Educ 10: 395-404. © 2016 American Association of Anatomists. © 2016 American Association of Anatomists.

Multicultural Chemistry and the Nature of Science: But What about Knowledge?

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Michael

2012-01-01

In response to Goff, Boesdorfer, and Hunter's article on the use of a multicultural approach to teaching chemistry and the nature of science, I forward this critical reflective essay to discuss more general curriculum aspects of the relationship between the nature of science and science education in school contexts. Taking a social realist…

Suggesting a NOS Map for Nature of Science for Science Education Instruction

Science.gov (United States)

Oh, Jun-Young

2017-01-01

The aims of this research are 1) to explore the inter-relationships within the individual elements or tenets of Nature of Science (NOS), based on the dimensions of scientific knowledge in science learning, and 2) to consider Kuhn's concept of how scientific revolution takes place. This study suggests that instruction according to our NOS Flowchart…

Anarchist Epistemologies and the Separation of Science and State: The Critique and Relevance of Paul Feyerabend to Educational Foundations

Science.gov (United States)

Wolfmeyer, Mark

2017-01-01

This article synthesizes Paul Feyerabend's controversial contributions to 20th-century philosophy of science through the synthesis of his works and the secondary literature, with specific foci on current trends in educational foundations and the potentials and pitfalls for applying Feyerabendian logics to our work. First, I situate his strains of…

Multicultural chemistry and the nature of science: but what about knowledge?

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Michael

2012-09-01

In response to Goff, Boesdorfer, and Hunter's article on the use of a multicultural approach to teaching chemistry and the nature of science, I forward this critical reflective essay to discuss more general curriculum aspects of the relationship between the nature of science and science education in school contexts. Taking a social realist perspective, I argue for a more nuanced understanding of the role of epistemology and ontology in science classrooms, and for a reconsideration of the role of knowledge in science classrooms.

Document Type Profiles in Nature, Science, and PNAS: Journal and Country Level

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jielan Ding

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Purpose: In this contribution, we want to detect the document type profiles of the three prestigious journals Nature, Science, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States (PNAS with regard to two levels: journal and country. Design/methodology/approach: Using relative values based on fractional counting, we investigate the distribution of publications across document types at both the journal and country level, and we use (cosine document type profile similarity values to compare pairs of publication years within countries. Findings: Nature and Science mainly publish Editorial Material, Article, News Item and Letter, whereas the publications of PNAS are heavily concentrated on Article. The shares of Article for Nature and Science are decreasing slightly from 1999 to 2014, while the corresponding shares of Editorial Material are increasing. Most studied countries focus on Article and Letter in Nature, but on Letter in Science and PNAS. The document type profiles of some of the studied countries change to a relatively large extent over publication years. Research limitations: The main limitation of this research concerns the Web of Science classification of publications into document types. Since the analysis of the paper is based on document types of Web of Science, the classification in question is not free from errors, and the accuracy of the analysis might be affected. Practical implications: Results show that Nature and Science are quite diversified with regard to document types. In bibliometric assessments, where publications in Nature and Science play a role, other document types than Article and Review might therefore be taken into account. Originality/value: Results highlight the importance of other document types than Article and Review in Nature and Science. Large differences are also found when comparing the country document type profiles of the three journals with the corresponding profiles in all Web of

Radon reduction in wood foundation system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clark, R.J.

1990-01-01

Radon, an issue of growing concern to the building industry. Silently, invisibly, it invades existing structures as it will future foundation structures. This paper addresses the nature and causes of radon, and cost-effective prevention and retrofit techniques used for wood foundation systems. Radon also can enter homes with foundations that use the under-floor as an air distribution system. These building practices will be shown; even materials used in construction may release radon, for example, this may be a problem in a house that has a solar heating system in which its heat is stored in large beds of stone. Stone is most often used in wood foundation construction. The common radon entry points will be looked at, and the latest prevention techniques will be illustrated, such as natural and forced ventilation, sealing major radon sources and entry routes, and sub-slab and sump crock ventilations

Scientific literacy: Role of natural history studies in constructing understanding of the nature of science

Science.gov (United States)

Lutz, Martha Victoria Rosett

2002-01-01

Scientific literacy is a central goal of science education. One purpose of this investigation was to reevaluate the definition of 'scientific literacy.' Another purpose was to develop and implement new curriculum involving natural history experiments with insects, with the goal of allowing students opportunities to construct an understanding of the nature of science, a crucial aspect of scientific literacy. This investigation was a qualitative case study. Methods of data collection included direct observations, analysis of sketches and written products created by students and class-room teachers, and analysis of audio tapes. Major findings include: (1) Scientific literacy is generally defined by lists of factual information which students are expected to master. When asked to evaluate their knowledge of selected items on a list published in a science education reform curriculum guide, 15 practicing scientists reported lack of familiarity or comprehension with many items, with the exception of items within their areas of specialization. (2) Genuine natural history experiments using insects can be incorporated into the existing school schedule and need not require any increase in the budget for science materials. (3) Students as young as first through third grade can learn the manual techniques and conceptual skills necessary for designing and conducting original natural history experiments, including manipulating the insects, making accurate sketches, developing test able hypotheses, recording data, and drawing conclusions from their data. Students were generally enthusiastic both about working with live insects and also conducting genuine science experiments. (4) Girls appear both positive and engaged with natural history activities and may be more likely than boys to follow through on designing, conducting, and reporting on independent experiments. The results imply that a valid definition of scientific literacy should be based on the ability to acquire scientific

The Influence of Disciplines on the Knowledge of Science: A Study of the Nature of Science

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Akarsu

2010-06-01

Full Text Available At least four factors affect pupils’ understanding of the nature of science: teachers’ specialization in different science areas (physics, chemistry, and biology, gender issues, teaching experience in elementary school environments, and the perspectives of acquiring necessary knowledge. This study is the introduction part of a research project which will be initiated soon. Four elementary science teachers participated in the study. The results reveal that participants’ views of the aspects of nature of science are not solely diverged, based on their major disciplines, but there exist significant distinctions according to gender differences.

A science of meaning. Can behaviorism bring meaning to psychological science?

Science.gov (United States)

DeGrandpre, R J

2000-07-01

An argument is presented for making meaning a central dependent variable in psychological science. Principles of operant psychology are then interpreted as providing a basic foundation for a science of meaning. The emphasis here is on the generality of basic operant concepts, where learning is a process of meaning making that is governed largely by natural contingencies; reinforcement is an organic process in which environment-behavior relations are selected, defined here as a dialectical process of meaning making; and reinforcers are experiential consequences with acquired, ecologically derived meanings. The author concludes with a call for a more interdisciplinary science of psychology, focusing on the individual in society.

Physical foundations of materials science

CERN Document Server

Gottstein, Günter

2004-01-01

In this vivid and comprehensible introduction to materials science, the author expands the modern concepts of metal physics to formulate basic theory applicable to other engineering materials, such as ceramics and polymers. Written for engineering students and working engineers with little previous knowledge of solid-state physics, this textbook enables the reader to study more specialized and fundamental literature of materials science. Dozens of illustrative photographs, many of them Transmission Electron Microscopy images, plus line drawings, aid developing a firm appreciation of this complex topic. Hard-to-grasp terms such as "textures" are lucidly explained - not only the phenomenon itself, but also its consequences for the material properties. This excellent book makes materials science more transparent.

International Journal of Natural and Applied Sciences

African Journals Online (AJOL)

International Journal of Natural and Applied Sciences. ... PROMOTING ACCESS TO AFRICAN RESEARCH. AFRICAN JOURNALS ONLINE ... The journal is designed for academics, scholars, advanced students and reflective practitioners.

45 CFR 660.3 - What programs and activities of the Foundation are subject to these regulations?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false What programs and activities of the Foundation are... (Continued) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION INTERGOVERNMENTAL REVIEW OF THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES § 660.3 What programs and activities of the Foundation are subject to these regulations...

The curator/patron: Foundations and contemporary art

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rebecca Coates

2008-12-01

Full Text Available This article addresses the role of private foundations in commissioning site-specific ephemeral art works: contemporary art projects of a temporary nature that are realised outside of public institutions. Though small in number, I argue that the private individuals creating and managing private foundations of this nature demonstrate a new form of patronage, creating in the process a new role of ‘curator/patron’. Equally, this process of realisation reflects the changing needs of contemporary art practice. Work of this scale and ambition would increasingly not be possible without the vision, perseverance and funding of these kinds of foundation. In Australia, this trend is demonstrated by two foundations: Kaldor Art Projects, and their commissioning of works by artists such as Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Gilbert & George and Jeff Koons; and the more recently formed Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation, whose first project was with Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. In this article, these examples are placed within the broader international context of foundation models such as Artangel, UK, Fondazione Nicola Trussardi, Milan, and The Public Art Fund, New York.

Conceptual Change in Understanding the Nature of Science Learning: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

DiBenedetto, Christina M.

This study is the first of its kind to explore the thoughts, beliefs, attitudes and values of secondary educators as they experience conceptual change in their understanding of the nature of science learning vis a vis the Framework for K-12 Science Education published by the National Research Council. The study takes aim at the existing gap between the vision for science learning as an active process of inquiry and current pedagogical practices in K-12 science classrooms. For students to understand and explain everyday science ideas and succeed in science studies and careers, the means by which they learn science must change. Focusing on this change, the study explores the significance of educator attitudes, beliefs and values to science learning through interpretive phenomenological analysis around the central question, "In what ways do educators understand and articulate attitudes and beliefs toward the nature of science learning?" The study further explores the questions, "How do educators experience changes in their understanding of the nature of science learning?" and "How do educators believe these changes influence their pedagogical practice?" Study findings converge on four conceptions that science learning: is the action of inquiry; is a visible process initiated by both teacher and learner; values student voice and changing conceptions is science learning. These findings have implications for the primacy of educator beliefs, attitudes and values in reform efforts, science teacher leadership and the explicit instruction of both Nature of Science and conceptual change in educator preparation programs. This study supports the understanding that the nature of science learning is cognitive and affective conceptual change. Keywords: conceptual change, educator attitudes and beliefs, framework for K-12 science education, interpretive phenomenological analysis, nature of science learning, next generation science standards, science professional development

Examining student conceptions of the nature of science from two project-based classrooms

Science.gov (United States)

Moss, David M.

The purpose of this research was to develop descriptive accounts of precollege students' conceptions of the nature of science from two project-based classrooms, and track those conceptions over the course of an academic year. A model of the nature of science was developed and served as the criterion by which students' beliefs were evaluated. The model distinguishes between two major categories of science, the nature of the scientific enterprise and the nature of scientific knowledge. Five students were selected from each class and interviewed individually for 30-45 minutes each, six times over the year. Data from semi-structured, formal interviewing consisted of audio-recorded interviews which were transcribed verbatim. All passages were coded using codes which corresponded to the premises of the model of the nature of science. Passages in the transcripts were interpreted to develop a summary of the students' conceptions over the year. Qualitative methodologies, especially formal interviewing in conjunction with participant observation, were effective for uncovering students' conceptions of the nature of science, adding to the knowledge base in this field. The research design of the current study was a significant factor in explaining the inconsistencies seen between findings from this study and the literature. This study finds that participants at both classroom sites held fully formed conceptions of the nature of science for approximately 40 percent of the premises across the model. For two-thirds of the elements which comprise the premises, participants held full understandings. Participants held more complete understandings of the nature of scientific knowledge than the nature of the scientific enterprise. Most participants had difficulty distinguishing between science and non-science and held poor understandings of the role of questions in science. Students' beliefs generally remained unchanged over the year. When their conceptions did evolve, project

Gregor Mendel's classic paper and the nature of science in genetics courses.

Science.gov (United States)

Westerlund, Julie F; Fairbanks, Daniel J

2010-12-01

The discoveries of Gregor Mendel, as described by Mendel in his 1866 paper Versuche uber Pflanzen-Hybriden (Experiments on plant hybrids), can be used in undergraduate genetics and biology courses to engage students about specific nature of science characteristics and their relationship to four of his major contributions to genetics. The use of primary source literature as an instructional tool to enhance genetics students' understanding of the nature of science helps students more clearly understand how scientists work and how the science of genetics has evolved as a discipline. We offer a historical background of how the nature of science developed as a concept and show how Mendel's investigations of heredity can enrich biology and genetics courses by exemplifying the nature of science. © 2010 The Authors.

Learning the 'grammar of science': The influence of a physical science content course on teachers' understanding of the nature of science

Science.gov (United States)

Hanuscin, Deborah L.

This research examined the development of practicing K--8 teachers' views of the nature of science (NOS) within a physical science content course. Reforms in science education have called for the teaching of science as inquiry. In order to achieve the vision of the reforms, teachers must understand science, both a body of knowledge and as a process, but also the very nature of science itself-or the values and assumptions inherent in the construction of scientific knowledge. NOS has been deemed a critical component of scientific literacy, with implications for making informed decisions about scientific claims. Research has indicated that despite the emphasis of reforms, teachers generally do not possess accurate views of NOS. Recent work in science education has led to the recommendation that efforts undertaken within teacher education programs to improve teachers' understanding of NOS can be enhanced through relevant coursework in other academic areas, including the sciences. The purpose of this dissertation was to provide an empirical basis for this recommendation, by examining the development of teachers' views of NOS within a physical science content course. To this end, the researcher employed qualitative methodology including participant observation, interview, document analysis, and questionnaire to assess teacher participants' views of the nature of science and the impact of their experience in the content course on these views. As a result of this research, implications for both the course design and science teacher education have been described. In addition, various aspects of the community of practice that characterizes the classroom that inhibit the development of understandings about the nature of science are identified. It is argued that instruction in NOS should be approached from the perspective that builds bridges between the communities of practice of learners and of scientists.

Disaster mitigation science for Earthquakes and Tsunamis -For resilience society against natural disasters-

Science.gov (United States)

Kaneda, Y.; Takahashi, N.; Hori, T.; Kawaguchi, K.; Isouchi, C.; Fujisawa, K.

2017-12-01

Destructive natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis have occurred frequently in the world. For instance, 2004 Sumatra Earthquake in Indonesia, 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake in China, 2010 Chile Earthquake and 2011 Tohoku Earthquake in Japan etc., these earthquakes generated very severe damages. For the reduction and mitigation of damages by destructive natural disasters, early detection of natural disasters and speedy and proper evacuations are indispensable. And hardware and software developments/preparations for reduction and mitigation of natural disasters are quite important. In Japan, DONET as the real time monitoring system on the ocean floor is developed and deployed around the Nankai trough seismogenic zone southwestern Japan. So, the early detection of earthquakes and tsunamis around the Nankai trough seismogenic zone will be expected by DONET. The integration of the real time data and advanced simulation researches will lead to reduce damages, however, in the resilience society, the resilience methods will be required after disasters. Actually, methods on restorations and revivals are necessary after natural disasters. We would like to propose natural disaster mitigation science for early detections, evacuations and restorations against destructive natural disasters. This means the resilience society. In natural disaster mitigation science, there are lots of research fields such as natural science, engineering, medical treatment, social science and literature/art etc. Especially, natural science, engineering and medical treatment are fundamental research fields for natural disaster mitigation, but social sciences such as sociology, geography and psychology etc. are very important research fields for restorations after natural disasters. Finally, to realize and progress disaster mitigation science, human resource cultivation is indispensable. We already carried out disaster mitigation science under `new disaster mitigation research project on Mega

Pre-Service Physics Teachers' Conceptions of Nature of Science

Science.gov (United States)

Buaraphan, Khajornsak

2011-01-01

Understanding of NOS (nature of science) appears as a prerequisite of a scientifically literate person. Promoting adequate understanding of NOS in pre-service physics teachers is, therefore, an important task of science educators. Before doing that, science educators must have information concerning their pre-service teachers' conceptions of NOS.…

Foundations of combinatorics with applications

CERN Document Server

Bender, Edward A

2006-01-01

This introduction to combinatorics, the foundation of the interaction between computer science and mathematics, is suitable for upper-level undergraduates and graduate students in engineering, science, and mathematics.The four-part treatment begins with a section on counting and listing that covers basic counting, functions, decision trees, and sieving methods. The following section addresses fundamental concepts in graph theory and a sampler of graph topics. The third part examines a variety of applications relevant to computer science and mathematics, including induction and recursion, sorti

National Science Foundation Assistant Director for Mathematics and Physical Sciences Tony Chan (USA) visiting LHCb experiment on 23rd May 2007 with Spokesperson T. Nakada, Advisor to CERN Director-General J. Ellis and I. Belyaev of Syracuse

CERN Multimedia

Maximilien Brice

2007-01-01

National Science Foundation Assistant Director for Mathematics and Physical Sciences Tony Chan (USA) visiting LHCb experiment on 23rd May 2007 with Spokesperson T. Nakada, Advisor to CERN Director-General J. Ellis and I. Belyaev of Syracuse

Kuhn in the Classroom, Lakatos in the Lab: Science Educators Confront the Nature-of-Science Debate.

Science.gov (United States)

Turner, Steven; Sullenger, Karen

1999-01-01

Examines how science educators and educational researchers have drawn on the fragmented teachings of science studies about the nature of science, and how they have used those teachings as a resource in their own projects. Analyzes some of the deep assumptions about the relationship between science, school science, and children's learning.…

78 FR 50085 - Advisory Committee on Climate Change and Natural Resource Science

Science.gov (United States)

2013-08-16

... Climate Change and Natural Resource Science AGENCY: U.S. Geological Survey, Interior. ACTION: Meeting.... 2, we announce that the Advisory Committee on Climate Change and Natural Resource Science will hold... Partnership Coordinator, National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, 12201...

78 FR 79478 - Advisory Committee on Climate Change and Natural Resource Science

Science.gov (United States)

2013-12-30

... Change and Natural Resource Science AGENCY: U.S. Geological Survey, Interior. ACTION: Meeting notice... announce that the Advisory Committee on Climate Change and Natural Resource Science will hold a meeting..., National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive...

A Comparative Analysis of South African Life Sciences and Biology Textbooks for Inclusion of the Nature of Science

Science.gov (United States)

Ramnarain, Umesh; Padayachee, Keshni

2015-01-01

This study reports on the analysis of South African Life Sciences and Biology textbooks for the inclusion of the nature of science using a conceptual framework developed by Chiappetta, Fillman and Sethna (1991). In particular, we investigated the differences between the representation of the nature of science in Biology textbooks that were written…

A content analysis of sixth-grade, seventh-grade, and eighth-grade science textbooks with regard to the nature of science

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, Marianne C.

Science teachers rely heavily on their textbooks; for many, it is the only curriculum they use (Weiss, 1993). Therefore, it is important these materials convey an accurate conception of the nature of science. Science for All Americans (AAAS, 1990) and the National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1996) call for teaching students about the nature of science. Including the nature of science throughout science textbooks will produce scientifically literate citizens (Driver and others, 1993) with an improved ability to make informed decisions (McComas, 1998). Teaching the nature of science supports the successful learning of science content and process (Driver and others, 1996), and bridges the gap between the two cultures of practicing scientists and school science (Sorsby, 2000). Do middle school science textbooks provide a balanced presentation of the nature of science throughout their text? To determine the answer, this investigation used a content analysis technique to analyze a random sample from the introduction chapter and the rest of the textbook chapters from twelve middle school science textbooks for the four aspects of the nature of science (Chiappetta, Fillman, & Sethna, 2004). Scoring procedures were used to determine interrater agreement using both Cohen's kappa (kappa) and Krippendorff's alpha (alpha). Kappa values were determined to be fair to excellent beyond chance among the three coders. The resulting values for Krippendorff's alpha ranged from acceptable (alpha > .80) to unacceptable (alpha imbalance is providing students with a rudimentary and fragmented view of how science works, despite the fact that science impacts every aspect of life (McComas, 1998). Given the impact of textbooks on learning, it is recommended that teachers be informed of these shortcomings to enable them to supplement content where it is lacking.

Realism and Antirealism in Informational Foundations of Quantum Theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tina Bilban

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Zeilinger-Brukner's informational foundations of quantum theory, a theory based on Zeilinger's foundational principle for quantum mechanics that an elementary system carried one bit of information, explains seemingly unintuitive quantum behavior with simple theoretical framework. It is based on the notion that distinction between reality and information cannot be made, therefore they are the same. As the critics of informational foundations of quantum theory show, this antirealistic move captures the theory in tautology, where information only refers to itself, while the relationships outside the information with the help of which the nature of information would be defined are lost and the questions "Whose information? Information about what?" cannot be answered. The critic's solution is a return to realism, where the observer's effects on the information are neglected. We show that radical antirealism of informational foundations of quantum theory is not necessary and that the return to realism is not the only way forward. A comprehensive approach that exceeds mere realism and antirealism is also possible: we can consider both sources of the constraints on the information, those coming from the observer and those coming from the observed system/nature/reality. The information is always the observer's information about the observed. Such a comprehensive philosophical approach can still support the theoretical framework of informational foundations of quantum theory: If we take that one bit is the smallest amount of information in the form of which the observed reality can be grasped by the observer, we can say that an elementary system (grasped and defined as such by the observer correlates to one bit of information. Our approach thus explains all the features of the quantum behavior explained by informational foundations of quantum theory: the wave function and its collapse, entanglement, complementarity and quantum randomness. However, it does

Substance and method studies in philosophy of science

CERN Document Server

Liu, Chuang

2015-01-01

The book contains in-depth discussions in a rigorous manner of a host of interconnected issues and problems concerning the foundations of science. Some issues concern the substance of scientific subjects, such as the nature of spacetime and the problems in quantum mechanics, while other issues concern the methodology of science, such as the nature of theorization, idealization, as well as modeling. These discussions aim at clarifying the issues and problems, reviewing the proposed views and solutions, mapping out their logical spaces, and arguing for preferred views or solutions.

The Influence of Argumentation on Understanding Nature of Science

Science.gov (United States)

Boran, Gül Hanim; Bag, Hüseyin

2016-01-01

The aim in conducting this study is to explore the effects of argumentation on pre-service science teachers' views of the nature of science. This study used a qualitative case study and conducted with 20 pre-service science teachers. Data sources include an open-ended questionnaire and audio-taped interviews. According to pretest and posttest…

Social and Economic Analysis Branch: integrating policy, social, economic, and natural science

Science.gov (United States)

Schuster, Rudy; Walters, Katie D.

2015-01-01

The Fort Collins Science Center's Social and Economic Analysis Branch provides unique capabilities in the U.S. Geological Survey by leading projects that integrate social, behavioral, economic, and natural science in the context of human–natural resource interactions. Our research provides scientific understanding and support for the management and conservation of our natural resources in support of multiple agency missions. We focus on meeting the scientific needs of the Department of the Interior natural resource management bureaus in addition to fostering partnerships with other Federal and State managers to protect, restore, and enhance our environment. The Social and Economic Analysis Branch has an interdisciplinary group of scientists whose primary functions are to conduct both theoretical and applied social science research, provide technical assistance, and offer training to support the development of skills in natural resource management activities. Management and research issues associated with human-resource interactions typically occur in a unique context and require knowledge of both natural and social sciences, along with the skill to integrate multiple science disciplines. In response to these challenging contexts, Social and Economic Analysis Branch researchers apply a wide variety of social science concepts and methods which complement our rangeland/agricultural, wildlife, ecology, and biology capabilities. The goal of the Social and Economic Analysis Branch's research is to enhance natural-resource management, agency functions, policies, and decisionmaking.

On the map: Nature and Science editorials.

Science.gov (United States)

Waaijer, Cathelijn J F; van Bochove, Cornelis A; van Eck, Nees Jan

2011-01-01

Bibliometric mapping of scientific articles based on keywords and technical terms in abstracts is now frequently used to chart scientific fields. In contrast, no significant mapping has been applied to the full texts of non-specialist documents. Editorials in Nature and Science are such non-specialist documents, reflecting the views of the two most read scientific journals on science, technology and policy issues. We use the VOSviewer mapping software to chart the topics of these editorials. A term map and a document map are constructed and clusters are distinguished in both of them. The validity of the document clustering is verified by a manual analysis of a sample of the editorials. This analysis confirms the homogeneity of the clusters obtained by mapping and augments the latter with further detail. As a result, the analysis provides reliable information on the distribution of the editorials over topics, and on differences between the journals. The most striking difference is that Nature devotes more attention to internal science policy issues and Science more to the political influence of scientists. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11192-010-0205-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Theoretical and methodological foundations of sustainable development of Geosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Mandryk, O. M.; Arkhypova, L. M.; Pukish, A. V.; Zelmanovych, A.; Yakovlyuk, Kh

2017-05-01

The theoretical and methodological foundations of sustainable development of Geosystems were further evolved. It was grounded the new scientific direction “constructive Hydroecology” - the science that studies the Hydrosphere from the standpoint of natural and technogenic safety based on geosystematical approach. A structural separation for constructive Hydroecology based on objective, subjective, and application characteristics was set. The main object of study of the new scientific field is the hydroecological environment under which the part of Hydrosphere should be understood as a part of the multicomponent dynamic system that is influenced by engineering and economical human activities and, in turn, determines to some extent this activity.

Quantum foundations in the light of quantum cryptography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brassard, G.; Fuchs, C.A.

2005-01-01

Full text: Consider the two great physical theories of the twentieth century: relativity and quantum mechanics. Einstein derived relativity from very simple principles such as: 'The speed of light in empty space is independent of the speed of its source' and 'Physics should appear the same in all inertial reference frames'. By contrast, the foundation of quantum mechanics is built on a set of rather strange, disjointed and ad hoc axioms. Why is that? Must quantum mechanics be inherently less elegant than relativity? Or is it rather that the current axioms of quantum mechanics reflect at best the history that led to its discovery by too many people (compared to one person for relativity), over too long a period of time? The purpose of this talk is to argue that a better foundation for quantum mechanics lies within the teachings of quantum information science. We postulate that the truly fundamental laws of nature concern information, not waves or particles. For example, it has been proven, from the current axioms of quantum mechanics, that 'nature allows for the unconditionally secure transmission of confidential information', but 'nature does not allow for unconditionally secure bit commitment' (these are standard classical cryptographic primitives). We propose to turn the table around, start from these two theorems and possibly a few others, upgrade them as axioms, and ask how much of quantum mechanics they can derive. This provocative talk is meant as an eye-opener: we shall ask far more questions than we shall resolve. (author)

More than a Museum: Natural History is Relevant in 21st Century Environmental Science

Science.gov (United States)

Hernandez, R. R.; Murphy-Mariscal, M. L.; Barrows, C. W.

2015-12-01

In the Anthropocene, the relevancy of natural history in environmental science is challenged and marginalized today more than ever. We tested the hypothesis that natural history is relevant to the fields of environmental science and ecology by assessing the values, needs, and decisions related to natural history of graduate students and environmental science professionals across 31 universities and various employers, respectively, in California. Graduate students surveyed (93.3%) agreed that natural history was relevant to science, approximately 70% believed it "essential" for conducting field-based research; however, 54.2% felt inadequately trained to teach a natural history course and would benefit from additional training in natural history (> 80%). Of the 185 professionals surveyed, all felt that natural history was relevant to science and "essential" or "desirable" in their vocation (93%). Our results indicate a disconnect between the value and relevancy of natural history in 21st century ecological science and opportunities for gaining those skills and knowledge through education and training.

Sound data management as a foundation for natural resources management and science

Science.gov (United States)

Burley, Thomas E.

2012-01-01

Effective decision making is closely related to the quality and completeness of available data and information. Data management helps to ensure data quality in any discipline and supports decision making. Managing data as a long-term scientific asset helps to ensure that data will be usable beyond the original intended application. Emerging issues in water-resources management and climate variability require the ability to analyze change in the conditions of natural resources over time. The availability of quality, well-managed, and documented data from the past and present helps support this requirement.

Views of nature of science questionnaire: Toward valid and meaningful assessment of learners' conceptions of nature of science

Science.gov (United States)

Lederman, Norm G.; Abd-El-Khalick, Fouad; Bell, Randy L.; Schwartz, Renée S.

2002-08-01

Helping students develop informed views of nature of science (NOS) has been and continues to be a central goal for kindergarten through Grade 12 (K-12) science education. Since the early 1960s, major efforts have been undertaken to enhance K-12 students and science teachers' NOS views. However, the crucial component of assessing learners' NOS views remains an issue in research on NOS. This article aims to (a) trace the development of a new open-ended instrument, the Views of Nature of Science Questionnaire (VNOS), which in conjunction with individual interviews aims to provide meaningful assessments of learners' NOS views; (b) outline the NOS framework that underlies the development of the VNOS; (c) present evidence regarding the validity of the VNOS; (d) elucidate the use of the VNOS and associated interviews, and the range of NOS aspects that it aims to assess; and (e) discuss the usefulness of rich descriptive NOS profiles that the VNOS provides in research related to teaching and learning about NOS. The VNOS comes in response to some calls within the science education community to go back to developing standardized forced-choice paper and pencil NOS assessment instruments designed for mass administrations to large samples. We believe that these calls ignore much of what was learned from research on teaching and learning about NOS over the past 30 years. The present state of this line of research necessitates a focus on individual classroom interventions aimed at enhancing learners' NOS views, rather than on mass assessments aimed at describing or evaluating students' beliefs.

The Nature of Science and the "Next Generation Science Standards": Analysis and Critique

Science.gov (United States)

McComas, William F.; Nouri, Noushin

2016-01-01

This paper provides a detailed analysis of the inclusion of aspects of nature of science (NOS) in the "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS). In this new standards document, NOS elements in eight categories are discussed in Appendix H along with illustrative statements (called exemplars). Many, but not all, of these exemplars are…

Science literacy and natural history museums

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2010-10-15

Oct 15, 2010 ... Paradoxically, this is probably the period in the history of advanced countries in which increasing public and personal efforts have been directed toward the dissemination of scientific knowledge to increase public understanding of science. This article vindicates the role of natural history museums in ...

Natural Frequency of Oscillating Gaseous Bubbles in Ventilated Cavitation

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yu-Ning

2017-07-01

Not Available Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No 51506051, the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities under Grant No JB2015RCY04, and the Incubation Project for Young Talents of Chinese Society for Electrical Engineering under Grant No JLB-2016-68.

Distancing Students From Nature: Science Camp and the Representation of the Human-Nature Relationship

Science.gov (United States)

Terrill, Laura Anne

This study investigated the curricular representations of the environment and the human-environment relationship at one residential school sponsored science camp. Data gathered included field notes from observational time at the camp, interviews with staff and classroom teachers, and documents from the site's website, guides, manuals, and curricular guides. These data were analyzed to understand how the camp represented the human-environment relationship and the "proper" human-environment relationship to its participants. Analysis indicated that the camp's official and enacted curriculum was shaped in response to two perceived problems, (1) students were perceived as having a disconnected relationship with the outdoors and lacking in outdoor experiences; and (2) staff members of the camp believed that time for science during the school day had diminished and that students were not receiving adequate science instruction at school. In response, the goal of the camp was to connect students to the outdoors through hands-on, sensory, experience based science and outdoor education experiences. However, key aspects of the camp experience and the formal and enacted curriculum unintentionally positioned students as separate from nature. The camp experience presented a vacation like understanding of the human-environment relationship as students became tourists of the outdoors. Despite the site's goal of connecting students to the outdoors, the science camp experience worked to distance students from the outdoors by unintentionally representing the outdoors as a place that existed away from home and students' everyday lives. Notably, nature became a place that existed in the past, separate from modernity. Students were tourists in an exotic location - nature. They received tours of the foreign outdoors, had fun, and returned home to their ordinary lives that were separate and distinct from the natural world.

Effectiveness of Science-Technology-Society (STS) Instruction on Student Understanding of the Nature of Science and Attitudes toward Science

Science.gov (United States)

Akcay, Behiye; Akcay, Hakan

2015-01-01

The study reports on an investigation about the impact of science-technology-society (STS) instruction on middle school student understanding of the nature of science (NOS) and attitudes toward science compared to students taught by the same teacher using traditional textbook-oriented instruction. Eight lead teachers used STS instruction an…

The art and science of selecting graduate students in the biomedical sciences: Performance in doctoral study of the foundational sciences.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Hee-Young; Berkowitz, Oren; Symes, Karen; Dasgupta, Shoumita

2018-01-01

The goal of this study was to investigate associations between admissions criteria and performance in Ph.D. programs at Boston University School of Medicine. The initial phase of this project examined student performance in the classroom component of a newly established curriculum named "Foundations in Biomedical Sciences (FiBS)". Quantitative measures including undergraduate grade point average (GPA), graduate record examination (GRE; a standardized, computer-based test) scores for the verbal (assessment of test takers' ability to analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information and concepts provided in writing) and quantitative (assessment of test takers' problem-solving ability) components of the examination, previous research experience, and competitiveness of previous research institution were used in the study. These criteria were compared with competencies in the program defined as students who pass the curriculum as well as students categorized as High Performers. These data indicated that there is a significant positive correlation between FiBS performance and undergraduate GPA, GRE scores, and competitiveness of undergraduate institution. No significant correlations were found between FiBS performance and research background. By taking a data-driven approach to examine admissions and performance, we hope to refine our admissions criteria to facilitate an unbiased approach to recruitment of students in the life sciences and to share our strategy to support similar goals at other institutions.

[Analysis of projects of schistosomiasis sponsored by National Science Foundation of China].

Science.gov (United States)

Wen-di, Zhou; Liang, Shi; Xue-Dan, Ke; Jie, Wang

2017-07-27

To summarize the present development by analysis of projects in schistosomiasis funded by National Science Foundation of China (NSFC). Based on the ISIS database of NFSC, the projects in the studies of schistosomiasis from 2005 to 2016 were analyzed. The distributions of sponsored numbers, amounts, types, agencies, disciplines and changes in research topics by means of network profiles were described. During the study period, 198 projects were funded by NSFC totally with 76.05 million yuan in which the general and youth projects were main types. The main sponsored agencies were research institutes and medical colleges. The top three fields sponsored were medical pathogenic microbes and infection, veterinary and medical immunology. The funding on schistosomiasis researches has a downward trend, but studies are continuing in depth. In this situation, innovative and interdisciplinary researches need to be encouraged to promote the development of schistosomiasis.

The Natural Science Institute for Teachers of Minority Students: Performance report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ervin, C.J.

1995-02-01

The purpose of the Natural Science Institute for Teachers of Minority Students is to enhance the science knowledge and skills of grades four through twelve science teachers in the District of Columbia Public Schools. The Institute brings school teachers together with practicing scientists and experienced science educators who are currently doing or involved in research and publication, especially in the area of global change. Special emphasis is placed on the interdisciplinary nature of science and the part played by the understanding and teaching about the dynamics of the environment and global change. In addition to these goals, teachers will learn a number of successful alternate strategies for teaching science to minority, disabled and non-English speaking students.

Investigating the Relationship between Teachers' Nature of Science Conceptions and Their Practice of Inquiry Science

Science.gov (United States)

Atar, Hakan Yavuz; Gallard, Alejandro

2011-01-01

In addition to recommending inquiry as the primary approach to teaching science, developers of recent reform efforts in science education have also strongly suggested that teachers develop a sound understanding of the nature of science. Most studies on teachers' NOS conceptions and inquiry beliefs investigated these concepts of teachers' NOS…

History of Science as an Instructional Context: Student Learning in Genetics and Nature of Science

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Sun Young; Irving, Karen E.

2010-01-01

This study (1) explores the effectiveness of the contextualized history of science on student learning of nature of science (NOS) and genetics content knowledge (GCK), especially interrelationships among various genetics concepts, in high school biology classrooms; (2) provides an exemplar for teachers on how to utilize history of science in…

Bulletin KSNU. Natural science series, no. 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mansurov, Z.A.

1997-01-01

This is the first issue of natural sciences series of Bulletin of Kazak State National University published in English. The objective of the publication is to make scientific ideas and pratical experience of scientists of the University available for the world wide scientific community. This set of articles reflects the curriculum of the University and includes papers on Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Geography. More specifically the papers deal with various aspects of relativity theory, gravitation and quantum mechanics; heat-mass transfer phenomena; physics of plasma; solid state physics and material sciences; theoretical and nuclear physics and physics of cosmic rays; chemistry of polymers; medical materials; oil chemistry and processing; physiology and biochemistry, genetics and biotechnology; assessment of anthroprogenic impact on environment and landscapes; environment friendly industry and agriculture, wise use of natural resources

Bulletin KSNU. Natural science series, no. 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mansurov, Z A [ed.

1998-12-31

This is the first issue of natural sciences series of Bulletin of Kazak State National University published in English. The objective of the publication is to make scientific ideas and pratical experience of scientists of the University available for the world wide scientific community. This set of articles reflects the curriculum of the University and includes papers on Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Geography. More specifically the papers deal with various aspects of relativity theory, gravitation and quantum mechanics; heat-mass transfer phenomena; physics of plasma; solid state physics and material sciences; theoretical and nuclear physics and physics of cosmic rays; chemistry of polymers; medical materials; oil chemistry and processing; physiology and biochemistry, genetics and biotechnology; assessment of anthroprogenic impact on environment and landscapes; environment friendly industry and agriculture, wise use of natural resources

Learning about the Nature of Science Using Algae

Science.gov (United States)

Edelmann, Hans G.; Martius, Thilo; Hahn, Achim; Schlüter, Kirsten; Nessler, Stefan H.

2016-01-01

Enquiry learning and teaching about the nature of science (NoS) is a key element of science education. We have designed an experimental setting for students aged 12-14 years to exercise enquiry-learning skills and to introduce students to the NoS aspects of creativity and imagination. It also illustrates the impact of carbon dioxide on the growth…

Nature of science in instruction materials of science through the model of educational reconstruction

Science.gov (United States)

Azizah, Nur; Mudzakir, Ahmad

2016-02-01

The study was carried out to reconstruct the science teaching materials charged view of the nature of science (VNOS). This reconstruction process using the Model of Educational Reconstruction (MER), which is the framework for research and development of science education as well as a guide for planning the teaching of science in the schools is limited in two stages, namely: content structure analysis, and empirical studies of learners. The purpose of this study is to obtain a pre-conception of learners and prospective scientists to the topic of the nature of the material and utilization. The method used to descriptive with the instruments is guidelines for interviews for 15 students of class VIII, text analysis sheet, sheet analysis of the concept, and the validation sheet indicators and learning objectives NOS charged on cognitive and affective aspects. The results obtained in the form of pre-conceptions of learners who demonstrate almost 100% of students know the types of materials and some of its nature, the results of the scientist's perspective on the topic of the nature of the material and its use, as well as the results of the validation indicators and learning objectives charged NOS and competencies PISA 2015 cognitive and affective aspects with CVI value of 0.99 and 1.0 after being validated by five experts. This suggests that the indicators and the resulting learning objectives feasible and can proceed to the reconstruction of teaching materials on the topic of material properties and utilization.

Human/Nature Discourse in Environmental Science Education Resources

Science.gov (United States)

Chambers, Joan M.

2008-01-01

It is argued that the view of nature and the relationship between human beings and nature that each of us holds impacts our decisions, actions, and notions of environmental responsibility and consciousness. In this study, I investigate the discursive patterns of selected environmental science classroom resources produced by three disparate…

23 NATURAL THEOLOGY AND MODERN SCIENCE: AN ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

HP

reality and the key criterion is agreement of theory with data to assess the emerging scientific ... Natural Theology, Science and Theology, Scientific Proofs, God's ..... The Second Law of Thermodynamics: This law states basically that certain.

Nature and history : towards a hermeneutic philosophy of historiography of science

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bouterse, Jeroen

2016-01-01

This thesis investigates the role of the natural world – the things studied by natural scientists – in historical accounts of science. It does so through the concepts of contingency and inevitability: it discusses the possibility that the world renders the final development of science inevitable, as

Philosophical and Ethical Foundations of Systems Thinking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Debora Hammond

2008-07-01

Full Text Available Drawing on more than a decade of research on the social implications of systems thinking, as well as practical experience in integrative, community-based approaches to education, this paper is an inquiry into philosophical and ethical considerations growing out of recent developments in systems thinking. In his foundational work on general system theory, Ludwig von Bertalanffy distinguishes between three general developments in the systems field: systems technology, systems science, and systems philosophy. These three dimensions of systems thinking each nurture distinct and often widely divergent theoretical and practical orientations. In his abstract for this session, Gary Metcalf asks whether the systems approach really has anything to offer. Science is a form of social feedback; it has created an enormous body of knowledge about the world and shaped humanity’s understanding of the nature of our collective reality. Knowledge then informs action. Assumptions built into scientific frameworks condition certain kinds of actions, as Bertalanffy has noted. Systems thinking as science nurtures a way of thinking that engenders a different kind of practice; systems as philosophy cultivates an ethic of integration and collaboration that has the potential to transform the nature of social organization. Although humanity still has a lot to learn about living more harmoniously and sustainably, systems thinking has made significant contributions in this direction in many fields, both theoretical and practical. The challenge is to integrate what we have learned, to communicate these insights to a larger audience, and to nurture institutional practices that honor the ethical principles inherent in the systems view.

Derivation and Implementation of a Model Teaching the Nature of Science Using Informal Science Education Venues

Science.gov (United States)

Spector, Barbara S.; Burkett, Ruth; Leard, Cyndy

2012-01-01

This paper introduces a model for using informal science education venues as contexts within which to teach the nature of science. The model was initially developed to enable university education students to teach science in elementary schools so as to be consistent with "National Science Education Standards" (NSES) (1996) and "A Framework for…

Truth, possibility and probability new logical foundations of probability and statistical inference

CERN Document Server

Chuaqui, R

1991-01-01

Anyone involved in the philosophy of science is naturally drawn into the study of the foundations of probability. Different interpretations of probability, based on competing philosophical ideas, lead to different statistical techniques, and frequently to mutually contradictory consequences. This unique book presents a new interpretation of probability, rooted in the traditional interpretation that was current in the 17th and 18th centuries. Mathematical models are constructed based on this interpretation, and statistical inference and decision theory are applied, including some examples in artificial intelligence, solving the main foundational problems. Nonstandard analysis is extensively developed for the construction of the models and in some of the proofs. Many nonstandard theorems are proved, some of them new, in particular, a representation theorem that asserts that any stochastic process can be approximated by a process defined over a space with equiprobable outcomes.

PENGEMBANGAN PERANGKAT PEMBELAJARAN IPA BERBASIS SETS UNTUK MENINGKATKAN SCIENTIFIC LITERACY DAN FOUNDATIONAL KNOWLEDGE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Indras Kurnia Setiawati

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menghasilkan produk berupa perangkat pembelajaran IPA berbasis Science, Environment, Technology, and Society (SETS dan mengetahui (1 kelayakan produk, (2 keefektifan produk untuk meningkatkan scientific literacy, serta (3 keefektifan produk untuk meningkatkan foundational knowledge peserta didik kelas VII SMP Muhammadiyah 8 Wedi Klaten. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian dan pengembangan dengan 3 tahap prosedur pengembangan yaitu need assesment, development dan reasearch dengan desain nonequivalent control group. Perangkat pembelajaran IPA berbasis SETS terdiri atas silabus, RPP, Lembar Kegiatan Peserta Didik (LKPD, dan instrumen penilaian otentik. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan kelayakan produk dinyatakan sangat baik dengan rerata skor 4,59 dari rentang 0-5. Semua peserta didik di kelas eksperimen mengalami peningkatan nilai scientific literacy dan foundational knowledge dengan kategori peningkatan tinggi, sedang, dan rendah. Implementasi produk berpengaruh positif terhadap kemampuan scientific literacy dan foundational knowledge yang menunjukkan perbedaan signifikan antara kelas eksperimen dan kontrol dengan kemampuan awal yang sama. Dengan demikian, perangkat pembelajaran IPA berbasis SETS terbukti efektif untuk meningkatkan scientific literacy dan foundational knowledge peserta didik kelas VII SMP Muhammadiyah 8 Wedi Klaten. Kata kunci: perangkat pembelajaran IPA, SETS, scientific literacy, foundational knowledge   DEVELOPING A SETS-BASED SCIENCE TEACHING KIT TO IMPROVE SCIENTIFIC LITERACY AND FOUNDATIONAL KNOWLEDGE Abstract This study aims to produce products such as a Science, Environment, Tecnology, and Society-based science teaching kit and to determine (1 the feasibility of the product, (2 the effectiveness of the product to improve scientific literacy, and (3 the effectiveness of the product to improve foundational knowledge for 7th grade students in SMP Muhammadiyah 8 Wedi Klaten.. This study is a

On the map: Nature and Science editorials

OpenAIRE

Waaijer C.J.F., van, Bochove C.A. van, Eck, N.J.P.

2011-01-01

Bibliometric mapping of scientific articles based on keywords and technical terms in abstracts is now frequently used to chart scientific fields. In contrast, no significant mapping has been applied to the full texts of non-specialist documents. Editorials in Nature and Science are such non-specialist documents, reflecting the views of the two most read scientific journals on science, technology and policy issues. We use the VOSviewer mapping software to chart the topics of these editorials. ...

Controversy as a Blind Spot in Teaching Nature of Science. Why the Range of Different Positions Concerning Nature of Science Should Be an Issue in the Science Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Kötter, Mario; Hammann, Marcus

2017-07-01

In this article, the argument is put forth that controversies about the scope and limits of science should be considered in Nature of Science (NOS) teaching. Reference disciplines for teaching NOS are disciplines, which reflect upon science, like philosophy of science, history of science, and sociology of science. The culture of these disciplines is characterized by controversy rather than unified textbook knowledge. There is common agreement among educators of the arts and humanities that controversies in the reference disciplines should be represented in education. To teach NOS means to adopt a reflexive perspective on science. Therefore, we suggest that controversies within and between the reference disciplines are relevant for NOS teaching and not only the NOS but about NOS should be taught, too. We address the objections that teaching about NOS is irrelevant for real life and too demanding for students. First, we argue that science-reflexive meta-discourses are relevant for students as future citizens because the discourses occur publicly in the context of sociopolitical disputes. Second, we argue that it is in fact necessary to reduce the complexity of the above-mentioned discourses and that this is indeed possible, as it has been done with other reflexive elements in science education. In analogy to the German construct Bewertungskompetenz (which means the competency to make informed ethical decisions in scientific contexts), we suggest epistemic competency as a goal for NOS teaching. In order to do so, science-reflexive controversies must be simplified and attitudes toward science must be considered. Discourse on the scientific status of potential pseudoscience may serve as an authentic and relevant context for teaching the controversial nature of reflexion on science.

Paradigms and problems: The practice of social science in natural resource management

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Michael E. Patterson; Daniel R. Williams

1998-01-01

Increasingly, natural resource management is seeing calls for new paradigms. These calls pose challenges that have implications not only for planning and management, but also for the practice of science. As a consequence, the profession needs to deepen its understanding of the nature of science by exploring recent advances in the philosophy of science....

Le programme de sciences de la nature. Avis a la ministre de l'enseignement superieur et de la science (The Natural Sciences Program. Advisory to the Minister of Higher Education and Science).

Science.gov (United States)

Conseil des Colleges, Quebec (Quebec).

A series of recommendations developed by the Council of Colleges of the Colleges of General and Professional Education (CEGEP) in Quebec (Canada) are presented in this report to the Ministry of Higher Education and Science for redesigning the CEGEP's natural sciences curriculum. The proposed reforms are designed to meet legislative requirements…

Does the nature of science influence college students' learning of biological evolution?

Science.gov (United States)

Butler, Wilbert, Jr.

This quasi-experimental, mixed-methods study assessed the influence of the nature of science (NOS) instruction on college students' learning of biological evolution. In this research, conducted in two introductory biology courses, in each course the same instruction was employed, with one important exception: in the experimental section students were involved in an explicit, reflective treatment of the nature of science (Explicit, reflective NOS), in the traditional treatment section, NOS was implicitly addressed (traditional treatment). In both sections, NOS aspects of science addressed included is tentative, empirically based, subjective, inferential, and based on relationship between scientific theories and laws. Students understanding of evolution, acceptance of evolution, and understanding of the nature of science were assessed before, during and after instruction. Data collection entailed qualitative and quantitative methods including Concept Inventory for Natural Selection (CINS), Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) survey, Views of nature of Science (VNOS-B survey), as well as interviews, classroom observations, and journal writing to address understand students' views of science and understanding and acceptance of evolution. The quantitative data were analyzed via inferential statistics and the qualitative data were analyzed using grounded theory. The data analysis allowed for the construction and support for four assertions: Assertion 1: Students engaged in explicit and reflective NOS specific instruction significantly improved their understanding of the nature of science concepts. Alternatively, students engaged in instruction using an implicit approach to the nature of science did not improve their understanding of the nature of science to the same degree. The VNOS-B results indicated that students in the explicit, reflective NOS class showed the better understanding of the NOS after the course than students in the implicit NOS class

Four Dialogues and Metalogues about the Nature of Science.

Science.gov (United States)

Roth, Wolff-Michael; McRobbie, Campbell J.; Lucas, Keith B.

1998-01-01

Analyzes and explores questions about the dialogic nature of beliefs and students' belief talk about the nature of science and scientific knowledge. Argues that students' discourse is better understood as a textual bricolage sensitive to conversational context. Contains 26 references. (DDR)

Thai in-service teacher understanding of nature of science in biology teaching: Case of Mali

Science.gov (United States)

Aiemsum-ang, Napapan; Yuenyong, Chokchai

2018-01-01

This paper aimed to investigate the existing ideas of nature of science (NOS) teaching in Thailand biology classroom. The study reported the existing ideas of nature of science (NOS) teaching of one biology teacher Mrs. Mali who had been teaching for 6 years at in a school in Khon Kaen city. Methodology regarded interpretive paradigm. Tools of interpretation included 2 months of classroom observation, interviewing, and questionnaire of NOS. The findings revealed Mali held good understanding of the nature of science in the aspect of the use of evidence, the aspect of knowledge inquiry through different observation and deduction, the aspect of creativity and imagination influencing science knowledge inquiry, and the aspect of changeable scientific knowledge. Her biology teaching indicated that she used both the deficient nature of science approach and the implicit nature of science approach. The implicit nature of science approach was applied mostly in 7 periods and only 2 periods were arranged using the deficient nature of science approach. The paper has implication for professional development and pre-service program on NOS teaching in Thailand.

Cinema and science, nature and culture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcio Barreto

2017-05-01

Full Text Available http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/1807-1384.2017v14n2p19 Faced with contemporary issues that call into question the boundaries between nature and culture, man and machine, society and environment, cinema is taken here as a guide for reflection on modern science by Bergson and Deleuze’s texts, among  other authors. Operating the passage from science to art and from art to science, cinema is here considered as a technical object and technical object as instrument to magnify perception. To highlight the artificiality of these borders, Newton's gravitational law is presented in its physical and metaphysical implications by the writings of Betty Dobbs and Newton himself. Through the lens of cinema, especially on movies such as 2001 A Space Odyssey, by Stanley Kubrick and Out of the present, by Andrei Ujica, the article shows that the power of cinema contributes to the perception that dimensions of science, which go beyond their alliances with the State and the market, are relevant to the challenges on the horizon of the 21’s century.

A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Korean and American Science Teachers' Views of Evolution and the Nature of Science

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Kim, Sun Young; Nehm, Ross H.

2011-01-01

Despite a few international comparisons of the evolutionary beliefs of the general public, comparatively less research has focused on science teachers. Cross-cultural studies offer profitable opportunities for exploring the interactions among knowledge and belief variables in regard to evolution in different socio-cultural contexts. We investigated the evolutionary worldviews of pre-service science teachers from Asia (specifically South Korea), a region often excluded from international comparisons. We compared Korean and American science teachers': (1) understandings of evolution and the nature of science, and (2) acceptance of evolution in order to elucidate how knowledge and belief relationships are manifested in different cultural contexts. We found that Korean science teachers exhibited 'moderate' evolutionary acceptance levels comparable to or lower than American science teacher samples. Gender was significantly related to Korean teachers' evolution content knowledge and acceptance of evolution, with female Christian biology teachers displaying the lowest values on all measures. Korean science teachers' understandings of nature of science were significantly related to their acceptance and understanding of evolution; this relationship appears to transcend cultural boundaries. Our new data on Korean teachers, combined with studies from more than 20 other nations, expose the global nature of science teacher ambivalence or antipathy toward evolutionary knowledge.

Natural Hazards Science at the U.S. Geological Survey

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Perry, Suzanne C.; Jones, Lucile M.; Holmes, Robert R.

2013-01-01

The mission of the USGS in natural hazards is to develop and apply hazard science to help protect the safety, security, and economic well-being of the Nation. The costs and consequences of natural hazards can be enormous, and each year more people and infrastructure are at risk. The USGS conducts hazard research and works closely with stakeholders and cooperators to inform a broad range of planning and response activities at individual, local, State, national, and international levels. It has critical statutory and nonstatutory roles regarding floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, coastal erosion, volcanic eruptions, wildfires, and magnetic storms. USGS science can help to understand and reduce risks from natural hazards by providing the information that decisionmakers need to determine which risk management activities are worth­while.

How Contextualized Learning Settings Enhance Meaningful Nature of Science Understanding

Science.gov (United States)

Bilican, K.; Cakiroglu, J.; Oztekin, C.

2015-01-01

Exploring different contexts to facilitate in-depth nature of science (NOS) views were seen as critical for better professional development of pre-service science teachers, which ultimately would assure better students' NOS understanding and achieve an ultimate goal of current science education reforms. This study aimed to reduce the lack of…

Poetry, Nature and Science: Romantic Nature Philosophy in the Works of Novalis and E. T. a. Hoffmann

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Weisend, Ausma Skerbele

The nature philosophy of the early Romantic period in Germany attempted to find a synthesis of science and philosophy in a new philosophy of nature. This philosophy was first formulated by F. W. J. Schelling and influenced by the galvanic experiments of J. W. Ritter. Novalis is a unique figure in romanticism since he combines scientific expertise with philosophical insight and poetic imagination. In Lehrlinge zu Sais he explores the significance of nature's language and presents different relationships between man and nature. Novalis thinks that a synthesis of all divergent elements in nature and society is necessary to transform the world. In Klingsohrs Marchen this transformation is accomplished by poetic activation of the physical sciences and by the power of love. After 1800 the romantic movement becomes interested in the problems of subconscious and abnormal psychological states, which are seen as contacts with a more spiritual level of existence. These ideas, expressed in a popular form by G. H. Schubert, provide a rich source of materials for E. T. A. Hoffmann, who elevates the realms of poetry and music in his fairy tales, but sees only negative qualities in science. Hoffmann's protagonists find that love, music, and poetry are the greatest forces in life. The figure of the scientist becomes an evil magician with no regard for human values. The romantic movement failed to unite the values of humanities with the insights of physical sciences. The problem of autonomy isolates both modern science and modern literature from the ethical values of society.

Investing in citizen science can improve natural resource management and environmental protection

Science.gov (United States)

McKinley, Duncan C.; Miller-Rushing, Abraham J.; Ballard, Heidi L.; Bonney, Rick; Brown, Hutch; Evans, Daniel M.; French, Rebecca A.; Parrish, Julia K.; Phillips, Tina B.; Ryan, Sean F.; Shanley, Lea A.; Shirk, Jennifer L.; Stepenuck, Kristine F.; Weltzin, Jake F.; Wiggins, Andrea; Boyle, Owen D.; Briggs, Russell D.; Chapin, Stuart F.; Hewitt, David A.; Preuss, Peter W.; Soukup, Michael A.

2015-01-01

Citizen science has made substantive contributions to science for hundreds of years. More recently, it has contributed to many articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals and has influenced natural resource management and environmental protection decisions and policies across the nation. Over the last 10 years, citizen science—participation by the public in a scientific project—has seen explosive growth in the United States, particularly in ecology, the environmental sciences, and related fields of inquiry. In this report, we explore the current use of citizen science in natural resource and environmental science and decision making in the United States and describe the investments organizations might make to benefit from citizen science.

Social Science Methods Used in the RESTORE Project

Science.gov (United States)

Lynne M. Westphal; Cristy Watkins; Paul H. Gobster; Liam Heneghan; Kristen Ross; Laurel Ross; Madeleine Tudor; Alaka Wali; David H. Wise; Joanne Vining; Moira. Zellner

2014-01-01

The RESTORE (Rethinking Ecological and Social Theories of Restoration Ecology) project is an interdisciplinary, multi-institutional research endeavor funded by the National Science Foundation's Dynamics of Coupled Natural Human Systems program. The goal of the project is to understand the links between organizational type, decision making processes, and...

Mentoring Faculty: Results from National Science Foundation's ADVANCE Program

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Holmes, M. A.

2015-12-01

Faculty mentoring programs are common components of National Science Foundation ADVANCE awards. The ADVANCE program aims to increase the number of women on the faculty in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) departments through grants to individuals and to entire institutions. These grants target a change in institutional culture so that faculty from non-majority groups will succeed and thrive. Mentoring programs are generally designed to fit the particular institution(s) or target population (e.g., meteorologists at the beginning of their careers). A successful mentoring program makes the implicit knowledge necessary for faculty success explicit: policies and practices are made transparent; routes for finding answers are clarified or generated with faculty input; faculty overcome a sense of isolation and develop a community. Mentoring programs may be formal, with assigned mentors and mentees, or informal, with opportunities for beginning, middle and advanced career STEM faculty to mingle, generally over food and sometimes with a formal speaker. The programs are formally evaluated; in general, attention to mentoring generates better outcomes for all faculty. Research indicates that most successful scientists have a network of mentors rather than relying on one person to help navigate department, institution, and profession. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln's (UNL) award, ADVANCE-Nebraska, offered opportunities for faculty to informally network over luncheons with women speakers, advanced in their careers. We also offered after-hours networking receptions. In response to faculty feedback, we shifted to a series of panel discussions entitled "Conversations". Most panels were conducted by successful UNL faculty; about one-third had an outside expert on a given topic. Topics were chosen based on faculty feedback and targeted specifically to beginning faculty (How to Start Up a Lab; How to Balance Teaching and Writing), mid-career faculty (Putting

The White Mountain Recreational Enterprise: Bio-Political Foundations for White Mountain Apache Natural Resource Control, 1945–1960

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David C. Tomblin

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Among American Indian nations, the White Mountain Apache Tribe has been at the forefront of a struggle to control natural resource management within reservation boundaries. In 1952, they developed the first comprehensive tribal natural resource management program, the White Mountain Recreational Enterprise (WMRE, which became a cornerstone for fighting legal battles over the tribe’s right to manage cultural and natural resources on the reservation for the benefit of the tribal community rather than outside interests. This article examines how White Mountain Apaches used the WMRE, while embracing both Euro-American and Apache traditions, as an institutional foundation for resistance and exchange with Euro-American society so as to reassert control over tribal eco-cultural resources in east-central Arizona.

Foundations of low-temperature plasma physics—an introduction

Science.gov (United States)

von Keudell, A.; Schulz-von der Gathen, V.

2017-11-01

The use of plasmas as a reactive mixture of ions, electrons and neutrals is at the core of numerous technologies in industry, enabling applications in microelectronics, automotives, packaging, environment and medicine. Recently, even the use of plasmas in medical applications has made great progress. The dominant character of a plasma is often its non equilibrium nature with different temperatures for the individual species in a plasma, the ions, electrons and neutrals. This opens up a multitude of reaction pathways which are inaccessible to conventional methods in chemistry, for example. The understanding of plasmas requires expertise in plasma physics, plasma chemistry and in electrical engineering. This first paper in a series of foundation papers on low temperature plasma science is intended to provide the very basics of plasmas as a common starting point for the more in-depth discussion of particular plasma generation methods, plasma modeling and diagnostics in the other foundation papers. In this first paper of the series, the common terminology, definitions and main concepts are introduced. The covered aspects start with the basic definitions and include further plasma equilibria, particle collisions and transport, sheaths and discharge breakdowns.

Role of natural radiation environment in earth sciences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vohra, K.G.

1980-01-01

Natural ionizing radiations play an important role in a wide spectrum of earth sciences, including meteorology, geophysics, hydrology, atmospheric physics, and atmospheric chemistry. The nature and distribution of ionizing radiation sources and natural radionuclides in the atmospheric environment are summarized. The present status of the use of natural radioactive tracers for atmospheric studies is discussed. The effect of ionization produced by natural radiation sources on atmospheric electricity, the relationship of electrical and meteorological variables, and the possible effects of man-made releases of 85 Kr are considered. Experimental evidence is presented for the production of condensation nuclei by the combined effects of radon and sulfur dioxide

Cyber warfare building the scientific foundation

CERN Document Server

Jajodia, Sushil; Subrahmanian, VS; Swarup, Vipin; Wang, Cliff

2015-01-01

This book features a wide spectrum of the latest computer science research relating to cyber warfare, including military and policy dimensions. It is the first book to explore the scientific foundation of cyber warfare and features research from the areas of artificial intelligence, game theory, programming languages, graph theory and more. The high-level approach and emphasis on scientific rigor provides insights on ways to improve cyber warfare defense worldwide. Cyber Warfare: Building the Scientific Foundation targets researchers and practitioners working in cyber security, especially gove

Scientific research in the natural sciences in South Africa: A scientometric study

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Radhamany Sooryamoorthy

2013-07-01

Full Text Available As a leading producer of scientific publications on the African continent, South Africa has made remarkable progress. However, attempts are yet to be made to comprehend the empirical reality of scientific production in South Africa. One way to do this is to analyse specific science disciplines (such as the natural sciences, publication outputs and their features. A bibliometric study was undertaken of the publication trends and patterns of South African researchers in the natural sciences from 1975 to 2005 (choosing selected sample years, using the Thomson Reuters� Web of Knowledge database of selected indexed natural science journals. Characteristics of natural science publications, such as the trends over the years, were revealed as well as the collaborative dimensions involved in the production of scientific papers in these disciplines in South Africa. The connection between collaboration and publication, as well as between collaboration and sectors of authors was evident. The key findings of this study were that authors were based mostly in universities and were collaborative in their research endeavours. In addition, the participation of international collaborators has increased.

Experience in organization of soil science–biogeographical part of educational natural science practical work of students-geographers

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Юлія Прасул

2016-10-01

database, the results of filming UAV. The practice allows both to consolidate the knowledge of the course «Soil Science and Biogeography» and lay some foundations for further study in the 2 year of the subject «Landscape study», «GIS in Geography», «Cartography». In addition to the educational purpose, there is a research component of the practice. Some students later can perform diploma projects on the territories in the base area of practice, and the teachers annually conducting the practices, see the prospect in the organization of scientific studies of natural components and systems dynamics, fixing their natural and man-made changes to the identification of existing problems and the development of natural scientific methods to address them.

Exploring culture, language and the perception of the nature of science

Science.gov (United States)

Sutherland, Dawn

2002-01-01

One dimension of early Canadian education is the attempt of the government to use the education system as an assimilative tool to integrate the First Nations and Me´tis people into Euro-Canadian society. Despite these attempts, many First Nations and Me´tis people retained their culture and their indigenous language. Few science educators have examined First Nations and Western scientific worldviews and the impact they may have on science learning. This study explored the views some First Nations (Cree) and Euro-Canadian Grade-7-level students in Manitoba had about the nature of science. Both qualitative (open-ended questions and interviews) and quantitative (a Likert-scale questionnaire) instruments were used to explore student views. A central hypothesis to this research programme is the possibility that the different world-views of two student populations, Cree and Euro-Canadian, are likely to influence their perceptions of science. This preliminary study explored a range of methodologies to probe the perceptions of the nature of science in these two student populations. It was found that the two cultural groups differed significantly between some of the tenets in a Nature of Scientific Knowledge Scale (NSKS). Cree students significantly differed from Euro-Canadian students on the developmental, testable and unified tenets of the nature of scientific knowledge scale. No significant differences were found in NSKS scores between language groups (Cree students who speak English in the home and those who speak English and Cree or Cree only). The differences found between language groups were primarily in the open-ended questions where preformulated responses were absent. Interviews about critical incidents provided more detailed accounts of the Cree students' perception of the nature of science. The implications of the findings of this study are discussed in relation to the challenges related to research methodology, further areas for investigation, science

Cooperative Learning about Nature of Science with a Case from the History of Science

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Wolfensberger, Balz; Canella, Claudia

2015-01-01

This paper reports a predominantly qualitative classroom study on cooperative learning about nature of science (NOS) using a case from the history of science. The purpose of the research was to gain insight into how students worked with the historical case study during cooperative group work, how students and teachers assessed the teaching unit,…

News Focus: NSF Director Erich Bloch Discusses Foundation's Problems, Outlook.

Science.gov (United States)

Chemical and Engineering News, 1987

1987-01-01

Relates the comments offered in an interview with Erich Bloch, the National Science Foundation (NSF) Director. Discusses issues related to NSF and its funding, engineering research centers, involvement with industry, concern for science education, computer centers, and its affiliation with the social sciences. (ML)

Polarised light in science and nature

CERN Document Server

Pye, J David

2001-01-01

We humans cannot see when light is polarized and this leads to unfortunate misapprehensions about this aspect of nature. Even scientists who should know better often assume that it is an obscure topic of specialized interest in only a few rather isolated areas. In fact, it is a universal feature of our world and most natural light is at least partially polarized. In the animal kingdom, insects and other animals exploit such natural polarization in some fascinating ways since they do not share this human deficiency and can both detect and analyze polarization. It may be our unfamiliarity with this aspect of light that also makes people think it is a difficult subject, yet the basis is extremely simple. When these misconceptions are overcome, the phenomena associated with polarization are found to be important throughout science and technology, from physics, astronomy, natural history, geology, chemistry, and several branches of engineering to crafts such as glass-blowing and jewelry. Polarized light also invol...

Engaging Nature of Science to Preservice Teachers through Inquiry-Based Classroom

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Nuangchalerm, Prasart

2013-01-01

Inquiry-based classroom is widely distributed in the school science based on its useful and effective instruction. Science teachers are key elements allowing students to have scientific inquiry. If teachers understand and imply inquiry-based learning into science classroom, students will learn science as scientific inquiry and understand nature of…

Using the Planetary Science Institute’s Meteorite Mini-Kits to Address the Nature of Science

Science.gov (United States)

Lebofsky, Larry A.; Cañizo, Thea L.; Buxner, Sanlyn

2014-11-01

Hands-on learning allows students to understand science concepts by directly observing and experiencing the topics they are studying. The Planetary Science Institute (PSI) has created instructional rock kits that have been introduced to elementary and middle school teachers in Tucson, in our professional development workshops. PSI provides teachers with supporting material and training so that they can use the kits as tools for students’ hands-on learning. Use of these kits provides an important experience with natural materials that is essential to instruction in Earth and Space Science. With a stronger knowledge of science content and of how science is actually conducted, the workshops and kits have instilled greater confidence in teachers’ ability to teach science content. The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Performance Expectations includes: “What makes up our solar system?” NGSS emphasizes the Crosscutting Concepts—Patterns Scale, Portion, and Quantity; and Systems and System Models. NGSS also states that the Nature of Science (NOS) should be an “essential part” of science education. NOS topics include understanding that scientific investigations use a variety of methods, that scientific knowledge is based on empirical evidence, that scientific explanations are open to revision in light of new evidence, and an understanding of the nature of scientific models.Addressing a need expressed by teachers for borrowing kits less expensive than our $2000 option, we created a Meteorite Mini-Kit. Each Mini-Kit contains eight rocks: an iron-bearing chondrite, a sliced chondrite (showing iron and chondrules), a tektite, a common Tucson rock, a river-polished rock, pumice, a small iron, and a rounded obsidian rock (false tektite). Also included in the Mini-Kits are magnets and a magnifier. The kits cost $40 to $50, depending on the sizes of the chondrites. A teacher can check out a classroom set of these which contains either 10 or 20 Mini-Kits. Each

76 FR 26721 - Re-Issuance of a General Permit to the National Science Foundation for the Ocean Disposal of Man...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-05-09

...EPA proposes to re-issue a permit authorizing the National Science Foundation (NSF) to dispose of ice piers in ocean waters. Permit re-issuance is necessary because the current permit has expired. EPA does not propose changes to the content of the permit because ocean disposal under the terms of the previous permit will continue to meet the ocean disposal criteria.

Influence of Nature and History of Science Courses on Value Perceptions of Elementary Science Teacher Candidates in Conceptual Dimension in Turkey

Science.gov (United States)

Aktamis, Hilal; Higde, Emrah

2018-01-01

This study aimed to determine the changes in understanding about the nature of science (NOS) and conceptual values of 28 elementary science teacher candidates who engaged in the instruction of the nature and history of science (NHOS). A values scale was used to determine the values of science teacher candidates in six areas of the conceptual…

Development and Nature of Preservice Chemistry Teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Nature of Science

Science.gov (United States)

Demirdöğen, Betül; Hanuscin, Deborah L.; Uzuntiryaki-Kondakci, Esen; Köseoğlu, Fitnat

2016-08-01

The purpose of this case study is to delve into the complexities of the early development of preservice chemistry teachers' science teaching orientations, knowledge of learners, knowledge of instructional strategies, and knowledge of assessment during a two-semester intervention designed to enhance their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for teaching nature of science (NOS). Thirty preservice chemistry teachers enrolled in a Research in Science Education course participated in the study. Qualitative data sources included responses to an open-ended instrument, interviews, observations, and artifacts such as lesson plans and reflection papers. Through the in-depth analysis of explicit PCK and constant comparative method of analysis, we identified the influence of the intervention on participants' PCK for NOS. Analysis of data revealed four major themes related to the nature of preservice chemistry teachers' NOS teaching practices and their PCK for NOS: (1) prerequisite knowledge and beliefs are necessary to teach NOS, (2) there is a developmental progression of PCK for NOS from knowledge to application level, (3) teachers need some comfort in their NOS understanding to teach NOS, and (4) the higher integration of PCK components leads to successful NOS teaching practices. Implications for science teacher education and research are discussed.

The Development of the Nature of Science View Scale (NOSvs) at University Level

Science.gov (United States)

Temel, Senar; Sen, Senol; Özcan, Özgür

2018-01-01

Background: Determining individuals' views of the nature of science is quite important for researchers since it is both a component of scientific literacy and a fundamental aim of science education. Purpose: This study aims to develop a NOSvs for assessing prospective teachers' views of the nature of science and to analyse their psychometric…

Turkish Version of Students' Ideas about Nature of Science Questionnaire: A Validation Study

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Cansiz, Mustafa; Cansiz, Nurcan; Tas, Yasemin; Yerdelen, Sundus

2017-01-01

Mass assessment of large samples' nature of science views has been one of the core concerns in science education research. Due to impracticality of using open-ended questionnaires or conducting interviews with large groups, another line of research has been required for mass assessment of pupils' nature of science conception meaningfully.…

Contested Domains of Science and Science Learning in Contemporary Native American Communities: Three Case Studies from a National Science Foundation grant titled, "Archaeology Pathways for Native Learners"

Science.gov (United States)

Parent, Nancy Brossard

This dissertation provides a critical analysis of three informal science education partnerships that resulted from a 2003-2006 National Science Foundation grant titled, "Archaeology Pathways for Native Learners" (ESI-0307858), hosted by the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center. This dissertation is designed to contribute to understandings of learning processes that occur within and at the intersection of diverse worldviews and knowledge systems, by drawing upon experiences derived from three disparate contexts: 1) The Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock, Arizona; 2) The A:shiwi A:wan Museum and Heritage Center on the Zuni Reservation in Zuni, New Mexico; and 3) Science learning camps at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center for Native youth of southern New England. While informal science education is increasingly moving toward decolonizing and cross-cutting institutional boundaries of learning through critical thinking and real-world applications, the construction of "science" (even within diverse contexts) continues to be framed within a homogenous, predominantly Euro-American perspective. This study analyzes the language of Western science employed in these partnerships, with particular attention to the use of Western/Native binaries that shape perceptions of Native peoples and communities, real or imagined. Connections are drawn to broader nation-state interests in education, science, and the global economy. The role of educational evaluation in these case studies is also critically analyzed, by questioning the ways in which it is constructed, conducted, and evaluated for the purposes of informing future projects and subsequent funding. This study unpacks problems of the dominant language of "expert" knowledge embedded in Western science discourse, and highlights the possibilities of indigenous knowledge systems that can inform Western science frameworks of education and evaluation. Ultimately, this study suggests that research

Research Award: Foundations for Innovation | IDRC - International ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

2016-09-07

Sep 7, 2016 ... The Foundations for Innovation program wishes to better ... disciplines: science, technology and innovation policy; development studies; or economics. ... research to local, national, and/or regional policy debates in Africa.

Computational Foundations of Natural Intelligence.

Science.gov (United States)

van Gerven, Marcel

2017-01-01

New developments in AI and neuroscience are revitalizing the quest to understanding natural intelligence, offering insight about how to equip machines with human-like capabilities. This paper reviews some of the computational principles relevant for understanding natural intelligence and, ultimately, achieving strong AI. After reviewing basic principles, a variety of computational modeling approaches is discussed. Subsequently, I concentrate on the use of artificial neural networks as a framework for modeling cognitive processes. This paper ends by outlining some of the challenges that remain to fulfill the promise of machines that show human-like intelligence.

The wisdom of nature in integrating science, ethics and the arts.

Science.gov (United States)

Moser, A

2000-07-01

This paper deals with an approach to the integration of science (with technology and economics), ethics (with religion and mysticism), the arts (aesthetics) and Nature, in order to establish a world-view based on holistic, evolutionary ethics that could help with problem solving. The author suggests that this integration is possible with the aid of "Nature's wisdom" which is mirrored in the macroscopic pattern of the ecosphere. The corresponding eco-principles represent the basis for unifying soft and hard sciences resulting in "deep sciences". Deduction and induction will remain the methodology for deep sciences and will include conventional experiments and aesthetic and sentient experiences. Perception becomes the decisive factor with the senses as operators for the building of consciousness through the subconscious. In this paper, an attempt at integrating the concepts of the "true", the "right" and the "beautiful" with the aid of Nature's wisdom is explained in more detail along with consequences.

Understanding the Heterogeneous Nature of Science: A Comprehensive Notion of PCK for Scientific Literacy

Science.gov (United States)

Van Dijk, Esther M.

2014-01-01

This paper is concerned with the conceptualization of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for teaching about the nature of science. In contrast to the view that science teachers need to develop a specific "PCK for nature of science," an alternative, more comprehensive notion of PCK for science teaching is suggested. The point of…

Introducing Taiwanese Undergraduate Students to the Nature of Science through Nobel Prize Stories

Science.gov (United States)

Eshach, Haim; Hwang, Fu-Kwun; Wu, Hsin-Kai; Hsu, Ying-Shao

2013-01-01

Although there is a broad agreement among scientists and science educators that students should not only learn science, but also acquire some sense of its nature, it has been reported that undergraduate students possess an inadequate grasp of the nature of science (NOS). The study presented here examined the potential and effectiveness of Nobel…

77 FR 60717 - Establishment of the Advisory Committee on Climate Change and Natural Resource Science

Science.gov (United States)

2012-10-04

... engagement of key partners at the regional Climate Science Center level. Advise on the nature and... Change and Natural Resource Science AGENCY: U.S. Geological Survey, Interior. ACTION: Notice of... seeking nominations for the Advisory Committee on Climate Change and Natural Resource Science (Committee...

Impedance of Bucket Foundations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Lars; Ibsen, Lars Bo; Liingaard, Morten

2008-01-01

Modern offshore wind turbines are flexible structures with natural frequencies near the excitation frequencies related to wave and wind-induced loads. In order to obtain a reliable prediction of the structural response, the dynamic stiffness of the foundation must be evaluated accurately. This pa...

Surface Science Foundations of Catalysis and Nanoscience

CERN Document Server

Kolasinski, Kurt K

2012-01-01

Surface science has evolved beyond being a sub-field of chemistry or physics and has now become an underpinning science. The Third Edition of this book incorporates extensive worked solutions, as well as details on how problem solving relevant to surface science should be performed. It contextualizes the exercises and their solutions to further explicate the methods of problem solving, application of scientific principles and to deliver a deeper understanding of the field of surface science. Solutions will be accompanied by figures and/or graphs of data, as appropriate.

Computational Foundations of Natural Intelligence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcel van Gerven

2017-12-01

Full Text Available New developments in AI and neuroscience are revitalizing the quest to understanding natural intelligence, offering insight about how to equip machines with human-like capabilities. This paper reviews some of the computational principles relevant for understanding natural intelligence and, ultimately, achieving strong AI. After reviewing basic principles, a variety of computational modeling approaches is discussed. Subsequently, I concentrate on the use of artificial neural networks as a framework for modeling cognitive processes. This paper ends by outlining some of the challenges that remain to fulfill the promise of machines that show human-like intelligence.

The Preparation of Students from National Science Foundation-Funded and Commercially Developed High School Mathematics Curricula for their First University Mathematics Course

Science.gov (United States)

Harwell, Michael; Post, Thomas R.; Cutler, Arnie; Maeda, Yukiko; Anderson, Edwin; Norman, Ke Wu; Medhanie, Amanuel

2009-01-01

The selection of K-12 mathematics curricula has become a polarizing issue for schools, teachers, parents, and other educators and has raised important questions about the long-term influence of these curricula. This study examined the impact of participation in either a National Science Foundation-funded or commercially developed mathematics…

The Science of Middle Nature

Science.gov (United States)

Pataki, D. E.; Pincetl, S.

2012-12-01

In the field of biogeochemistry, urbanization is often considered as an "alteration" or "disturbance" to the earth's surface and its natural processes. This view is an outcome of the view of nature inherent in earth system science and ecology, in which nature is defined as separate from humans and society. However, other disciplines are based in alternative views of nature in which humans are more integral components of the landscape. Urban planning, landscape architecture, agriculture, and horticulture, for example, more fully integrate the role of landscape design and management in the functioning of human-dominated ecosystems. We suggest that the field of urban biogeochemistry has been somewhat limited by the predominant, disturbance-based view of the role of nature in cities, and that more deeply evaluating and broadening the concept of nature inherent in studies of urban processes can enhance our understanding of the role of urbanization in the earth system. A particularly useful concept is the "middle nature" proposed by Cosgrove (1993), which serves a purpose of "actively transforming nature into culture." It is this view of urban landscapes as middle nature, or transformation of urban space into human-dominated nature with a purpose, that is lacking from the current scientific discourse about the role of biogeochemistry in urban ecosystem services. A scientific evaluation of middle nature implies studying the performance of urban designs to meet intended cultural and environmental goals, including beauty, social equity, governance, and social capital as well as environmental quality. We describe our work in evaluating the transformed urban landscapes of Los Angeles from multiple perspectives that focus on urban livability, equity, and beauty as well as the physical impacts of plants and soils on the environment. The outcomes of this process do not necessary meet the traditional demands of biophysical ecology such as utilizing native species, maximizing

Framing the challenge of climate change in Nature and Science editorials

Science.gov (United States)

Hulme, Mike; Obermeister, Noam; Randalls, Samuel; Borie, Maud

2018-06-01

Through their editorializing practices, leading international science journals such as Nature and Science interpret the changing roles of science in society and exert considerable influence on scientific priorities and practices. Here we examine nearly 500 editorials published in these two journals between 1966 and 2016 that deal with climate change, thereby constructing a lens through which to view the changing engagement of science and scientists with the issue. A systematic longitudinal frame analysis reveals broad similarities between Nature and Science in the waxing and waning of editorializing attention given to the topic, but, although both journals have diversified how they frame the challenges of climate change, they have done so in different ways. We attribute these differences to three influences: the different political and epistemic cultures into which they publish; their different institutional histories; and their different editors and editorial authorship practices.

The Effect of Project-Based History and Nature of Science Practices on the Change of Nature of Scientific Knowledge

Science.gov (United States)

Çibik, Ayse Sert

2016-01-01

The aim of this study is to compare the change of pre-service science teachers' views about the nature of scientific knowledge through Project-Based History and Nature of Science training and Conventional Method. The sample of the study consists of two groups of 3rd grade undergraduate students attending teacher preparation program of science…

Influence of fluorescence time characteristics on the spatial resolution of CW-stimulated emission depletion microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Qin, Haiyun; Zhao, Wei; Zhang, Chen; Liu, Yong; Wang, Guiren; Wang, Kaige

2018-03-01

Not Available Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11672229 and 61378083), International Cooperation Foundation of the National Science and Technology Major Project of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (Grant No. 2011DFA12220), Major Research Plan of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 91123030), Natural Science Foundation of Shaanxi Province of China (Grant Nos. 2010JS110 and 2013SZS03-Z01), Natural Science Basic Research Program of Shaanxi Province — Major Basic Research Project, China (Grant No. 2016ZDJC-15), Young Scientist Fund of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 11504294), and the Youth Talent Plan of the Natural Science Foundation of Shaanxi Province of China (Grant No. 2016JQ103).

The Relationship in Biology between the Nature of Science and Scientific Inquiry

Science.gov (United States)

Kremer, Kerstin; Specht, Christiane; Urhahne, Detlef; Mayer, Jürgen

2014-01-01

Informed understandings of nature of science and scientific inquiry are generally accepted goals of biology education. This article points out central features of scientific inquiry with relation to biology and the nature of science in general terms and focuses on the relationship of students' inquiry skills in biology and their beliefs on the…

Do natural science experiments influence public attitudes towards environmental problems?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wallner, A.; Hunziker, M.; Kienast, F.

2003-01-01

We investigated the significance of risk assessment studies in the public discussion on CO 2 emissions. Politicians and representatives from the public were interviewed by using the social-science technique of qualitative in-depth interviews. Three different types of attitudes towards natural science were found among politicians. Depending on which attitude a politician holds, risk assessment studies can have an impact on his/her readiness to support environmental policy measures. Regarding lay people, key factors affecting the acceptance of environmental policy measures are knowledge of environmental problems, their impacts on ecosystems or human health as well as direct personal perception of those impacts. Since direct perception is not always possible in everyday life, natural science experiments might be a means for successfully mediating this lacking perception. (author)

Science teacher’s idea about environmental concepts in science learning as the first step of science teacher training

Science.gov (United States)

Tapilouw, M. C.; Firman, H.; Redjeki, S.; Chandra, D. T.

2018-05-01

To refresh natural environmental concepts in science, science teacher have to attend a teacher training. In teacher training, all participant can have a good sharing and discussion with other science teacher. This study is the first step of science teacher training program held by education foundation in Bandung and attended by 20 science teacher from 18 Junior High School. The major aim of this study is gathering science teacher’s idea of environmental concepts. The core of questions used in this study are basic competencies linked with environmental concepts, environmental concepts that difficult to explain, the action to overcome difficulties and references in teaching environmental concepts. There are four major findings in this study. First finding, most environmental concepts are taught in 7th grade. Second finding, most difficult environmental concepts are found in 7th grade. Third finding, there are five actions to overcome difficulties. Fourth finding, science teacher use at least four references in mastering environmental concepts. After all, teacher training can be a solution to reduce difficulties in teaching environmental concepts.

The relationship between nature of science understandings and science self-efficacy beliefs of sixth grade students

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, Elisabeth Allyn

Bandura (1986) posited that self-efficacy beliefs help determine what individuals do with the knowledge and skills they have and are critical determinants of how well skill and knowledge are acquired. Research has correlated self-efficacy beliefs with academic success and subject interest (Pajares, Britner, & Valiante, 2000). Similar studies report a decreasing interest by students in school science beginning in middle school claiming that they don't enjoy science because the classes are boring and irrelevant to their lives (Basu & Barton, 2007). The hypothesis put forth by researchers is that students need to observe models of how science is done, the nature of science (NOS), so that they connect with the human enterprise of science and thereby raise their self-efficacy (Britner, 2008). This study examined NOS understandings and science self-efficacy of students enrolled in a sixth grade earth science class taught with explicit NOS instruction. The research questions that guided this study were (a) how do students' self-efficacy beliefs change as compared with changes in their nature of science understandings?; and (b) how do changes in students' science self-efficacy beliefs vary with gender and ethnicity segregation? A mixed method design was employed following an embedded experimental model (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2007). As the treatment, five NOS aspects were first taught by the teachers using nonintegrated activities followed by integrated instructional approach (Khishfe, 2008). Students' views of NOS using the Views on Nature of Science (VNOS) (Lederman, Abd-El-Khalick, & Schwartz, 2002) along with their self-efficacy beliefs using three Likert-type science self-efficacy scales (Britner, 2002) were gathered. Changes in NOS understandings were determined by categorizing student responses and then comparing pre- and post-instructional understandings. To determine changes in participants' self-efficacy beliefs as measured by the three subscales, a multivariate

Management of science policy, sociology of science policy and economics of science policy

CERN Document Server

Ruivo, Beatriz

2017-01-01

'Management of science policy, sociology of science policy and economics of science policy' is a theoretical essay on the scientific foundation of science policy (formulation, implementation, instruments and procedures). It can be also used as a textbook.

Changes in Pre-service Science Teachers' Understandings After Being Involved in Explicit Nature of Science and Socioscientific Argumentation Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Kutluca, A. Y.; Aydın, A.

2017-08-01

The study explored the changes in pre-service science teachers' understanding of the nature of science and their opinions about the nature of science, science teaching and argumentation after their participation in explicit nature of science (NOS) and socioscientific argumentation processes. The participants were 56 third-grade pre-service science teachers studying in a state university in Turkey. The treatment group comprised 27 participants, and there were 29 participants in the comparison group. The comparison group participants were involved in a student-centred science-teaching process, and the participants of the treatment group were involved in explicit NOS and socioscientific argumentation processes. In the study, which lasted a total of 11 weeks, a NOS-as-argumentation questionnaire was administered to all the participants to determine their understanding of NOS at the beginning and end of the data collection process, and six random participants of the treatment group participated in semi-structured interview questions in order to further understand their views regarding NOS, science teaching and argumentation. Qualitative and quantitative data analysis revealed that the explicit NOS and socioscientific argumentation processes had a significant effect on pre-service science teachers' NOS understandings. Furthermore, NOS, argumentation and science teaching views of the participants in the treatment group showed a positive change. The results of this study are discussed in light of the related literature, and suggestions are made within the context of contribution to science-teaching literature, improvement of education quality and education of pre-service teachers.

Vibration analysis of viscoelastic single-walled carbon nanotubes resting on a viscoelastic foundation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Da Peng; Lei, Yong Jun; Shen, Zhi Bin; Wang, Cheng Yuan

2017-01-01

Vibration responses were investigated for a viscoelastic Single-walled carbon nanotube (visco-SWCNT) resting on a viscoelastic foundation. Based on the nonlocal Euler-Bernoulli beam model, velocity-dependent external damping and Kelvin viscoelastic foundation model, the governing equations were derived. The Transfer function method (TFM) was then used to compute the natural frequencies for general boundary conditions and foundations. In particular, the exact analytical expressions of both complex natural frequencies and critical viscoelastic parameters were obtained for the Kelvin-Voigt visco-SWCNTs with full foundations and certain boundary conditions, and several physically intuitive special cases were discussed. Substantial nonlocal effects, the influence of geometric and physical parameters of the SWCNT and the viscoelastic foundation were observed for the natural frequencies of the supported SWCNTs. The study demonstrates the efficiency and robustness of the developed model for the vibration of the visco-SWCNT-viscoelastic foundation coupling system

Using children's literature to enhance views of nature of science and scientific attitude in fourth graders

Science.gov (United States)

Hampton, Kathryn Walker

This project was an effort to study the effect of integrating children's trade books into the fourth grade science curriculum on the students' views of the nature of science and their scientific attitude. The effect on the students' reading and language achievement, and science content knowledge was also analyzed. This was done by comparing the nature of science views and scientific attitudes, reading and language achievement scores, and the science grades of the treatment group, prior to and immediately following the intervention period, with the control group which did not participate in the integration of children's books. The science teacher's views on the nature of science and her attitude towards teaching science were also evaluated prior to and after the intervention. The selected trade books were evaluated for their coverage of nature of science aspects. Three intact classes of fourth grade students from a local elementary school were involved in the study along with their science and reading teacher. Two of the classes made up the experimental group and the remaining class served as the control group. All students were assessed prior to the intervention phase on their views of the nature of science and scientific attitudes. The experimental group was engaged in reading selected science trade books during their science class and study hall over a semester period. The results of the study showed a significant difference in the groups' initial reading and language achievement, which may have affected the lack of an effect from the intervention. The instrument selected to assess the student's views on the nature of science and scientific attitude (SAI II) was not reliable with this group. There was no significant difference on the students' science content knowledge as measured by their semester grade averages. The results from the teacher's response on the STAS II did indicate slight changes on her views on the nature of science. Sixty-nine of the eighty

Investigating inquiry beliefs and nature of science (NOS) conceptions of science teachers as revealed through online learning

Science.gov (United States)

Atar, Hakan Yavuz

Creating a scientifically literate society appears to be the major goal of recent science education reform efforts (Abd-El-Khalick, Boujaoude, Dushl, Lederman, Hofstein, Niaz, Tregust, & Tuan, 2004). Recent national reports in the U.S, such as Shaping the Future, New Expectations for Undergraduate Education in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology (NSF,1996), Inquiry in Science and In Classroom, Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards (NRC, 2001), Pursuing excellence: Comparison of international eight-grade mathematics and science achievement from a U.S. perspective (NCES, 2001), and Standards for Science Teacher Preparation (NSTA 2003) appear to agree on one thing: the vision of creating a scientifically literate society. It appears from science education literature that the two important components of being a scientifically literate individual are developing an understanding of nature of science and ability to conduct scientific inquiries. Unfortunately, even though teaching science through inquiry has been recommended in national reports since the 1950's, it has yet to find its way into many science classrooms (Blanchard, 2006; Yerrick, 2000). Science education literature identfies several factors for this including: (1) lack of content knowledge (Anderson, 2002; Lee, Hart Cuevas, & Enders, 2004; Loucks-Horsely, Hewson, Love, & Stiles, 1998; Moscovici, 1999; Smith & Naele, 1989; Smith, 1989); (2) high stake tests (Aydeniz, 2006); (3) teachers' conflicting beliefs with inquiry-based science education reform (Blanchard, 2006; Wallace & Kang, 2004); and, (4) lack of collaboration and forums for communication (Anderson, 2002; Davis, 2003; Loucks-Horsely, Hewson, Love, & Stiles, 1998; Wallace & Kang, 2004). In addition to the factors stated above this study suggest that some of the issues and problems that have impeded inquiry instruction to become the primary approach to teaching science in many science classrooms might be related to

The `Nature of Science' and the Perils of Epistemic Relativism

Science.gov (United States)

Romero-Maltrana, Diego; Benitez, Federico; Vera, Francisco; Rivera, Rodrigo

2017-11-01

There is an increasing demand in the field of science education for the incorporation of philosophical and sociological aspects that are related to the scientific enterprise in school curricula, to the extent that the incorporation of these aspects is now considered a necessity. Several of these aspects can be categorised within the framework of the nature of science, or NOS. We warn that a possible misinterpretation of the common view of NOS tenets can lead to epistemic relativism. We pay special attention to the empirical and objective nature of science because these important features, properly understood, can help eliminate subjective flaws and protect against relativism. Some of the epistemological concepts that are relevant to this discussion are disambiguated in an attempt to prevent the temptation to take views to an extreme, as has occurred in some cases. We expect this analysis to contribute to the extant literature by improving how science is presented in the classroom without oversimplifying scientific practice.

Getting Alice through the door: social science research and natural resource management

Science.gov (United States)

Alan W. Ewert

1995-01-01

A number of trends are altering the role of science in natural resource management. These trends include the growing political power of science, the recognition that most natural resource problems are extremely complex and not prone to uni-dimensional solutions, and the increasing need to integrate an understanding of the human component into the planning and decision-...

Annual report Foundation Flora Malesiana 1992

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Roos, M.C.

1993-01-01

Second Flora Malesiana Symposium — The highlight of the year was the Second Flora Malesiana Symposium. It was organized under the auspices of the Foundation Flora Malesiana (FFM) by Puslitbang Biologi of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) and the Fakultas Biologi of the Gadjah Mada

The evolution of a science teacher: An autobiography

Science.gov (United States)

Vincent, Daniel E.

This qualitative study explores the experiences of a science teacher as he seeks to understand the foundations of his pedagogy, his view of learning, and his role as a teacher. By using the autobiographical style of currere, the author investigates the significant events of his educational journey and describes the transformation that occurred while teaching science in secondary schools. The author discovers how his instructional methods were intimately linked to his perception of the content and nature of science, how his interactions with others within a learning community challenged him to grow professionally, and how his educational metaphors helped him make sense of teaching, learning, and life. By telling his story, the author/researcher was able to use his transformed notions of how people learn to construct personal meaning about his own educational foundations and pedagogical perspectives, and in turn, give others a story within which they might find their own personal meaning.

Introducing Taiwanese undergraduate students to the nature of science through Nobel Prize stories

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haim Eshach

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Although there is a broad agreement among scientists and science educators that students should not only learn science, but also acquire some sense of its nature, it has been reported that undergraduate students possess an inadequate grasp of the nature of science (NOS. The study presented here examined the potential and effectiveness of Nobel Prize stories as a vehicle for teaching NOS. For this purpose, a 36-hour course, “Albert Einstein’s Nobel Prize and the Nature of Science,” was developed and conducted in Taiwan Normal University. Ten undergraduate physics students participated in the course. Analysis of the Views of Nature of Science questionnaires completed by the students before and after the course, as well as the students’ own presentations of Nobel Prize stories (with an emphasis on how NOS characteristics are reflected in the story, showed that the students who participated in the course enriched their views concerning all aspects of NOS. The paper concludes with some suggestions for applying the novel idea of using Nobel Prize stories in physics classrooms.

Living science: Science as an activity of living beings.

Science.gov (United States)

MacLennan, Bruce J

2015-12-01

The philosophy of science should accommodate itself to the facts of human existence, using all aspects of human experience to adapt more effectively, as individuals, species, and global ecosystem. This has several implications: (1) Our nature as sentient beings interacting with other sentient beings requires the use of phenomenological methods to investigate consciousness. (2) Our embodied, situated, purposeful physical interactions with the world are the foundation of scientific understanding. (3) Aristotle's four causes are essential for understanding living systems and, in particular, the final cause aids understanding the role of humankind, and especially science, in the global ecosystem. (4) In order to fulfill this role well, scientists need to employ the full panoply of human faculties. These include the consciousness faculties (thinking, sensation, feeling, intuition), and therefore, as advocated by many famous scientists, we should cultivate our aesthetic sense, emotions, imagination, and intuition. Our unconscious faculties include archetypal structures common to all humans, which can guide scientific discovery. By striving to engage the whole of human nature, science will fulfill better its function for humans and the global ecosystem. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Immersion francaise precoce: Sciences de la nature 1-7 (Early French Immersion: Natural Sciences for Grades 1-7).

Science.gov (United States)

Burt, Andy; And Others

This curriculum guide for the natural sciences is intended for use in grades 1-7 in the early French immersion program. The guide presents the following topics: (1) a list of general objectives; (2) a list of simple skills for children aged 5-8 and for children aged 8-12; (3) activities dealing with matter and its properties, space-time, and human…

Multifaceted NOS Instruction: Contextualizing Nature of Science with Documentary Films

Science.gov (United States)

Bloom, Mark; Binns, Ian C.; Koehler, Catherine

2015-01-01

This research focuses on inservice science teachers' conceptions of nature of science (NOS) before and after a two-week intensive summer professional development (PD). The PD combined traditional explicit NOS instruction, numerous interactive interventions that highlighted NOS aspects, along with documentary films that portrayed NOS in context of…

Linking Teaching in Mathematics and the Subjects of Natural Science

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Michelsen, Claus

2017-01-01

teaching programs. This is partly due to the lack of a framework for integrating productive ideas across the disciplines. This paper focus on how to grasp the challenges of an interdisciplinary approach to teaching in mathematics and the subjects of natural science. Based on contemporary mathematics...... and science education we design a didactical framework for interdisciplinary teaching centered on modeling activities across mathematics and the disciplines of natural science. To exemplify the potential of the framework we present a case study of an intensive in-service teacher-training program...... for mathematics and biology teachers. The teachers were presented to the didactical framework and in pairs of two, one mathematics teacher and one biology teacher; they designed and implemented interdisciplinary mathematicsbiology teaching sequences. The teachers’ reports on their development and implementation...

NEWS: Solid foundations?

Science.gov (United States)

2000-07-01

Among the initiatives to be found at UK universities is a vocational award with the title `University Foundation Degree' at Nottingham Trent University. This qualification will be offered in 14 different subjects including four in the Faculty of Science and Mathematics, in the areas of applied biology, applied sciences, chemistry and physics. The courses will be available on a two-year full-time, three-year sandwich or a part-time basis. Set at a higher standard and specification than the Higher National Diplomas which it replaces, the UFD has been devised in consultation with industry and will cover the technical and specialist areas demanded by employers to combat skills shortages. The UFD in applied sciences concentrates on practical applications through laboratory, IT and project work, supported by lectures and seminars. At the end students can enter the employment market or transfer onto the second year of a degree course. Science-based careers including research and development would be the aim of those taking the UFD in physics. The first year develops the fundamentals of modern physics supported by studies in mathematics, IT and computer programming, whilst year 2 is vocational in nature with industrial problem solving and work experience as well as an academic theme associated with environmental aspects of the subject. Those who complete the UFD will be allowed automatic progression to a specified honours degree course and would normally be expected to study for a further two years for this award. However, those demonstrating an outstanding academic performance can transfer to the linked degree programme at the end of the first year via fast-track modules. Back in May the UK's Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) announced new standard benchmarks for degrees. These will be introduced into higher education institutions from 2002 to outline the knowledge, understanding and skills a student should gain from a particular higher education course. These benchmark

Religion, nature, science education and the epistemology of dialectics

Science.gov (United States)

Alexakos, Konstantinos

2010-03-01

In his article Scientists at Play in a Field of the Lord, David Long (2010) rightly challenges our presumptions of what science is and brings forth some of the disjunctures between science and deeply held American religious beliefs. Reading his narrative of the conflicts that he experienced on the opening day of the Creation Museum, I cannot help but reconsider what the epistemology of science is and science learning ought to be. Rather than science being taught as a prescribed, deterministic system of beliefs and procedures as it is often done, I suggest instead that it would be more appropriate to teach science as a way of thinking and making sense of dialectical processes in nature. Not as set of ultimate "truths", but as understandings of processes themselves in the process of simultaneously becoming and being transformed.

Engaging Students with the Nature of Science and the Nature of Technology by Modeling the Work of Scientists

Science.gov (United States)

Kruse, Jerrid W.; Wilcox, Jesse L.

2013-01-01

Just as science education is too often limited to the acquisition of facts, technology education is too often limited to proficient use of technology. Neither of these goals fully realize a robust definition of science and technology literacy. To achieve greater science and technology literacy, students must understand the natures of both science…

3D animation model with augmented reality for natural science learning in elementary school

Science.gov (United States)

Hendajani, F.; Hakim, A.; Lusita, M. D.; Saputra, G. E.; Ramadhana, A. P.

2018-05-01

Many opinions from primary school students' on Natural Science are a difficult lesson. Many subjects are not easily understood by students, especially on materials that teach some theories about natural processes. Such as rain process, condensation and many other processes. The difficulty that students experience in understanding it is that students cannot imagine the things that have been taught in the material. Although there is material to practice some theories but is actually quite limited. There is also a video or simulation material in the form of 2D animated images. Understanding concepts in natural science lessons are also poorly understood by students. Natural Science learning media uses 3-dimensional animation models (3D) with augmented reality technology, which offers some visualization of science lessons. This application was created to visualize a process in Natural Science subject matter. The hope of making this application is to improve student's concept. This app is made to run on a personal computer that comes with a webcam with augmented reality. The app will display a 3D animation if the camera can recognize the marker.

Nature of Science and Models: Comparing Portuguese Prospective Teachers' Views

Science.gov (United States)

Torres, Joana; Vasconcelos, Clara

2015-01-01

Despite the relevance of nature of science and scientific models in science education, studies reveal that students do not possess adequate views regarding these topics. Bearing in mind that both teachers' views and knowledge strongly influence students' educational experiences, the main scope of this study was to evaluate Portuguese prospective…

Ecosystems science: Genes to landscapes

Science.gov (United States)

,

2018-05-09

Bountiful fisheries, healthy and resilient wildlife, flourishing forests and vibrant grasslands are coveted resources that benefit all Americans. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) science supports the conservation and management of the Nation’s fish and wildlife, and the landscapes they inhabit. Our biological resources—ecosystems and the wild things that live in them—are the foundation of our conservation heritage and an economic asset to current and future generations of Americans.The USGS Ecosystems Mission Area, the biological research arm of the Department of the Interior (DOI), provides science to help America achieve sustainable management and conservation of its biological resources. This work is done within the broader mission of the USGS—to serve the Nation with science that advances understanding of our natural resources, informs land and water stewardship, and helps safeguard communities from natural and environmental hazards. The Ecosystems Mission Area provides research, technical assistance, and education conducted by Cooperative Research Units and Science Centers located in nearly every State.The quality of life and economic strength in America hinges on healthy ecosystems that support living things and natural processes. Ecosystem science better enables society to understand how and why ecosystems change and to guide actions that can prevent damage to, and restore and sustain ecosystems. It is through this knowledge that informed decisions are made about natural resources that can enhance our Nation’s economic and environmental well-being.

Munazza's story: Understanding science teaching and conceptions of the nature of science in Pakistan through a life history study

Science.gov (United States)

Halai, Nelofer

In this study I have described and tried to comprehend how a female science teacher understands her practice. Additionally, I have developed some understanding of her understanding of the nature of science. While teaching science, a teacher projects messages about the nature of science that can be captured by observations and interviews. Furthermore, the manner is which a teacher conceptualizes science for teaching, at least in part, depends on personal life experiences. Hence, I have used the life history method to understand Munazza's practice. Munazza is a young female science teacher working in a private, co-educational school for children from middle income families in Karachi, Pakistan. Her stories are central to the study, and I have represented them using a number of narrative devices. I have woven in my own stories too, to illustrate my perspective as a researcher. The data includes 13 life history interviews and many informal conversations with Munazza, observations of science teaching in classes seven and eight, and interviews with other science teachers and administrative staff of the school. Munazza's personal biography and experiences of school and undergraduate courses has influenced the way she teaches. It has also influenced the way she does not teach. She was not inspired by her science teachers, so she has tried not to teach the way she was taught science. Contextual factors, her conception of preparation for teaching as preparation for subject content and the tension that she faces in balancing care and control in her classroom are some factors that influence her teaching. Munazza believes that science is a stable, superior and value-free way of knowing. In trying to understand the natural world, observations come first, which give reliable information about the world leading inductively to a "theory". Hence, she relies a great deal on demonstrations in the class where students "see" for themselves and abstract the scientific concept from the

Analysis of the Interdisciplinary Nature of Library and Information Science

Science.gov (United States)

Prebor, Gila

2010-01-01

Library and information science (LIS) is highly interdisciplinary by nature and is affected by the incessant evolution of technologies. A recent study surveying research trends in the years 2002-6 at various information science departments worldwide has found that a clear trend was identified in Masters theses and doctoral dissertations of social…

Science Camps for Introducing Nature of Scientific Inquiry Through Student Inquiries in Nature: Two Applications with Retention Study

Science.gov (United States)

Leblebicioglu, G.; Abik, N. M.; Capkinoglu, E.; Metin, D.; Dogan, E. Eroglu; Cetin, P. S.; Schwartz, R.

2017-08-01

Scientific inquiry is widely accepted as a method of science teaching. Understanding its characteristics, called Nature of Scientific Inquiry (NOSI), is also necessary for a whole conception of scientific inquiry. In this study NOSI aspects were taught explicitly through student inquiries in nature in two summer science camps. Students conducted four inquiries through their questions about surrounding soil, water, plants, and animals under the guidance of university science educators. At the end of each investigation, students presented their inquiry. NOSI aspects were made explicit by one of the science educators in the context of the investigations. Effectiveness of the science camp program and its retention were determined by applying Views of Scientific Inquiry (VOSI-S) (Schwartz et al. 2008) questionnaire as pre-, post-, and retention test after two months. The patterns in the data were similar. The science camp program was effective in developing three of six NOSI aspects which were questions guide scientific research, multiple methods of research, and difference between data and evidence. Students' learning of these aspects was retained. Discussion about these and the other three aspects is included in the paper. Implications of differences between school and out-of-school science experiences are also discussed.

An Analysis of Science Student Teachers' Epistemological Beliefs and Metacognitive Perceptions about the Nature of Science

Science.gov (United States)

Yenice, Nilgün

2015-01-01

This study has been carried out to identify the relationship between the epistemological beliefs of student teachers and their metacognitive perceptions about the nature of science. The participants of the study totaled 336 student teachers enrolled in the elementary science education division of the department of elementary education at the…

Longitudinal Nanotechnology Development (1991-2002): National Science Foundation Funding and its Impact on Patents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huang Zan, E-mail: zhuang@eller.arizona.edu; Chen Hsinchun; Yan Lijun [University of Arizona, Department of Management Information Systems, Artificial Intelligence Lab, Eller College of Management (United States); Roco, Mihail C. [National Science Foundation (United States)

2005-10-15

Nanotechnology holds the promise to revolutionize a wide range of products, processes and applications. It is recognized by over sixty countries as critical for their development at the beginning of the 21st century. A significant public investment of over $1 billion annually is devoted to nanotechnology research in the United States. This paper provides an analysis of the National Science Foundation (NSF) funding of nanoscale science and engineering (NSE) and its relationship to the innovation as reflected in the United States Patent and Trade Office (USPTO) patent data. Using a combination of bibliometric analysis and visualization tools, we have identified several general trends, the key players, and the evolution of technology topics in the NSF funding and commercial patenting activities. This study documents the rapid growth of innovation in the field of nanotechnology and its correlation to funding. Statistical analysis shows that the NSF-funded researchers and their patents have higher impact factors than other private and publicly funded reference groups. This suggests the importance of fundamental research on nanotechnology development. The number of cites per NSF-funded inventor is about 10 as compared to 2 for all inventors of NSE-related patents recorded at USPTO, and the corresponding Authority Score is 20 as compared to 1.8.

Longitudinal Nanotechnology Development (1991-2002): National Science Foundation Funding and its Impact on Patents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang Zan; Chen Hsinchun; Yan Lijun; Roco, Mihail C.

2005-01-01

Nanotechnology holds the promise to revolutionize a wide range of products, processes and applications. It is recognized by over sixty countries as critical for their development at the beginning of the 21st century. A significant public investment of over $1 billion annually is devoted to nanotechnology research in the United States. This paper provides an analysis of the National Science Foundation (NSF) funding of nanoscale science and engineering (NSE) and its relationship to the innovation as reflected in the United States Patent and Trade Office (USPTO) patent data. Using a combination of bibliometric analysis and visualization tools, we have identified several general trends, the key players, and the evolution of technology topics in the NSF funding and commercial patenting activities. This study documents the rapid growth of innovation in the field of nanotechnology and its correlation to funding. Statistical analysis shows that the NSF-funded researchers and their patents have higher impact factors than other private and publicly funded reference groups. This suggests the importance of fundamental research on nanotechnology development. The number of cites per NSF-funded inventor is about 10 as compared to 2 for all inventors of NSE-related patents recorded at USPTO, and the corresponding Authority Score is 20 as compared to 1.8

Darwinism in Context: An interdisciplinary, highly contextualized course on nature of science

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kostas Kampourakis

2015-10-01

Full Text Available In this article, we describe a course, titled Darwinism in Context, which focuses on the social, cultural and scientific influences on the development of Darwin's theory. This was an interdisciplinary, highly contextualized nature of science course that aimed to help students learn about a core nature of science aspect: that there are historical, cultural and social influences on the practice and directions of science. For this purpose, the course was based on a well-documented historical case study: the development of Darwin's theory. The course consisted of five classes that focused on: (a Victorian society, (b the views and beliefs of scholars that had an impact on Darwin's thinking (historical influences, (c aspects of Darwin's personal and social life that influenced the publication of his theory (social influences, (d the reception of Darwin's theory and the relationship between religion and science (cultural influences and (e the relationship between science and literature. In all cases, teaching included presentations of the historical events but was mostly based on the analysis and discussion of excerpts from the respective original writings. During the classes only a few examples were presented; students were motivated to study further the original writings and identify some key concepts and ideas after the classes. It is concluded that this kind of highly contextualized nature of science instruction can provide students with a more authentic view of science.

Foundations for a new type of Design-Engineers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Ulrik; Brodersen, Søsser; Lindegaard, Hanne

2011-01-01

almost equally in the curriculum: natural and technical sciences, design synthesis and socio-technical analysis. Combined with an integration and co-ordination of disciplines, a series of projects providing a progression of challenges to the students⿿ learning, and a focus on the outcomes of the learning...... processes of competences needed in design engineering, the curriculum represents a radical innovation in engineering curriculum. The paper describes the background as well as the foundational elements constituting the educational program and presents an assessment of the key factors that has made it attract......Since 2002 a new design-engineering education has been organized at the Technical University of Denmark. It fulfils most of the requirements in the CDIO concept but builds in addition on a change in what is considered core disciplines in engineering as three fields of knowledge are represented...

Some Reflections on "Going beyond the Consensus View" of the Nature of Science in K-12 Science Education

Science.gov (United States)

Berkovitz, Joseph

2017-01-01

Hodson and Wong (2017, this issue) argue that, though the nature of science (NOS) is now an established focus of school science education and a key element in defining scientific literacy, "the consensus view" of NOS misrepresents contemporary scientific practice. They then propose a number of alternative approaches to science curriculum…

The nature of quantum paradoxes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tarozzi, G.; Van der Merwe, A.

1988-01-01

The nature of Quantum Paradoxes provides an exhaustive general view of the most recent studies and research carried out by Italian scientists and philosophers of science in the field of the foundations of quantum physics, employing a critical stance and an alternative to the orthodox Copenhagen interpretation. During the last twenty years the Italians have produced a remarkable amount of work on the quantum-mechanical theory of measurement, the interpretation of the wave-function, the axiomatization of quantum formalism, Bell-type theorems and realistic local theories, thus creating one of the most advanced contributions to the problems of understanding Nature and clarifying the origin of the quantum paradoxes. (author). refs.; figs.; tabs

The Work of Popper and Kuhn on the Nature of Science.

Science.gov (United States)

Donnelly, James

1979-01-01

Discusses the work of T. S. Kuhn and Sir Karl Popper. Current views on the nature of science and some current ideology of scientific education are also analyzed with regard to the views of science due to Kuhn and Popper. (HM)

Constitutions of Nature by Teacher Practice and Discourse in Ontario Grade 9 and 10 Academic Science

Science.gov (United States)

Hoeg, Darren Glen

This thesis presents an ethnographic study, based broadly on principles and methods of institutional ethnography, on the constitution of nature by nine Ontario Grade 9 and 10 Academic Science teachers. The intent of this methodological approach is to examine how the daily practice of participants works toward constituting nature in specific ways that are coordinated by the institution (Ontario public school and/or school science). Critical Discourse Analysis and general inductive analysis were performed on interview transcripts, texts related to teaching science selected by participants, and policy documents (i.e. curriculum; assessment policy) that coordinate science teacher practice. Findings indicate specific, dominant, and relatively uniform ontological and epistemological constitutions of nature. Nature was frequently constituted as a remote object, distant from and different than students studying it. More complex representations included constituting nature as a model, machine, or mathematical algorithm. Epistemological constitutions of nature were enacted through practices that engaged students in manipulating nature; controlling nature, and dominating nature. Relatively few practices that allow students to construct different constitutions of nature than those prioritized by the institution were observed. Dominant constitutions generally assume nature is simply the material to study, from which scientific knowledge can be obtained, with little ethical or moral consideration about nature itself, or how these constitutions produce discourse and relationships that may be detrimental to nature. Dominant constitutions of nature represent a type of objective knowledge that is prioritized, and made accessible to students, through science activities that attain a position of privilege in local science teacher cultures. The activities that allow students to attain the requisite knowledge of nature are collected, collated, and shared among existing science teachers

Nurture thru Nature: Creating Natural Science Identities in Populations of Disadvantaged Children through Community Education Partnership

Science.gov (United States)

Camasso, Michael J.; Jagannathan, Radha

2018-01-01

In this article we describe the development, implementation, and some of the early impacts of Nurture thru Nature (NtN), an American after-school and summer program designed to introduce elementary school students in disadvantaged, urban public schools to natural science and environmental education. The program, which began operations in 2010 as a…

Knowledge, beliefs and pedagogy: how the nature of science should inform the aims of science education (and not just when teaching evolution)

Science.gov (United States)

Taber, Keith S.

2017-03-01

Lisa Borgerding's work highlights how students can understand evolution without necessarily committing to it, and how learners may come to see it as one available way of thinking amongst others. This is presented as something that should be considered a successful outcome when teaching about material that many students may find incompatible with their personal worldviews. These findings derive from work exploring a cause célèbre of the science education community—the teaching of natural selection in cultural contexts where learners feel they have strong reasons for rejecting evolutionary ideas. Accepting that students may understand but not commit to scientific ideas that are (from some cultural perspectives) controversial may easily be considered as a form of compromise position when teaching canonical science prescribed in curriculum but resisted by learners. Yet if we take scholarship on the nature of science seriously, and wish to reflect the nature of scientific knowledge in science teaching, then the aim of science education should always be to facilitate understanding of, yet to avoid belief in, the ideas taught in science lessons. The philosophy of science suggests that scientific knowledge needs to be understood as theoretical in nature, as conjectural and provisional; and the history of science warns of the risks of strongly committing to any particular conceptualisation as a final account of some feature of nature. Research into student thinking and learning in science suggests that learning science is often a matter of coming to understand a new viable way of thinking about a topic to complement established ways of thinking. Science teaching should then seek to have students appreciate scientific ideas as viable ways of making sense of the currently available empirical evidence, but should not be about persuading students of the truth of any particular scientific account.

Agriscience Student Engagement in Scientific Inquiry: Representations of Scientific Processes and Nature of Science.

Science.gov (United States)

Grady, Julie R; Dolan, Erin L; Glasson, George E

2010-01-01

Students' experiences with science integrated into agriscience courses contribute to their developing epistemologies of science. The purpose of this case study was to gain insight into the implementation of scientific inquiry in an agriscience classroom. Also of interest was how the tenets of the nature of science were reflected in the students' experiments. Participants included an agriscience teacher and her fifteen students who were conducting plant experiments to gain insight into the role of a gene disabled by scientists. Data sources included classroom observations, conversations with students, face-to-face interviews with the teacher, and students' work. Analysis of the data indicated that the teacher viewed scientific inquiry as a mechanical process with little emphasis on the reasoning that typifies scientific inquiry. Students' participation in their experiments also centered on the procedural aspects of inquiry with little attention to scientific reasoning. There was no explicit attention to the nature of science during the experiments, but the practice implied correct, incorrect, and underdeveloped conceptions of the nature of science. Evidence from the study suggests a need for collaboration between agriscience and science teacher educators to design and conduct professional development focused on scientific inquiry and nature of science for preservice and practicing teachers.

Understanding the Views of the Nature of Science of Undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Students

Science.gov (United States)

Hypolite, Karen L.

2012-01-01

Much of the nature of science research has been focused on high school students. High school students are primarily the target of such research to aid and to guide them in making informed decisions about possible career choices in the sciences (Bell, Blair, Crawford, & Lederman, 2002). Moreover, during review of the literature, little to no…

Instructional quality of lower grades natural science classes: the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... classes: the case of primary schools linked to Kemise College of Teacher Education. ... the quality of natural science education classroom instruction in lower grade ... on pedagogical and subject matter issue, closer support and supervision.

The Natural Science Underlying Big History

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eric J. Chaisson

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Nature’s many varied complex systems—including galaxies, stars, planets, life, and society—are islands of order within the increasingly disordered Universe. All organized systems are subject to physical, biological, or cultural evolution, which together comprise the grander interdisciplinary subject of cosmic evolution. A wealth of observational data supports the hypothesis that increasingly complex systems evolve unceasingly, uncaringly, and unpredictably from big bang to humankind. These are global history greatly extended, big history with a scientific basis, and natural history broadly portrayed across ∼14 billion years of time. Human beings and our cultural inventions are not special, unique, or apart from Nature; rather, we are an integral part of a universal evolutionary process connecting all such complex systems throughout space and time. Such evolution writ large has significant potential to unify the natural sciences into a holistic understanding of who we are and whence we came. No new science (beyond frontier, nonequilibrium thermodynamics is needed to describe cosmic evolution’s major milestones at a deep and empirical level. Quantitative models and experimental tests imply that a remarkable simplicity underlies the emergence and growth of complexity for a wide spectrum of known and diverse systems. Energy is a principal facilitator of the rising complexity of ordered systems within the expanding Universe; energy flows are as central to life and society as they are to stars and galaxies. In particular, energy rate density—contrasting with information content or entropy production—is an objective metric suitable to gauge relative degrees of complexity among a hierarchy of widely assorted systems observed throughout the material Universe. Operationally, those systems capable of utilizing optimum amounts of energy tend to survive, and those that cannot are nonrandomly eliminated.

Social sciences research in neglected tropical diseases 3: Investment in social science research in neglected diseases of poverty: a case study of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Reidpath Daniel

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The level of funding provides a good proxy for the level of commitment or prioritisation given to a particular issue. While the need for research relevant to social, economic, cultural and behavioural aspects of neglected tropical diseases (NTD control has been acknowledged, there is limited data on the level of funding that supports NTD social science research. Method A case study was carried out in which the spending of a major independent funder, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF - was analysed. A total of 67 projects funded between October 1998 and November 2008 were identified from the BMGF database. With the help of keywords within the titles of 67 grantees, they were categorised as social science or non-social science research based on available definition of social science. A descriptive analysis was conducted. Results Of 67 projects analysed, 26 projects (39% were social science related while 41 projects (61% were basic science or other translational research including drug development. A total of US$ 697 million was spent to fund the projects, of which 35% ((US$ 241 million went to social science research. Although the level of funding for social science research has generally been lower than that for non-social science research over 10 year period, social science research attracted more funding in 2004 and 2008. Conclusion The evidence presented in this case study indicates that funding on NTD social science research compared to basic and translational research is not as low as it is perceived to be. However, as there is the acute need for improved delivery and utilisation of current NTD drugs/technologies, informed by research from social science approaches, funding priorities need to reflect the need to invest significantly more in NTD social science research.

Social sciences research in neglected tropical diseases 3: Investment in social science research in neglected diseases of poverty: a case study of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Science.gov (United States)

Pokhrel, Subhash; Reidpath, Daniel; Allotey, Pascale

2011-01-06

The level of funding provides a good proxy for the level of commitment or prioritisation given to a particular issue. While the need for research relevant to social, economic, cultural and behavioural aspects of neglected tropical diseases (NTD) control has been acknowledged, there is limited data on the level of funding that supports NTD social science research. A case study was carried out in which the spending of a major independent funder, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) - was analysed. A total of 67 projects funded between October 1998 and November 2008 were identified from the BMGF database. With the help of keywords within the titles of 67 grantees, they were categorised as social science or non-social science research based on available definition of social science. A descriptive analysis was conducted. Of 67 projects analysed, 26 projects (39%) were social science related while 41 projects (61%) were basic science or other translational research including drug development. A total of US$ 697 million was spent to fund the projects, of which 35% ((US$ 241 million) went to social science research. Although the level of funding for social science research has generally been lower than that for non-social science research over 10 year period, social science research attracted more funding in 2004 and 2008. The evidence presented in this case study indicates that funding on NTD social science research compared to basic and translational research is not as low as it is perceived to be. However, as there is the acute need for improved delivery and utilisation of current NTD drugs/technologies, informed by research from social science approaches, funding priorities need to reflect the need to invest significantly more in NTD social science research.

Opposing discourses? Do the two cultural paradigms - natural science and humanities - exist in our school?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Høyen, Marianne; Mumiah, Rasmusen

the humanities and natural sciences influence the newly educated teachers’ understanding of the teaching profession. From earlier research on teachers in natural science subjects it became clear that teachers from the two major areas are in conflict. Mutual understanding is lacking; the organization...... of the consequences was that teacher students today must choose between to teach either language and literature or maths and therefore, and as a consequence, early in their studies choose between the main areas of culture and nature. Starting from this basis, we want to see if, and in which ways, perspectives from...... of the school day gives priority to cultural subjects; the physical design of the school implies that natural science subjects are of a special kind. and consequently teachers within cultural subjects appear to regard natural science subjects as peripheral educationally to pupils development. Our starting point...

Research and Teaching: Factors Related to College Students' Understanding of the Nature of Science--Comparison of Science Majors and Nonscience Majors

Science.gov (United States)

Partin, Matthew L.; Underwood, Eileen M.; Worch, Eric A.

2013-01-01

To develop a more scientifically literate society, students need to understand the nature of science, which may be affected by controversial topics such as evolution. There are conflicting views among researchers concerning the relationships between understanding evolution, acceptance of evolution, and understanding of the nature of science. Four…

Why do We Speak of Laws of Nature?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huefner, J.

2010-01-01

The concept of a law of nature has origins which date back several millennia. The idea of a divine law-giver is found in the Mesopotamian, Jewish and Christian religions. Hellenistic scientists did not speak of laws, but used mathematical terms to describe their discoveries. The religious and scientific traditions would not converge, however, until Descartes and Newton laid the foundations of modern science and shaped the modern concept of a law of nature. It seems that during the 20 th century this notion gradually comes out of use at least in the scientific language. (author)

News coverage of climate change in Nature News and ScienceNOW during 2007

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Kristian Hvidtfelt; Kjærgaard, Rikke Schmidt

2011-01-01

of appreciating climate change, its severe consequences, and its anthropogenic causes. During that year the two journals’ online news services Nature News and ScienceNOW framed climate change to fit particular agendas resulting in markedly different narratives. This article demonstrates that Nature News reported...... more critically on political decisions, scientific results, and social matters of climate change compared to ScienceNOW. Operating under different institutional constraints ScienceNOW generally took a more cautious line. The evidence drawn from both textual and visual analyses shows that news sections...

Changing Epistemological Beliefs with Nature of Science Implementations

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Keith; Willoughby, Shannon

2018-01-01

This article discusses our investigation regarding nature of science (NOS) implementations and epistemological beliefs within an undergraduate introductory astronomy course. The five year study consists of two years of baseline data in which no explicit use of NOS material was implemented, then three years of subsequent data in which specific NOS…

Changes in the Perceptions of the Nature of Science and Religious Belief

Science.gov (United States)

Aflalo, Ester

2018-01-01

Understanding the nature of science (NOS) is one of the challenging objectives in science education due, in part, to the complex relationship between religion and science. This study examines how NOS teaching affects the perception of the NOS amongst religious, as compared to secular, students. The participants included 205 religious and secular…

THE PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS OF MODERN BIOENGINEERING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ibrahim A. Shogar

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates the philosophical foundations of modern bioengineering to articulate its ethical framework. Engineering as an ultimate mechanism to transform knowledge into practice is essential for both physical and biological sciences. It reduces data, concepts, and designs to pictorial forms. The integration of engineering with the newly emerging biosciences, has presented a unique opportunity to overcome the major challenges that face the environmental and human health. To harness potentials of bioengineering and establish a sustainable foundation for green technology, modern scientists and engineers need to be acquainted with the normative questions of science. In addition to acquiring the general principles of scientific research and identifying the intrinsic goals of the endeavour, philosophy of bioengineering exposes bioengineers to both the descriptive ‘how’ questions of the physical world as well as the normative ‘why’ questions of values. Such an interdisciplinary approach is significant, not only for inspiring to acquire the genuine knowledge of the existing world, but also to expose the bioengineers to their ethical and social responsibilities. Besides introducing the conceptual framework of bioengineering, this paper has investigated the three major philosophies that have been dominating the theoretical presuppositions of scientific research method in history. Namely, (i Systems biology approach; (ii Evolutionary biology approach; and (iii Mechanical view approach. To establish the ethical foundation of modern bioengineering, the paper, also has conducted an analytical study on various branches of the emerging discipline of bioscience. The paper has concluded that adopting the interdisciplinary approach in research and education is essential to harness potentials of bioengineering and to establish foundations of green technology. To achieve the final objectives of bioengineering, both the practical and theoretical

The Gender Issues and the Nature of Science in the Teacher Training

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bettina Heerdt

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The objective of this research is to understand and explain the teaching knowledge mobilized during a process of explicit-reflective formation of the Nature of Science, and the inherent gender relations in this dynamic. To achieve this goal it was elaborated a Didactic Unit entitled construction of scientific knowledge and gender visibility in Science. It took part in the training course 15 teachers in the areas of Humanities and Natural Sciences. This is a qualitative research. During the training process the participants’ speeches were video recorded and after transcribed and analyzed according to the thematic content analysis. Empirical data analysis allowed to show, through deductive inferences, different theoretical perspectives in coexisting traditional and linear discourse and those who perceive Science and Gender as a process of human construction, besides the lack of epistemological discussions and historical aspects of science involving gender issues. Another recurring discourse is the naturalization and the denial of the existence of gender issues in which the male-dominated lines are more articulated, which shows a resistance to feminist perspective. Thus, we reaffirm the need for teacher training explicit and reflective because gender issues are not self-evident, and the continuity of research to discuss these issues.

Changes in Students' Views about Nature of Scientific Inquiry at a Science Camp

Science.gov (United States)

Leblebicioglu, G.; Metin, D.; Capkinoglu, E.; Cetin, P. S.; Eroglu Dogan, E.; Schwartz, R.

2017-12-01

Although nature of science (NOS) and nature of scientific inquiry (NOSI) are related to each other, they are differentiated as NOS is being more related to the product of scientific inquiry (SI) which is scientific knowledge whereas NOSI is more related to the process of SI (Schwartz et al. 2008). Lederman et al. (Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 51, 65-8, 2014) determined eight NOSI aspects for K-16 context. In this study, a science camp was conducted to teach scientific inquiry (SI) and NOSI to 24 6th and 7th graders (16 girls and 8 boys). The core of the program was guided inquiry in nature. The children working in small groups under guidance of science advisors conducted four guided-inquiries in the nature in morning sessions on nearby plants, animals, water, and soil. NOSI aspects were made explicit during and at the end of each inquiry session. Views about scientific inquiry (VASI) (Lederman et al. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 51, 65-8, 2014) questionnaire was applied as pre- and post-test. The results of the study showed that children developed in all eight NOSI aspects, but higher developments were observed in "scientific investigations all begin with a question" and "there is no single scientific method," and "explanations are developed from data and what is already known" aspects. It was concluded that the science camp program was effective in teaching NOSI.

Natural Science and Technology Terminology in the Sesotho sa ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Riette Ruthven

foreign natural science and technology lexical items, which are meant for inclusion in the Sesotho sa Leboa comprehensive .... and technology term) is associated with an indigenous word, especially a word referring to a more or ..... Page 10 ...

The Science of Middle Nature (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Pataki, D. E.; Pincetl, S.; Hinners, S.

2013-12-01

In the field of biogeochemistry, urbanization is often considered as an 'alteration' or 'disturbance' to the earth's surface and its natural processes. This view is an outcome of the view of nature inherent in earth system science and ecology, in which nature is defined as separate from humans and society. However, other disciplines are based in alternative views of nature in which humans are more integral components of the landscape. Urban planning, landscape architecture, agriculture, and horticulture, for example, more fully integrate the role of landscape design and management in the functioning of human-dominated ecosystems. We suggest that the field of urban biogeochemistry has been somewhat limited by the predominant, disturbance-based view of the role of nature in cities, and that more deeply evaluating and broadening the concept of nature inherent in studies of urban processes can enhance our understanding of the role of urbanization in the earth system. A particularly useful concept is the 'middle nature' proposed by Cosgrove (1993), which serves a purpose of 'actively transforming nature into culture.' It is this view of urban landscapes as middle nature, or transformation of urban space into human-dominated nature with a purpose, that is lacking from the current scientific discourse about the role of biogeochemistry in urban ecosystem services. A scientific evaluation of middle nature implies studying the performance of urban designs to meet intended cultural and environmental goals, including beauty, social equity, governance, and social capital as well as environmental quality. We describe our work in evaluating the transformed urban landscapes of Los Angeles and Salt Lake City from multiple perspectives that focus on urban livability, equity, and beauty as well as the physical impacts of plants and soils on the environment. The outcomes of this process do not necessary meet the traditional demands of biophysical ecology such as utilizing native

Hardy–Weinberg Equilibrium and the Foundations of Evolutionary ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 16; Issue 2. Hardy–Weinberg Equilibrium and the Foundations of Evolutionary Genetics - Incorporating Mutation and Migration. Amitabh Joshi. Series Article Volume 16 Issue 2 February 2011 pp 116-128 ...

The Nature of Science and the Next Generation Science Standards: Analysis and Critique

Science.gov (United States)

McComas, William F.; Nouri, Noushin

2016-08-01

This paper provides a detailed analysis of the inclusion of aspects of nature of science (NOS) in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). In this new standards document, NOS elements in eight categories are discussed in Appendix H along with illustrative statements (called exemplars). Many, but not all, of these exemplars are linked to the standards by their association with either the "practices of science" or "crosscutting concepts," but curiously not with the recommendations for science content. The study investigated all aspects of NOS in NGSS including the accuracy and inclusion of the supporting exemplar statements and the relationship of NOS in NGSS to other aspects of NOS to support teaching and learning science. We found that while 92 % of these exemplars are acceptable, only 78 % of those written actually appear with the standards. "Science as a way of knowing" is a recommended NOS category in NGSS but is not included with the standards. Also, several other NOS elements fail to be included at all grade levels thus limiting their impact. Finally, NGSS fails to include or insufficiently emphasize several frequently recommended NOS elements such as creativity and subjectivity. The paper concludes with a list of concerns and solutions to the challenges of NOS in NGSS.

Science standards: The foundation of evolution education in the United States

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elizabeth Watts

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Science standards and textbooks have a huge impact on the manner in which evolution is taught in American classrooms. Standards dictate how much time and what points have to be dedicated to the subject in order to prepare students for state-wide assessments, while the textbooks will largely determine how the subject is presented in the classroom. In the United States both standards and textbooks are determined at the state-level through a political process. Currently there is a tremendous amount of pressure arising from anti-evolutionists in the United States to weaken or omit the teaching of evolution despite recommendations from central institutions such as the National Academy of Science. Results from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA showed that not only are American students performing below average, but also that their performance is declining as they scored worse in 2012 than they did in 2010. Interestingly PISA also found that the internal variation within a country is often greater than between countries with a variation of up to 300 points, which is equivalent to seven years of education pointing to the extreme heterogeneous quality of education within a country (OECD, 2012. An implementation of strong standards would not only help to increase the average performance of American students but could also alleviate the vast discrepancy between the highest and lowest scoring groups of American students. Although the Next Generation Science Standards have been in existence since 2013 and A Framework for K-12 Science Education has been available to the public since 2011 many American states still continue to create their own standards that, according to the Fordham study, are well below par (Lerner et al., 2012. Due to the political nature of the adoption procedure of standards and textbooks, there are many opportunities for interested individuals to get involved in the process of improving these fundamental elements of

Undergraduate honors students' images of science: Nature of scientific work and scientific knowledge

Science.gov (United States)

Wallace, Michael L.

This exploratory study assessed the influence of an implicit, inquiry-oriented nature of science (NOS) instructional approach undertaken in an interdisciplinary college science course on undergraduate honor students' (UHS) understanding of the aspects of NOS for scientific work and scientific knowledge. In this study, the nature of scientific work concentrated upon the delineation of science from pseudoscience and the value scientists place on reproducibility. The nature of scientific knowledge concentrated upon how UHS view scientific theories and how they believe scientists utilize scientific theories in their research. The 39 UHS who participated in the study were non-science majors enrolled in a Honors College sponsored interdisciplinary science course where the instructors took an implicit NOS instructional approach. An open-ended assessment instrument, the UFO Scenario, was designed for the course and used to assess UHS' images of science at the beginning and end of the semester. The mixed-design study employed both qualitative and quantitative techniques to analyze the open-ended responses. The qualitative techniques of open and axial coding were utilized to find recurring themes within UHS' responses. McNemar's chi-square test for two dependent samples was used to identify whether any statistically significant changes occurred within responses from the beginning to the end of the semester. At the start of the study, the majority of UHS held mixed NOS views, but were able to accurately define what a scientific theory is and explicate how scientists utilize theories within scientific research. Postinstruction assessment indicated that UHS did not make significant gains in their understanding of the nature of scientific work or scientific knowledge and their overall images of science remained static. The results of the present study found implicit NOS instruction even with an extensive inquiry-oriented component was an ineffective approach for modifying UHS

Hardy–Weinberg Equilibrium and the Foundations of Evolutionary ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 13; Issue 9. Hardy–Weinberg Equilibrium and the Foundations of Evolutionary Genetics - The Dance of the Genes. Amitabh Joshi. Series Article Volume 13 Issue 9 September 2008 pp 812-835 ...

Student Contributions to Citizen Science Programs As a Foundation for Independent and Classroom-Based Undergraduate Research in the Earth Sciences

Science.gov (United States)

Guertin, L. A.

2014-12-01

Environmental monitoring projects on the grounds of a campus can serve as data collection sites for undergraduate research. Penn State Brandywine has utilized students in independent study projects to establish two citizen science programs and to begin collecting data, with the data sets serving as a foundation for authentic inquiry-based exercises in introductory-level Earth science courses. The first citizen science program is The Smithsonian Institution's Global Tree Banding Project, which contributes to research about tree biomass by tracking how trees respond to climate. We are going beyond the requirements of the Smithsonian project. Instead of only taking two measurements each in the spring and fall, undergraduate researchers are taking measurements every two weeks throughout the year. We started taking measurements of ten trees on campus in 2012 will continue until each tree outgrows its tree band. The data is available for download in Google Spreadsheets for students to examine changes in tree diameter within one or between growing seasons, supplemented with temperature and precipitation data (see http://sites.psu.edu/treebanding/). A second citizen science program we have begun on campus is the NASA-funded Digital Earth Watch (DEW) Picture Post Project, allowing students to monitor the environment and share observations through digital photography. We established four Picture Post sites on campus, with students taking weekly photos to establish an environmental baseline of the campus landscape and to document future environmental changes pre- and post-construction. We started taking digital photos on campus in 2014 will continue well past the completion of construction to continue to look for changes. The image database is less than a year old, but the images provide enough information for some early analyses, such as the variations in "greenness" over the seasons. We have created a website that shares the purpose of our participation in the Picture Post

Bulletin of Materials Science | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

The Institute for Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology, MAScIR (Moroccan Foundation for Advanced Science, Innovation and Research), Rabat, Morocco; LMPHE (URAC 12), Departement of Physique, BP 1014, Faculty of Science, Mohammed V-Agdal University, Rabat, Morocco; National Centre for Energy, Sciences and ...

From the NSF: The National Science Foundation's Investments in Broadening Participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education through Research and Capacity Building.

Science.gov (United States)

James, Sylvia M; Singer, Susan R

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has a long history of investment in broadening participation (BP) in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. A review of past NSF BP efforts provides insights into how the portfolio of programs and activities has evolved and the broad array of innovative strategies that has been used to increase the participation of groups underrepresented in STEM, including women, minorities, and persons with disabilities. While many are familiar with these long-standing programmatic efforts, BP is also a key component of NSF's strategic plans, has been highlighted in National Science Board reports, and is the focus of ongoing outreach efforts. The majority of familiar BP programs, such as the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (now 25 years old), are housed in the Directorate for Education and Human Resources. However, fellowship programs such as the Graduate Research Fellowships and Postdoctoral Research Fellowships under the Directorate for Biological Sciences (and parallel directorates in other STEM disciplines) are frequently used to address underrepresentation in STEM disciplines. The FY2016 and FY2017 budget requests incorporate funding for NSF INCLUDES, a new cross-agency BP initiative that will build on prior successes while addressing national BP challenges. NSF INCLUDES invites the use of innovative approaches for taking evidence-based best practices to scale, ushering in a new era in NSF BP advancement. © 2016 S. M. James and S. R. Singer. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2016 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

[To God through science. Natural theology in Francoism].

Science.gov (United States)

Paniagua, Francisco Blázquez

2011-01-01

In Spain, during Franco's dictatorship (1939-1975) the teaching and divulgation of science were subordinated to the Catholic religion and many books defended a theistic and creationistic point of view of biology that accepted a literal interpretation of the Book of Genesis and denied the theory of evolution, especially as it relates to human origin. This article is devoted to the main books and characteristics of this way of thinking which reproduced arguments and metaphors of the pre-Darwinian natural theology, arguing that nature was ruled by God and living organisms were the results of his design.

Structuring nature´s and science´s complexity

OpenAIRE

Leiber, Theodor

2007-01-01

Structuring nature´s and science´s complexity : system laws and explanations. - In: Dynamisches Denken und Handeln : Philosophie und Wissenschaft in einer komplexen Welt ; Festschrift für Klaus Mainzer zum 60. Geburtstag / Theodor Leiber (Hg.). - Stuttgart : Hirzel, 2007. - S. 193-212

Three Simple Hands-On Soil Exercises Extension Professionals Can Incorporate into Natural Sciences Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Kleinschmidt, Andy

2011-01-01

The importance of healthy soil and of conveying the importance of soils starts by conveying a few basic concepts of soil science cannot be overstated. This article provides three hands-on exercises Extension professionals can add to natural resources or Master Gardener education curricula. These natural sciences exercises are easy to prepare for…

Evaluating the best available social science for natural resource management decision-making

Science.gov (United States)

Susan Charnley; Courtney Carothers; Terre Satterfield; Arielle Levine; Melissa R. Poe; Karma Norman; Jamie Donatuto; Sara Jo Breslow; Michael B. Mascia; Phillip S. Levin; Xavier Basurto; Christina C. Hicks; Carlos García-Quijano; Kevin St. Martin

2017-01-01

Increasing recognition of the human dimensions of natural resource management issues, and of social and ecological sustainability and resilience as being inter-related, highlights the importance of applying social science to natural resource management decision-making. Moreover, a number of laws and regulations require natural resource management agencies to consider...

The quantum universe: philosophical foundations and oriental medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Kafatos, Menas C; Yang, Keun-Hang

2016-12-01

The existence of universal principles in both science and medicine implies that one can explore their common applicability. Here we explore what we have learned from quantum mechanics, phenomena such as entanglement and nonlocality, the role of participation of the observer, and how these may apply to oriental medicine. The universal principles of integrated polarity, recursion, and creative interactivity apply to all levels of existence and all human activities, including healing and medicine. This review examines the possibility that what we have learned from quantum mechanics may provide clues to better understand the operational principles of oriental medicine in an integrated way. Common to both is the assertion that Consciousness is at the foundation of the universe and the inner core of all human beings. This view goes beyond both science and medicine and has strong philosophical foundations in Western philosophy as well as monistic systems of the East.

Life satisfaction, health, self-evaluation and sexuality in current university students of sport sciences, education and natural sciences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin Sigmund

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Lifestyle and health of an individual are influenced by many factors; a significant factor is life satisfaction. Life satisfaction is understood as a multidimensional construct closely related to the area of personal wellbeing and quality of life. Life satisfaction in university students represents one of the determinants of good health, high motivation for studying, work productivity, satisfactory interpersonal relationships and overall healthy lifestyle. Objective: The main objective of the present study is to identify and compare the level of overall life satisfaction and selected components of health, self-evaluation and sexuality in current university students with respect to their study specialization. Methods: The study included a total of 522 students from Palacký University. These were students from the Faculty of Physical Culture (n = 118, Faculty of Education (n = 218 and Faculty of Science (n = 186. In terms of age, the study focused on young adults aged 19 to 26. To assess the current level of life satisfaction, the research study used a standardized psychodiagnostic tool - Life Satisfaction Questionnaire (LSQ. The used diagnostic methods are fully standardized and contain domestic normative values. Statistical result processing was conducted using the Statistica programme v10.0. Results: The highest level of overall life satisfaction was revealed in university students of sport sciences. In comparison with the students of education and students of natural sciences the difference is significant. Satisfaction with health among the students of sport sciences is significantly higher than in the students of education (p ≤ .001; d = 0.53 and the students of natural sciences (p ≤ .05; d = 0.38. Similar results were found in the area of satisfaction with own person and self-evaluation, where the values of the students of sport sciences were significantly higher compared with the students of education (p �

Linking social, ecological, and physical science to advance natural and nature-based protection for coastal communities.

Science.gov (United States)

Arkema, Katie K; Griffin, Robert; Maldonado, Sergio; Silver, Jessica; Suckale, Jenny; Guerry, Anne D

2017-07-01

Interest in the role that ecosystems play in reducing the impacts of coastal hazards has grown dramatically. Yet the magnitude and nature of their effects are highly context dependent, making it difficult to know under what conditions coastal habitats, such as saltmarshes, reefs, and forests, are likely to be effective for saving lives and protecting property. We operationalize the concept of natural and nature-based solutions for coastal protection by adopting an ecosystem services framework that propagates the outcome of a management action through ecosystems to societal benefits. We review the literature on the basis of the steps in this framework, considering not only the supply of coastal protection provided by ecosystems but also the demand for protective services from beneficiaries. We recommend further attention to (1) biophysical processes beyond wave attenuation, (2) the combined effects of multiple habitat types (e.g., reefs, vegetation), (3) marginal values and expected damage functions, and, in particular, (4) community dependence on ecosystems for coastal protection and co-benefits. We apply our approach to two case studies to illustrate how estimates of multiple benefits and losses can inform restoration and development decisions. Finally, we discuss frontiers for linking social, ecological, and physical science to advance natural and nature-based solutions to coastal protection. © 2017 New York Academy of Sciences.

Contribution for the teaching of natural sciences: Mapuche and school knowledge

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Segundo Quintriqueo M.

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Within the context of Mapuche families and communities, this paper focuses on the relationship between knowledge and educational methods in teaching the natural sciences. It aims to identify educational methods that have been forged and re-forged in connection with the social, cultural, political, economical and spiritual development experienced by Mapuche communities. Our educational research methodology is based on a qualitative approach in order to unveil the subjective and inter-subjective dimensions that characterize the subjects' educational knowledge in their life context. Our fieldwork has been carried out from a sample of interviews conducted with Mapuche wise men (sabios living in the Araucanía. The results of the study are divided in four categories: 1 Relationship towards the natural environment; 2 Knowledge regarding living beings; 3 Küyen cycle (phases of the Moon; and finally, 4 Healthy lifestyle. The collected data have allowed us to link different contents (conceptual, practical and attitudinal underlying the proper Mapuche educational methods to underline their rationalities with reference to core knowledge. Thus, we want to make a case for an epistemological basis substantiating the teaching of natural sciences in relation to Mapuche knowledge. This will allow us to contextualize natural science teaching within the framework of an intercultural educational approach. By doing so, we aim to establish an intellectual dialogue in a context of interethnic and intercultural relationships.

Proteomic analysis of proteins differentially expressed in conidia and mycelium of the entomopathogenic fungus Aschersonia placenta

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Qiu, J.; Su, Y.; Gelbič, Ivan; Qiu, Y.; Xie, X.; Guan, X.

2012-01-01

Roč. 58, č. 12 (2012), s. 1327-1334 ISSN 0008-4166 Grant - others:National Natural Science Foundation of China(CN) 30500005; National Natural Science Foundation of China(CN) 31070026; National Natural Science Foundation of China(CN) 31170025; Fujian Province University(CN) JK2011013; Fujian Provincial Science Foundation(CN) 2010J06007; Chinese National Programs(CN) 2011AA10A203; Fujian Provincial Science Foundation(CN) 0b08b005 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50070508 Keywords : entomopathogenic fungus * Aschersonia placenta * fungal developmental stages Subject RIV: CE - Biochemistry Impact factor: 1.199, year: 2012

Life after National Science Foundation fellowships: The implications for a graduate student's professional endeavors

Science.gov (United States)

Obarski, Kelly Josephine

Each year, hundreds of graduate and undergraduate students, participate as Fellows in National Science Foundation GK-12 Grants throughout the U.S. These Fellowships create opportunities for university students to improve their communication skills, teaching proficiencies, and team-building skills, in addition to expanding their interest in educational endeavors in their respective communities while pursuing their college degrees. STEP (Science and Technology Enhancement Project) is one such project. University faculty, public school teachers, and community leaders collaborated together in order to bring scientists into middle and secondary classrooms to focus on increasing student interest and proficiency in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills. Seventeen Fellows, in the previous four years, designed, developed, and implemented innovative, hands-on lessons in seven local schools. The evaluation team collected a tremendous amount of research evidence focused on the effect of the program on the Fellows while they were participants in the study, but there has been very little data collected about the Fellows after leaving the program. This research study, consisting of two-hour interviews, qualitatively explores how the skills learned while participating in the STEP program affected the Fellows' career and educational choices once leaving the project. This data was analyzed along with historical attitude surveys and yearly tracking documents to determine the effect that participation in the program had on their choices post-STEP. An extensive literature review has been conducted focusing on other GK-12 programs throughout the country, K-16 collaboration, Preparing Future Faculty Programs, as well as on teaching and learning literature. These bodies of literature provide the theoretical basis in which the research is framed in order to assess the impact on Fellow educational and professional choices since leaving the STEP program. This

An industrial educational laboratory at Ducati Foundation: narrative approaches to mechanics based upon continuum physics

Science.gov (United States)

Corni, Federico; Fuchs, Hans U.; Savino, Giovanni

2018-02-01

This is a description of the conceptual foundations used for designing a novel learning environment for mechanics implemented as an Industrial Educational Laboratory - called Fisica in Moto (FiM) - at the Ducati Foundation in Bologna. In this paper, we will describe the motivation for and design of the conceptual approach to mechanics used in the lab - as such, the paper is theoretical in nature. The goal of FiM is to provide an approach to the teaching of mechanics based upon imaginative structures found in continuum physics suitable to engineering and science. We show how continuum physics creates models of mechanical phenomena by using momentum and angular momentum as primitive quantities. We analyse this approach in terms of cognitive linguistic concepts such as conceptual metaphor and narrative framing of macroscopic physical phenomena. The model discussed here has been used in the didactical design of the actual lab and raises questions for an investigation of student learning of mechanics in a narrative setting.

77 FR 24228 - Proposal Review Panel for Social and Economic Sciences; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-23

... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Proposal Review Panel for Social and Economic Sciences; Notice of...; Division of Social and Economic Sciences, Room 990, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard... Science Foundation announces the following meeting: Name: Site visit review of the Nanoscale Science and...