WorldWideScience

Sample records for science improvement project

  1. Elementary and middle school science improvement project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mcguire, Saundra Y.

    1989-01-01

    The Alabama A and M University Elementary and Middle School Science Improvement Project (Project SIP) was instituted to improve the science knowledge of elementary and middle school teachers using the experimental or hands-on approach. Summer workshops were conducted during the summers of 1986, 1987, and 1988 in the areas of biology, chemistry, physics, and electricity, and magnetism. Additionally, a manual containing 43 lessons which included background information, experiments and activities for classroom and home use was provided to each teacher. During the course of the project activities, the teachers interacted with various university faculty members, scientists, and NASA staff. The administrative aspects of the program, the delivery of the services to participating teachers, and the project outcome are addressed.

  2. International Science Education: A Study of UNESCO Science Education Improvement Projects in Selected Anglophone Countries of Africa: Project Problems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nichter, Richard

    1984-01-01

    Discusses some of the problems faced by technical advisors implementing projects for the improvement of science education in Africa and reasons for these problems. Problem areas considered include underdevelopment, underestimating the process, finances, personality conflict and motivation, and opposition from key groups. (A list of major UNESCO…

  3. Improving Environmental Literacy through GO3 Citizen Science Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilkening, B.

    2011-12-01

    In the Global Ozone (GO3) Project students measure ground-level ozone on a continuous basis and upload their results to a global network used by atmospheric scientists and schools. Students learn important concepts such as chemical measurement methods; instrumentation; calibration; data acquisition using computers; data quality; statistics; data analysis and graphing; posting of data to the web; the chemistry of air pollution; stratospheric ozone depletion and global climate change. Students collaborate with researchers and other students globally in the GO3 network. Wilson K-8 School is located in a suburban area in Pima County, Arizona. Throughout the year we receive high ozone alert days. Prior to joining the GO3 project, my students were unaware of air pollution alerts, risks and causes. In the past when Pima County issued alerts to the school, they were posted on signs around the school. No explanation was provided to the students and the signs were often left up for days. This discounted the potential health effects of the situation, resulting in the alerts effectively being ignored. The GO3 project is transforming both my students and our school community. Now my students are: Performing science research Utilizing technology and increasing their skills Collaborating in a responsible manner on the global GO3 social network Communicating their work to the community Issuing their own ozone alerts to their school Advocating for actions that will improve air quality My students participation in this citizen science project is creating a more cognizant and active community in regards to air pollution.

  4. Science Song Project: Integration of Science, Technology and Music to Learn Science and Process Skills

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiyoon Yoon

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available It has been critical to find a way for teachers to motivate their young children to learn science and improve science achievement. Since music has been used as a tool for educating young students, this study introduces the science song project to teacher candidates that contains science facts, concepts, laws and theories, and combines them with music for motivating their young children to learn science and improve science achievement. The purpose of the study is to determine the effect of the science song project on teacher candidates’ understanding of science processing skills and their attitudes toward science. The participants were 45 science teacher candidates who were enrolled in an EC-6 (Early Childhood through Grade 6 program in the teacher certification program at a racially diverse Texas public research university. To collect data, this study used two instruments: pre-and post-self efficacy tests before and after the science teacher candidates experienced the science song project and final reflective essay at the end of the semester. The results show that while developing their songs, the participating teacher candidates experienced a process for science practice, understood science concepts and facts, and positively improved attitudes toward science. This study suggests that the science song project is a science instruction offering rich experiences of process-based learning and positive attitudes toward science.

  5. Project ALERT: Forging New Partnerships to Improve Earth System Science Education for Pre-Service and In-Service Teachers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Metzger, E. P.; Ambos, E. L.; Ng, E. W.; Skiles, J.; Simila, G.; Garfield, N.

    2002-05-01

    Project ALERT (Augmented Learning Environment and Renewable Teaching) was founded in 1998, with funding from NASA and the California State University (CSU), to improve earth system science education for pre-service teachers. Project ALERT has formed linkages between ten campuses of the CSU, which prepares about 60 percent of California's teachers, and two NASA centers, Ames Research Center and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. ALERT has also fostered alliances between earth science and science education faculty. The combined expertise of Project ALERT's diverse partners has led to a wide array of activities and products, including: 1) incorporation in university classrooms of NASA-developed imagery, data, and educational resources; 2) creation and/or enhancement of several courses that bring earth systems science to pre-service teachers; 3) fellowships for CSU faculty to participate in collaborative research and education projects at the NASA Centers; 4) development of teaching modules on such varied topics as volcanoes, landslides, and paleoclimate; and 5) a central web site that highlights resources for teaching introductory Earth system science. An outgrowth of Project ALERT is the increased interest on the part of CSU earth scientists in education issues. This has catalyzed their participation in other projects, including NASA's Project NOVA, Earth System Science Education Alliance, and Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum, the Digital Library for Earth System Science Education, and the California Science Project. Project ALERT has also expanded to provide professional development opportunities for in-service teachers, as exemplified by its support of the Bay Area Earth Science Institute (BAESI) at San Jose State University. Each year, BAESI offers 10-15 full-day workshops that supply teachers and teachers-to-be with a blend of science concepts and classroom activities, free instructional materials, and the opportunity to earn inexpensive university credit. These

  6. Doing the Project and Learning the Content: Designing Project-Based Science Curricula for Meaningful Understanding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanter, David E.

    2010-01-01

    Project-based science curricula can improve students' usable or meaningful understanding of the science content underlying a project. However, such curricula designed around "performances" wherein students design or make something do not always do this. We researched ways to design performance project-based science curricula (pPBSc) to better…

  7. Improving Science Attitude and Creative Thinking through Science Education Project: A Design, Implementation and Assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sener, Nilay; Türk, Cumhur; Tas, Erol

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of a science education project implemented in different learning environments on secondary school students' creative thinking skills and their attitudes to science lesson. Within this scope, a total of 50 students who participated in the nature education project in Samsun City in 2014 make up the…

  8. Improving Interaction between NGO's, Science Shops and Universities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jørgensen, Michael Søgaard

    2005-01-01

    An overview of the results from the INTERACTS research project: Improving Interaction between NGOs, Universities and Science Shops: Experiences and Expectations, running 2002-2004......An overview of the results from the INTERACTS research project: Improving Interaction between NGOs, Universities and Science Shops: Experiences and Expectations, running 2002-2004...

  9. Environmental Science: 49 Science Fair Projects. Science Fair Projects Series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonnet, Robert L.; Keen, G. Daniel

    This book contains 49 science fair projects designed for 6th to 9th grade students. Projects are organized by the topics of soil, ecology (projects in habitat and life cycles), pests and controls (projects in weeds and insects), recycling (projects in resources and conservation), waste products (projects in decomposition), microscopic organisms,…

  10. Measuring Science Curriculum Improvement Study Teachers' Attitudinal Changes Toward Science.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hovey, Larry Michael

    Investigated were three questions related to the relationship between a science teacher's attitude regarding the use of a newer science program, in this instance the Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIS): (1) Could the Projective Tests of Attitudes, originally designed for fifth-grade students, be modified for use with adults? (2) Is there a…

  11. Earth System Science Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rutherford, Sandra; Coffman, Margaret

    2004-01-01

    For several decades, science teachers have used bottles for classroom projects designed to teach students about biology. Bottle projects do not have to just focus on biology, however. These projects can also be used to engage students in Earth science topics. This article describes the Earth System Science Project, which was adapted and developed…

  12. Setting up crowd science projects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scheliga, Kaja; Friesike, Sascha; Puschmann, Cornelius; Fecher, Benedikt

    2016-11-29

    Crowd science is scientific research that is conducted with the participation of volunteers who are not professional scientists. Thanks to the Internet and online platforms, project initiators can draw on a potentially large number of volunteers. This crowd can be involved to support data-rich or labour-intensive projects that would otherwise be unfeasible. So far, research on crowd science has mainly focused on analysing individual crowd science projects. In our research, we focus on the perspective of project initiators and explore how crowd science projects are set up. Based on multiple case study research, we discuss the objectives of crowd science projects and the strategies of their initiators for accessing volunteers. We also categorise the tasks allocated to volunteers and reflect on the issue of quality assurance as well as feedback mechanisms. With this article, we contribute to a better understanding of how crowd science projects are set up and how volunteers can contribute to science. We suggest that our findings are of practical relevance for initiators of crowd science projects, for science communication as well as for informed science policy making. © The Author(s) 2016.

  13. Tohoku Women's Hurdling Project: Science Angels (abstract)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mizuki, Kotoe; Watanabe, Mayuko

    2009-04-01

    Tohoku University was the first National University to admit three women students in Japan in 1913. To support the university's traditional ``open-door'' policy, various projects have been promoted throughout the university since its foundation. A government plan, the Third-Stage Basic Plan for Science and Technology, aims to increase the women scientist ratio up to 25% nationwide. In order to achieve this goal, the Tohoku Women's Hurdling Project, funded by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), was adopted in 2006. This project is threefold: support for child/family, improvement of facilities, and support for the next generation, which includes our Science Angels program. ``Science Angels'' are women PhD students appointed by the university president, with the mission to form a strong support system among each other and to become role-models to inspire younger students who want to become researchers. Currently, 50 women graduate students of the natural sciences are Science Angels and are encouraged to design and deliver lectures in their areas of specialty at their alma maters. Up to now, 12 lectures have been delivered and science events for children in our community have been held-all with great success.

  14. Science in Schools Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waugh, Mike

    As part of a program to increase learning and engagement in science classes 124 Victorian schools are trialing a best practice teaching model. The Science in Schools Research Project is a DEET funded project under the Science in Schools Strategy, developed in response to recent research and policy decisions at national and state levels through which literacy, numeracy and science have been identified as key priorities for learning. This major science research project aims to identify, develop and trial best practice in Science teaching and learning. The Department will then be able to provide clear advice to Victoria's schools that can be adopted and sustained to: * enhance teaching and learning of Science * enhance student learning outcomes in Science at all year levels * increase student access to, and participation in Science learning from Prep through to Year 10, and hence in the VCE as well. The nature of the SiS program will be detailed with specific reference to the innovative programs in solar model cars, robotics and environmental science developed at Forest Hill College in response to this project.

  15. Developing a taxonomy for the science of improvement in public health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riley, William; Lownik, Beth; Halverson, Paul; Parrotta, Carmen; Godsall, Jonathan R; Gyllstrom, Elizabeth; Gearin, Kimberly J; Mays, Glen

    2012-11-01

    Quality improvement (QI) methods have been used for almost a decade in public health departments to increase effectiveness and efficiency. Although results are rapidly accumulating, the evidence for the science of improvement is shallow and limited. To advance the use and effectiveness of QI in public health, it is important to develop a science of improvement using practice-based research to build an evidence base for QI projects. This purpose of this study is to advance the science of improvement in public health departments with 3 objectives: (1) establish a taxonomy of QI projects in public health, (2) categorize QI projects undertaken in health departments using the taxonomy, and (3) create an opportunity modes and effects analysis. This study is a qualitative analysis of archival data from 2 separate large databases consisting of 51 QI projects undertaken in public health departments over the last 5 years. The study involves 2 separate QI collaboratives. One includes Minnesota health departments; the other is a national collaborative. We propose a standardized case definition, common metrics, and a taxonomy of QI projects to begin building the evidence base for QI in public health and to advance the science of continuous quality improvement. All projects created an aim statement and used metrics while 53% used a specific QI model with an average of 3.25 QI techniques per project. Approximately 40% of the projects incorporated a process control methodology, and 60% of the projects identified the process from beginning to end, while 11 of 12 PHAB (Public Health Accreditation Board) domains were included. The findings provide a baseline for QI taxonomy to operationalize a science of improvement for public health departments.

  16. An Evaluation of the Science Education Component of the Cross River State Science and Technical Education Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ekuri, Emmanuel Etta

    2012-01-01

    The Cross River State Science and Technical Education Project was introduced in 1992 by edict number 9 of 20 December 1991, "Cross River State Science and Technical Education Board Edit, 20 December, 1991", with the aim of improving the quality of science teaching and learning in the state. As the success of the project depends…

  17. WFIRST Project Science Activities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gehrels, Neil

    2012-01-01

    The WFIRST Project is a joint effort between GSFC and JPL. The project scientists and engineers are working with the community Science Definition Team to define the requirements and initial design of the mission. The objective is to design an observatory that meets the WFIRST science goals of the Astr02010 Decadal Survey for minimum cost. This talk will be a report of recent project activities including requirements flowdown, detector array development, science simulations, mission costing and science outreach. Details of the interim mission design relevant to scientific capabilities will be presented.

  18. Project-Based Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krajcik, Joe

    2015-01-01

    Project-based science is an exciting way to teach science that aligns with the "Next Generation Science Standards" ("NGSS"). By focusing on core ideas along with practices and crosscutting concepts, classrooms become learning environments where teachers and students engage in science by designing and carrying out…

  19. Science Projects | Akron-Summit County Public Library

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hours & Locations Main Library Science & Technology Division Science Projects Science Projects Have fun with science experiments. Whether you need to do a project for a school science fair or you want to be a mad scientist, our Science Project Index and other resources can get you started. Find how

  20. Improving the Science-Policy Interface of Biodiversity Research Projects

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Neßhöver, C.; Timaeus, J.; Wittmer, H.; Krieg, A.; Geamana, N.; Van den Hove, S.; Young, J.; Watt, A.

    2013-01-01

    Against the background of a continuing biodiversity loss there is a strong need to improve the interfaces between science and policy. Many approaches for such interfaces exist, the most recent being the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). A less prominent

  1. Science communication in European projects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vachev, Boyko; Stamenov, Jordan

    2009-01-01

    Science communication in several resent successful projects of Institute for Nuclear Research and Nuclear Energy, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (INRNE, BAS) from the 5th and 6th Framework Programmes of EC is presented: the joint INRNE, BAS project with JRC of EC (FP5 NUSES) and two subsequent Centre of Excellence projects (FP5 HIMONTONET and FP6 BEOBAL) are considered. Innovations and traditional forms development and application are discussed. An overview of presentation and communication of INRNE, BAS contribution to Bulgarian European Project is made. Good practices have been derived. Keywords: Science communication, European projects, Innovations

  2. Comb-e-Chem: an e-science research project

    OpenAIRE

    Frey, Jeremy G.

    2003-01-01

    The background to the Comb-e-Chem e-Science pilot project funded under the UK -Science Programme is presented and the areas being addresses within chemistry and more specifically combinatorial chemistry are disucssed. The ways in which the ideas underlying the application of computer technology can improve the production, analysis and dissemination of chemical information and knowledge in a collaborative environment are discussed.

  3. NASA IDEAS to Improve Instruction in Astronomy and Space Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malphrus, B.; Kidwell, K.

    1999-12-01

    The IDEAS to Improve Instructional Competencies in Astronomy and Space Science project is intended to develop and/or enhance teacher competencies in astronomy and space sciences of teacher participants (Grades 5-12) in Kentucky. The project is being implemented through a two-week summer workshop, a series of five follow-up meetings, and an academic year research project. The resources of Kentucky's only Radio Astronomy Observatory- the Morehead Radio Telescope (MRT), Goldstone Apple Valley Radio Telescope (GAVRT) (via remote observing using the Internet), and the Kentucky Department of Education regional service centers are combined to provide a unique educational experience. The project is designed to improve science teacher's instructional methodologies by providing pedagogical assistance, content training, involving the teachers and their students in research in radio astronomy, providing access to the facilities of the Morehead Astrophysical Observatory, and by working closely with a NASA-JOVE research astronomer. Participating teachers will ultimately produce curriculum units and research projects, the results of which will be published on the WWW. A major goal of this project is to share with teachers and ultimately students the excitement and importance of scientific research. The project represents a partnership of five agencies, each matching the commitment both financially and/or personnel. This project is funded by the NASA IDEAS initiative administered by the Space Telescope Science Institute and the National Air and Space Administration (NASA).

  4. Using implementation tools to design and conduct quality improvement projects for faster and more effective improvement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ovretveit, John; Mittman, Brian; Rubenstein, Lisa; Ganz, David A

    2017-10-09

    Purpose The purpose of this paper is to enable improvers to use recent knowledge from implementation science to carry out improvement changes more effectively. It also highlights the importance of converting research findings into practical tools and guidance for improvers so as to make research easier to apply in practice. Design/methodology/approach This study provides an illustration of how a quality improvement (QI) team project can make use of recent findings from implementation research so as to make their improvement changes more effective and sustainable. The guidance is based on a review and synthesis of improvement and implementation methods. Findings The paper illustrates how research can help a quality project team in the phases of problem definition and preparation, in design and planning, in implementation, and in sustaining and spreading a QI. Examples of the use of different ideas and methods are cited where they exist. Research limitations/implications The example is illustrative and there is little limited experimental evidence of whether using all the steps and tools in the one approach proposed do enable a quality team to be more effective. Evidence supporting individual guidance proposals is cited where it exists. Practical implications If the steps proposed and illustrated in the paper were followed, it is possible that quality projects could avoid waste by ensuring the conditions they need for success are in place, and sustain and spread improvement changes more effectively. Social implications More patients could benefit more quickly from more effective implementation of proven interventions. Originality/value The paper is the first to describe how improvement and implementation science can be combined in a tangible way that practical improvers can use in their projects. It shows how QI project teams can take advantage of recent advances in improvement and implementation science to make their work more effective and sustainable.

  5. Participatory science and innovation for improved sanitation and hygiene: process and outcome evaluation of project SHINE, a school-based intervention in Rural Tanzania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erin Hetherington

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Diarrheal disease is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in low and middle income countries with children being disproportionately affected. Project SHINE (Sanitation & Hygiene INnovation in Education is a grassroots participatory science education and social entrepreneurship model to engage youth and the wider community in the development of sustainable strategies to improve sanitation and hygiene. Methods Based in rural and remote Tanzania, this pilot study engaged pastoralist high-school students and communities in the development and evaluation of culturally and contextually relevant strategies to improve sanitation and hygiene. Using a train-the-trainer approach, key activities included teacher workshops, school-based lessons, extra-curricular activities, community events and a One Health sanitation science fair which showcased projects related to water, sanitation and hygiene in relation to human and animal health. The process and outcome of the study were evaluated through qualitative interviews and focus group discussions with diverse project participants, as well as pre- and post- questionnaires completed by students on knowledge, attitudes and practices concerning sanitation and hygiene. Results The questionnaire results at baseline and follow-up showed statistically significant improvements on key measures including a decrease in unhygienic behaviors, an increase in the perceived importance of handwashing and intention to use the toilet, and increased communication in the social network about the importance of clean water and improved sanitation and hygiene practices, however there were no significant changes in sanitation related knowledge. Qualitative data highlighted strong leadership emerging from youth and enthusiasm from teachers and students concerning the overall approach in the project, including the use of participatory methods. There was a high degree of community engagement with hundreds of

  6. Participatory science and innovation for improved sanitation and hygiene: process and outcome evaluation of project SHINE, a school-based intervention in Rural Tanzania.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hetherington, Erin; Eggers, Matthijs; Wamoyi, Joyce; Hatfield, Jennifer; Manyama, Mange; Kutz, Susan; Bastien, Sheri

    2017-02-07

    Diarrheal disease is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in low and middle income countries with children being disproportionately affected. Project SHINE (Sanitation & Hygiene INnovation in Education) is a grassroots participatory science education and social entrepreneurship model to engage youth and the wider community in the development of sustainable strategies to improve sanitation and hygiene. Based in rural and remote Tanzania, this pilot study engaged pastoralist high-school students and communities in the development and evaluation of culturally and contextually relevant strategies to improve sanitation and hygiene. Using a train-the-trainer approach, key activities included teacher workshops, school-based lessons, extra-curricular activities, community events and a One Health sanitation science fair which showcased projects related to water, sanitation and hygiene in relation to human and animal health. The process and outcome of the study were evaluated through qualitative interviews and focus group discussions with diverse project participants, as well as pre- and post- questionnaires completed by students on knowledge, attitudes and practices concerning sanitation and hygiene. The questionnaire results at baseline and follow-up showed statistically significant improvements on key measures including a decrease in unhygienic behaviors, an increase in the perceived importance of handwashing and intention to use the toilet, and increased communication in the social network about the importance of clean water and improved sanitation and hygiene practices, however there were no significant changes in sanitation related knowledge. Qualitative data highlighted strong leadership emerging from youth and enthusiasm from teachers and students concerning the overall approach in the project, including the use of participatory methods. There was a high degree of community engagement with hundreds of community members participating in school-based events

  7. Improving Project Portfolio Management (PPM) for Improvement Projects

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pries-Heje, Jan; Jakobsen, Peter M.; Korsaa, Morten

    2017-01-01

    Project Portfolio Management (PPM) focus on the integration and alignment of projects with the business operation in order to achieve most value and cost-efficiency for the investment in projects. PPM is often a challenge and especially so for improvement projects where PPM is considerably...... of evaluating a portfolio of improvement projects and combine this evaluation with the effect they have on the CMMI maturity level. Further, the paper demonstrates how the combination of a strong senior management requirement for improved maturity and the focus on getting the most value out of PPM made...

  8. A Coastal Citizen Science Project - How to run an international Citizen Science Project?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kruse, K.; Knickmeier, K.; Thiel, M.; Gatta, M.

    2016-02-01

    "Searching for plastic garbage" is an international Citizen Science project that aims to participate school students in the public discussion on the topic "plastic pollution in the ocean". For this, young people apply various research methods, evaluate their data, communicate and publish their results and investigate solutions solving this problem. The project will be carried out in Chile and Germany at the same time, which allows the participating students to share and compare their results and discuss their ideas with an international partner. This takes place on the website www.save-ocean.org. The project promotes intercultural and scientific skills of the students. They get insights into scientific research, get into another culture and experiences plastic pollution as an important global problem. Since May 2015, 450 pupils aged 10 to 15 years and 20 teachers in Germany and Chile have explored the plastic garbage on beaches. Where are the largest plastic garbage deposits? Which items of plastic are mostly found in Germany and Chile? Or where does this garbage comes from? These and other research questions are being answered by an international network between students, teachers and scientists. After completing the first Citizen Science pilot study successfully in summer 2015, the entire German and Chilean coast will be explored in spring 2016 by around 2500 participating school students. The project "Searching for plastic garbage" is the first international Citizen Science project that is a cooperation between the ocean:lab of Kiel Science Factory and the "Cientificos de la Basura", a project of the department of marine biology at University Catolica del Norte in Coquimbo, Chile. The project is supported by the Cluster of Excellence "The Future Ocean", the Leibniz Institute for Science Education and Mathematics (IPN), the Ministry of School and Professional Education of Land Schleswig-Holstein and the University Catolica del Norte in Coquimbo, Chile

  9. Portsmouth Atmospheric Science School (PASS) Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coleman, Clarence D.; Hathaway, Roger (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    The Portsmouth Atmospheric Science School Project (PASS) Project was granted a one-year no cost extension for 2001-2002. In year three of the project, objectives and strategies were modified based on the previous year-end evaluation. The recommendations were incorporated and the program was replicated within most of the remaining elementary schools in Portsmouth, Virginia and continued in the four middle schools. The Portsmouth Atmospheric Science School Project is a partnership, which includes Norfolk State University, Cooperating Hampton Roads Organizations for Minorities in Engineering (CHROME), NASA Langley Research Center, and the City of Portsmouth, Virginia Public Schools. The project seeks to strengthen the knowledge of Portsmouth Public Schools students in the field of atmospheric sciences and enhance teacher awareness of hands on activities in the atmospheric sciences. The project specifically seeks to: 1) increase the interest and participation of elementary and middle school students in science and mathematics; 2) strengthen existing science programs; and 3) facilitate greater achievement in core subjects, which are necessary for math, science, and technical careers. Emphasis was placed on providing training activities, materials and resources for elementary students (grades 3 - 5) and middle school students (grades 6 - 8), and teachers through a CHROME club structure. The first year of the project focused on introducing elementary students to concepts and activities in atmospheric science. Year two of the project built on the first year's activities and utilizes advanced topics and activities appropriate for middle school students. During the third year of the project, in addition to the approaches used in years one and two, emphasis was placed on activities that enhanced the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL).

  10. Reflexivity in performative science shop projects

    OpenAIRE

    Beunen, R.; Duineveld, M.; During, R.; Straver, G.H.M.B.; Aalvanger, A.

    2012-01-01

    Science shop research projects offer possibilities for universities to engage with communities. Many science shop projects directly or indirectly intend to empower certain marginalised groups or interests within a decision-making process. In this article we argue that it is important to reflect on the role and position the researchers have in these projects. We present three science shop projects to illustrate some of the dilemmas that may arise in relation to citizen empowerment, democracy, ...

  11. Improving together: collaborative learning in science communication

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stiller-Reeve, Mathew

    2015-04-01

    Most scientists today recognise that science communication is an important part of the scientific process. Despite this recognition, science writing and communication are generally taught outside the normal academic schedule. If universities offer such courses, they are generally short-term and intensive. On the positive side, such courses rarely fail to motivate. At no fault of their own, the problem with such courses lies in their ephemeral nature. The participants rarely complete a science communication course with an immediate and pressing need to apply these skills. And so the skills fade. We believe that this stalls real progress in the improvement of science communication across the board. Continuity is one of the keys to success! Whilst we wait for the academic system to truly integrate science communication, we can test and develop other approaches. We suggest a new approach that aims to motivate scientists to continue nurturing their communication skills. This approach adopts a collaborative learning framework where scientists form writing groups that meet regularly at different institutes around the world. The members of the groups learn, discuss and improve together. The participants produce short posts, which are published online. In this way, the participants learn and cement basic writing skills. These skills are transferrable, and can be applied to scientific articles as well as other science communication media. In this presentation we reflect on an ongoing project, which applies a collaborative learning framework to help young and early career scientists improve their writing skills. We see that this type of project could be extended to other media such as podcasts, or video shorts.

  12. Project LAUNCH: Bringing Space into Math and Science Classrooms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fauerbach, M.; Henry, D. P.; Schmidt, D. L.

    2005-01-01

    Project LAUNCH is a K-12 teacher professional development program, which has been created in collaboration between the Whitaker Center for Science, Mathematics and Technology Education at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU), and the Florida Space Research Institute (FSRI). Utilizing Space as the overarching theme it is designed to improve mathematics and science teaching, using inquiry based, hands-on teaching practices, which are aligned with Florida s Sunshine State Standards. Many students are excited about space exploration and it provides a great venue to get them involved in science and mathematics. The scope of Project LAUNCH however goes beyond just providing competency in the subject area, as pedagogy is also an intricate part of the project. Participants were introduced to the Conceptual Change Model (CCM) [1] as a framework to model good teaching practices. As the CCM closely follows what scientists call the scientific process, this teaching method is also useful to actively engage institute participants ,as well as their students, in real science. Project LAUNCH specifically targets teachers in low performing, high socioeconomic schools, where the need for skilled teachers is most critical.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  14. The Effectiveness of Project-based E-learning to Improve Ict Literacy

    OpenAIRE

    Eliana, E. D. S; Senam, Senam; Wilujeng, I; Jumadi, Jumadi

    2016-01-01

    This study aims to reveal the effectiveness of science teaching based on project-based learning to improve ICT literacy learners in the junior high school with the category of high, medium and low. This research uses descriptive method to describe the students’ equipness of ICT literacy in the science learning based on the project-based learning that is integrated with e-learning. All of the population in this study are junior high school of curriculum pilot project in 2013 in Singkawang. The...

  15. Weekend Science Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos, Karey

    2012-01-01

    Weekend plans...every family has them. Whether it's fishing, swimming, or simply picnicking by the river, water plays a significant role in many recreational endeavors. Encouraging students and their families to use their "scientific eyes" to explore these wonderful wet places is what Weekend Science Project is all about. Weekend Science Project…

  16. Effects of 3D Printing Project-based Learning on Preservice Elementary Teachers' Science Attitudes, Science Content Knowledge, and Anxiety About Teaching Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Novak, Elena; Wisdom, Sonya

    2018-05-01

    3D printing technology is a powerful educational tool that can promote integrative STEM education by connecting engineering, technology, and applications of science concepts. Yet, research on the integration of 3D printing technology in formal educational contexts is extremely limited. This study engaged preservice elementary teachers (N = 42) in a 3D Printing Science Project that modeled a science experiment in the elementary classroom on why things float or sink using 3D printed boats. The goal was to explore how collaborative 3D printing inquiry-based learning experiences affected preservice teachers' science teaching self-efficacy beliefs, anxiety toward teaching science, interest in science, perceived competence in K-3 technology and engineering science standards, and science content knowledge. The 3D printing project intervention significantly decreased participants' science teaching anxiety and improved their science teaching efficacy, science interest, and perceived competence in K-3 technological and engineering design science standards. Moreover, an analysis of students' project reflections and boat designs provided an insight into their collaborative 3D modeling design experiences. The study makes a contribution to the scarce body of knowledge on how teacher preparation programs can utilize 3D printing technology as a means of preparing prospective teachers to implement the recently adopted engineering and technology standards in K-12 science education.

  17. 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

  18. The LOFAR Transients Key Science Project

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stappers, B.; Fender, R.; Wijers, R.

    2009-01-01

    The Transients Key Science Project (TKP) is one of six Key Science Projects of the next generation radio telescope LOFAR. Its aim is the study of transient and variable low-frequency radio sources with an extremely broad science case ranging from relativistic jet sources to pulsars, exoplanets,

  19. 20% Research & Design Science Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spear, Beth A.

    2015-04-01

    A project allowing employees to use 15 % of their time on independent projects was established at 3M in the 1950's. The result of this project included products like post it notes and masking tape. Google allows its employees to use 20% of their time on independently pursued projects. The company values creativity and innovation. Employees are allowed to explore projects of interest to them one day out of the week, 20 % of their work week. Products like AdSense, Gmail, Google Transit, Google News, and Google Talk are the result of this 20 % program. My school is implementing the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) as part of our regularly scheduled curriculum review. These new standards focus on the process of learning by doing and designing. The NGSS are very hands on and active. The new standards emphasize learning how to define, understand and solve problems in science and technology. In today's society everyone needs to be familiar with science and technology. This project allows students to develop and practice skills to help them be more comfortable and confident with science and technology while exploring something of interest to them. This project includes three major parts: research, design, and presentation. Students will spend approximately 2-4 weeks defining a project proposal and educating themselves by researching a science and technology topic that is of interest to them. In the next phase, 2-4 weeks, students design a product or plan to collect data for something related to their topic. The time spent on research and design will be dependant on the topic students select. Projects should be ambitious enough to encompass about six weeks. Lastly a presentation or demonstration incorporating the research and design of the project is created, peer reviewed and presented to the class. There are some problems anticipated or already experienced with this project. It is difficult for all students to choose a unique topic when you have large class sizes

  20. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SCIENCE PROGRAM RESEARCH PROJECTS TO IMPROVE DECONTAMINATION AND DECOMMISIONING OF U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY FACILITIES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Phillips, Ann Marie

    2003-01-01

    This paper describes fourteen basic science projects aimed at solving decontamination and decommissioning (D and D) problems within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Funded by the Environmental Science Management Program (EMSP), these research projects address D and D problems where basic science is needed to expand knowledge and develop solutions to help DOE meet its cleanup milestones. EMSP uses directed solicitations targeted at identified Environmental Management (EM) needs to ensure that research results are directly applicable to DOE's EM problems. The program then helps transition the projects from basic to applied research by identifying end-users and coordinating proof-of-principle field tests. EMSP recently funded fourteen D and D research projects through the directed solicitation process. These research projects will be discussed, including description, current status, and potential impact. Through targeted research and proof-of-principle tests, it is hoped that EMSP's fourteen D and D basic research projects will directly impact and provide solutions to DOE's D and D problems

  1. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SCIENCE PROGRAM RESEARCH PROJECTS TO IMPROVE DECONTAMINATION AND DECOMMISIONING OF U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY FACILITIES

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Phillips, Ann Marie

    2003-02-27

    This paper describes fourteen basic science projects aimed at solving decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) problems within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Funded by the Environmental Science Management Program (EMSP), these research projects address D&D problems where basic science is needed to expand knowledge and develop solutions to help DOE meet its cleanup milestones. EMSP uses directed solicitations targeted at identified Environmental Management (EM) needs to ensure that research results are directly applicable to DOE's EM problems. The program then helps transition the projects from basic to applied research by identifying end-users and coordinating proof-of-principle field tests. EMSP recently funded fourteen D&D research projects through the directed solicitation process. These research projects will be discussed, including description, current status, and potential impact. Through targeted research and proof-of-principle tests, it is hoped that EMSP's fourteen D&D basic research projects will directly impact and provide solutions to DOE's D&D problems.

  2. Overview of Neutron Science Project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mukaiyama, Takehiko [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment

    1997-11-01

    JAERI has launched the Neutron Science Project which aims at bringing scientific and technological innovation for the 21st century in the fields of basic science and nuclear technology using a high power spallation neutron source. The Project is preparing the design for a high intensity pulsed and cw spallation neutron sources for such basic science as neutron structural biology, material science, and for accelerator-driven transmutation of long-lived radio-nuclides which are associated with nuclear power generation. The major facilities to be constructed under the Project are, (1) a super-conducting proton linac with the proton energy of 1.5 GeV and the maximum beam power of 8 MW, (2) a spallation target station with input beam power of 5 MW allowing high intensity pulsed neutron beams for neutron scattering, and (3) research facility complex for accelerator-driven transmutation experiments, neutron physics, material irradiation, isotopes production, spallation produced RI beam experiments for exotic nuclei investigation. (author)

  3. Overview of Neutron Science Project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mukaiyama, Takehiko

    1997-01-01

    JAERI has launched the Neutron Science Project which aims at bringing scientific and technological innovation for the 21st century in the fields of basic science and nuclear technology using a high power spallation neutron source. The Project is preparing the design for a high intensity pulsed and cw spallation neutron sources for such basic science as neutron structural biology, material science, and for accelerator-driven transmutation of long-lived radio-nuclides which are associated with nuclear power generation. The major facilities to be constructed under the Project are, 1) a super-conducting proton linac with the proton energy of 1.5 GeV and the maximum beam power of 8 MW, 2) a spallation target station with input beam power of 5 MW allowing high intensity pulsed neutron beams for neutron scattering, and 3) research facility complex for accelerator-driven transmutation experiments, neutron physics, material irradiation, isotopes production, spallation produced RI beam experiments for exotic nuclei investigation. (author)

  4. Identifying Relevant Anti-Science Perceptions to Improve Science-Based Communication: The Negative Perceptions of Science Scale

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melanie Morgan

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Science communicators and scholars have struggled to understand what appears to be increasingly frequent endorsement of a wide range of anti-science beliefs and a corresponding reduction of trust in science. A common explanation for this issue is a lack of science literacy/knowledge among the general public (Funk et al. 2015. However, other possible explanations have been advanced, including conflict with alternative belief systems and other contextual factors, and even cultural factors (Gauchat 2008; Kahan 2015 that are not necessarily due to knowledge deficits. One of the challenges is that there are limited tools available to measure a range of possible underlying negative perceptions of science that could provide a more nuanced framework within which to improve communication around important scientific topics. This project describes two studies detailing the development and validation of the Negative Perceptions of Science Scale (NPSS, a multi-dimensional instrument that taps into several distinct sets of negative science perceptions: Science as Corrupt, Science as Complex, Science as Heretical, and Science as Limited. Evidence for the reliability and validity of the NPSS is described. The sub-dimensions of the NPSS are associated with a range of specific anti-science beliefs across a broad set of topic areas above and beyond that explained by demographics (including education, sex, age, and income, political, and religious ideology. Implications for these findings for improving science communication and science-related message tailoring are discussed.

  5. Citizen science projects for non-science astronomy students

    OpenAIRE

    Barmby, Pauline; Gallagher, S. C.; Cami, J.

    2014-01-01

    A poster from the 2011 Western Conference on Science Education, describing the use of citizen science project Galaxy Zoo in a non-majors astronomy course. Lots more on this topic at https://www.zooniverse.org/education  

  6. Citizens Science for Sustainability (SuScit) Project Briefing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Eames, Malcolm; Mortensen, Jonas Egmose; Adebowale, Maria

    This project briefing gives a short overview of the Citizens Science for Sustainability (SuScit) Project.......This project briefing gives a short overview of the Citizens Science for Sustainability (SuScit) Project....

  7. Primary teachers conducting inquiry projects : the effect on attitude towards science and inquiry

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Aalderen-Smeets, Sandra; Walma van der Molen, Julie Henriëtte

    2015-01-01

    This paper presents the results of a theoretically informed professionalisation project that was set up to improve primary teachers’ attitudes towards science and attitude towards inquiry. A positive attitude towards science is of fundamental importance for teachers when stimulating interest in

  8. Conservation Science Fair Projects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soil Conservation Society of America, Ankeny, IA.

    Included are ideas, suggestions, and examples for selecting and designing conservation science projects. Over 70 possible conservation subject areas are presented with suggested projects. References are cited with each of these subject areas, and a separate list of annotated references is included. The references pertain to general subject…

  9. Neutron Science Project at JAERI

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oyama, Yukio

    1998-01-01

    Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, JAERI, is proposing the Neutron Science Project which aims at bringing about scientific and technological innovation in the fields of basic science and nuclear technology for the 21st century, using high intense spallation neutron source. The research areas to be promoted by the project are neutron structural biology, material science, nuclear physics and various technology developments for accelerator-driven transmutation of long-lived radionuclides which are associated with nuclear power generation. JAERI has been carrying out a R and D program for the partitioning and transmutation with the intention to solve the problem of nuclear fuel cycle backend. The accelerator-driven transmutation study is also covered with this program. In the present stage of the project, a conceptual design is being prepared for a research complex utilizing spallation neutrons, including a high intensity pulsed and steady spallation neutron source with 1.5 GeV and 8 MW superconducting proton linac. The idea and facility plan of the project is described, including the status of technological development of the accelerator, target and facilities. (author)

  10. Neutron Science Project at JAERI

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oyama, Yukio [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment

    1998-03-01

    Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, JAERI, is proposing the Neutron Science Project which aims at bringing about scientific and technological innovation in the fields of basic science and nuclear technology for the 21st century, using high intense spallation neutron source. The research areas to be promoted by the project are neutron structural biology, material science, nuclear physics and various technology developments for accelerator-driven transmutation of long-lived radionuclides which are associated with nuclear power generation. JAERI has been carrying out a R and D program for the partitioning and transmutation with the intention to solve the problem of nuclear fuel cycle backend. The accelerator-driven transmutation study is also covered with this program. In the present stage of the project, a conceptual design is being prepared for a research complex utilizing spallation neutrons, including a high intensity pulsed and steady spallation neutron source with 1.5 GeV and 8 MW superconducting proton linac. The idea and facility plan of the project is described, including the status of technological development of the accelerator, target and facilities. (author)

  11. Animal Science Project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    Researches carried out in the 'Animal Science Project' of the Agricultural Nuclear Energy Center, Piracicaba, Sao Paulo state, Brazil, are described. Such researches comprise : immunology and animal nutrition. Tracer techniques are employed in this study. (M.A.) [pt

  12. Plant Biology Science Projects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hershey, David R.

    This book contains science projects about seed plants that deal with plant physiology, plant ecology, and plant agriculture. Each of the projects includes a step-by-step experiment followed by suggestions for further investigations. Chapters include: (1) "Bean Seed Imbibition"; (2) "Germination Percentages of Different Types of Seeds"; (3)…

  13. Project Lifescape | Initiatives | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Project Lifescape. This project is part of the Academy initiative to enhance the quality of science education. It is pursued in collaboration with the Centre for Ecological Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science to spread biodiversity literacy, expecially within the high school and college student community, and to involve them ...

  14. Ebola Crisis: Improving Science-Based Communication and Local ...

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

    As a long-term goal, the project aims to strengthen journalism associations in Africa through country and regional exchanges using a Web-based platform devoted to science and health journalism. This will help increase access to health knowledge and evidence, improve monitoring and reporting of priority health issues in ...

  15. ScienceDesk Project Overview

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keller, Richard M.; Norvig, Peter (Technical Monitor)

    2000-01-01

    NASA's ScienceDesk Project at the Ames Research Center is responsible for scientific knowledge management which includes ensuring the capture, preservation, and traceability of scientific knowledge. Other responsibilities include: 1) Maintaining uniform information access which is achieved through intelligent indexing and visualization, 2) Collaborating both asynchronous and synchronous science teamwork, 3) Monitoring and controlling semi-autonomous remote experimentation.

  16. Enhancing Teacher and Student Engagement and Understanding of Marine Science Through Classroom Citizen Science Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodale, T. A.

    2016-02-01

    Overview This paper presentation shares findings from a granted funded project that sought to expand teacher content knowledge and pedagogy within the fields of marine science and coastal resource management through the implementation of classroom citizen science projects. A secondary goal was to increase middle and high school student interest and participation in marine science and natural resources research. Background A local science & engineering fair has seen a rapid decline in secondary student participants in the past four years. Research has demonstrated that when students are a part of a system of knowledge production (citizen science) they become much more aware, involved and conscious of scientific concepts compared to traditional school laboratory and nature of science activities. This project's primary objectives were to: (a) enhance teacher content expertise in marine science, (b) enrich teacher professional learning, (c) support citizen science classroom projects and inspire student activism and marine science engagement. Methods Project goals were addressed through classroom and meaningful outdoor educational experiences that put content knowledge into field based practices. Teachers learned to apply thier expanded content knowlege through classroom citizen science projects that focus on marine resource conservation issues such as fisheries management, water quality, turtle nesting and biodiversity of coastal ecosystems. These projects would eventually become potential topics of citizen science research topics for their students to pursue. Upon completion of their professional development, participants were urged to establish student Marine Science clubs with the goal of mentoring student submissions into the local science fair. Supplemental awards were possible for the students of project participants. Findings Based on project measures participants significantly increased their knowledge and awareness of presented material marine science and

  17. A Professional Development Project for Improving the Use of Information and Communication Technologies in Science Teaching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lavonen, Jari; Juuti, Kalle; Aksela, Maija; Meisalo, Veijo

    2006-01-01

    This article describes a professional development project aiming to develop practical approaches for the integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) into science education. Altogether, 13 two-day face-to-face seminars and numerous computer network conferences were held during a three-year period. The goals for the project were…

  18. ESIP's Earth Science Knowledge Graph (ESKG) Testbed Project: An Automatic Approach to Building Interdisciplinary Earth Science Knowledge Graphs to Improve Data Discovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGibbney, L. J.; Jiang, Y.; Burgess, A. B.

    2017-12-01

    Big Earth observation data have been produced, archived and made available online, but discovering the right data in a manner that precisely and efficiently satisfies user needs presents a significant challenge to the Earth Science (ES) community. An emerging trend in information retrieval community is to utilize knowledge graphs to assist users in quickly finding desired information from across knowledge sources. This is particularly prevalent within the fields of social media and complex multimodal information processing to name but a few, however building a domain-specific knowledge graph is labour-intensive and hard to keep up-to-date. In this work, we update our progress on the Earth Science Knowledge Graph (ESKG) project; an ESIP-funded testbed project which provides an automatic approach to building a dynamic knowledge graph for ES to improve interdisciplinary data discovery by leveraging implicit, latent existing knowledge present within across several U.S Federal Agencies e.g. NASA, NOAA and USGS. ESKG strengthens ties between observations and user communities by: 1) developing a knowledge graph derived from various sources e.g. Web pages, Web Services, etc. via natural language processing and knowledge extraction techniques; 2) allowing users to traverse, explore, query, reason and navigate ES data via knowledge graph interaction. ESKG has the potential to revolutionize the way in which ES communities interact with ES data in the open world through the entity, spatial and temporal linkages and characteristics that make it up. This project enables the advancement of ESIP collaboration areas including both Discovery and Semantic Technologies by putting graph information right at our fingertips in an interactive, modern manner and reducing the efforts to constructing ontology. To demonstrate the ESKG concept, we will demonstrate use of our framework across NASA JPL's PO.DAAC, NOAA's Earth Observation Requirements Evaluation System (EORES) and various USGS

  19. A questionnaire for teachers to improve training activity and students on environmental science in the frame of ENVRIPLUS project

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Addezio, Giuliana; Marsili, Antonella; Beranzoli, Laura

    2017-04-01

    ENVRIplus is a Horizon 2020 project bringing together Environmental and Earth System Research Infrastructures, projects and networks together with technical specialist partners to create a more coherent, interdisciplinary and interoperable cluster of Environmental Research. One of the aims of this project is to disseminate knowledge on environmental topics, focusing attention on European secondary schools. We elaborated actions to design an e-Training Platform for multimedia education of secondary school level teachers and students. The purpose is to favor teacher training and consequently students training on selected scientific themes faced within the ENVRIPLUS Research Infrastructures. In particular we address major thematic research areas and challenges on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, Greenhouse effect and Earth Warming, Ocean acidifications and Environmental sustainability. To realize the training platform we start detailed study and analysis of teaching and multimedia information materials already available. We plan the realization of an appealing and usable portal/digital repository, to stimulate learning of STEM topics and which also includes opportunities to develop original content. To better project the actions and to catch teacher needs, we prepare a questionnaire that will be administered to a large sample of international school audience to collect input directly from the potential users. The first part focused on objective information about the formal, quantitative and qualitative position of science class in schools and the content and methods of teaching in different countries. The second part investigates subjective teacher experiences, views and proposals on what can improve training offer for environmental science lessons and courses.

  20. Primary teachers conducting inquiry projects : effects on attitudes towards teaching science and conducting inquiry

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Aalderen-Smeets, Sandra; Walma van der Molen, Julie Henriëtte; van Hest, Erna G.W.C.M.; Poortman, Cindy Louise

    2017-01-01

    This study used an experimental, pretest-posttest control group design to investigate whether participation in a large-scale inquiry project would improve primary teachers’ attitudes towards teaching science and towards conducting inquiry. The inquiry project positively affected several elements of

  1. Open-science projects get kickstarted at CERN

    CERN Multimedia

    Achintya Rao

    2015-01-01

    CERN is one of the host sites for the Mozilla Science Lab Global Sprint to be held on 4 and 5 June, which will see participants around the world work on projects to further open science and educational tools.   IdeaSquare will be hosting the event at CERN. The Mozilla Science Lab Global Sprint was first held in 2014 to bring together open-science practitioners and enthusiasts to collaborate on projects designed to advance science on the open web. The sprint is a loosely federated event, and CERN is participating in the 2015 edition, hosting sprinters in the hacker-friendly IdeaSquare. Five projects have been formally proposed and CERN users and staff are invited to participate in a variety of ways. A special training session will also be held to introduce the CERN community to existing open-science and collaborative tools, including ones that have been deployed at CERN. 1. GitHub Science Badges: Sprinters will work on developing a badge-style visual representation of how open a software pro...

  2. How Technicians Can Lead Science Improvements in Any School: A Small-Scale Study in England

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Beth; Quinnell, Simon

    2015-01-01

    This article describes how seven schools in England improved their science provision by focusing on the professional development of their science technicians. In September 2013, the Gatsby Charitable Foundation funded the National Science Learning Centre to lead a project connecting secondary schools with experienced senior science technicians…

  3. Inquiry-Based Integrated Science Education: Implementation of Local Content “Soil Washing” Project To Improve Junior High School Students’ Environmental Literacy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Syifahayu

    2017-02-01

    The study was conducted based on teaching and learning problems led by conventional method that had been done in the process of learning science. It gave students lack opportunities to develop their competence and thinking skills. Consequently, the process of learning science was neglected. Students did not have opportunity to improve their critical attitude and creative thinking skills. To cope this problem, the study was conducted using Project-Based Learning model through inquiry-based science education about environment. The study also used an approach called Sains Lingkungan and Teknologi masyarakat - “Saling Temas” (Environmental science and Technology in Society) which promoted the local content in Lampung as a theme in integrated science teaching and learning. The study was a quasi-experimental with pretest-posttest control group design. Initially, the subjects were given a pre-test. The experimental group was given inquiry learning method while the control group was given conventional learning. After the learning process, the subjects of both groups were given post-test. Quantitative analysis was performed using the Mann-Whitney U-test and also a qualitative descriptive. Based on the result, environmental literacy skills of students who get inquiry learning strategy, with project-based learning model on the theme soil washing, showed significant differences. The experimental group is better than the control group. Data analysis showed the p-value or sig. (2-tailed) is 0.000 <α = 0.05 with the average N-gain of experimental group is 34.72 and control group is 16.40. Besides, the learning process becomes more meaningful.

  4. Primary Teachers Conducting Inquiry Projects: Effects on Attitudes towards Teaching Science and Conducting Inquiry

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Aalderen-Smeets, Sandra I.; Walma van der Molen, Juliette H.; van Hest, Erna G. W. C. M.; Poortman, Cindy

    2017-01-01

    This study used an experimental, pretest-posttest control group design to investigate whether participation in a large-scale inquiry project would improve primary teachers' attitudes towards teaching science and towards conducting inquiry. The inquiry project positively affected several elements of teachers' attitudes. Teachers felt less anxious…

  5. The Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project: Phase I Activities by a Global Community of Science. Chapter 1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenzweig, Cynthia E.; Jones, James W.; Hatfield, Jerry L.; Antle, John M.; Ruane, Alexander C.; Mutter, Carolyn Z.

    2015-01-01

    The Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP) was founded in 2010. Its mission is to improve substantially the characterization of world food security as affected by climate variability and change, and to enhance adaptation capacity in both developing and developed countries. The objectives of AgMIP are to: Incorporate state-of-the-art climate, crop/livestock, and agricultural economic model improvements into coordinated multi-model regional and global assessments of future climate impacts and adaptation and other key aspects of the food system. Utilize multiple models, scenarios, locations, crops/livestock, and participants to explore uncertainty and the impact of data and methodological choices. Collaborate with regional experts in agronomy, animal sciences, economics, and climate to build a strong basis for model applications, addressing key climate related questions and sustainable intensification farming systems. Improve scientific and adaptive capacity in modeling for major agricultural regions in the developing and developed world, with a focus on vulnerable regions. Improve agricultural data and enhance data-sharing based on their intercomparison and evaluation using best scientific practices. Develop modeling frameworks to identify and evaluate promising adaptation technologies and policies and to prioritize strategies.

  6. Homogenisation in project management for large German research projects in the Earth system sciences: overcoming the institutional coordination bias

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rauser, Florian; Vamborg, Freja

    2016-04-01

    complement the current system, by creating permanent, sustained options for interactions between large research projects in similar fields. In the long run such a centre might improve on the host-based system because the centre-based solution allows multiple projects to be coordinated in conjunction by experienced science managers, using overlap in meeting organization, reporting, infrastructure, travel and so on. To still maintain close cooperation between project managers and lead PIs, we envision a virtual centre that creates extensive collaborative opportunities by organizing yearly retreats, a shared technical data base, et cetera. As "CESSMA" is work in progress (we have applied for funding for 2016-18), we would like to use this opportunity to discuss chances, potential problems, experiences and options for this attempt to institutionalise the very reason for this session: improved, coordinated, effective science coordination; and to create a central focal point for public / academia interactions.

  7. Science projects in renewable energy and energy efficiency

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1991-07-01

    First, the book is written for teachers and other adults who educate children in grades K-12. This allows us to include projects with a variety of levels of difficulty, leaving it to the teacher to adapt them to the appropriate skill level. Second, the book generally focuses on experimental projects that demonstrate the scientific method. We believe that learning the experimental process is most beneficial for students and prepares them for further endeavors in science and for life itself by developing skills in making decisions and solving problems. Although this may appear to limit the book's application to more advanced students and more experienced science teachers, we hope that some of the ideas can be applied to beginning science classes. In addition, we recognize that there are numerous sources of nonexperimental science activities in the field and we hope this book will fill a gap in the available material. Third, we've tried to address the difficulties many teachers face in helping their students get started on science projects. By explaining the process and including extensive suggestions of resources -- both nationally and locally -- we hope to make the science projects more approachable and enjoyable. We hope the book will provide direction for teachers who are new to experimental projects. And finally, in each section of ideas, we've tried to include a broad sampling of projects that cover most of the important concepts related to each technology. Additional topics are listed as one-liners'' following each group of projects.

  8. Elementary Teachers' Perceptions of Teaching Science to Improve Student Content Knowledge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stephenson, Robert L.

    The majority of Grade 5 students demonstrate limited science knowledge on state assessments. This trend has been documented since 2010 with no evidence of improvement. Because state accountability formulas include proficiency scores and carry sanctions against districts that fail to meet proficiency thresholds, improved student performance in science is an important issue to school districts. The purpose of this study was to explore elementary teachers' perceptions about their students' science knowledge, the strategies used to teach science, the barriers affecting science teaching, and the self-efficacy beliefs teachers maintain for teaching science. This study, guided by Vygotsky's social constructivist theory and Bandura's concept of self-efficacy, was a bounded instrumental case study in which 15 participants, required to be teaching K-5 elementary science in the county, were interviewed. An analytic technique was used to review the qualitative interview data through open coding, clustering, and analytical coding resulting in identified categorical themes that addressed the research questions. Key findings reflect students' limited content knowledge in earth and physical science. Teachers identified barriers including limited science instructional time, poor curricular resources, few professional learning opportunities, concern about new state standards, and a lack of teaching confidence. To improve student content knowledge, teachers identified the need for professional development. The project is a professional development series provided by a regional education service agency for K-5 teachers to experience science and engineering 3-dimensional learning. Area students will demonstrate deeper science content knowledge and benefit from improved science instructional practice and learning opportunities to become science problem solvers and innovative contributors to society.

  9. Life sciences space biology project planning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Primeaux, G.; Newkirk, K.; Miller, L.; Lewis, G.; Michaud, R.

    1988-01-01

    The Life Sciences Space Biology (LSSB) research will explore the effect of microgravity on humans, including the physiological, clinical, and sociological implications of space flight and the readaptations upon return to earth. Physiological anomalies from past U.S. space flights will be used in planning the LSSB project.The planning effort integrates science and engineering. Other goals of the LSSB project include the provision of macroscopic view of the earth's biosphere, and the development of spinoff technology for application on earth.

  10. Science operations management. [with Infrared Astronomy Satellite project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Squibb, G. F.

    1984-01-01

    The operation teams engaged in the IR Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) project included scientists from the IRAS International Science Team. The detailed involvement of these scientists in the design, testing, validation, and operations phases of the IRAS mission contributed to the success of this project. The Project Management Group spent a substantial amount of time discussing science-related issues, because science team coleaders were members from the outset. A single scientific point-of-contact for the Management Group enhanced the depth and continuity of agreement reached in decision-making.

  11. The effects of topic choice in project-based instruction on undergraduate physical science students' interest, ownership, and motivation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milner-Bolotin, Marina

    2001-07-01

    significant impact on their motivational orientation, while their initial interest in the project topic did. The latter was found to be related to students' ownership of the project, which was found to lead to improved mastery goal orientation. These findings indicate that incorporating project-based learning in science teaching may lead to increased student mastery goal orientation, and may result in improved science learning.

  12. Assessing Motivations and Use of Online Citizen Science Astronomy Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nona Bakerman, Maya; Buxner, Sanlyn; Bracey, Georgia; Gugliucci, Nicole

    2018-01-01

    The exponential proliferation of astronomy data has resulted in the need to develop new ways to analyze data. Recent efforts to engage the public in the discussion of the importance of science has led to projects that are aimed at letting them have hands-on experiences. Citizen science in astronomy, which has followed the model of citizen science in other scientific fields, has increased in the number and type of projects in the last few years and poses captivating ways to engage the public in science.The primary feature of this study was citizen science users’ motivations and activities related to engaging in astronomy citizen science projects. We report on participants’ interview responses related to their motivations, length and frequency of engagement, and reasons for leaving the project. From May to October 2014, 32 adults were interviewed to assess their motivations and experiences with citizen science. In particular, we looked at if and how motivations have changed for those who have engaged in the projects in order to develop support for and understandparticipants of citizen science. The predominant reasons participants took part in citizen science were: interest, helping, learning or teaching, and being part of science. Everyone interviewed demonstrated an intrinsic motivation to do citizen science projects.Participants’ reasons for ending their engagement on any given day were: having to do other things, physical effects of the computer, scheduled event that ended, attention span or tired, computer or program issues. A small fraction of the participants also indicated experiencing negative feedback. Out of the participants who no longer took part in citizen science projects, some indicated that receiving negative feedback was their primary reason and others reported the program to be frustrating.Our work is helping us to understand participants who engage in online citizen science projects so that researchers can better design projects to meet their

  13. 4-H Textile Science Beginner Projects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scholl, Jan

    This packet contains three 4-H projects for students beginning the sewing sequence of the textile sciences area. The projects cover basics of sewing using sewing machines, more difficult sewing machine techniques, and hand sewing. Each project provides an overview of what the student will learn, what materials are needed, and suggested projects…

  14. Variables that impact the implementation of project-based learning in high school science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cunningham, Kellie

    Wagner and colleagues (2006) state the mediocrity of teaching and instructional leadership is the central problem that must be addressed if we are to improve student achievement. Educational reform efforts have been initiated to improve student performance and to hold teachers and school leaders accountable for student achievement (Wagner et al., 2006). Specifically, in the area of science, goals for improving student learning have led reformers to establish standards for what students should know and be able to do, as well as what instructional methods should be used. Key concepts and principles have been identified for student learning. Additionally, reformers recommend student-centered, inquiry-based practices that promote a deep understanding of how science is embedded in the everyday world. These new approaches to science education emphasize inquiry as an essential element for student learning (Schneider, Krajcik, Marx, & Soloway, 2002). Project-based learning (PBL) is an inquiry-based instructional approach that addresses these recommendations for science education reform. The objective of this research was to study the implementation of project-based learning (PBL) in an urban school undergoing reform efforts and identify the variables that positively or negatively impacted the PBL implementation process and its outcomes. This study responded to the need to change how science is taught by focusing on the implementation of project-based learning as an instructional approach to improve student achievement in science and identify the role of both school leaders and teachers in the creation of a school environment that supports project-based learning. A case study design using a mixed-method approach was used in this study. Data were collected through individual interviews with the school principal, science instructional coach, and PBL facilitator. A survey, classroom observations and interviews involving three high school science teachers teaching grades 9

  15. Detection and Characterisation of Meteors as a Big Data Citizen Science project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gritsevich, M.

    2017-12-01

    Out of a total around 50,000 meteorites currently known to science, the atmospheric passage was recorded instrumentally in only 30 cases with the potential to derive their atmospheric trajectories and pre-impact heliocentric orbits. Similarly, while the observations of meteors, add thousands of new entries per month to existing databases, it is extremely rare they lead to meteorite recovery. Meteor studies thus represent an excellent example of the Big Data citizen science project, where progress in the field largely depends on the prompt identification and characterisation of meteor events as well as on extensive and valuable contributions by amateur observers. Over the last couple of decades technological advancements in observational techniques have yielded drastic improvements in the quality, quantity and diversity of meteor data, while even more ambitious instruments are about to become operational. This empowers meteor science to boost its experimental and theoretical horizons and seek more advanced scientific goals. We review some of the developments that push meteor science into the Big Data era that requires more complex methodological approaches through interdisciplinary collaborations with other branches of physics and computer science. We argue that meteor science should become an integral part of large surveys in astronomy, aeronomy and space physics, and tackle the complexity of micro-physics of meteor plasma and its interaction with the atmosphere. The recent increased interest in meteor science triggered by the Chelyabinsk fireball helps in building the case for technologically and logistically more ambitious meteor projects. This requires developing new methodological approaches in meteor research, with Big Data science and close collaboration between citizen science, geoscience and astronomy as critical elements. We discuss possibilities for improvements and promote an opportunity for collaboration in meteor science within the currently

  16. Participatory science and innovation for improved sanitation and hygiene: process and outcome evaluation of project SHINE, a school-based intervention in Rural Tanzania

    OpenAIRE

    Hetherington, Erin; Eggers, Matthijs; Wamoyi, Joyce; Hatfield, Jennifer; Manyama, Mange; Kutz, Susan; Bastien, Sheri

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Background Diarrheal disease is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in low and middle income countries with children being disproportionately affected. Project SHINE (Sanitation & Hygiene INnovation in Education) is a grassroots participatory science education and social entrepreneurship model to engage youth and the wider community in the development of sustainable strategies to improve sanitation and hygiene. Methods Based in rural and remote Tanzania, this pilot study engaged...

  17. Pilot Study on the Feasibility and Indicator Effects of Collaborative Online Projects on Science Learning for English Learners

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terrazas-Arellanes, Fatima E.; Knox, Carolyn; Walden, Emily

    2015-01-01

    The 2006 National Science Board called for new strategies and instructional materials for teachers to better serve English Learners' (EL) needs. Bilingual Collaborative Online Projects in science were created to assist ELs' construction of science knowledge, facilitate academic English acquisition, and improve science learning. Two bilingual…

  18. Science to Improve Nutrient Management Practices, Metrics of Benefits, Accountability, and Communication (Project SSWR 4.03)

    Science.gov (United States)

    This project will demonstrate transferable modeling techniques and monitoring approaches to enable water resource professionals to make comparisons among nutrient reduction management scenarios across urban and agricultural areas. It will produce the applied science to allow bett...

  19. The Navajo Learning Network and the NASA Life Sciences/AFOSR Infrastructure Development Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    1999-01-01

    The NSF-funded Navajo Learning Network project, with help from NASA Life Sciences and AFOSR, enabled Dine College to take a giant leap forward technologically - in a way that could never had been possible had these projects been managed separately. The combination of these and other efforts created a network of over 500 computers located at ten sites across the Navajo reservation. Additionally, the college was able to install a modern telephone system which shares network data, and purchase a new higher education management system. The NASA Life Sciences funds further allowed the college library system to go online and become available to the entire campus community. NSF, NASA and AFOSR are committed to improving minority access to higher education opportunities and promoting faculty development and undergraduate research through infrastructure support and development. This project has begun to address critical inequalities in access to science, mathematics, engineering and technology for Navajo students and educators. As a result, Navajo K-12 education has been bolstered and Dine College will therefore better prepare students to transfer successfully to four-year institutions. Due to the integration of the NSF and NASA/AFOSR components of the project, a unified project report is appropriate.

  20. The ATLAS Computing Agora: a resource web site for citizen science projects

    CERN Document Server

    Bourdarios, Claire; The ATLAS collaboration

    2016-01-01

    The ATLAS collaboration has recently setup a number of citizen science projects which have a strong IT component and could not have been envisaged without the growth of general public computing resources and network connectivity: event simulation through volunteer computing, algorithms improvement via Machine Learning challenges, event display analysis on citizen science platforms, use of open data, etc. Most of the interactions with volunteers are handled through message boards, but specific outreach material was also developed, giving an enhanced visibility to the ATLAS software and computing techniques, challenges and community. In this talk the Atlas Computing Agora (ACA) web platform will be presented as well as some of the specific material developed for some of the projects.

  1. Science Literacy Project, August 2006 - August 2008

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nasseh, Bizhan [Ball State Univ., Muncie, IN (United States)

    2008-08-01

    Ball State University (BSU) was the recipient of a U.S. Department of Energy award to develop educational games teaching science and math. The Science Media Program will merge Ball State University’s nationally recognized capabilities in education, technology, and communication to develop new, interactive, game-based media for the teaching and learning of science and scientific principles for K-12 students. BSU established a team of educators, researchers, scientists, animators, designers, technology specialists, and hired a professional media developer company (Outside Source Design) from Indianapolis. After six months discussions and assessments the project team selected the following 8 games in Math, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology, 2 from each discipline. The assembled teams were innovative and unique. This new model of development and production included a process that integrated all needed knowledge and expertise for the development of high quality science and math games for K-12 students. This new model has potential to be used by others for the development of the educational games. The uniqueness of the model is to integrate domain experts’ knowledge with researchers/quality control group, and combine a professional development team from the game development company with the academic game development team from Computer Science and Art departments at Ball State University. The developed games went through feasibility tests with selected students for improvement before use in the research activities.

  2. The Environmental and Molecular Sciences Laboratory project -- Continuous evolution in leadership

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Knutson, D.E.; McClusky, J.K.

    1994-10-01

    The Environmental and Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) construction project at Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) in Richland, Washington, is a $230M Major Systems Acquisition for the US Department of Energy (DOE). The completed laboratory will be a national user facility that provides unparalleled capabilities for scientists involved in environmental molecular science research. This project, approved for construction by the Secretary of Energy in October 1993, is underway. The United States is embarking on an environmental cleanup effort that dwarfs previous scientific enterprise. Using current best available technology, the projected costs of cleaning up the tens of thousands of toxic waste sites, including DOE sites, is estimated to exceed one trillion dollars. The present state of scientific knowledge regarding the effects of exogenous chemicals on human biology is very limited. Long term environmental research at the molecular level is needed to resolve the concerns, and form the building blocks for a structure of cost effective process improvement and regulatory reform

  3. The Environmental and Molecular Sciences Laboratory project -- Continuous evolution in leadership

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Knutson, D.E.; McClusky, J.K.

    1994-10-01

    The Environmental and Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) construction project at Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) in Richland, Washington, is a $230M Major Systems Acquisition for the US Department of Energy (DOE). The completed laboratory will be a national user facility that provides unparalleled capabilities for scientists involved in environmental molecular science research. This project, approved for construction by the Secretary of Energy in October 1993, is underway. The United States is embarking on an environmental cleanup effort that dwarfs previous scientific enterprise. Using current best available technology, the projected costs of cleaning up the tens of thousands of toxic waste sites, including DOE sites, is estimated to exceed one trillion dollars. The present state of scientific knowledge regarding the effects of exogenous chemicals on human biology is very limited. Long term environmental research at the molecular level is needed to resolve the concerns, and form the building blocks for a structure of cost effective process improvement and regulatory reform.

  4. On-going research projects at Ankara Nuclear research center in agriculture and animal science

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tukenmez, I.

    2004-01-01

    Full text:The research and development activities of Ankara Nuclear Research Center in Agriculture and Animal Science(ANRCAA) are concentrated on the contribution of atomic energy to peace by the use of nuclear and related techniques in food, agriculture and animal science. Nuclear techniques are used in the above fields in two ways: in vitro or in vivo radio tracing the substances and processes of biological importance, and irradiation of biological materials for preservation and quality modification. Research projects are carried out by interdisciplinary studies with well equipped laboratories at the Center. The projects in progress conducted by the Center comprises nuclear-aided researches in soil fertility, plant nutrition, plant protection, improvement of field crops, improvement of horticultural plants and forest trees by mutation breeding, in vitro culture technique with mutagen treatments, use of phosphogypsum in soil amelioration, sterilization of medical supplies, wastewater treatment, animal nutrition, animal health and productivity and accreditation. The on-going projects with the above subjects will be summarized for possible collaborations

  5. On-going research projects at Ankara Nuclear Research Center in Agriculture and Animal Science

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tukenmez, I.

    2004-01-01

    Full text: The research and development activities of Ankara Nuclear Research Center in Agriculture and Animal Science(ANRCAA) are concentrated on the contribution of atomic energy to peace by the use of nuclear and related techniques in food, agriculture and animal science. Nuclear techniques are used in the above fields in two ways: in vitro or in vivo radio tracing the substances and processes of biological importance, and irradiation of biological materials for preservation and quality modification. Research projects are carried out by interdisciplinary studies with well equipped laboratories at the Center. The projects in progress conducted by the Center comprises nuclear-aided researches in soil fertility, plant nutrition, plant protection, improvement of field crops, improvement of horticultural plants and forest trees by mutation breeding, in vitro culture technique with mutagen treatments, use of phosphogypsum in soil amelioration, sterilization of medical supplies, wastewater treatment, animal nutrition, animal health and productivity and accreditation. The on-going projects with the above subjects will be summarized for possible collaborations

  6. The LOFAR Magnetism Key Science Project

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Anderson, James; Beck, Rainer; Bell, Michael; de Bruyn, Ger; Chyzy, Krzysztof; Eislöffel, Jochen; Enßlin, Torsten; Fletcher, Andrew; Haverkorn, Marijke; Heald, George; Horneffer, Andreas; Noutsos, Aris; Reich, Wolfgang; Scaife, Anna; the LOFAR collaboration, [No Value

    2012-01-01

    Measuring radio waves at low frequencies offers a new window to study cosmic magnetism, and LOFAR is the ideal radio telescope to open this window widely. The LOFAR Magnetism Key Science Project (MKSP) draws together expertise from multiple fields of magnetism science and intends to use LOFAR to

  7. Improving Science and IT Literacy by Providing Urban-Based Environmental Science Research Opportunities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cuff, K. E.; Corazza, L.; Liang, J.

    2007-12-01

    A U.C. Berkeley-based outreach program known as Environmental Science Information Technology Activities has been in operation over the past four years. The primary aim of the program is to provide opportunities for grades 9 and 10 students in diverse East San Francisco Bay Area communities to develop deeper understandings of the nature and conduct of science, which will increase their capacity to enroll and perform successfully in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses in the future. Design of the program has been informed by recent research that indicates a close relationship between educational activities that promote the perception of STEM as being relevant and the ability to foster development of deeper conceptual understandings among teens. Accordingly, ESITA includes an important student-led environmental science research project component, which provides participants with opportunities to engage in research investigations that are directly linked to relevant, real-world environmental problems and issues facing their communities. Analysis of evidence gleaned from questionnaires, interviews with participants and specific assessment/evaluation instruments indicates that ESITA program activities, including after-school meetings, summer and school year research projects, and conference preparations and presentations has provided students with high-quality inquiry science experiences that increased their knowledge of STEM and IT concepts, as well as their understanding of the nature of the scientific enterprise. In addition, the program has achieved a high degree of success in that it has: enhanced participants' intellectual self-confidence with regard to STEM; developed deeper appreciation of how scientific research can contribute to the maintenance of healthy local environments; developed a greater interest in participating in STEM-related courses of study and after school programs; and improved attitudes toward STEM. Overall

  8. Earth Science Capability Demonstration Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cobleigh, Brent

    2006-01-01

    A viewgraph presentation reviewing the Earth Science Capability Demonstration Project is shown. The contents include: 1) ESCD Project; 2) Available Flight Assets; 3) Ikhana Procurement; 4) GCS Layout; 5) Baseline Predator B Architecture; 6) Ikhana Architecture; 7) UAV Capability Assessment; 8) The Big Picture; 9) NASA/NOAA UAV Demo (5/05 to 9/05); 10) NASA/USFS Western States Fire Mission (8/06); and 11) Suborbital Telepresence.

  9. Special Project Examination in Integrated Science - Ordinary Level.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wimpenny, David

    A science achievement test for the General Certificate of Education (GCE, England) was developed for students enrolled in the curriculum of the Schools Council Integrated Science Project. This document contains discussions of the testing program and a copy of the 1973 test. After an overview of the curriculum project and issues related to…

  10. Water Integration Project Science Strategies White Paper

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alan K. Yonk

    2003-01-01

    This white paper has been prepared to document the approach to develop strategies to address Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) science and technology needs/uncertainties to support completion of INEEL Idaho Completion Project (Environmental Management [EM]) projects against the 2012 plan. Important Idaho Completion Project remediation and clean-up projects include the 2008 OU 10-08 Record of Decision, completion of EM by 2012, Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center Tanks, INEEL CERCLA Disposal Facility, and the Radioactive Waste Management Complex. The objective of this effort was to develop prioritized operational needs and uncertainties that would assist Operations in remediation and clean-up efforts at the INEEL and develop a proposed path forward for the development of science strategies to address these prioritized needs. Fifteen needs/uncertainties were selected to develop an initial approach to science strategies. For each of the 15 needs/uncertainties, a detailed definition was developed. This included extracting information from the past interviews with Operations personnel to provide a detailed description of the need/uncertainty. For each of the 15 prioritized research and development needs, a search was performed to identify the state of the associated knowledge. The knowledge search was performed primarily evaluating ongoing research. The ongoing research reviewed included Environmental Systems Research Analysis, Environmental Management Science Program, Laboratory Directed Research and Development, Inland Northwest Research Alliance, United States Geological Survey, and ongoing Operations supported projects. Results of the knowledge search are documented as part of this document

  11. Water Integration Project Science Strategies White Paper

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Alan K. Yonk

    2003-09-01

    This white paper has been prepared to document the approach to develop strategies to address Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) science and technology needs/uncertainties to support completion of INEEL Idaho Completion Project (Environmental Management [EM]) projects against the 2012 plan. Important Idaho Completion Project remediation and clean-up projects include the 2008 OU 10-08 Record of Decision, completion of EM by 2012, Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center Tanks, INEEL CERCLA Disposal Facility, and the Radioactive Waste Management Complex. The objective of this effort was to develop prioritized operational needs and uncertainties that would assist Operations in remediation and clean-up efforts at the INEEL and develop a proposed path forward for the development of science strategies to address these prioritized needs. Fifteen needs/uncertainties were selected to develop an initial approach to science strategies. For each of the 15 needs/uncertainties, a detailed definition was developed. This included extracting information from the past interviews with Operations personnel to provide a detailed description of the need/uncertainty. For each of the 15 prioritized research and development needs, a search was performed to identify the state of the associated knowledge. The knowledge search was performed primarily evaluating ongoing research. The ongoing research reviewed included Environmental Systems Research Analysis, Environmental Management Science Program, Laboratory Directed Research and Development, Inland Northwest Research Alliance, United States Geological Survey, and ongoing Operations supported projects. Results of the knowledge search are documented as part of this document.

  12. Spiral and Project-Based Learning with Peer Assessment in a Computer Science Project Management Course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaime, Arturo; Blanco, José Miguel; Domínguez, César; Sánchez, Ana; Heras, Jónathan; Usandizaga, Imanol

    2016-01-01

    Different learning methods such as project-based learning, spiral learning and peer assessment have been implemented in science disciplines with different outcomes. This paper presents a proposal for a project management course in the context of a computer science degree. Our proposal combines three well-known methods: project-based learning,…

  13. The Aeolus project: Science outreach through art.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drumm, Ian A; Belantara, Amanda; Dorney, Steve; Waters, Timothy P; Peris, Eulalia

    2015-04-01

    With a general decline in people's choosing to pursue science and engineering degrees there has never been a greater need to raise the awareness of lesser known fields such as acoustics. Given this context, a large-scale public engagement project, the 'Aeolus project', was created to raise awareness of acoustics science through a major collaboration between an acclaimed artist and acoustics researchers. It centred on touring the large singing sculpture Aeolus during 2011/12, though the project also included an extensive outreach programme of talks, exhibitions, community workshops and resources for schools. Described here are the motivations behind the project and the artwork itself, the ways in which scientists and an artist collaborated, and the public engagement activities designed as part of the project. Evaluation results suggest that the project achieved its goal of inspiring interest in the discipline of acoustics through the exploration of an other-worldly work of art. © The Author(s) 2013.

  14. Progress of JAERI neutron science project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oyama, Yukio

    1999-01-01

    Neutron Science Project was started at Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute since 1996 for promoting futuristic basic science and nuclear technology utilizing neutrons. For this purpose, research and developments of intense proton accelerator and spallation neutron target were initiated. The present paper describes the current status of such research and developments. (author)

  15. Project management of life-science research projects: project characteristics, challenges and training needs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beukers, Margot W

    2011-02-01

    Thirty-four project managers of life-science research projects were interviewed to investigate the characteristics of their projects, the challenges they faced and their training requirements. A set of ten discriminating parameters were identified based on four project categories: contract research, development, discovery and call-based projects--projects set up to address research questions defined in a call for proposals. The major challenges these project managers are faced with relate to project members, leadership without authority and a lack of commitment from the respective organization. Two-thirds of the project managers indicated that they would be interested in receiving additional training, mostly on people-oriented, soft skills. The training programs that are currently on offer, however, do not meet their needs. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Science in Hawaii/Haawina Hoopapau: A Culturally Responsive Curriculum Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galloway, L. M.; Roberts, K.; Leake, D. W.; Stodden, R. S.; Crabbe, V.

    2005-12-01

    The marvels of modern science often fail to engage indigenous students, as the content and instructional style are usually rooted in the Western experience. This 3 year project, funded by the US Dept. of Education for the Education of Native Hawaiians, offers a curriculum that teaches science through (rather than just about) Native Hawaiian culture. The curriculum focuses on the interdependence of natural resources in our ahupuaa, or watersheds, and helps students strengthen their sense of place and self to malama i ka aina, to care for the land. Further, the curriculum is designed to: engage students in scientific study with relevant, interesting content and activities; improve student achievement of state department of education standards; increase student knowledge and skills in science, math and language arts; respond to the learning needs of Native Hawaiian and/or at-risk students. The project will be presented by a curriculum writer who created and adapted more than a year's worth of materials by teaming with kupuna (respected elders), local cultural experts and role models, educators (new, veteran, Hawaiian, non-Hawaiian, mainland, general and special education teachers), and professionals at the Center on Disability Studies at the University of Hawaii and ALU LIKE, Inc, a non-profit organization to assist Native Hawaiians. The materials created thus far are available for viewing at: www.scihi.hawaii.edu The curriculum, designed for grades 8-11 science classes, can be used to teach a year-long course, a unit, or single lesson related to astronomy, biology, botany, chemistry, geology, oceanography, physical and environmental sciences. This project is in its final year of field testing, polishing and dissemination, and therefore this session will encourage idea sharing, as does our copyright free Web site.

  17. The Elwha Science Education Project (ESEP): Engaging an Entire Community in Geoscience Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Young, R. S.; Kinner, F.

    2008-12-01

    Native Americans are poorly represented in all science, technology and engineering fields. This under- representation results from numerous cultural, economic, and historical factors. The Elwha Science Education Project (ESEP), initiated in 2007, strives to construct a culturally-integrated, geoscience education program for Native American young people through engagement of the entire tribal community. The ESEP has developed a unique approach to informal geoscience education, using environmental restoration as a centerpiece. Environmental restoration is an increasingly important goal for tribes. By integrating geoscience activities with community tradition and history, project stakeholders hope to show students the relevance of science to their day-to-day lives. The ESEP's strength lies in its participatory structure and unique network of partners, which include Olympic National Park; the non-profit, educational center Olympic Park Institute (OPI); a geologist providing oversight and technical expertise; and the Lower Elwha Tribe. Lower Elwha tribal elders and educators share in all phases of the project, from planning and implementation to recruitment of students and discipline. The project works collaboratively with tribal scientists and cultural educators, along with science educators to develop curriculum and best practices for this group of students. Use of hands-on, place-based outdoor activities engage students and connect them with the science outside their back doors. Preliminary results from this summer's middle school program indicate that most (75% or more) students were highly engaged approximately 90% of the time during science instruction. Recruitment of students has been particularly successful, due to a high degree of community involvement. Preliminary evaluations of the ESEP's outcomes indicate success in improving the outlook of the tribe's youth towards the geosciences and science, in general. Future evaluation will be likewise participatory

  18. Balancing the Equation. A Study of Women and Science and Technology within Further Education. Project Report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoney, Sheila M.; Reid, Margaret I.

    A 1-year project was conducted to explore ways and suggest possible strategies by which Further Education staff in Great Britain can help improve women's participation, progress, and attainment in physical science and technology, particularly at technician and craft levels. Data were collected by a questionnaire survey of heads of science and…

  19. Overview of progress on the improvement projects for the LANSCE accelerator and target facilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Macek, R.J.; Browne, J.; Brun, T.; Donahue, J.B.; Fitzgerald, D.H.; Hoffman, E.; Pynn, R.; Schriber, S.; Weinacht, D.

    1997-01-01

    Three projects have been initiated since 1994 to improve the performance of the accelerator and target facilities for the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE). The LANSCE Reliability Improvement Project (LRIP) was separated into two phases. Phase 1, completed in 1995, targeted near-term improvements to beam reliability and availability that could be completed in one-year's time. Phase 2, now underway and scheduled for completion in May 1998, consists of two projects: (a) implementation of direct H-injection for the Proton Storage Ring (PSR) and (b) an upgrade of the target/moderator system for the short pulse spallation neutron (SPSS) source. The latter will reduce the target change-out time from about 10 months to about three weeks. The third project, the SPSS Enhancement Project, is aimed at increasing the PSR output beam current to 200 microA at 30 Hz and providing up to seven new neutron scattering instruments

  20. Project Lifescape | Initiatives | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    This project is part of the Academy initiative to enhance the quality of science education. It is pursued in ... database through a website. Project Lifescape has also initiated work using some Indian languages. ... and Outreach. Math and Finance ...

  1. The Role of Project Science in the Chandra X-Ray Observatory

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Dell, Stephen L.; Weisskopf, Martin C.

    2006-01-01

    The Chandra X-Ray Observatory, one of NASA's Great Observatories, has an outstanding record of scientific and technical success. This success results from the efforts of a team comprising NASA, its contractors, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, the instrument groups, and other elements of the scientific community, including thousands of scientists who utilize this powerful facility for astrophysical research. We discuss the role of NASA Project Science in the formulation, development, calibration, and operation of the Chandra X-ray Observatory. In addition to representing the scientific community within the Project, Project Science performed what we term "science systems engineering". This activity encompasses translation of science requirements into technical requirements and assessment of the scientific impact of programmatic and technical trades. We briefly describe several examples of science systems engineering conducted by Chandra Project Science.

  2. Innovative Project Activities in Science [From the NSTA Study of Innovative Project Activities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Science Teacher, 1975

    1975-01-01

    Describes four projects chosen as innovative project activities in science which exhibited identification of unique or novel problems and creative approaches to their solutions. Projects included a study of fish in Lake Erie, a goat raising project, an analysis of terrestrial plant ecology and soil composition, and a study of marine and wetlands…

  3. Projective methodical system of students training to the course «History of computer science»

    OpenAIRE

    С А Виденин

    2008-01-01

    Components of teachers readiness to professional activity are described in the item. The projective methods of training to a course « History of computer science « in favour to improve professional grounding of students' are considered.

  4. The impact of natural science contextual teaching through project method to students’ achievement in MTsN Miri Sragen

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anik Sunarsih

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to describe the science learning skills among students’ who follow contextual learning through project method with experiment method. The population of this research is the students’ of class VII MTS Negeri Miri Kab. Sragen on the teaching period of 2016/2017. Cluster random sampling technique is used as sample. This research was designed using contextual teaching through project method as an independent variable. The results of this Improvement show that there is a difference in the achievement of students' learning skill that follows contextual learning through the project method with the experimental method with Fobs = 8,83 and significant number 4,04 (p <0,05. Based on these findings contextual learning through the project is one of the learning methods that provide a positive influence on improving the achievement of science learning skills. This ain increase, because CTL is can help students’ understand the material by relating the problems that exist. Project methods are used by students’ in solving problems.

  5. Project Earth Science

    CERN Document Server

    Holt, Geoff

    2011-01-01

    Project Earth Science: Astronomy, Revised 2nd Edition, involves students in activities that focus on Earth's position in our solar system. How do we measure astronomical distances? How can we look back in time as we gaze across vast distances in space? How would our planet be different without its particular atmosphere and distance to our star? What are the geometries among Earth, the Moon, and the Sun that yield lunar phases and seasons? Students explore these concepts and others in 11 teacher-tested activities.

  6. Advertising Citizen Science: A Trailer for the Citizen Sky Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wyatt, Ryan; Price, A.

    2012-01-01

    Citizen Sky is a multi-year, NSF funded citizen science project involving the bright and mysterious variable star epsilon Aurigae. The project was conceived by the IYA 2009 working group on Research Experiences for Students, Teachers, and Citizen-Scientists. Citizen Sky goes beyond simple observing to include a major data analysis component, introducing participants to the full scientific process from background research to paper writing for a peer-reviewed journal. As a means of generating interest in the project, the California Academy of Sciences produced a six-minute "trailer” formatted for both traditional and fulldome planetariums as well as HD and web applications. This talk will review the production process for the trailer as well as the methods of distribution via planetariums, social media, and other venues_along with an update on the Citizen Sky Project as a whole. We will show how to use a small, professionally-produced planetarium trailer to help spread word on a citizen science project. We will also show preliminary results on a study about how participation level/type in the project affects science learning.

  7. Investigating Changes in Student Attitudes and Understanding of Science through Participation in Citizen Science Projects in College Coursework

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cardamone, Carolin; Cobb, Bethany E.

    2018-01-01

    Over the last decade, web-based “citizen science” projects such as the Zooniverse have allowed volunteers and professional scientists to work together for the advancement of science. While much attention has been paid to the benefits to science from these new projects, less attention has been paid to their impact on the participants and, in particular, to the projects’ potential to impact students who might engage in these projects through coursework. We report on a study engaging students in introductory astronomy classes at the George Washington University and Wheelock College in an assignment in which each student individually contributed to a “physics” or “space” citizen science project of their choice, and groups of students worked together to understand and articulate the scientific purpose of a citizen science project to which they all contributed. Over the course of approximately four weeks, the students kept logs of their individual contributions to the project, and recorded a brief reflection on each of their visits (noting, for example, interesting or confusing things they might encounter along the way). The project culminated with each group delivering a creative presentation that demonstrated their understanding of both the science goals of the project and the value of their own contributions to the project. In this talk, we report on the experience of the students with the project and on an assessment of the students’ attitudes toward science and knowledge of the process of science completed before the introduction of the assignment and again at its conclusion.

  8. Making the Invisible Visible: The Oklahoma Science Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCarty, Robbie; Pedersen, Jon E.

    2002-01-01

    Reports that teachers in preservice education programs still view the teaching of science much in the same traditional ways as our predecessors. "The Oklahoma Science Project (OSP) Model for Professional Development: Practicing Science Across Contexts" will build discourses and relationships that can be extended across contexts to establish…

  9. Scientific literacy of adult participants in an online citizen science project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Price, Charles Aaron

    Citizen Science projects offer opportunities for non-scientists to take part in scientific research. Scientific results from these projects have been well documented. However, there is limited research about how these projects affect their volunteer participants. In this study, I investigate how participation in an online, collaborative astronomical citizen science project can be associated with the scientific literacy of its participants. Scientific literacy is measured through three elements: attitude towards science, belief in the nature of science and competencies associated with learning science. The first two elements are measured through a pre-test given to 1,385 participants when they join the project and a post-test given six months later to 125 participants. Attitude towards science was measured using nine Likert-items custom designed for this project and beliefs in the nature of science were measured using a modified version of the Nature of Science Knowledge scale. Responses were analyzed using the Rasch Rating Scale Model. Competencies are measured through analysis of discourse occurring in online asynchronous discussion forums using the Community of Inquiry framework, which describes three types of presence in the online forums: cognitive, social and teaching. Results show that overall attitudes did not change, p = .225. However, there was significant change towards attitudes about science in the news (positive) and scientific self efficacy (negative), p impact on some aspects of scientific literacy. Using the Rasch Model allowed us to uncover effects that may have otherwise been hidden. Future projects may want to include social interactivity between participants and also make participants specifically aware of how they are contributing to the entire scientific process.

  10. Setting up crowd science projects

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Scheliga, Kaja; Friesike, Sascha; Puschmann, Cornelius; Fecher, Benedikt

    2016-01-01

    Crowd science is scientific research that is conducted with the participation of volunteers who are not professional scientists. Thanks to the Internet and online platforms, project initiators can draw on a potentially large number of volunteers. This crowd can be involved to support data-rich or

  11. Holistic Approach to Secondary Earth Science Teacher Professional Development: the Triad of Project-based Instruction, Earth Science Content, and GIS Technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rubino-Hare, L.; Sample, J. C.; Fredrickson, K.; Claesgens, J.; Bloom, N.; Henderson-Dahms, C.; Manone, M.

    2011-12-01

    We have provided two years of professional development for secondary and middle school teachers with a focus on project-based instruction (PBI) using GIS. The EYE-POD project (funded by NSF-ITEST) involved pairs of teachers from Arizona and the surrounding region in two-week institutes during Summer, 2010, and an advanced institute in Summer, 2011. The NAz-POD project (funded by Arizona Department of Education and administered by Science Foundation Arizona) provided similar PD experiences, but the institutes occurred during weekends in the academic year. The institutes were led by a team with expertise in Earth science content, professional development and pedagogy, and GIS. The teachers developed learning modules using the project based learning instructional model. Pedagogy, content, and GIS skills were combined throughout the professional development activities. Academic year follow up by NAU personnel included classroom observations and technical support. For assessing student work we provided a rubric, but learned that teachers were not prepared to assess GIS products in order to determine the level of student understanding. In year two of the project we incorporated strategies for assessment of student products into the professional development. Teacher-participants and their students completed several pre- and post- assessments. Teacher assessments included a geospatial performance assessment, classroom observations, and content tests. Student data collection included attitude and efficacy questionnaires, content tests, and authentic assessments including products using GIS. Content tests were the same for teachers and students and included spatial reasoning, data analysis, and Earth science content. Data was also collected on teacher perception of professional development delivery and self-reported confidence in teaching with PBI and geospatial technology. Student assessments show that improvement occurred in all areas on the content test. Possible factors

  12. Proposed IMS infrastructure improvement project, Seward, Alaska. Final environmental impact statement

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1994-09-01

    This Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) examines a proposal for improvements at the existing University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Institute of Marine Science (IMS), Seward Marine Center. The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill (EVOS) Trustee Council is proposing to improve the existing research infrastructure to enhance the EVOS Trustee Council`s capabilities to study and rehabilitate marine mammals, marine birds, and the ecosystem injured by the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The analysis in this document focuses on the effects associated with construction and operation of the proposed project and its proposed alternatives. The EIS gives a detailed description of all major elements of the proposed project and its alternatives; identifies resources of major concern that were raised during the scoping process; describes the environmental background conditions of those resources; defines and analyzes the potential effects of the proposed project and its alternatives on these conditions; and identifies mitigating measures that are part of the project design as well as those proposed to minimize or reduce the adverse effects. Included in the EIS are written and oral comments received during the public comment period.

  13. Proposed IMS infrastructure improvement project, Seward, Alaska. Final environmental impact statement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1994-09-01

    This Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) examines a proposal for improvements at the existing University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Institute of Marine Science (IMS), Seward Marine Center. The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill (EVOS) Trustee Council is proposing to improve the existing research infrastructure to enhance the EVOS Trustee Council's capabilities to study and rehabilitate marine mammals, marine birds, and the ecosystem injured by the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The analysis in this document focuses on the effects associated with construction and operation of the proposed project and its proposed alternatives. The EIS gives a detailed description of all major elements of the proposed project and its alternatives; identifies resources of major concern that were raised during the scoping process; describes the environmental background conditions of those resources; defines and analyzes the potential effects of the proposed project and its alternatives on these conditions; and identifies mitigating measures that are part of the project design as well as those proposed to minimize or reduce the adverse effects. Included in the EIS are written and oral comments received during the public comment period

  14. Improvements to science operations at Kitt Peak National Observatory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bohannan, Bruce

    1998-07-01

    In recent years Kitt Peak National Observatory has undertaken a number of innovative projects to optimize science operations with the suite of telescopes we operate on Kitt Peak, Arizona. Changing scientific requirements and expectations of our users, evolving technology and declining budgets have motivated the changes. The operations improvements have included telescope performance enhancements--with the focus on the Mayall 4-m--modes of observing and scheduling, telescope control and observing systems, planning and communication, and data archiving.

  15. Group Projects and the Computer Science Curriculum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joy, Mike

    2005-01-01

    Group projects in computer science are normally delivered with reference to good software engineering practice. The discipline of software engineering is rapidly evolving, and the application of the latest 'agile techniques' to group projects causes a potential conflict with constraints imposed by regulating bodies on the computer science…

  16. Improving Science and Literacy Learning for English Language Learners: Evidence from a Pre-service Teacher Preparation Intervention

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaw, Jerome M.; Lyon, Edward G.; Stoddart, Trish; Mosqueda, Eduardo; Menon, Preetha

    2014-08-01

    This paper present findings from a pre-service teacher development project that prepared novice teachers to promote English language and literacy development with inquiry-based science through a modified elementary science methods course and professional development for cooperating teachers. To study the project's impact on student learning, we administered a pre and post assessment to students (N = 191) of nine first year elementary teachers (grades 3 through 6) who experienced the intervention and who taught a common science unit. Preliminary results indicate that (1) student learning improved across all categories (science concepts, writing, and vocabulary)—although the effect varied by category, and (2) English Language Learner (ELL) learning gains were on par with non-ELLs, with differences across proficiency levels for vocabulary gain scores. These results warrant further analyses to understand the extent to which the intervention improved teacher practice and student learning. This study confirms the findings of previous research that the integration of science language and literacy practices can improve ELL achievement in science concepts, writing and vocabulary. In addition, the study indicates that it is possible to begin to link the practices taught in pre-service teacher preparation to novice teacher practice and student learning outcomes.

  17. Teachers' tendencies to promote student-led science projects: Associations with their views about science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bencze, J. Lawrence; Bowen, G. Michael; Alsop, Steve

    2006-05-01

    School science students can benefit greatly from participation in student-directed, open-ended scientific inquiry projects. For various possible reasons, however, students tend not to be engaged in such inquiries. Among factors that may limit their opportunities to engage in open-ended inquiries of their design are teachers' conceptions about science. To explore possible relationships between teachers' conceptions about science and the types of inquiry activities in which they engage students, instrumental case studies of five secondary science teachers were developed, using field notes, repertory grids, samples of lesson plans and student activities, and semistructured interviews. Based on constructivist grounded theory analysis, participating teachers' tendencies to promote student-directed, open-ended scientific inquiry projects seemed to correspond with positions about the nature of science to which they indicated adherence. A tendency to encourage and enable students to carry out student-directed, open-ended scientific inquiry projects appeared to be associated with adherence to social constructivist views about science. Teachers who opposed social constructivist views tended to prefer tight control of student knowledge building procedures and conclusions. We suggest that these results can be explained with reference to human psychological factors, including those associated with teachers' self-esteem and their relationships with knowledge-building processes in the discipline of their teaching.

  18. The NPOESS Preparatory Project Science Data Segment: Brief Overview

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schweiss, Robert J.; Ho, Evelyn; Ullman, Richard; Samadi, Shahin

    2006-01-01

    The NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) provides remotely-sensed land, ocean, atmospheric, ozone, and sounder data that will serve the meteorological and global climate change scientific communities while also providing risk reduction for the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS), the U.S. Government s future low-Earth orbiting satellite system monitoring global weather and environmental conditions. NPOESS and NPP are a new era, not only because the sensors will provide unprecedented quality and volume of data but also because it is a joint mission of three federal agencies, NASA, NOAA, and DoD. NASA's primary science role in NPP is to independently assess the quality of the NPP science and environmental data records. Such assessment is critical for making NPOESS products the best that they can be for operational use and ultimately for climate studies. The Science Data Segment (SDS) supports science assessment by assuring the timely provision of NPP data to NASA s science teams organized by climate measurement themes. The SDS breaks down into nine major elements, an input element that receives data from the operational agencies and acts as a buffer, a calibration analysis element, five elements devoted to measurement based quality assessment, an element used to test algorithmic improvements, and an element that provides overall science direction. This paper will describe how the NPP SDS will leverage on NASA experience to provide a mission-reliable research capability for science assessment of NPP derived measurements.

  19. The muon science facility at the JAERI/KEK joint project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miyake, Y.; Nishiyama, K.; Makimura, S.; Kawamura, N.; Shimomura, K.; Kadono, R.; Higemoto, W.; Fukuchi, K.; Beveridge, J.L.; Ishida, K.; Matsuzaki, T.; Watanabe, I.; Matsuda, Y.; Sakamoto, S.; Nakamura, S.N.; Nagamine, K.

    2003-01-01

    The Muon Science Facility is one of the experimental arenas of the JAERI/KEK Joint Project, which also includes neutron science, particle and nuclear physics, neutrino physics and nuclear transmutation science. Following the recommendations by the review committees, the Joint Project was finally approved for construction at the end of December, 2000. The approval is for Phase 1 of 1335 Oku Yen out of the total project cost of 1890 Oku Yen. It is planned to locate the muon science experimental area together with the neutron facility in an integrated building, as a facility for materials and life science studies. Because its construction will be started in April 2003, we are now working to complete the detailed design of the building structure, shielding, electrical services, cooling water, primary proton beam line, one muon target and secondary beam lines

  20. Theme-Based Project Learning: Design and Application of Convergent Science Experiments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chun, Man-Seog; Kang, Kwang Il; Kim, Young H.; Kim, Young Mee

    2015-01-01

    This case study aims to verify the benefits of theme-based project learning for convergent science experiments. The study explores the possibilities of enhancing creative, integrated and collaborative teaching and learning abilities in science-gifted education. A convergent project-based science experiment program of physics, chemistry and biology…

  1. 2011 Joint Science Education Project: Research Experience in Polar Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilkening, J.; Ader, V.

    2011-12-01

    The Joint Science Education Project (JSEP), sponsored by the National Science Foundation, is a two-part program that brings together students and teachers from the United States, Greenland, and Denmark, for a unique cross-cultural, first-hand experience of the realities of polar science field research in Greenland. During JSEP, students experienced research being conducted on and near the Greenland ice sheet by attending researcher presentations, visiting NSF-funded field sites (including Summit and NEEM field stations, both located on the Greenland ice sheet), and designing and conducting research projects in international teams. The results of two of these projects will be highlighted. The atmospheric project investigated the differences in CO2, UVA, UVB, temperature, and albedo in different Arctic microenvironments, while also examining the interaction between the atmosphere and water present in the given environments. It was found that the carbon dioxide levels varied: glacial environments having the lowest levels, with an average concentration of 272.500 ppm, and non-vegetated, terrestrial environments having the highest, with an average concentration of 395.143 ppm. Following up on these results, it is planned to further investigate the interaction of the water and atmosphere, including water's role in the uptake of carbon dioxide. The ecology project investigated the occurrence of unusual large blooms of Nostoc cyanobacteria in Kangerlussuaq area lakes. The water chemistry of the lakes which contained the cyanobacteria and the lakes that did not were compared. The only noticeable difference was of the lakes' acidity, lakes containing the blooms had an average pH value of 8.58, whereas lakes without the blooms had an average pH value of 6.60. Further investigation of these results is needed to determine whether or not this was a cause or effect of the cyanobacteria blooms. As a next step, it is planned to attempt to grow the blooms to monitor their effects on

  2. Collaborative online projects for English language learners in science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terrazas-Arellanes, Fatima E.; Knox, Carolyn; Rivas, Carmen

    2013-12-01

    This paper summarizes how collaborative online projects (COPs) are used to facilitate science content-area learning for English Learners of Hispanic origin. This is a Mexico-USA partnership project funded by the National Science Foundation. A COP is a 10-week thematic science unit, completely online, and bilingual (Spanish and English) designed to provide collaborative learning experiences with culturally and linguistically relevant science instruction in an interactive and multimodal learning environment. Units are integrated with explicit instructional lessons that include: (a) hands-on and laboratory activities, (b) interactive materials and interactive games with immediate feedback, (c) animated video tutorials, (d) discussion forums where students exchange scientific learning across classrooms in the USA and in Mexico, and (e) summative and formative assessments. Thematic units have been aligned to U.S. National Science Education Standards and are under current revisions for alignment to the Common Core State Standards. Training materials for the teachers have been integrated into the project website to facilitate self-paced and independent learning. Preliminary findings of our pre-experimental study with a sample of 53 students (81 % ELs), distributed across three different groups, resulted in a 21 % statistically significant points increase from pretest to posttest assessments of science content learning, t( 52) = 11.07, p = .000.

  3. High School Students' Reasons for Their Science Dispositions: Community-Based Innovative Technology-Embedded Environmental Research Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ebenezer, Jazlin; Kaya, Osman Nafiz; Kasab, Dimma

    2018-05-01

    The purpose of this investigation was to qualitatively describe high school students' reasons for their science dispositions (attitude, perception, and self-confidence) based on their long-term experience with innovative technology-embedded environmental research projects. Students in small groups conducted research projects in and out of school with the help of their teachers and community experts (scientists and engineers). During the 3-year period of this nationally funded project, a total of 135 students from five schools in a mid-west State participated in research activities. Of the 135 students, 53 students were individually interviewed to explore reasons for their science dispositions. Students' reasons for each disposition were grouped into categories, and corresponding frequency was converted to a percentage. The categories of reasons were not only attributed to the use of innovative technologies in environmental research but also the contexts and events that surrounded it. The reasons that influenced students' science dispositions positively were because engaging in environmental research projects with technology contributed to easing fear and difficulty, building a research team, disseminating findings, communicating with the community, researching with scientists, training by teachers, and acknowledging teachers' knowledge. These results advanced how and why students develop science dispositions in the positive direction, which are as follows: building science teacher capacity, developing a community of inquirers, and committing to improve pedagogical practices.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moss, David M.

    -based instruction was sometimes a factor. Conceptual change theory provides a framework by which these changes can be understood. These findings demonstrate that merely involving students in science-related projects will not always foster an improved understanding of the nature of science. Implications for science teaching include making the nature of science explicit throughout instruction.

  5. Citizen science participation in research in the environmental sciences: key factors related to projects' success and longevity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cunha, Davi G F; Marques, Jonatas F; Resende, Juliana C DE; Falco, Patrícia B DE; Souza, Chrislaine M DE; Loiselle, Steven A

    2017-01-01

    The potential impacts of citizen science initiatives are increasing across the globe, albeit in an imbalanced manner. In general, there is a strong element of trial and error in most projects, and the comparison of best practices and project structure between different initiatives remains difficult. In Brazil, the participation of volunteers in environmental research is limited. Identifying the factors related to citizen science projects' success and longevity within a global perspective can contribute for consolidating such practices in the country. In this study, we explore past and present projects, including a case study in Brazil, to identify the spatial and temporal trends of citizen science programs as well as their best practices and challenges. We performed a bibliographic search using Google Scholar and considered results from 2005-2014. Although these results are subjective due to the Google Scholar's algorithm and ranking criteria, we highlighted factors to compare projects across geographical and disciplinary areas and identified key matches between project proponents and participants, project goals and local priorities, participant profiles and engagement, scientific methods and funding. This approach is a useful starting point for future citizen science projects, allowing for a systematic analysis of potential inconsistencies and shortcomings in this emerging field.

  6. Aeronautics and Aviation Science: Careers and Opportunities Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Texter, P. Cardie

    1998-01-01

    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration funded project, Aeronautics and Aviation Science: Careers and Opportunities has been in operation since July, 1995. This project operated as a collaboration with Massachusetts Corporation for Educational Telecommunications, the Federal Aviation Administration, Bridgewater State College and four targeted "core sites" in the greater Boston area. In its first and second years, a video series on aeronautics and aviation science was developed and broadcast via "live, interactive" satellite feed. Accompanying teacher and student supplementary instructional materials for grades 6-9 were produced and disseminated by the Massachusetts Corporation for Educational Telecommunications (MCET). In the MCET grant application it states that project Take Off! in its initial phase would recruit and train teachers at "core" sites in the greater Boston area, as well as opening participation to other on-line users of MCET's satellite feeds. "Core site" classrooms would become equipped so that teachers and students might become engaged in an interactive format which aimed at not only involving the students during the "live" broadcast of the instructional video series, but which would encourage participation in electronic information gathering and sharing among participants. As a Take Off! project goal, four schools with a higher than average proportion of minority and underrepresented youth were invited to become involved with the project to give these students the opportunity to consider career exploration and development in the field of science aviation and aeronautics. The four sites chosen to participate in this project were: East Boston High School, Dorchester High School, Randolph Junior-Senior High School and Malden High School. In year 3 Dorchester was unable to continue to fully participate and exited out. Danvers was added to the "core site" list in year 3. In consideration of Goals 2000, the National Science Foundation

  7. 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.

  8. Cartographic science: a compendium of map projections, with derivations

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Fenna, Donald

    2007-01-01

    "From basic projecting to advanced transformations, Cartographic Science: A Compendium of Map Projections, with Derivations comprehensively explores the depiction of a curved world on a flat surface...

  9. Testing the robustness of Citizen Science projects: Evaluating the results of pilot project COMBER.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chatzigeorgiou, Giorgos; Faulwetter, Sarah; Dailianis, Thanos; Smith, Vincent Stuart; Koulouri, Panagiota; Dounas, Costas; Arvanitidis, Christos

    2016-01-01

    Citizen Science (CS) as a term implies a great deal of approaches and scopes involving many different fields of science. The number of the relevant projects globally has been increased significantly in the recent years. Large scale ecological questions can be answered only through extended observation networks and CS projects can support this effort. Although the need of such projects is apparent, an important part of scientific community cast doubt on the reliability of CS data sets. The pilot CS project COMBER has been created in order to provide evidence to answer the aforementioned question in the coastal marine biodiversity monitoring. The results of the current analysis show that a carefully designed CS project with clear hypotheses, wide participation and data sets validation, can be a valuable tool for the large scale and long term changes in marine biodiversity pattern change and therefore for relevant management and conservation issues.

  10. Delivery improvements for CANDU projects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stephen Yu; Ken Hedges

    1998-01-01

    Future CANDU design will continue to meet emerging design and performance requirements as expected by the operating utilities, and will integrate new technologies into both the product features and work processes. Elements of this risk reduction strategy include feedback of lessons learned from operating plants, project experiences from previous projects, and replication of successful systems and equipment. Project implementation risk is minimized by up-front engineering and licensing prior to contract start. Enhanced competitiveness of the CANDU products is ensured by incorporating improvements based on updated technology. This paper summarizes the strategy used to enhance competitiveness of the CANDU products and the measures introduced to minimize risk during project implementation. This strategy provides a balance between innovation and proven designs; and between the desire for safety and operational improvements and the cost to achieve the improvements

  11. Engaging Clinical Nurses in Quality Improvement Projects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Susan; Stichler, Jaynelle F

    2015-10-01

    Clinical nurses have the knowledge and expertise required to provide efficient and proficient patient care. Time and knowledge deficits can prevent nurses from developing and implementing quality improvement or evidence-based practice projects. This article reviews a process for professional development of clinical nurses that helped them to define, implement, and analyze quality improvement or evidence-based practice projects. The purpose of this project was to educate advanced clinical nurses to manage a change project from inception to completion, using the Six Sigma DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) Change Acceleration Process as a framework. One-to-one mentoring and didactic in-services advanced the knowledge, appreciation, and practice of advanced practice clinicians who completed multiple change projects. The projects facilitated clinical practice changes, with improved patient outcomes; a unit cultural shift, with appreciation of quality improvement and evidence-based projects; and engagement with colleagues. Project outcomes were displayed in poster presentations at a hospital exposition for knowledge dissemination. Copyright 2015, SLACK Incorporated.

  12. The Human Genome Project: big science transforms biology and medicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hood, Leroy; Rowen, Lee

    2013-01-01

    The Human Genome Project has transformed biology through its integrated big science approach to deciphering a reference human genome sequence along with the complete sequences of key model organisms. The project exemplifies the power, necessity and success of large, integrated, cross-disciplinary efforts - so-called 'big science' - directed towards complex major objectives. In this article, we discuss the ways in which this ambitious endeavor led to the development of novel technologies and analytical tools, and how it brought the expertise of engineers, computer scientists and mathematicians together with biologists. It established an open approach to data sharing and open-source software, thereby making the data resulting from the project accessible to all. The genome sequences of microbes, plants and animals have revolutionized many fields of science, including microbiology, virology, infectious disease and plant biology. Moreover, deeper knowledge of human sequence variation has begun to alter the practice of medicine. The Human Genome Project has inspired subsequent large-scale data acquisition initiatives such as the International HapMap Project, 1000 Genomes, and The Cancer Genome Atlas, as well as the recently announced Human Brain Project and the emerging Human Proteome Project.

  13. Mapping epistemic cultures and learning potential of participants in citizen science projects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vallabh, Priya; Lotz-Sisitka, Heila; O'Donoghue, Rob; Schudel, Ingrid

    2016-06-01

    The ever-widening scope and range of global change and interconnected systemic risks arising from people-environment relationships (social-ecological risks) appears to be increasing concern among, and involvement of, citizens in an increasingly diversified number of citizen science projects responding to these risks. We examined the relationship between epistemic cultures in citizen science projects and learning potential related to matters of concern. We then developed a typology of purposes and a citizen science epistemic-cultures heuristic and mapped 56 projects in southern Africa using this framework. The purpose typology represents the range of knowledge-production purposes, ranging from laboratory science to social learning, whereas the epistemic-cultures typology is a relational representation of scientist and citizen participation and their approach to knowledge production. Results showed an iterative relationship between matters of fact and matters of concern across the projects; the nexus of citizens' engagement in knowledge-production activities varied. The knowledge-production purposes informed and shaped the epistemic cultures of all the sampled citizen science projects, which in turn influenced the potential for learning within each project. Through a historical review of 3 phases in a long-term river health-monitoring project, we found that it is possible to evolve the learning curve of citizen science projects. This evolution involved the development of scientific water monitoring tools, the parallel development of pedagogic practices supporting monitoring activities, and situated engagement around matters of concern within social activism leading to learning-led change. We conclude that such evolutionary processes serve to increase potential for learning and are necessary if citizen science is to contribute to wider restructuring of the epistemic culture of science under conditions of expanding social-ecological risk. © 2016 Society for

  14. Science and students: Yucca Mountain project's education outreach program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gil, A.V.; Larkin, E.L.; Reilly, B.; Austin, P.

    1992-01-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is very concerned about the lack of understanding of basic science. Increasingly, critical decisions regarding the use of energy, technology, and the environment are being made. A well-educated and science-literate public is vital to the success of these decisions. Science education and school instruction are integral parts of the DOE's public outreach program on the Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project (YMP). Project staff and scientists speak to elementary, junior high, high school, and university students, accepting all speaking invitations. The objectives of this outreach program include the following: (1) educating Nevada students about the concept of a high-level nuclear waste repository; (2) increasing awareness of energy and environmental issues; (3) helping students understand basic concepts of earth science and geology in relation to siting a potential repository; and (4) giving students information about careers in science and engineering

  15. The Communication in Science Inquiry Project (CISIP): A Project to Enhance Scientific Literacy through the Creation of Science Classroom Discourse Communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, Dale R.; Lewis, Elizabeth B.; Purzer, Senay; Watts, Nievita Bueno; Perkins, Gita; Uysal, Sibel; Wong, Sissy; Beard, Rachelle; Lang, Michael

    2009-01-01

    This study reports on the context and impact of the Communication in Science Inquiry Project (CISIP) professional development to promote teachers' and students' scientific literacy through the creation of science classroom discourse communities. The theoretical underpinnings of the professional development model are presented and key professional…

  16. Using design science and artificial intelligence to improve health communication: ChronologyMD case example.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neuhauser, Linda; Kreps, Gary L; Morrison, Kathleen; Athanasoulis, Marcos; Kirienko, Nikolai; Van Brunt, Deryk

    2013-08-01

    This paper describes how design science theory and methods and use of artificial intelligence (AI) components can improve the effectiveness of health communication. We identified key weaknesses of traditional health communication and features of more successful eHealth/AI communication. We examined characteristics of the design science paradigm and the value of its user-centered methods to develop eHealth/AI communication. We analyzed a case example of the participatory design of AI components in the ChronologyMD project intended to improve management of Crohn's disease. eHealth/AI communication created with user-centered design shows improved relevance to users' needs for personalized, timely and interactive communication and is associated with better health outcomes than traditional approaches. Participatory design was essential to develop ChronologyMD system architecture and software applications that benefitted patients. AI components can greatly improve eHealth/AI communication, if designed with the intended audiences. Design science theory and its iterative, participatory methods linked with traditional health communication theory and methods can create effective AI health communication. eHealth/AI communication researchers, developers and practitioners can benefit from a holistic approach that draws from theory and methods in both design sciences and also human and social sciences to create successful AI health communication. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Influences on teachers' curricular choices in project-based science classrooms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laba, Karen Anne

    This descriptive research will present two case studies of experienced science teachers using project-based curricula in all or part of their secondary life science/biology courses. The purpose of this study is to reveal the underlying relationships between teachers' conceptions of the nature of science, their understanding of their role as science teachers and their expectations for appropriate and worthwhile student learning, and to describe the influence of these factors on their curricular choices within the project-based framework. Using a modification of Hewson, Kerby and Cook's (1995) Conceptions of Teaching Science protocol as a model, teachers' beliefs and intentions are classified and examined to identify organizing themes. Comparisons between teachers' beliefs and the actions they take in their project-based classroom are used to reveal relationships among the choices that result in students' learning experiences. Finally, the curricula presented by these two exemplary teachers are compared with the teaching standards and content goals defined in the National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1996). Recommendations for the application of the case study perspective of the evolution of learning experiences to reform efforts are offered to practitioners, policy makers, curriculum developers and teacher educators.

  18. Bringing nursing science to the classroom: a collaborative project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reams, Susan; Bashford, Carol

    2009-01-01

    This project resulted as a collaborative effort on the part of a public school system and nursing faculty. The fifth grade student population utilized in this study focused on the skeletal, muscular, digestive, circulatory, respiratory, and nervous systems as part of their school system's existing science and health curriculum. The intent of the study was to evaluate the impact on student learning outcomes as a result of nursing-focused, science-based, hands-on experiential activities provided by nursing faculty in the public school setting. An assessment tool was created for pretesting and posttesting to evaluate learning outcomes resulting from the intervention. Over a two day period, six classes consisting of 25 to 30 students each were divided into three equal small groups and rotated among three interactive stations. Students explored the normal function of the digestive system, heart, lungs, and skin. Improvement in learning using the pretest and posttest assessment tools were documented.

  19. Can citizen science enhance public understanding of science?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonney, Rick; Phillips, Tina B; Ballard, Heidi L; Enck, Jody W

    2016-01-01

    Over the past 20 years, thousands of citizen science projects engaging millions of participants in collecting and/or processing data have sprung up around the world. Here we review documented outcomes from four categories of citizen science projects which are defined by the nature of the activities in which their participants engage - Data Collection, Data Processing, Curriculum-based, and Community Science. We find strong evidence that scientific outcomes of citizen science are well documented, particularly for Data Collection and Data Processing projects. We find limited but growing evidence that citizen science projects achieve participant gains in knowledge about science knowledge and process, increase public awareness of the diversity of scientific research, and provide deeper meaning to participants' hobbies. We also find some evidence that citizen science can contribute positively to social well-being by influencing the questions that are being addressed and by giving people a voice in local environmental decision making. While not all citizen science projects are intended to achieve a greater degree of public understanding of science, social change, or improved science -society relationships, those projects that do require effort and resources in four main categories: (1) project design, (2) outcomes measurement, (3) engagement of new audiences, and (4) new directions for research. © The Author(s) 2015.

  20. Shell’s use of science in de-risking projects

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Rossouw, N

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available This presentation discusses Shell’s use of science in de-risking projects. The presentation includes examples of applying science in the De-Risking process, supporting scientific research and De-Risking the Karoo Basin....

  1. Taking a 'Big Data' approach to data quality in a citizen science project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelling, Steve; Fink, Daniel; La Sorte, Frank A; Johnston, Alison; Bruns, Nicholas E; Hochachka, Wesley M

    2015-11-01

    Data from well-designed experiments provide the strongest evidence of causation in biodiversity studies. However, for many species the collection of these data is not scalable to the spatial and temporal extents required to understand patterns at the population level. Only data collected from citizen science projects can gather sufficient quantities of data, but data collected from volunteers are inherently noisy and heterogeneous. Here we describe a 'Big Data' approach to improve the data quality in eBird, a global citizen science project that gathers bird observations. First, eBird's data submission design ensures that all data meet high standards of completeness and accuracy. Second, we take a 'sensor calibration' approach to measure individual variation in eBird participant's ability to detect and identify birds. Third, we use species distribution models to fill in data gaps. Finally, we provide examples of novel analyses exploring population-level patterns in bird distributions.

  2. 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...

  3. Student and Faculty Outcomes of Undergraduate Science Research Projects by Geographically Dispersed Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaw, Lawton; Kennepohl, Dietmar

    2013-01-01

    Senior undergraduate research projects are important components of most undergraduate science degrees. The delivery of such projects in a distance education format is challenging. Athabasca University (AU) science project courses allow distance education students to complete research project courses by working with research supervisors in their…

  4. NASA's NPOESS Preparatory Project Science Data Segment: A Framework for Measurement-based Earth Science Data Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwaller, Mathew R.; Schweiss, Robert J.

    2007-01-01

    The NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) Science Data Segment (SDS) provides a framework for the future of NASA s distributed Earth science data systems. The NPP SDS performs research and data product assessment while using a fully distributed architecture. The components of this architecture are organized around key environmental data disciplines: land, ocean, ozone, atmospheric sounding, and atmospheric composition. The SDS thus establishes a set of concepts and a working prototypes. This paper describes the framework used by the NPP Project as it enabled Measurement-Based Earth Science Data Systems for the assessment of NPP products.

  5. The Effect of Environmental Science Projects on Students' Environmental Knowledge and Science Attitudes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Balushi, Sulaiman M.; Al-Aamri, Shamsa S.

    2014-01-01

    The current study explores the effectiveness of involving students in environmental science projects for their environmental knowledge and attitudes towards science. The study design is a quasi-experimental pre-post control group design. The sample was 62 11th-grade female students studying at a public school in Oman. The sample was divided into…

  6. Using design science in educational technology research projects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susan M. Chard

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Design science is a research paradigm where the development and evaluation of a technology artefact is a key contribution. Design science is used in many domains and this paper draws on those domains to formulate a generic structure for design science research suitable for educational technology research projects. The paper includes guidelines for writing proposals using the design science research methodology for educational technology research and presents a generic research report structure. The paper presents ethical issues to consider in design science research being conducted in educational settings and contributes guidelines for assessment when the research contribution involves the creation of a technology artefact.

  7. DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE PROCESS SKILLS STUDENTS WITH PROJECT BASED LEARNING MODEL- BASED TRAINING IN LEARNING PHYSICS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ratna Malawati

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to improve the physics Science Process Skills Students on cognitive and psychomotor aspects by using model based Project Based Learning training.The object of this study is the Project Based Learning model used in the learning process of Computationa Physics.The method used is classroom action research through two learning cycles, each cycle consisting of the stages of planning, implementation, observation and reflection. In the first cycle of treatment with their emphasis given training in the first phase up to third in the model Project Based Learning, while the second cycle is given additional treatment with emphasis discussion is collaboration in achieving the best results for each group of products. The results of data analysis showed increased ability to think Students on cognitive and Science Process Skills in the psychomotor.

  8. Selling science 2.0: What scientific projects receive crowdfunding online?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schäfer, Mike S; Metag, Julia; Feustle, Jessica; Herzog, Livia

    2016-09-19

    Crowdfunding has emerged as an additional source for financing research in recent years. The study at hand identifies and tests explanatory factors influencing the success of scientific crowdfunding projects by drawing on news value theory, the "reputation signaling" approach, and economic theories of online payment. A standardized content analysis of 371 projects on English- and German-language platforms reveals that each theory provides factors influencing crowdfunding success. It shows that projects presented on science-only crowdfunding platforms have a higher success rate. At the same time, projects are more likely to be successful if their presentation includes visualizations and humor, the lower their targeted funding is, the less personal data potential donors have to relinquish and the more interaction between researchers and donors is possible. This suggests that after donors decide to visit a scientific crowdfunding platform, factors unrelated to science matter more for subsequent funding decisions, raising questions about the potential and implications of crowdfunding science. © The Author(s) 2016.

  9. Involving stakeholders in the commissioning and implementation of fishery science projects: experiences from the U.K. Fisheries Science Partnership.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armstrong, M J; Payne, A I L; Deas, B; Catchpole, T L

    2013-10-01

    Following from similar initiatives worldwide, the U.K.'s Fisheries Science Partnership (FSP) was established in 2003 to provide the fishing industry with opportunities to propose and participate in scientific studies in collaboration with fishery scientists. Key concepts were that most of the available funding would support industry participation, that industry, not scientists, would come up with the ideas for projects, and that commercial fishing vessels and fishing methods would be used to address specific concerns of the fishing industry in a scientifically controlled manner. Nearly 100 projects had been commissioned by March 2012, covering annual time-series surveys of stocks subject to traditional assessment, and ad hoc projects on, e.g. gear selectivity, discard survival, tagging and migration and fishery development. The extent to which the results of the projects have been used by stakeholders, fishery scientists and fishery managers at a national and E.U. level is evaluated, along with the degree of industry interest and involvement, and reasons are identified for successes or failures in the uptake of the results into management and policy. Finally, the question is posed whether the programme has been successful in improving the engagement of the fishing community in the science-management process and in fostering communication and greater trust between fishers, scientists and managers. © 2013 Crown Copyright. © 2013 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

  10. 78 FR 32637 - Science and Technology Reinvention Laboratory Personnel Management Demonstration Project...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-05-31

    ..., Science and Technology Reinvention Laboratory Personnel Management Demonstration Project, Department of... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Office of the Secretary Science and Technology Reinvention Laboratory Personnel Management Demonstration Project, Department of the Army, Army Research, Development and...

  11. Development and Validation of a Project Package for Junior Secondary School Basic Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Udofia, Nsikak-Abasi

    2014-01-01

    This was a Research and Developmental study designed to develop and validate projects for Junior Secondary School Basic Science instruction and evaluation. The projects were developed using the project blueprint and sent for validation by experts in science education and measurement and evaluation; using a project validation scale. They were to…

  12. Building Bridges between Science Courses Using Honors Organic Chemistry Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hickey, Timothy; Pontrello, Jason

    2016-01-01

    Introductory undergraduate science courses are traditionally offered as distinct units without formalized student interaction between classes. To bridge science courses, the authors used three Honors Organic Chemistry projects paired with other science courses. The honors students delivered presentations to mainstream organic course students and…

  13. COSEE-AK Ocean Science Fairs: A Science Fair Model That Grounds Student Projects in Both Western Science and Traditional Native Knowledge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dublin, Robin; Sigman, Marilyn; Anderson, Andrea; Barnhardt, Ray; Topkok, Sean Asiqluq

    2014-01-01

    We have developed the traditional science fair format into an ocean science fair model that promoted the integration of Western science and Alaska Native traditional knowledge in student projects focused on the ocean, aquatic environments, and climate change. The typical science fair judging criteria for the validity and presentation of the…

  14. Project Mapping to Build Capacity and Demonstrate Impact in the Earth Sciences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hemmings, S. N.; Searby, N. D.; Murphy, K. J.; Mataya, C. J.; Crepps, G.; Clayton, A.; Stevens, C. L.

    2017-12-01

    Diverse organizations are increasingly using project mapping to communicate location-based information about their activities. NASA's Earth Science Division (ESD), through the Earth Science Data Systems and Applied Sciences' Capacity Building Program (CBP), has created a geographic information system of all ESD projects to support internal program management for the agency. The CBP's NASA DEVELOP program has built an interactive mapping tool to support capacity building for the program's varied constituents. This presentation will explore the types of programmatic opportunities provided by a geographic approach to management, communication, and strategic planning. We will also discuss the various external benefits that mapping supports and that build capacity in the Earth sciences. These include activities such as project matching (location-focused synergies), portfolio planning, inter- and intra-organizational collaboration, science diplomacy, and basic impact analysis.

  15. Waste Management Process Improvement Project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Atwood, J.; Borden, G.; Rangel, G. R.

    2002-01-01

    The Bechtel Hanford-led Environmental Restoration Contractor team's Waste Management Process Improvement Project is working diligently with the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Richland Operations Office to improve the waste management process to meet DOE's need for an efficient, cost-effective program for the management of dangerous, low-level and mixed-low-level waste. Additionally the program must meet all applicable regulatory requirements. The need for improvement was highlighted when a change in the Groundwater/Vadose Zone Integration Project's waste management practices resulted in a larger amount of waste being generated than the waste management organization had been set up to handle

  16. Real Life Science with Dandelions and Project BudBurst

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katherine A. Johnson

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Project BudBurst is a national citizen-science project that tracks bloom times and other phenological data for plants across the country. Data from Project BudBurst are being used to measure the effects of climate change. Students can participate in this project by watching any of the plants on the list, including the common dandelion, which makes the program easy and accessible to everyone.

  17. Real Life Science with Dandelions and Project BudBurst.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Katherine A

    2016-03-01

    Project BudBurst is a national citizen-science project that tracks bloom times and other phenological data for plants across the country. Data from Project BudBurst are being used to measure the effects of climate change. Students can participate in this project by watching any of the plants on the list, including the common dandelion, which makes the program easy and accessible to everyone. Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education.

  18. Effective teaching in the contexts of Internet science projects: American and Russian teachers' perspectives of best practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mumma, Brian

    Statement of the problem. Science education literature had agreed that an important goal in students' learning is the development of scientific and technological literacy. One effort that teachers have integrated into their practices for addressing this goal has been teaching within the contexts of Internet Science Projects. Greater awareness of teachers' perspectives of their best practices and their beliefs and reasons for these practices in the contexts of Internet Science Projects can improve the quality of science education programs. Methods. A series of pilot interviews was conducted during the 2000--2001 school year to develop the guiding questions for inquiring into teachers' perspectives of their best practices within the contexts of Internet Science Projects. This series of interviews resulted in the understanding of the need to select teachers with experiences with Internet Science Projects and to conduct in-depth phenomenological interviews for learning from their voices. Two teachers were purposefully selected as the participant-informants for this study, one an American elementary teacher from Walker County, Georgia, and one a Russian teacher from St. Petersburg, Russia. The study was conducted from October through December 2001. The data collected for this qualitative study consisted of a series of in-depth phenomenological interviews, classroom observations, and the collection and analysis of various artifacts including teacher journals, student products, and e-mail/bulletin board transcripts. The interview structure was based upon a modification of expanding Seidman's (1998) three interview series into multiple interviews concluded upon the determination of saturation of the topic. The series of interviews were composed of (1) life history focus; (2) the details of the experience of teaching within the contexts of Internet Science Projects; and (3) reflection on the meanings. The data analysis consisted of applying Strauss & Corbin's (1990) open

  19. Results of Needs Assessments Related to Citizen Science Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buxner, Sanlyn; Bracey, Georgia; Glushko, Anna; Bakerman, Maya; Gay, Pamela L.; CosmoQuest Team

    2017-01-01

    The CosmoQuest Virtual Research Facility invites the public and classrooms to participate in NASA Science Mission Directorate related research that leads to publishable results and data catalogues. One of the main goals of the project is to support professional scientists in doing science and the general public--including parents, children, teachers, and students--in learning and doing science. Through the effort, the CosmoQuest team is developing a variety of supports and opportunities to support the doing and teaching of science. To inform our efforts, we have implemented a set of needs surveys to assess the needs of our different audiences. These surveys are being used to understand the interests, motivations, resources, challenges and demographics of our growing CosmoQuest community and others interested in engaging in citizen science projects. The surveys include those for teachers, parents, adult learners, planetarium professionals, subject matter experts (SMEs), and the general public. We will share the results of these surveys and discuss the implications of the results for broader education and outreach programs.

  20. [The role of science in policy making--EuSANH-ISA project, framework for science advice for health].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cianciara, Dorota; Piotrowicz, Maria; Bielska-Lasota, Magdalena; Wysocki, Mirosław J

    2012-01-01

    Governments and other authorities (including MPs) should be well informed on issues of science and technology. This is particularly important in the era of evidence-based practice. This implies the need to get expert advice. The process by which scientific knowledge is transmitted, along with proposals how to solve the problem, is called science advice. The main aim of the article is to discuss the issue of science advice--definitions, interaction between science and policymaking, and its position in contemporary policies. The second aim is to present European Science Advisory Network for Health (EuSANH), EuSANH-ISA project, and framework for science advice for health which was developed by participants. Furthermore, the role of civil society in decision-making process and science advice is also discussed. Interaction between scientists and policy-makers are described in terms of science-push approach (technocratic model), policy-pull (decisionistic) and simultaneous push-pull approach (pragmatic). The position of science advice is described in historical perspective from the 50s, especially in the last two decades. Description relies to USA, Canada and UK. Principles of scientific advice to government (Government Office for Science, UK) are quoted. Some important documents related to science advice in EU and UN are mentioned. EuSANH network is described as well as EuSANH-ISA project, with its objectives and outcomes. According to findings of this project, the process of science advice for health should follow some steps: framing the issue to be covered; planning entire process leading to the conclusion; drafting the report; reviewing the report and revision; publishing report and assessing the impact on policy.

  1. Project BudBurst: Continental-scale citizen science for all seasons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henderson, S.; Newman, S. J.; Ward, D.; Havens-Young, K.; Alaback, P.; Meymaris, K.

    2011-12-01

    Project BudBurst's (budburst.org) recent move to the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) has benefitted both programs. NEON has been able to use Project BudBurst as a testbed to learn best practices, network with experts in the field, and prototype potential tools for engaging people in continental-scale ecology as NEON develops its citizen science program. Participation in Project BudBurst has grown significantly since the move to NEON. Project BudBurst is a national citizen science initiative designed to engage the public in observations of phenological (plant life cycle) events that raise awareness of climate change, and create a cadre of informed citizen scientists. Citizen science programs such as Project BudBurst provide the opportunity for students and interested laypersons to actively participate in scientific research. Such programs are important not only from an educational perspective, but because they also enable scientists to broaden the geographic and temporal scale of their observations. The goals of Project BudBurst are to 1) increase awareness of phenology as an area of scientific study; 2) Increase awareness of the impacts of changing climates on plants at a continental-scale; and 3) increase science literacy by engaging participants in the scientific process. From its 2008 launch in February, this on-line educational and data-entry program, engaged participants of all ages and walks of life in recording the timing of the leafing and flowering of wild and cultivated species found across the continent. Thus far, thousands of participants from all 50 states have submitted data. This presentation will provide an overview of Project BudBurst and will report on the results of the 2010 field campaign and discuss plans to expand Project BudBurst in 2012 including the use of mobile phones applications for data collection and reporting from the field. Project BudBurst is co-managed by the National Ecological Observatory Network and the Chicago

  2. Project Stakeholder Management: A Case Study of a Brazilian Science Park

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antônio Carlos Pacagnella Júnior

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available The stakeholder management has been a topic increasingly discussed in the literature about project management, though still existing, large gaps to be filled, especially in complex projects such as the implementation of science parks. Thus, in this paper is presented a case of a Brazilian Science Park which shows how the management team of the project identified key stakeholders and established strategies for engagement and collaboration that sought to increase their engagement, get resources and make use of specific capabilities that were required during the lifecycle of the project to the reaching of its goals.

  3. THEMES, DREAMS AND REAUTY: THE SCIENCE PROJECT ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Science Education Project (SEP) is a non-profit making educational trust ... us that many of them fail to survive the rigours of the school and ... environment) emphasis will be placed on in-service training and ... The 'status quo' is safe, everyone.

  4. NASA EOSDIS: Enabling Science by Improving User Knowledge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindsay, Francis; Brennan, Jennifer; Blumenfeld, Joshua

    2016-01-01

    Lessons learned and impacts of applying these newer methods are explained and include several examples from our current efforts such as the interactive, on-line webinars focusing on data discovery and access including tool usage, informal and informative data chats with data experts across our EOSDIS community, data user profile interviews with scientists actively using EOSDIS data in their research, and improved conference and meeting interactions via EOSDIS data interactively used during hyper-wall talks and Worldview application. The suite of internet-based, interactive capabilities and technologies has allowed our project to expand our user community by making the data and applications from numerous Earth science missions more engaging, approachable and meaningful.

  5. The International Science and Technology Center (ISTC) and ISTC projects related to nuclear safety. Information review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tocheny, Lev V.

    2003-01-01

    The ISTC is an intergovernmental organization created ten years ago by Russia, USA, EU and Japan in Moscow. The Center supports numerous science and technology projects in different areas, from biotechnologies and environmental problems to all aspects of nuclear studies, including those focused on the development of effective innovative concepts and technologies in the nuclear field, in general, and for improvement of nuclear safety, in particular. The presentation addresses some technical results of the ISTC projects as well as methods and approaches employed by the ISTC to foster close international collaboration and manage projects towards fruitful results. (author)

  6. Steam generator reliability improvement project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blomgren, J.C.; Green, S.J.

    1987-01-01

    Upon successful completion of its research and development technology transfer program, the Electric Power Research Institute's Steam Generator Owners Group (SGOG II) will disband in December 1986 and be replaced in January 1987 by a successor project, the Steam Generator Reliability Project (SGRP). The new project, funded in the EPRI base program, will continue the emphasis on reliability and life extension that was carried forward by SGOG II. The objectives of SGOG II have been met. Causes and remedies have been identified for tubing corrosion problems, such as stress corrosion cracking and pitting, and steam generator technology has been improved in areas such as tube wear prediction and nondestructive evaluation (NDE). These actions have led to improved reliability of steam generators. Now the owners want to continue with a centrally managed program that builds on what has been learned. The goal is to continue to improve steam generator reliability and solve small problems before they become large problems

  7. Steam generator reliability improvement project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blomgren, J.C.; Green, S.J.

    1987-01-01

    Upon successful completion of its research and development technology transfer program, the Electric Power Research Institute's (EPRI's) Steam Generator Owners Group (SGOG II) will disband in December 1986, and be replaced in January 1987, by a successor project, the Steam Generator Reliability Project (SGRP). The new project, funded in the EPRI base program, will continue to emphasize reliability and life extension, which were carried forward by SGOG II. The objectives of SGOG II have been met. Causes and remedies have been identified for tubing corrosion problems such as stress corrosion cracking and pitting, and steam generator technology has been improved in areas such as tube wear prediction and nondestructive evaluation. These actions have led to improved reliability of steam generators. Now the owners want to continue with a centrally managed program that builds on what has been learned. The goal is to continue to improve steam generator reliability and to solve small problems before they become large problems

  8. Collaborative Visualization Project: shared-technology learning environments for science learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pea, Roy D.; Gomez, Louis M.

    1993-01-01

    Project-enhanced science learning (PESL) provides students with opportunities for `cognitive apprenticeships' in authentic scientific inquiry using computers for data-collection and analysis. Student teams work on projects with teacher guidance to develop and apply their understanding of science concepts and skills. We are applying advanced computing and communications technologies to augment and transform PESL at-a-distance (beyond the boundaries of the individual school), which is limited today to asynchronous, text-only networking and unsuitable for collaborative science learning involving shared access to multimedia resources such as data, graphs, tables, pictures, and audio-video communication. Our work creates user technology (a Collaborative Science Workbench providing PESL design support and shared synchronous document views, program, and data access; a Science Learning Resource Directory for easy access to resources including two-way video links to collaborators, mentors, museum exhibits, media-rich resources such as scientific visualization graphics), and refine enabling technologies (audiovisual and shared-data telephony, networking) for this PESL niche. We characterize participation scenarios for using these resources and we discuss national networked access to science education expertise.

  9. Assessing the influence of Environmental Impact Assessments on science and policy: an analysis of the Three Gorges Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tullos, Desiree

    2009-07-01

    The need to understand and minimize negative environmental outcomes associated with large dams has both contributed to and benefited from the introduction and subsequent improvements in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process. However, several limitations in the EIA process remain, including those associated with the uncertainty and significance of impact projections. These limitations are directly related to the feedback between science and policy, with information gaps in scientific understanding discovered through the EIA process contributing valuable recommendations on critical focus areas for prioritizing and funding research within the fields of ecological conservation and river engineering. This paper presents an analysis of the EIA process for the Three Gorges Project (TGP) in China as a case study for evaluating this feedback between the EIA and science and policy. For one of the best-studied public development projects in the world, this paper presents an investigation into whether patterns exist between the scientific interest (via number of publications) in environmental impacts and (a) the identification of impacts as uncertain or priority by the EIA, (b) decisions or political events associated with the dam, and (c) impact type. This analysis includes the compilation of literature on TGP, characterization of ecosystem interactions and responses to TGP through a hierarchy of impacts, coding of EIA impacts as "uncertain" impacts that require additional study and "priority" impacts that have particularly high significance, mapping of an event chronology to relate policies, institutional changes, and decisions about TGP as "events" that could influence the focus and intensity of scientific investigation, and analysis of the number of publications by impact type and order within the impact hierarchy. From these analyses, it appears that the availability and consistency of scientific information limit the accuracy of environmental impact

  10. Improving Project Manufacturing Coordination

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Korpivaara Ville

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this research is to develop firms’ project manufacturing coordination. The development will be made by centralizing the manufacturing information flows in one system. To be able to centralize information, a deep user need assessment is required. After user needs have been identified, the existing system will be developed to match these needs. The theoretical background is achieved through exploring the literature of project manufacturing, development project success factors and different frameworks and tools for development project execution. The focus of this research is rather in customer need assessment than in system’s technical expertise. To ensure the deep understanding of customer needs this study is executed by action research method. As a result of this research the information system for project manufacturing coordination was developed to respond revealed needs of the stakeholders. The new system improves the quality of the manufacturing information, eliminates waste in manufacturing coordination processes and offers a better visibility to the project manufacturing. Hence it provides a solid base for the further development of project manufacturing.

  11. Project Hanford management contract quality improvement project management plan; TOPICAL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    ADAMS, D.E.

    1999-01-01

    On July 13, 1998, the U.S. Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office (DOE-RL) Manager transmitted a letter to Fluor Daniel Hanford, Inc. (FDH) describing several DOE-RL identified failed opportunities for FDH to improve the Quality Assurance (QA) Program and its implementation. In addition, DOE-RL identified specific Quality Program performance deficiencies. FDH was requested to establish a periodic reporting mechanism for the corrective action program. In a July 17, 1998 response to DOE-RL, FDH agreed with the DOE concerns and committed to perform a comprehensive review of the Project Hanford Management Contract (PHMC) QA Program during July and August, 1998. As a result, the Project Hanford Management Contract Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) (FDH-3508) was issued on October 21, 1998. The plan identified corrective actions based upon the results of an in-depth Quality Program Assessment. Immediately following the scheduled October 22, 1998, DOE Office of Enforcement and Investigation (EH-10) Enforcement Conference, FDH initiated efforts to effectively implement the QIP corrective actions. A Quality Improvement Project (QI Project) leadership team was assembled to prepare a Project Management Plan for this project. The management plan was specifically designed to engage a core team and the support of representatives from FDH and the major subcontractors (MSCs) to implement the QIP initiatives; identify, correct, and provide feedback as to the root cause for deficiency; and close out the corrective actions. The QI Project will manage and communicate progress of the process

  12. A Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) Approach Improves Science Process Skills in 4-H Animal Science Participants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clarke, Katie C.

    2010-01-01

    A new Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) approach was designed for youth who participated in the Minnesota State Fair Livestock interview process. The project and evaluation were designed to determine if the new SET approach increased content knowledge and science process skills in participants. Results revealed that youth participants not…

  13. Managing project complexity : A study into adapting early project phases to improve project performance in large engineering projects

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bosch-Rekveldt, M.G.C.

    2011-01-01

    Engineering projects become increasingly more complex and project complexity is assumed to be one of the causes for projects being delivered late and over budget. However, what this project complexity actually comprised of was unclear. To improve the overall project performance, this study focuses

  14. The Use of Online Citizen-Science Projects to Provide Experiential Learning Opportunities for Nonmajor Science Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Donna M. Kridelbaugh

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Citizen science is becoming even more accessible to the general public through technological advances in the development of mobile applications, facilitating information dissemination and data collection. With the advent of “big data,” many citizen-science projects designed to help researchers sift through piles of research data now exist entirely online, either in the form of playing a game or via other digital avenues. Recent trends in citizen science have also focused on “crowdsourcing” solutions from the general public to help solve societal issues, often requiring nothing more than brainstorming and a computer to submit ideas. Online citizen science thus provides an excellent platform to expand the accessibility of experiential learning opportunities for a broad range of nonmajor science students at institutions with limited resources (e.g., community colleges. I created an activity for a general microbiology lecture to engage students in hands-on experiences via participation in online citizen-science projects. The objectives of the assignment were for students to: 1 understand that everyone can be a scientist; 2 learn to be creative and innovative in designing solutions to health and science challenges; and 3 further practice science communication skills with a written report. This activity is designed for introductory science courses with nonmajor science students who have limited opportunities to participate in undergraduate research experiences.

  15. Joint Science Education Project: Learning about polar science in Greenland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foshee Reed, Lynn

    2014-05-01

    The Joint Science Education Project (JSEP) is a successful summer science and culture opportunity in which students and teachers from the United States, Denmark, and Greenland come together to learn about the research conducted in Greenland and the logistics involved in supporting the research. They conduct experiments first-hand and participate in inquiry-based educational activities alongside scientists and graduate students at a variety of locations in and around Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, and on the top of the ice sheet at Summit Station. The Joint Committee, a high-level forum involving the Greenlandic, Danish and U.S. governments, established the Joint Science Education Project in 2007, as a collaborative diplomatic effort during the International Polar Year to: • Educate and inspire the next generation of polar scientists; • Build strong networks of students and teachers among the three countries; and • Provide an opportunity to practice language and communication skills Since its inception, JSEP has had 82 student and 22 teacher participants and has involved numerous scientists and field researchers. The JSEP format has evolved over the years into its current state, which consists of two field-based subprograms on site in Greenland: the Greenland-led Kangerlussuaq Science Field School and the U.S.-led Arctic Science Education Week. All travel, transportation, accommodations, and meals are provided to the participants at no cost. During the 2013 Kangerlussuaq Science Field School, students and teachers gathered data in a biodiversity study, created and set geo- and EarthCaches, calculated glacial discharge at a melt-water stream and river, examined microbes and tested for chemical differences in a variety of lakes, measured ablation at the edge of the Greenland Ice Sheet, and learned about fossils, plants, animals, minerals and rocks of Greenland. In addition, the students planned and led cultural nights, sharing food, games, stories, and traditions of

  16. The Milky Way Project: A Citizen Science Catalog of Infrared Bow Shock Nebulae

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dixon, Don; Jayasinghe, Tharindu; Povich, Matthew S.

    2017-01-01

    We present preliminary results from the first citizen-science search for infrared stellar-wind bow shock candidates. This search uses the Milky Way project, hosted by the Zooniverse, an online platform with over 1 million volunteer citizen scientists. Milky Way Project volunteers examine 77,000 randomly-distributed Spitzer image cutouts at varying zoom levels. Volunteers mark the infrared arc of potential bow shock candidates as well as the star likely driving the nebula. We produce lists of candidates from bow shocks flagged by multiple volunteers, which after merging and final visual review form the basis for our catalog. Comparing our new catalog to a recently-published catalog of 709 infrared bow shock candidates identified by a small team of (primarily undergraduate) researchers will allow us to assess the effectiveness of citizen science for this type of search and should yield a more complete catalog. Planned studies using these large catalogs will improve constraints on the mass-loss rates for the massive stars that create these bow shock nebulae. Mass-loss rates are highly uncertain but are a critical component of evolutionary models for massive stars. This work is supported by the National Science Foundation under grants CAREER-1454334, AST-1411851 (RUI) and AST-1412845.

  17. A biotic game design project for integrated life science and engineering education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cira, Nate J; Chung, Alice M; Denisin, Aleksandra K; Rensi, Stefano; Sanchez, Gabriel N; Quake, Stephen R; Riedel-Kruse, Ingmar H

    2015-03-01

    Engaging, hands-on design experiences are key for formal and informal Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. Robotic and video game design challenges have been particularly effective in stimulating student interest, but equivalent experiences for the life sciences are not as developed. Here we present the concept of a "biotic game design project" to motivate student learning at the interface of life sciences and device engineering (as part of a cornerstone bioengineering devices course). We provide all course material and also present efforts in adapting the project's complexity to serve other time frames, age groups, learning focuses, and budgets. Students self-reported that they found the biotic game project fun and motivating, resulting in increased effort. Hence this type of design project could generate excitement and educational impact similar to robotics and video games.

  18. Improving Student Achievement in Math and Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sullivan, Nancy G.; Hamsa, Irene Schulz; Heath, Panagiota; Perry, Robert; White, Stacy J.

    1998-01-01

    As the new millennium approaches, a long anticipated reckoning for the education system of the United States is forthcoming, Years of school reform initiatives have not yielded the anticipated results. A particularly perplexing problem involves the lack of significant improvement of student achievement in math and science. Three "Partnership" projects represent collaborative efforts between Xavier University (XU) of Louisiana, Southern University of New Orleans (SUNO), Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Stennis Space Center (SSC), to enhance student achievement in math and science. These "Partnerships" are focused on students and teachers in federally designated rural and urban empowerment zones and enterprise communities. The major goals of the "Partnerships" include: (1) The identification and dissemination of key indices of success that account for high performance in math and science; (2) The education of pre-service and in-service secondary teachers in knowledge, skills, and competencies that enhance the instruction of high school math and science; (3) The development of faculty to enhance the quality of math and science courses in institutions of higher education; and (4) The incorporation of technology-based instruction in institutions of higher education. These goals will be achieved by the accomplishment of the following objectives: (1) Delineate significant ?best practices? that are responsible for enhancing student outcomes in math and science; (2) Recruit and retain pre-service teachers with undergraduate degrees in Biology, Math, Chemistry, or Physics in a graduate program, culminating with a Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction; (3) Provide faculty workshops and opportunities for travel to professional meetings for dissemination of NASA resources information; (4) Implement methodologies and assessment procedures utilizing performance-based applications of higher order

  19. Competitiveness Improvement Project Informational Workshop

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sinclair, Karin C [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Preus, Robert W [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Dana, Scott [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Van Dam, Jeroen J [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Damiani, Rick R [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Jackson, Kyndall R [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Baring-Gould, Edward I [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Jain, Anant [Intertek

    2018-02-27

    This presentation was given at the Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP) Informational Workshop on December 6, 2017. Topics covered during the workshop include an overview of the CIP, past projects, scoring criteria, technical support opportunities, certification body requirements, standards applicable to distributed wind generators, information on the National Electric Code, certification testing requirements, test site requirements, National Environmental Policy Act, design review, levelized cost of energy, procurement/contracting, project management/deliverables, and outreach materials.

  20. [Earth Science Technology Office's Computational Technologies Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fischer, James (Technical Monitor); Merkey, Phillip

    2005-01-01

    This grant supported the effort to characterize the problem domain of the Earth Science Technology Office's Computational Technologies Project, to engage the Beowulf Cluster Computing Community as well as the High Performance Computing Research Community so that we can predict the applicability of said technologies to the scientific community represented by the CT project and formulate long term strategies to provide the computational resources necessary to attain the anticipated scientific objectives of the CT project. Specifically, the goal of the evaluation effort is to use the information gathered over the course of the Round-3 investigations to quantify the trends in scientific expectations, the algorithmic requirements and capabilities of high-performance computers to satisfy this anticipated need.

  1. Critique and Contribute: A Practice-Based Framework for Improving Critical Data Studies and Data Science.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neff, Gina; Tanweer, Anissa; Fiore-Gartland, Brittany; Osburn, Laura

    2017-06-01

    What would data science look like if its key critics were engaged to help improve it, and how might critiques of data science improve with an approach that considers the day-to-day practices of data science? This article argues for scholars to bridge the conversations that seek to critique data science and those that seek to advance data science practice to identify and create the social and organizational arrangements necessary for a more ethical data science. We summarize four critiques that are commonly made in critical data studies: data are inherently interpretive, data are inextricable from context, data are mediated through the sociomaterial arrangements that produce them, and data serve as a medium for the negotiation and communication of values. We present qualitative research with academic data scientists, "data for good" projects, and specialized cross-disciplinary engineering teams to show evidence of these critiques in the day-to-day experience of data scientists as they acknowledge and grapple with the complexities of their work. Using ethnographic vignettes from two large multiresearcher field sites, we develop a set of concepts for analyzing and advancing the practice of data science and improving critical data studies, including (1) communication is central to the data science endeavor; (2) making sense of data is a collective process; (3) data are starting, not end points, and (4) data are sets of stories. We conclude with two calls to action for researchers and practitioners in data science and critical data studies alike. First, creating opportunities for bringing social scientific and humanistic expertise into data science practice simultaneously will advance both data science and critical data studies. Second, practitioners should leverage the insights from critical data studies to build new kinds of organizational arrangements, which we argue will help advance a more ethical data science. Engaging the insights of critical data studies will

  2. A biotic game design project for integrated life science and engineering education.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nate J Cira

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Engaging, hands-on design experiences are key for formal and informal Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM education. Robotic and video game design challenges have been particularly effective in stimulating student interest, but equivalent experiences for the life sciences are not as developed. Here we present the concept of a "biotic game design project" to motivate student learning at the interface of life sciences and device engineering (as part of a cornerstone bioengineering devices course. We provide all course material and also present efforts in adapting the project's complexity to serve other time frames, age groups, learning focuses, and budgets. Students self-reported that they found the biotic game project fun and motivating, resulting in increased effort. Hence this type of design project could generate excitement and educational impact similar to robotics and video games.

  3. Disaster Relief and Emergency Medical Services Project (DREAMS TM): Clinical and Basic Science Projects

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Casscells, Ward

    1999-01-01

    DREAMS clinical and basic science projects complement the digital EMS effort by investigating the mechanisms of tissue injury in order to minimize the mortality and mortality of trauma and "natural...

  4. The creation of science projects in the physics teachers preparation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horváthová, Daniela; Rakovská, Mária; Zelenický, Ľubomír

    2017-01-01

    Terms - project, projecting and the method of projecting - are nowadays frequently used in different relations. Those terms, especially as methods (of a cognitive process), are also transferred to the educational process. Before a new educational method comes to practice, the teacher should be familiar with it and preferably when it is done so during his university studies. An optional subject called Physics in a system of science subjects has been included into physics curricula for students of the fourth year of their studies at the Faculty of Science of Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra. Its task is to make students aware of ways how to coordinate knowledge and instructions presented in these subjects through analysis of curricula and textbooks. As a part of their seminars students are asked to create integrated tasks and experiments which can be assessed from the point of view of either physics or chemistry or biology and which can motivate pupils and form their complex view on various phenomena in the nature. Therefore the article discusses theoretical and also practical questions related to experience that originates from placing the mentioned method and the subject Physics in a system of science subjects into the preparation of a natural sciences teacher in our workplace.

  5. Improving science education for sustainable development

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Eijck, van M.W.; Roth, W.-M.

    2007-01-01

    In recent issues of noteworthy journals, natural scientists have argued for the improvement of science education [1–4]. Such pleas reflect the growing awareness that high-quality science education is required not only for sustaining a lively scientific community that is able to address global

  6. Citizen Sky, An Update on the AAVSO's New Citizen Science Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turner, Rebecca; Price, A.; Henden, A.; Stencel, R.; Kloppenborg, B.

    2011-01-01

    Citizen Sky is a multi-year, NSF-funded, citizen science project focusing on the bright variable star, epsilon Aurigae. Citizen Sky goes beyond simple observing to include a major data analysis component. The goal is to introduce the participant to the full scientific process from background research to paper writing for a peer-reviewed journal. The first year of the project, 2009-10, was dedicated to developing project infrastructure, educating participants about epsilon Aurigae, and training these participants to observe the star and report their data. Looking forward, years two and three of the project will focus on assembling teams of participants to work on their own analysis and research. Results will be published in a special issue of the peer-reviewed Journal of the AAVSO. This project has been made possible by the National Science Foundation.

  7. A Community of Practice among Educators, Researchers and Scientists for Improving Science Teaching in Southern Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cisneros-Cohernour, Edith J.; Lopez-Avila, Maria T.; Barrera-Bustillos, Maria E.

    2007-01-01

    This paper presents findings of a project aimed to improve the quality of science education in Southeast Mexico by the creation of a community of practice among scientists, researchers and teachers, involved in the design, implementation and evaluation of a professional development program for mathematics, chemistry, biology and physics secondary…

  8. History, Philosophy, and Science in a Social Perspective: A Pedagogical Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guerra, Andreia; Braga, Marco; Reis, Jose Claudio

    2013-01-01

    Various studies have promoted instruction in the history and philosophy of science (HPS) in science classes, but the best way of putting this perspective into practice remains undetermined. To contribute to this issue, we developed a pedagogical project in some high schools in Brazil that aimed to present science content using an…

  9. Dissemination and Exploitation: Project Goals beyond Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamann, Kristin; Reitz, Anja

    2017-04-01

    Dissemination and Exploitation are essential parts of public funded projects. In Horizon 2020 a plan for the exploitation and dissemination of results (PEDR) is a requirement. The plan should contain a clear vision on the objectives of the project in relation to actions for dissemination and potential exploitation of the project results. The actions follow the basic idea to spread the knowledge and results gathered within the project and face the challenge of how to bring the results into potentially relevant policy circle and how they impact the market. The plan follows the purpose to assess the impact of the project and to address various target groups who are interested in the project results. Simply put, dissemination concentrates on the transfer of knowledge and exploitation on the commercialization of the project. Beyond the question of the measurability of project`s impact, strategies within science marketing can serve purposes beyond internal and external communication. Accordingly, project managers are facing the challenge to implement a dissemination and exploitation strategy that ideally supports the identification of all partners with the project and matches the current discourse of the project`s content within the society, politics and economy. A consolidated plan might unite all projects partners under a central idea and supports the identification with the project beyond the individual research questions. Which applications, strategies and methods can be used to bring forward a PEDR that accompanies a project successfully and allows a comprehensive assessment of the project afterwards? Which hurdles might project managers experience in the dissemination process and which tasks should be fulfilled by the project manager?

  10. "Saturday Night Live" Goes to High School: Conducting and Advising a Political Science Fair Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, Meg; Brewer, Paul R.

    2010-01-01

    This article uses a case study to illustrate how science fair projects--which traditionally focus on "hard science" topics--can contribute to political science education. One of the authors, a high school student, conducted an experimental study of politics for her science fair project. The other author, a faculty member, was asked to advise the…

  11. 75 FR 22576 - Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-29

    ... DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION [CFDA No. 84.120A] Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program... the fiscal year (FY) 2009 grant slate for the Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program. SUMMARY: The Secretary intends to use the grant slate developed in FY 2009 for the Minority Science and...

  12. Student projects in medicine: a lesson in science and ethics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edwards, Sarah J L

    2009-11-01

    Regulation of biomedical research is the subject of considerable debate in the bioethics and health policy worlds. The ethics and governance of medical student projects is becoming an increasingly important topic in its own right, especially in the U.K., where there are periodic calls to change it. My main claim is that there seems to be no good reason for treating student projects differently from projects led by qualified and more experienced scientists and hence no good grounds for changing the current system of ethics review. I first suggest that the educational objectives cannot be met without laying down standards of good science, whatever they may be. Weak science is unnecessary for educational purposes, and it is, in any case, unlikely to produce good researchers in the future. Furthermore, it is curious to want to change the system of ethics review specifically for students when it is the science that is at stake, and when the science now falls largely outside the ethics remit. I further show that ethics review is nevertheless important since students carry a new potential conflict of interests that warrants independent oversight which supervisory support does not offer. This potential conflict may become more morally troublesome the greater the risks to the subjects of the research, and students may impose greater risks on their subjects (relative to professional researchers) by virtue of being inexperienced, whatever the nature of the project. Pragmatic concerns may finally be allayed by organizing the current system more efficiently at critical times of the university calendar.

  13. Improving Early Career Science Teachers' Ability to Teach Space Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schultz, G. R.; Slater, T. F.; Wierman, T.; Erickson, J. G.; Mendez, B. J.

    2012-12-01

    The GEMS Space Science Sequence is a high quality, hands-on curriculum for elementary and middle schools, created by a national team of astronomers and science educators with NASA funding and support. The standards-aligned curriculum includes 24 class sessions for upper elementary grades targeting the scale and nature of Earth's, shape, motion and gravity, and 36 class sessions for middle school grades focusing on the interactions between our Sun and Earth and the nature of the solar system and beyond. These materials feature extensive teacher support materials which results in pre-test to post-test content gains for students averaging 22%. Despite the materials being highly successful, there has been a less than desired uptake by teachers in using these materials, largely due to a lack of professional development training. Responding to the need to improve the quantity and quality of space science education, a collaborative of space scientists and science educators - from the University of California, Berkeley's Lawrence Hall of Science (LHS) and Center for Science Education at the Space Sciences Laboratory (CSE@SSL), the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP), the University of Wyoming, and the CAPER Center for Astronomy & Physics Education - experimented with a unique professional development model focused on helping master teachers work closely with pre-service teachers during their student teaching internship field experience. Research on the exodus of young teachers from the teaching profession clearly demonstrates that early career teachers often leave teaching because of a lack of mentoring support and classroom ready curriculum materials. The Advancing Mentor and Novice Teachers in Space Science (AMANTISS) team first identified master teachers who supervise novice, student teachers in middle school, and trained these master teachers to use the GEMS Space Science Sequence for Grades 6-8. Then, these master teachers were mentored in how to coach their

  14. How to Begin a Quality Improvement Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silver, Samuel A; Harel, Ziv; McQuillan, Rory; Weizman, Adam V; Thomas, Alison; Chertow, Glenn M; Nesrallah, Gihad; Bell, Chaim M; Chan, Christopher T

    2016-05-06

    Quality improvement involves a combined effort among health care staff and stakeholders to diagnose and treat problems in the health care system. However, health care professionals often lack training in quality improvement methods, which makes it challenging to participate in improvement efforts. This article familiarizes health care professionals with how to begin a quality improvement project. The initial steps involve forming an improvement team that possesses expertise in the quality of care problem, leadership, and change management. Stakeholder mapping and analysis are useful tools at this stage, and these are reviewed to help identify individuals who might have a vested interest in the project. Physician engagement is a particularly important component of project success, and the knowledge that patients/caregivers can offer as members of a quality improvement team should not be overlooked. After a team is formed, an improvement framework helps to organize the scientific process of system change. Common quality improvement frameworks include Six Sigma, Lean, and the Model for Improvement. These models are contrasted, with a focus on the Model for Improvement, because it is widely used and applicable to a variety of quality of care problems without advanced training. It involves three steps: setting aims to focus improvement, choosing a balanced set of measures to determine if improvement occurs, and testing new ideas to change the current process. These new ideas are evaluated using Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles, where knowledge is gained by testing changes and reflecting on their effect. To show the real world utility of the quality improvement methods discussed, they are applied to a hypothetical quality improvement initiative that aims to promote home dialysis (home hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis). This provides an example that kidney health care professionals can use to begin their own quality improvement projects. Copyright © 2016 by the American

  15. Impact of problem finding on the quality of authentic open inquiry science research projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Labanca, Frank

    2008-11-01

    Problem finding is a creative process whereby individuals develop original ideas for study. Secondary science students who successfully participate in authentic, novel, open inquiry studies must engage in problem finding to determine viable and suitable topics. This study examined problem finding strategies employed by students who successfully completed and presented the results of their open inquiry research at the 2007 Connecticut Science Fair and the 2007 International Science and Engineering Fair. A multicase qualitative study was framed through the lenses of creativity, inquiry strategies, and situated cognition learning theory. Data were triangulated by methods (interviews, document analysis, surveys) and sources (students, teachers, mentors, fair directors, documents). The data demonstrated that the quality of student projects was directly impacted by the quality of their problem finding. Effective problem finding was a result of students using resources from previous, specialized experiences. They had a positive self-concept and a temperament for both the creative and logical perspectives of science research. Successful problem finding was derived from an idiosyncratic, nonlinear, and flexible use and understanding of inquiry. Finally, problem finding was influenced and assisted by the community of practicing scientists, with whom the students had an exceptional ability to communicate effectively. As a result, there appears to be a juxtaposition of creative and logical/analytical thought for open inquiry that may not be present in other forms of inquiry. Instructional strategies are suggested for teachers of science research students to improve the quality of problem finding for their students and their subsequent research projects.

  16. Ocean Science Video Challenge Aims to Improve Science Communication

    Science.gov (United States)

    Showstack, Randy

    2013-10-01

    Given today's enormous management and protection challenges related to the world's oceans, a new competition calls on ocean scientists to effectively communicate their research in videos that last up to 3 minutes. The Ocean 180 Video Challenge, named for the number of seconds in 3 minutes, aims to improve ocean science communication while providing high school and middle school teachers and students with new and interesting educational materials about current science topics.

  17. Data Science Methodology for Cybersecurity Projects

    OpenAIRE

    Foroughi, Farhad; Luksch, Peter

    2018-01-01

    Cyber-security solutions are traditionally static and signature-based. The traditional solutions along with the use of analytic models, machine learning and big data could be improved by automatically trigger mitigation or provide relevant awareness to control or limit consequences of threats. This kind of intelligent solutions is covered in the context of Data Science for Cyber-security. Data Science provides a significant role in cyber-security by utilising the power of data (and big data),...

  18. Support of an Active Science Project by a Large Information System: Lessons for the EOS Era

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angelici, Gary L.; Skiles, J. W.; Popovici, Lidia Z.

    1993-01-01

    The ability of large information systems to support the changing data requirements of active science projects is being tested in a NASA collaborative study. This paper briefly profiles both the active science project and the large information system involved in this effort and offers some observations about the effectiveness of the project support. This is followed by lessons that are important for those participating in large information systems that need to support active science projects or that make available the valuable data produced by these projects. We learned in this work that it is difficult for a large information system focused on long term data management to satisfy the requirements of an on-going science project. For example, in order to provide the best service, it is important for all information system staff to keep focused on the needs and constraints of the scientists in the development of appropriate services. If the lessons learned in this and other science support experiences are not applied by those involved with large information systems of the EOS (Earth Observing System) era, then the final data products produced by future science projects may not be robust or of high quality, thereby making the conduct of the project science less efficacious and reducing the value of these unique suites of data for future research.

  19. The role of assessment infrastructures in crafting project-based science classrooms

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Amico, Laura Marie

    In project-based science teaching, teachers engage students in the practice of conducting meaningful investigations and explanations of natural phenomena, often in collaboration with fellow students or adults. Reformers suggest that this approach can provide students with more profitable learning experiences; but for many teachers, a shift to such instruction can be difficult to manage. As some reform-minded teachers have discovered, classroom assessment can serve as a vital tool for meeting the challenges associated with project science activity. In this research, classroom assessment was viewed as an infrastructure that both students and teachers rely upon as a mediational tool for classroom activity and communications. The study explored the classroom assessment infrastructures created by three teachers involved in the Learning through Collaborative Visualization (CoVis) Project from 1993--94 to 1995--96. Each of the three teachers under study either created a new course or radically reformulated an old one in an effort to incorporate project-based science pedagogy and supporting technologies. Data in the form of interviews, classroom observations, surveys, student work, and teacher records was collected. From these data, an interpretive case study was developed for each course and its accompanying assessment infrastructure. A set of cross-case analyses was also constructed, based upon common themes that emerged from all three cases. These themes included: the assessment challenges based on the nature of project activity, the role of technology in the teachers' assessment infrastructure designs, and the influence of the wider assessment infrastructure on their course and assessment designs. In combination, the case studies and cross-case analyses describe the synergistic relationship between the design of pedagogical reforms and classroom assessment infrastructures, as well as the effectiveness of all three assessment designs. This work contributes to research

  20. Distributed Wind Competitiveness Improvement Project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    2018-02-27

    The Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP) is a periodic solicitation through the U.S. Department of Energy and its National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP) is a periodic solicitation through the U.S. Department of Energy and its National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Manufacturers of small and medium wind turbines are awarded cost-shared grants via a competitive process to optimize their designs, develop advanced manufacturing processes, and perform turbine testing. The goals of the CIP are to make wind energy cost competitive with other distributed generation technology and increase the number of wind turbine designs certified to national testing standards. This fact sheet describes the CIP and funding awarded as part of the project.ufacturers of small and medium wind turbines are awarded cost-shared grants via a competitive process to optimize their designs, develop advanced manufacturing processes, and perform turbine testing. The goals of the CIP are to make wind energy cost competitive with other distributed generation technology and increase the number of wind turbine designs certified to national testing standards. This fact sheet describes the CIP and funding awarded as part of the project.

  1. How Teaching Science Using Project-Based Learning Strategies Affects the Classroom Learning Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hugerat, Muhamad

    2016-01-01

    This study involved 458 ninth-grade students from two different Arab middle schools in Israel. Half of the students learned science using project-based learning strategies and the other half learned using traditional methods (non-project-based). The classes were heterogeneous regarding their achievements in the sciences. The adapted questionnaire…

  2. Student cognition and motivation during the Classroom BirdWatch citizen science project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomasek, Terry Morton

    The purpose of this study was to examine and describe the ways various stakeholders (CBW project developer/coordinator, elementary and middle school teachers, and 5th through 8th grade students) envisioned, implemented and engaged in the citizen science project, eBird/Classroom BirdWatch. A multiple case study mixed-methods research design was used to examine student engagement in the cognitive processes associated with scientific inquiry as part of citizen science participation. Student engagement was described based on a sense of autonomy, competence, relatedness and intrinsic motivation. A goal of this study was to expand the taxonomy of differences between authentic scientific inquiry and simple inquiry to include those inquiry tasks associated with participation in citizen science by describing how students engaged in this type of science. This research study built upon the existing framework of cognitive processes associated with scientific inquiry described by Chinn and Malhotra (2002). This research provides a systematic analysis of the scientific processes and related reasoning tasks associated with the citizen science project eBird and the corresponding curriculum Classroom BirdWatch . Data consisted of responses to surveys, focus group interviews, document analysis and individual interviews. I suggest that citizen science could be an additional form of classroom-based science inquiry that can promote more authentic features of scientific inquiry and engage students in meaningful ways.

  3. Chemical Database Projects Delivered by RSC eScience

    OpenAIRE

    Williams, Antony

    2013-01-01

    This presentation is an overview of some of the projects we are involved with at RSC eScience. The presentation was given at the FDA Meeting regarding the “Development of a Freely Distributable Data System for the Registration of Substances"  

  4. Project Citizen: Promoting Action-Oriented Citizen Science in the Classroom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Green, Carie; Medina-Jerez, William

    2012-01-01

    In recent years, citizen science projects have emerged as a means to involve students in scientific inquiry, particularly in the fields of ecology and environmental science. A citizen scientist is "a volunteer who collects and/or processes data as part of a scientific inquiry" (Silverton 2009, p. 467). Participation in citizen science…

  5. Analyzing the Watershed Dynamics project as an example of successful science and education partnerships

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buzby, C. K.; Jona, K.

    2009-12-01

    The Watershed Dynamics project is a partnership between Northwestern University, the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science (CUAHSI), and the GLOBE Program (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment). The goal of the project is to develop inquiry-based educational materials that use authentic scientific data and analysis techniques to teach students about the watershed. The relationship between Northwestern, CUAHSI, and GLOBE allows each partner to contribute to the development of the project in the area of their expertise. Science researchers from CUAHSI share science content knowledge and data access through the development of their Hydrologic Information System (HIS). Curriculum developers at Northwestern write inquiry-based curriculum using GIS technology to access and analyze live data. The GLOBE Program is a worldwide hands-on, primary and secondary school-based science education program that provides teacher training opportunities to a network of teachers around the world. This partnership allows each partner to bring their area of expertise to the project and make the best use of one another's resources. The Watershed Dynamics project can serve as a model for future partnerships between the science and education communities. The Office of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Education Partnerships (OSEP) at Northwestern is a service organization that supports Northwestern researchers in developing proposals and implementing research projects that incorporate K-12 educational components, particularly in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). OSEP assists faculty with the development of sound plans for education and outreach that reflect current research on learning and educational reform and provides expertise in STEM education materials development, learning technologies, and professional development for K-12 teachers and facilitators in informal education institutions

  6. Improving Technological Competency in Nursing Students: The Passport Project

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julie Edwards

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Integration of informatics competency into a nursing curriculum is important to ensure success throughout the education and career of contemporary nursing students. As enrollment in nursing programs increases, the diverse population of students from many different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds presents a challenge for faculty in addressing unique learning needs. Competency in informatics will allow the beginning nursing student to navigate the on-line teaching software used by colleges. With rigorous expectations in nursing programs, students may feel overwhelmed with assignments, organization, and time management. Frustration may build when students struggle with basic informatics competency, often leaving them unable to navigate instructional websites or work with necessary on-line learning content. The purpose of this project, Passport Project for Nursing Success, was to assess the skills, knowledge, and informatics comfort level of students, while providing computer training and teaching for beginning nursing students in an undergraduate nursing program in Central Illinois. The community college encompassed students from a ten county area, with 20 percent of the student population enrolled in the Applied Science curriculum. Initial implementation occurred prior to the students' first nursing course and emphasized basic skills necessary to navigate on-line learning software, library search engines, and electronic communication. The greatest barrier to successful implementation was faculty resistance and academic support during completion of the initial implementation of the Passport Project. Post- project surveys indicated overwhelming student support for the education received and improved retention rates of first semester nursing students.

  7. National Academy of Sciences Recommends Continued Support of ALMA Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    2000-05-01

    A distinguished panel of scientists today announced their support for the continued funding of the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) Project at a press conference given by the National Academy of Sciences. The ALMA Project is an international partnership between U.S. and European astronomy organizations to build a complete imaging telescope that will produce astronomical images at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths. The U.S. partner is the National Science Foundation, through Associated Universities, Inc., (AUI), led by Dr. Riccardo Giacconi, and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). "We are delighted at this show of continued support from our peers in the scientific community," said Dr. Robert Brown, ALMA U.S. Project Director and Deputy Director of NRAO. "The endorsement adds momentum to the recent strides we've made toward the building of this important telescope." In 1998, the National Research Council, the working arm of the National Academy of Sciences, charged the Astronomy and Astrophysics Survey Committee to "survey the field of space- and ground-based astronomy and astrophysics" and to "recommend priorities for the most important new initiatives of the decade 2000-2010." In a report released today, the committee wrote that it "re-affirms the recommendations of the 1991 Astronomy and Astrophysics Survey Committee by endorsing the completion of . . . the Millimeter Array (MMA, now part of the Atacama Large Millimeter Array)." In the 1991 report "The Decade of Discovery," a previous committee chose the Millimeter Array as one of the most important projects of the decade 1990-2000. Early last year, the National Science Foundation signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a consortium of European organizations that effectively merged the MMA Project with the European Large Southern Array project. The combined project was christened the Atacama Large Millimeter Array. ALMA, expected to consist of 64 antennas with 12-meter diameter dishes

  8. Improving Climate Projections Using "Intelligent" Ensembles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, Noel C.; Taylor, Patrick C.

    2015-01-01

    Recent changes in the climate system have led to growing concern, especially in communities which are highly vulnerable to resource shortages and weather extremes. There is an urgent need for better climate information to develop solutions and strategies for adapting to a changing climate. Climate models provide excellent tools for studying the current state of climate and making future projections. However, these models are subject to biases created by structural uncertainties. Performance metrics-or the systematic determination of model biases-succinctly quantify aspects of climate model behavior. Efforts to standardize climate model experiments and collect simulation data-such as the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP)-provide the means to directly compare and assess model performance. Performance metrics have been used to show that some models reproduce present-day climate better than others. Simulation data from multiple models are often used to add value to projections by creating a consensus projection from the model ensemble, in which each model is given an equal weight. It has been shown that the ensemble mean generally outperforms any single model. It is possible to use unequal weights to produce ensemble means, in which models are weighted based on performance (called "intelligent" ensembles). Can performance metrics be used to improve climate projections? Previous work introduced a framework for comparing the utility of model performance metrics, showing that the best metrics are related to the variance of top-of-atmosphere outgoing longwave radiation. These metrics improve present-day climate simulations of Earth's energy budget using the "intelligent" ensemble method. The current project identifies several approaches for testing whether performance metrics can be applied to future simulations to create "intelligent" ensemble-mean climate projections. It is shown that certain performance metrics test key climate processes in the models, and

  9. Succesful Experience of the Project "ASTROTOP" in Israel: Space-astonomy Science education in form of independent reserch projects of pupils

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pustil'Nik, Lev

    We present more then 10 year experience of educational project in Space/Astrophysics/Environment field, realized on the base of National Science- Educational Center "Blossoms of Science" of the Jordan Valley College. Our approach is based on the natural curiosity of children as driver of their self-development from the first minutes of their life and even in adult state. This approach shift center of the weight in educational process from direct lectures, sermons, explanation from teacher to children on own attempts of children to investigate problem, what is interesting for them, by themselves (individually or in group). Our approach includes four levels of the projects: "nano-projects" for children garden and basic school (up to 10-12 years), "micro-projects" for intermediate school (12-16 years), "mini-projects" for high school (16-18 years), and "macro-projects" for the best graduates high schools and students of colleges (17-22 years). These levels and projects are interconnected one with another and sometimes participants, started on the micro-projects level in intermediate school, continue their activity up to macro-projects of the graduate's diploma level. For each level we organize courses for preparation of the teachers and instructors, interested in the using of our receipts, and published books and brochures for them. The content of our activity for different levels: a) Level of kinder gardens/basic schools- special software with interactive movie -nano-projects; b) Level of intermediate school: "Days of Science" in tens schools of Israel- first contact with astronomy; c) Summer astronomy camps (4-5 of one week camps on 200-300 pupils from all country) with introduce to astronomy and with preparation of micro-projects on themes - first successful experience of research in real science fields (hundreds projects); d) ASTROTOP - one year program of preparation of short projects, with solution on the quality level of chosen astrophysical problem - mini-projects

  10. Methodology of quality improvement projects for the Texas Medicare population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pendergrass, P W; Abel, R L; Bing, M; Vaughn, R; McCauley, C

    1998-07-01

    The Texas Medical Foundation, the quality improvement organization for the state of Texas, develops local quality improvement projects for the Medicare population. These projects are developed as part of the Health Care Quality Improvement Program undertaken by the Health Care Financing Administration. The goal of a local quality improvement project is to collaborate with providers to identify and reduce the incidence of unintentional variations in the delivery of care that negatively impact outcomes. Two factors are critical to the success of a quality improvement project. First, as opposed to peer review that is based on implicit criteria, quality improvement must be based on explicit criteria. These criteria represent key steps in the delivery of care that have been shown to improve outcomes for a specific disease. Second, quality improvement must be performed in partnership with the health care community. As such, the health care community must play an integral role in the design and evaluation of a quality improvement project and in the design and implementation of the resulting quality improvement plan. Specifically, this article provides a historical perspective for the transition from peer review to quality improvement. It discusses key steps used in developing and implementing local quality improvement projects including topic selection, quality indicator development, collaborator recruitment, and measurement of performance/improvement. Two Texas Medical Foundation projects are described to highlight the current methodology and to illustrate the impact of quality improvement projects.

  11. Project-Based Learning versus Textbook/Lecture Learning in Middle School Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Main, Sindy

    2015-01-01

    As schools continue to become more diverse, it is important to look at science teaching methods that will meet the needs of all students. In this study, 172 students in a middle school in Northwestern Illinois were taught using two methods of teaching science. Half of the students were taught using project-based science (PBS) and the other half of…

  12. The Use of Online Citizen-Science Projects to Provide Experiential Learning Opportunities for Nonmajor Science Students?

    OpenAIRE

    Kridelbaugh, Donna M.

    2016-01-01

    Citizen science is becoming even more accessible to the general public through technological advances in the development of mobile applications, facilitating information dissemination and data collection. With the advent of “big data,” many citizen-science projects designed to help researchers sift through piles of research data now exist entirely online, either in the form of playing a game or via other digital avenues. Recent trends in citizen science have also focused on “crowdsourcing” so...

  13. Live Storybook Outcomes of Pilot Multidisciplinary Elementary Earth Science Collaborative Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soeffing, C.; Pierson, R.

    2017-12-01

    Live Storybook Outcomes of pilot multidisciplinary elementary earth science collaborative project Anchoring phenomena leading to student led investigations are key to applying the NGSS standards in the classroom. This project employs the GLOBE elementary storybook, Discoveries at Willow Creek, as an inspiration and operational framework for a collaborative pilot project engaging 4th grade students in asking questions, collecting relevant data, and using analytical tools to document and understand natural phenomena. The Institute of Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), a GLOBE Partner, the Outdoor Campus, an informal educational outdoor learning facility managed by South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, University of Sioux Falls, and All City Elementary, Sioux Falls are collaborating partners in this project. The Discoveries at Willow Creek storyline introduces young students to the scientific process, and models how they can apply science and engineering practices (SEPs) to discover and understand the Earth system in which they live. One innovation associated with this project is the formal engagement of elementary students in a global citizen science program (for all ages), GLOBE Observer, and engaging them in data collection using GLOBE Observer's Cloud and Mosquito Habitat Mapper apps. As modeled by the fictional students from Willow Creek, the 4th grade students will identify their 3 study sites at the Outdoor Campus, keep a journal, and record observations. The students will repeat their investigations at the Outdoor Campus to document and track change over time. Students will be introduced to "big data" in a manageable way, as they see their observations populate GLOBE's map-based data visualization and . Our research design recognizes the comfort and familiarity factor of literacy activities in the elementary classroom for students and teachers alike, and postulates that connecting a science education project to an engaging storybook text will contribute to a

  14. Approaches to Teaching Plant Nutrition. Children's Learning in Science Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leeds Univ. (England). Centre for Studies in Science and Mathematics Education.

    During the period 1984-1986, over 30 teachers from the Yorkshire (England) region have worked in collaboration with the Children's Learning in Science Project (CLIS) developing and testing teaching schemes in the areas of energy, particle theory, and plant nutrition. The project is based upon the constructivist approach to teaching. This document…

  15. An improvement project within urological care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khatami, Annelie; Rosengren, Kristina

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to describe staff experiences in an on-going improvement project regarding patients with ureteral stones. A qualitative descriptive study based on eight group interviews and 48 narratives, was performed. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Trustworthiness was ensured by using a well-documented improvement process method during six months. The results formed three categories: an absent comprehensive view; complexity; and vulnerability within the organisation. A holistic perspective regarding urological care at the micro-, meso- and macro-levels is needed to improve planning and caring processes. This study includes one team (six members, different health professionals) within the same urology department. Results show that staff need information, such as guidelines and support throughout the improvement work to deliver high-quality care. Moreover, there is a need for evidence-based guidelines at national level to support improvement work. Healthcare staff need to pay attention to all team member needs to improve urological care. Organisational and managerial aspect are needed to support clear and common goals regarding healthcare improvement work. Urological improvement projects, generally, are lacking, which is why this study is important to improve nephrolithiasis patient care.

  16. Lessons from NASA Applied Sciences Program: Success Factors in Applying Earth Science in Decision Making

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friedl, L. A.; Cox, L.

    2008-12-01

    The NASA Applied Sciences Program collaborates with organizations to discover and demonstrate applications of NASA Earth science research and technology to decision making. The desired outcome is for public and private organizations to use NASA Earth science products in innovative applications for sustained, operational uses to enhance their decisions. In addition, the program facilitates the end-user feedback to Earth science to improve products and demands for research. The Program thus serves as a bridge between Earth science research and technology and the applied organizations and end-users with management, policy, and business responsibilities. Since 2002, the Applied Sciences Program has sponsored over 115 applications-oriented projects to apply Earth observations and model products to decision making activities. Projects have spanned numerous topics - agriculture, air quality, water resources, disasters, public health, aviation, etc. The projects have involved government agencies, private companies, universities, non-governmental organizations, and foreign entities in multiple types of teaming arrangements. The paper will examine this set of applications projects and present specific examples of successful use of Earth science in decision making. The paper will discuss scientific, organizational, and management factors that contribute to or impede the integration of the Earth science research in policy and management. The paper will also present new methods the Applied Sciences Program plans to implement to improve linkages between science and end users.

  17. UMTRA Project-Level Cost Reduction/Productivity Improvement Program manual

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-06-01

    Mission of the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project Cost Reduction/Productivity Improvement Program (CR/PIP) is to contribute to the UMTRA Project's environmental restoration mission by providing the means to achieve and recognize continuous improvements and cost savings. This manual includes program definition, description of UMTRA project organizational responsibilities and interfaces with existing project functions, guidance to contractors, and definition of project-level functions

  18. Improving the effectiveness of communication about climate science: Insights from the "Global Warming's Six Americas" audience segmentation research project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maibach, E.; Roser-Renouf, C.

    2011-12-01

    That the climate science community has not been entirely effective in sharing what it knows about climate change with the broader public - and with policy makers and organizations that should be considering climate change when making decisions - is obvious. Our research shows that a large majority of the American public trusts scientists (76%) and science-based agencies (e.g., 76% trust NOAA) as sources of information about climate change. Yet, despite the widespread agreement in the climate science community that the climate is changing as a result of human activity, only 64% of the public understand that the world's average temperature has been increasing (and only about half of them are sure), less than half (47%) understand that the warming is caused mostly by human activity, and only 39% understand that most scientists think global warming is happening (in fact, only 13% understand that the large majority of climate scientists think global warming is happening). Less obvious is what the climate science community should do to become more effective in sharing what it knows. In this paper, we will use evidence from our "Global Warming's Six Americas" audience segmentation research project to suggest ways that individual climate scientists -- and perhaps more importantly, ways in which climate science agencies and professional societies -- can enhance the effectiveness of their communication efforts. We will conclude by challenging members of the climate science community to identify and convey "simple, clear messages, repeated often, by a variety of trusted sources" - an approach to communication repeatedly shown to be effective by the public health community.

  19. Guide for prioritizing power plant productivity improvement projects: handbook of availability improvement methodology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1981-01-01

    As part of its program to help improve electrical power plant productivity, the Department of Energy (DOE) has developed a methodology for evaluating productivity improvement projects. This handbook presents a simplified version of this methodology called the Availability Improvement Methodology (AIM), which provides a systematic approach for prioritizing plant improvement projects. Also included in this handbook is a description of data taking requirements necessary to support the AIM methodology, benefit/cost analysis, and root cause analysis for tracing persistent power plant problems. In applying the AIM methodology, utility engineers should be mindful that replacement power costs are frequently greater for forced outages than for planned outages. Equivalent availability includes both. A cost-effective ranking of alternative plant improvement projects must discern between those projects which will reduce forced outages and those which might reduce planned outages. As is the case with any analytical procedure, engineering judgement must be exercised with respect to results of purely mathematical calculations

  20. SNF project engineering process improvement plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    KELMENSON, R.L.

    1999-01-01

    This Engineering Process Improvement Plan documents the activities and plans to be taken by the SNF Project (the Project) to support its engineering process and to produce a consolidated set of engineering procedures that are fully compliant with the requirements of HNF-PRO-1819 (1819). These requirements are imposed on all engineering activities performed for the Project and apply to all life-cycle stages of the Project's systems, structures and components (SSCs). This Plan describes the steps that will be taken by the Project during the transition period to ensure that new procedures are effectively integrated into the Project's work process as these procedures are issued. The consolidated procedures will be issued and implemented by September 30, 1999

  1. Changes in Participants’ Scientific Attitudes and Epistemological Beliefs During an Astronomical Citizen Science Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Price, Aaron

    2012-01-01

    Citizen science projects offer opportunities for non-scientists to take part in scientific research. While their contribution to scientific data collection has been well documented, there is limited research on changes that may occur to their volunteer participants. In this study, we investigated (1) how volunteers’ attitudes towards science and beliefs in the nature of science changed over six months of participation in an astronomy-themed citizen science project and (2) how the level of project participation accounted for these changes. To measure attitudes towards science and beliefs about the nature of science, identical pre- and post-tests were used. We used pre-test data from 1,375 participants and post-test data collected from 175 participants. Responses were analyzed using the Rasch Rating Scale Model. The pre-test sample was used to create the Rasch scales for the two scientific literacy measures. For the pre/post-test comparisons, data from those who completed both tests were used. Fourteen participants who took the pre/post-tests were interviewed. Results show that overall scientific attitudes did not change, p = .812. However, we did find significant changes related towards two scientific attitude items about science in the news (positive change; p self-efficacy (negative change, p scale did not change much and this change was not related to any of our recorded project activity variables. The interviews suggest that the social aspect of the project is important to participants and the change in self-efficacy is not due to a lowering of esteem but rather a greater appreciation for what they have yet to learn.

  2. A case study: the initiative to improve RN scheduling at Hamilton Health Sciences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wallace, Laurel-Anne; Pierson, Sharon

    2008-01-01

    In 2003, Hamilton Health Sciences embarked on an initiative to improve and standardize nursing schedules and scheduling practices. The scheduling project was one of several initiatives undertaken by a corporate-wide Nursing Resource Group established to enhance the work environment and patient care and to ensure appropriate utilization of nursing resources across the organization's five hospitals. This article focuses on major activities undertaken in the scheduling initiative. The step-by-step approach described, plus examples of the scheduling resources developed and samples of extended-tour schedules, will all provide insight, potential strategies and practical help for nursing administrators, human resources (HR) personnel and others interested in improving nurse scheduling.

  3. The PISCES Project: How Teacher-Scientist Partners can Enhance Elementary Science Instruction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reif, C.; Oechel, W.

    2003-12-01

    The PISCES Project (Partnerships Involving the Scientific Community in Elementary Schools www.sdsa.org/pisces) is an innovative program that brings high quality standards-based elementary science curriculum and hands-on laboratory materials into San Diego County's classrooms. The project is funded by the NSF Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education (GK-12) program. The project was designed and is administered through cooperation among faculty at San Diego State University and the Science Department of the San Diego County Office of Education. Undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in science programs in San Diego area universities including San Diego State University, California State University San Marcos, and University of California San Diego partner with elementary school teachers. Through this partnership, the scientist brings scientific expertise to the classroom while the teacher delivers the lesson using current pedagogic methods. This is accomplished during a 3 month partnership in which the scientist joins the teacher in the classroom a few days each week to complete professional kit-based curriculum such as that available from FOSS (Full Option Science System) and STC (Science and Technology for Children). The teachers remain in the program for two years during which they have continuous access to the kit-based curriculum as well as two to three partnership cycles. Teachers receive assistance outside of the classroom as well attending professional development institutes three times a year to establish and maintain effective science teaching methods. The San Diego Science Alliance and other community and industry supporters provide the additionalfunding necessary to provide this teacher professional development Currenty, PISCES is present in over 40 schools and is able to provide partnerships to over 100 classrooms each year. In addition to the work done in San Diego, the project has expanded to Barrow, Alaska with plans to expand to La Paz

  4. Overview of NASA Finesse (Field Investigations to Enable Solar System Science and Exploration) Science and Exploration Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heldmann, J. L.; Lim, D.S.S.; Hughes, S.; Nawotniak, S. Kobs; Garry, B.; Sears, D.; Neish, C.; Osinski, G. R.; Hodges, K.; Downs, M.; hide

    2016-01-01

    NASA's FINESSE (Field Investigations to Enable Solar System Science and Exploration) project was selected as a research team by NASA's Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI). SSERVI is a joint Institute supported by NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD) and Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD). As such, FINESSE is focused on a science and exploration field-based research program to generate strategic knowledge in preparation for human and robotic exploration of other planetary bodies including our Moon, Mars moons Phobos and Deimos, and near-Earth asteroids. FINESSE embodies the philosophy that "science enables exploration and exploration enables science".

  5. [Analysis of ophthalmic projects granted by National Natural Science Foundation].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shao, Jing-Jing; Mo, Xiao-Fen; Pan, Zhi-Qiang; Gan, De-Kang; Xu, Yan-Ying

    2008-09-01

    To understand the status of basic research work in the field of ophthalmology by analyzing the projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) from the year of 1986 to 2007, and offer as a reference to the ophthalmologists and researchers. NSFC supported ophthalmology projects in the 22 year's period were collected from the database of NSFC. The field of funded projects, the research team and their achievements were analyzed. There were 228 applicants from 47 home institutions were funded in the field of ophthalmology during the past 22 years, 323 projects funded with 66.74 million Yuan in total, in which 165 projects were fulfilled before the end of 2006. The applied and funded projects mainly focus on six different kinds of research area related to retinal diseases, corneal diseases, glaucoma, optic nerve diseases, myopia and cataract, and 70% of them were basic research in nature. As a brief achievement of 165 fulfilled projects, more than 610 papers were published in domestic journals, over 140 papers were published in Science Citation Index journals, more than 600 people were trained, and over 20 scientific awards were obtained. The number of funded projects and achievement of fulfilled projects in the discipline of ophthalmology gradually increased over the past two decades, the research fields were concentrated in certain diseases. NSFC has played an important role in promoting the development of ophthalmology research and bringing up specialists in China. However, clinical research, continuously research, transforming from basic research to clinic applications and multidisciplinary cross studies should be strengthened.

  6. Improving the Teaching of Teamwork Skills in Engineering and Computer Science

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert W. Lingard

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available It is important that engineering and computer science students learn teamwork skills as an integral part of their educational development. These skills are often not explicitly taught, but rather it is expected that students learn them on their own through participation in various team projects. Furthermore, the actual skills that students are expected to learn are usually not well articulated, or even understood. The approach outlined here attempts to address these problems by first establishing a process for defining what is meant by teamwork, by using this definition to assess the extent to which students are learning teamwork skills, and by using the assessment results to formulate approaches to improve student learning with respect to these skills. Specific attempts at the definition, assessment, and instruction improvement process are discussed.

  7. In response to an open invitation for comments on AAAS project 2061's Benchmark books on science. Part 1: documentation of serious errors in cell biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ling, Gilbert

    2006-01-01

    Project 2061 was founded by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to improve secondary school science education. An in-depth study of ten 9 to 12th grade biology textbooks led to the verdict that none conveyed "Big Ideas" that would give coherence and meaning to the profusion of lavishly illustrated isolated details. However, neither the Project report itself nor the Benchmark books put out earlier by the Project carries what deserves the designation of "Big Ideas." Worse, in the two earliest-published Benchmark books, the basic unit of all life forms--the living cell--is described as a soup enclosed by a cell membrane, that determines what can enter or leave the cell. This is astonishing since extensive experimental evidence has unequivocally disproved this idea 60 years ago. A "new" version of the membrane theory brought in to replace the discredited (sieve) version is the pump model--currently taught as established truth in all high-school and college biology textbooks--was also unequivocally disproved 40 years ago. This comment is written partly in response to Bechmark's gracious open invitation for ideas to improve the books and through them, to improve US secondary school science education.

  8. Ka Hana `Imi Na`auao: A Science Curriculum Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Napeahi, K.; Roberts, K. D.; Galloway, L. M.; Stodden, R. A.; Akuna, J.; Bruno, B.

    2005-12-01

    In antiquity, the first people to step foot on what are now known as the Hawaiian islands skillfully traversed the Pacific Ocean using celestial navigation and learned observations of scientific phenomena. Long before the Western world ventured beyond the horizon, Hawaiians had invented the chronometer, built aqueduct systems (awai) that continue to amaze modern engineers, and had preventive health systems as well as a comprehensive knowledge of medicinal plants (including antivirals) which only now are working their way through trials for use in modern pharmacopia. Yet, today, Native Hawaiians are severely underrepresented in science-related fields, reflecting (in part) a failure of the Western educational system to nurture the potential of these resourceful students, particularly the many "at-risk" students who are presently over-represented in special education. A curriculum which draws from and incorporates traditional Hawaiian values and knowledge is needed to reinforce links to the inquiry process which nurtured creative thinking during the renaissance of Polynesian history. The primary goal of the Ka Hana `Imi Na`auao Project (translation: `science` or `work in which you seek enlightenment, knowledge or wisdom`) is to increase the number of Native Hawaiian adults in science-related postsecondary education and employment fields. Working closely with Native Hawaiian cultural experts and our high school partners, we will develop and implement a culturally responsive 11th and 12th grade high school science curriculum, infused with math, literacy and technology readiness skills. Software and assistive technology will be used to adapt instruction to individual learners` reading levels, specific disabilities and learning styles. To ease the transition from secondary to post-secondary education, selected grade 12 students will participate in planned project activities that link high school experiences with college science-related programs of study. Ka Hana `Imi Na

  9. Microgravity science and applications projects and payloads

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crouch, R. K.

    1987-01-01

    An overview of work conducted by the Microgravity Science and Applications Division of NASA is presented. The goals of the program are the development and implementation of a reduced-gravity research, science and applications program, exploitation of space for human benefits, and the application of reduced gravity research for the development of advanced technologies. Space research of fluid dynamics and mass transport phenomena is discussed and the facilities available for reduced gravity experiments are presented. A program for improving communication with the science and applications communities and the potential use of the Space Station for microgravity research are also examined.

  10. Museums for Science Education: can we make the difference? The case of the EST project

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Xanthoudaki

    2007-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper addresses the role of museums in education in science and technology through the discussion of a specific project entitled EST “Educate in Science and Technology”. The Project puts together methodologies and activities through which museums can be used as resources for long-term project work. In-service training for teachers, work in class with learning kits or with materials brought in by a Science Van, and visits to the museum are planned and developed jointly by museum experts and teachers. The Project proposes a teaching and learning model which sees the museum experience as central and integral part of a teaching and learning process with more effective outcomes. The analysis of the Project activities and methodologies is based on the work carried out at the National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo da Vinci, which perceives the learner (the visitor at the heart of its educational methodologies and provision.

  11. The epistemic culture in an online citizen science project: Programs, antiprograms and epistemic subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kasperowski, Dick; Hillman, Thomas

    2018-05-01

    In the past decade, some areas of science have begun turning to masses of online volunteers through open calls for generating and classifying very large sets of data. The purpose of this study is to investigate the epistemic culture of a large-scale online citizen science project, the Galaxy Zoo, that turns to volunteers for the classification of images of galaxies. For this task, we chose to apply the concepts of programs and antiprograms to examine the 'essential tensions' that arise in relation to the mobilizing values of a citizen science project and the epistemic subjects and cultures that are enacted by its volunteers. Our premise is that these tensions reveal central features of the epistemic subjects and distributed cognition of epistemic cultures in these large-scale citizen science projects.

  12. Improving science literacy and education through space life sciences

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacLeish, M. Y.; Moreno, N. P.; Tharp, B. Z.; Denton, J. J.; Jessup, G.; Clipper, M. C.

    2001-01-01

    The National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) encourages open involvement by scientists and the public at large in the Institute's activities. Through its Education and Public Outreach Program, the Institute is supporting national efforts to improve Kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) and undergraduate education and to communicate knowledge generated by space life science research to lay audiences. Three academic institution Baylor College of Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine and Texas A&M University are designing, producing, field-testing, and disseminating a comprehensive array of programs and products to achieve this goal. The objectives of the NSBRI Education and Public Outreach program are to: promote systemic change in elementary and secondary science education; attract undergraduate students--especially those from underrepresented groups--to careers in space life sciences, engineering and technology-based fields; increase scientific literacy; and to develop public and private sector partnerships that enhance and expand NSBRI efforts to reach students and families. c 2001. Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. ELECTRICAL SAFETY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT A COMPLEX WIDE TEAMING INITIATIVE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    GRAY BJ

    2007-11-26

    This paper describes the results of a year-long project, sponsored by the Energy Facility Contractors Group (EFCOG) and designed to improve overall electrical safety performance throughout Department of Energy (DOE)-owned sites and laboratories. As evidenced by focused metrics, the Project was successful primarily due to the joint commitment of contractor and DOE electrical safety experts, as well as significant support from DOE and contractor senior management. The effort was managed by an assigned project manager, using classical project-management principles that included execution of key deliverables and regular status reports to the Project sponsor. At the conclusion of the Project, the DOE not only realized measurable improvement in the safety of their workers, but also had access to valuable resources that will enable them to do the following: evaluate and improve electrical safety programs; analyze and trend electrical safety events; increase electrical safety awareness for both electrical and non-electrical workers; and participate in ongoing processes dedicated to continued improvement.

  14. Changes in Participants' Scientific Attitudes and Epistemological Beliefs during an Astronomical Citizen Science Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Price, C. Aaron; Lee, Hee-Sun

    2013-01-01

    Citizen science projects provide non-scientists with opportunities to take part in scientific research. While their contribution to scientific data collection has been well documented, there is limited research on how participation in citizen science projects may affect their scientific literacy. In this study, we investigated (1) how volunteers'…

  15. Science Roles and Interactions in Adaptive Management of Large River Restoration Projects, Midwest United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacobson, R. B.; Galat, D. L.; Smith, C. B.

    2010-12-01

    inside” expert (specifically knowledgeable but may be perceived as lacking independence). Both perspectives are important and can be accommodated in larger programs. Several river restoration programs in the Midwest have evolved towards hierarchical structures with transient peer-review panels with inside and outside experts invoked at the project level, and standing science advisory committees composed of outside experts for perspective of the entire program. The standing committee may have a variety of roles including providing: a) perspective on how individual restoration contribute to holistic, system-wide restoration objectives, b) understanding of how the science portfolio could be prioritized and diversified, and c) explanation and outreach to managers, stakeholders, scientists, and the public. Investments in rigorous science and science review can be considerable, amounting to over 20 percent of total restoration costs in large restoration programs. Justification depends on whether this investment is effective in informing decision making and providing an improved scientific foundation for restoration.

  16. Frames for Learning Science: Analyzing Learner Positioning in a Technology-Enhanced Science Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silseth, K.; Arnseth, H. C.

    2016-01-01

    In this article, we examine the relationship between how students are positioned in social encounters and how this influences learning in a technology-supported science project. We pursue this topic by focusing on the participation trajectory of one particular learner. The analysis shows that the student cannot be interpreted as one type of…

  17. Improvement of Construction Project Management Processes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nazarko, J.

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The common denominator of the five papers published in the current edition of the Journal of Engineering, Project, and Production Management is the improvement of construction project management processes for effective use of resources. Execution of proper project management processes is widely recognized as a key success factor influencing likelihood of project success (Alleman, 2014. It is noticeable that four out of five papers in this issue of the Journal are authored or co-authored by Iranian researchers from the same Institute but their conclusions bear importance that cannot be limited to the authors’ region.

  18. Construction Project Performance Improvement through Radio Frequency Identification Technology Application on a Project Supply Chain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Heng

    2017-01-01

    Construction project productivity typically lags other industries and it has been the focus of numerous studies in order to improve the project performance. This research investigated the application of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology on construction projects' supply chain and determined that RFID technology can improve the…

  19. ENSAR, a Nuclear Science Project for European Research Area

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Turzó, Ketel; Lewitowicz, Marek; Harakeh, Muhsin N.

    2015-01-01

    During the period from September 2010 to December 2014, the European project European Nuclear Science and Applications Research (ENSAR) coordinated research activities of the Nuclear Physics community performing research in three major subfields: Nuclear Structure, Nuclear Astrophysics, and Nuclear

  20. A quality improvement project to improve admission temperatures in very low birth weight infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, H C; Ho, Q T; Rhine, W D

    2008-11-01

    To review the results of a quality improvement (QI) project to improve admission temperatures of very low birth weight inborn infants. The neonatal intensive care unit at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital underwent a QI project to address hypothermic preterm newborns by staff education and implementing processes such as polyethylene wraps and chemical warming mattresses. We performed retrospective chart review of all inborn infants with birth weight project. The improvement was consistent and persisted over a 15-month period. After risk adjustment, the strongest predictor of hypothermia was being born in the period before implementation of the QI project (odds ratio 8.12, 95% confidence interval 4.63, 14.22). Although cesarean delivery was a strong risk factor for hypothermia prior to the project, it was no longer significant after the project. There was no significant difference in death or intraventricular hemorrhage detected between periods. There was a significant improvement in admission temperatures after a QI project, which persisted beyond the initial implementation period. Although there was no difference in mortality or intraventricular hemorrhage rates, we did not have sufficient power to detect small differences in these outcomes.

  1. Technology Foresight For Youth: A Project For Science and Technology Education in Sweden

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kendal, Anne Louise

    "Technology Foresight for Youth" is a project run by two science museums, two science centres and "Technology Foresight (Sweden)" an organization in which both business and scientists are represented. The project is designed to strengthen young people's interest in ongoing technological work, research and education. It should give them confidence in their own ability both to understand today's techniques including its influence on people's daily lives, and to influence future developments. One part of the project is aimed at school teachers, teacher cooperation groups and students in the age group 12 to 18 years. A second part encourages dialog and meetings by arranging debates, seminars, theatre, science demonstrations in cooperation with business representatives and scientists. A third important part of the project is a special exhibition to be shown at the four cooperating institutions: "To be where I am not - young people's dreams about the future". The exhibition is meant to be sensual, interactive and partly virtual. It will change and grow with time as young people contribute with their thoughts, visions and challenges. Young people in different parts of the country will be able to interact electronically with each other and with the virtual part of the exhibition. The main aim of the project is to develop new interactive pedagogic methods for science and technology based on young people's own visions about the future.

  2. Science in Action: How Middle School Students Are Changing Their World through STEM Service-Learning Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newman, Jane L.; Dantzler, John; Coleman, April N.

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of Science in Action (SIA) was to examine the relationship between implementing quality science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) service-learning (SL) projects and the effect on students' academic engagement in middle school science, civic responsibility, and resilience to at-risk behaviors. The innovative project funded by…

  3. The effect of science learning integrated with local potential to improve science process skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahardini, Riris Riezqia Budy; Suryadarma, I. Gusti Putu; Wilujeng, Insih

    2017-08-01

    This research was aimed to know the effectiveness of science learning that integrated with local potential to improve student`s science process skill. The research was quasi experiment using non-equivalent control group design. The research involved all student of Muhammadiyah Imogiri Junior High School on grade VII as a population. The sample in this research was selected through cluster random sampling, namely VII B (experiment group) and VII C (control group). Instrument that used in this research is a nontest instrument (science process skill observation's form) adapted Desak Megawati's research (2016). The aspect of science process skills were making observation and communication. The data were using univariat (ANOVA) analyzed at 0,05 significance level and normalized gain score for science process skill increase's category. The result is science learning that integrated with local potential was effective to improve science process skills of student (Sig. 0,00). This learning can increase science process skill, shown by a normalized gain score value at 0,63 (medium category) in experiment group and 0,29 (low category) in control group.

  4. The history and science of the Manhatten project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reed, Bruce Cameron

    2014-01-01

    This is the only popular-level history of the Project prepared by a writer who is a physicist and who has broad knowledge of the relevant scientific details. Ideal for readers who have no specialized scientific background but who want to learn more about how atomic bombs came to be. Relevant scientific concepts are explained in the text as they are needed. For readers who do possess some scientific background (high-school physics), this book will provide a deeper understanding of some of the technical issues involved in developing atomic bombs. An ideal text for a college-level ''general education'' history or science class. Based on years of research by the author into the physics of nuclear weapons, augmented by familiarity with relevant official archival documentation. The development of atomic bombs under the auspices of the U. S. Army's Manhattan Project during World War II is considered to be the outstanding news story of the twentieth century. In this book, a physicist and expert on the history of the Project presents a comprehensive overview of this momentous achievement. The first three chapters cover the history of nuclear physics from the discovery of radioactivity to the discovery of fission, and would be ideal for instructors of a sophomore-level ''Modern Physics'' course. Student-level exercises at the ends of the chapters are accompanied by answers. Chapter 7 covers the physics of first-generation fission weapons at a similar level, again accompanied by exercises and answers. For the interested layman and for non-science students and instructors, the book includes extensive qualitative material on the history, organization, implementation, and results of the Manhattan Project and the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombing missions. The reader also learns about the legacy of the Project as reflected in the current world stockpiles of nuclear weapons.

  5. The history and science of the Manhatten project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reed, Bruce Cameron [Alma College, Alma, MI (United States). Dept. of Physics

    2014-03-01

    This is the only popular-level history of the Project prepared by a writer who is a physicist and who has broad knowledge of the relevant scientific details. Ideal for readers who have no specialized scientific background but who want to learn more about how atomic bombs came to be. Relevant scientific concepts are explained in the text as they are needed. For readers who do possess some scientific background (high-school physics), this book will provide a deeper understanding of some of the technical issues involved in developing atomic bombs. An ideal text for a college-level ''general education'' history or science class. Based on years of research by the author into the physics of nuclear weapons, augmented by familiarity with relevant official archival documentation. The development of atomic bombs under the auspices of the U. S. Army's Manhattan Project during World War II is considered to be the outstanding news story of the twentieth century. In this book, a physicist and expert on the history of the Project presents a comprehensive overview of this momentous achievement. The first three chapters cover the history of nuclear physics from the discovery of radioactivity to the discovery of fission, and would be ideal for instructors of a sophomore-level ''Modern Physics'' course. Student-level exercises at the ends of the chapters are accompanied by answers. Chapter 7 covers the physics of first-generation fission weapons at a similar level, again accompanied by exercises and answers. For the interested layman and for non-science students and instructors, the book includes extensive qualitative material on the history, organization, implementation, and results of the Manhattan Project and the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombing missions. The reader also learns about the legacy of the Project as reflected in the current world stockpiles of nuclear weapons.

  6. Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project: Cost Reduction and Productivity Improvement Program Project Plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1991-11-01

    The purpose of the Cost Reduction/Productivity Improvement Program Plan is to formalize and improve upon existing efforts to control costs which have been underway since project inception. This program plan has been coordinated with the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) and the DOE Field Office, Albuquerque (AL). It incorporates prior Uranium Mill Tallings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project Office guidance issued on the subject. The opportunities for reducing cosh and improving productivity are endless. The CR/PIP has these primary objectives: Improve productivity and quality; heighten the general cost consciousness of project participants, at all levels of their organizations; identify and implement specific innovative employee ideas that extend beyond what is required through existing processes and procedures; emphasize efforts that create additional value for the money spent by maintaining the project Total Estimated Cost (TEC) at the lowest possible level

  7. A Study on the Evaluation of Science Projects of Primary School Students Based on Scientific Criteria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gungor, Sema Nur; Ozer, Dilek Zeren; Ozkan, Muhlis

    2013-01-01

    This study re-evaluated 454 science projects that were prepared by primary school students between 2007 and 2011 within the scope of Science Projects Event for Primary School Students. Also, submitted to TUBITAK BIDEB Bursa regional science board by MNE regional work groups in accordance with scientific research methods and techniques, including…

  8. Advancing Water Science through Improved Cyberinfrastructure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koch, B. J.; Miles, B.; Rai, A.; Ahalt, S.; Band, L. E.; Minsker, B.; Palmer, M.; Williams, M. R.; Idaszak, R.; Whitton, M. C.

    2012-12-01

    Major scientific advances are needed to help address impacts of climate change and increasing human-mediated environmental modification on the water cycle at global and local scales. However, such advances within the water sciences are limited in part by inadequate information infrastructures. For example, cyberinfrastructure (CI) includes the integrated computer hardware, software, networks, sensors, data, and human capital that enable scientific workflows to be carried out within and among individual research efforts and across varied disciplines. A coordinated transformation of existing CI and development of new CI could accelerate the productivity of water science by enabling greater discovery, access, and interoperability of data and models, and by freeing scientists to do science rather than create and manage technological tools. To elucidate specific ways in which improved CI could advance water science, three challenges confronting the water science community were evaluated: 1) How does ecohydrologic patch structure affect nitrogen transport and fate in watersheds?, 2) How can human-modified environments emulate natural water and nutrient cycling to enhance both human and ecosystem well-being?, 3) How do changes in climate affect water availability to support biodiversity and human needs? We assessed the approaches used by researchers to address components of these challenges, identified barriers imposed by limitations of current CI, and interviewed leaders in various water science subdisciplines to determine the most recent CI tools employed. Our preliminary findings revealed four areas where CI improvements are likely to stimulate scientific advances: 1) sensor networks, 2) data quality assurance/quality control, 3) data and modeling standards, 4) high performance computing. In addition, the full potential of a re-envisioned water science CI cannot be realized without a substantial training component. In light of these findings, we suggest that CI

  9. The perceptions of pre-service and in-service teachers regarding a project-based STEM approach to teaching science.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siew, Nyet Moi; Amir, Nazir; Chong, Chin Lu

    2015-01-01

    Whilst much attention has focused on project-based approaches to teaching Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects, little has been reported on the views of South-East Asian science teachers on project-based STEM approaches. Such knowledge could provide relevant information for education training institutions on how to influence innovative teaching of STEM subjects in schools. This article reports on a study that investigated the perceptions of 25 pre-service and 21 in-service Malaysian science teachers in adopting an interdisciplinary project-based STEM approach to teaching science. The teachers undertook an eight hour workshop which exposed them to different science-based STEM projects suitable for presenting science content in the Malaysian high school science syllabus. Data on teachers' perceptions were captured through surveys, interviews, open-ended questions and classroom discussion before and at the end of the workshop. Study findings showed that STEM professional development workshops can provide insights into the support required for teachers to adopt innovative, effective, project-based STEM approaches to teaching science in their schools.

  10. The use of process mapping in healthcare quality improvement projects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antonacci, Grazia; Reed, Julie E; Lennox, Laura; Barlow, James

    2018-05-01

    Introduction Process mapping provides insight into systems and processes in which improvement interventions are introduced and is seen as useful in healthcare quality improvement projects. There is little empirical evidence on the use of process mapping in healthcare practice. This study advances understanding of the benefits and success factors of process mapping within quality improvement projects. Methods Eight quality improvement projects were purposively selected from different healthcare settings within the UK's National Health Service. Data were gathered from multiple data-sources, including interviews exploring participants' experience of using process mapping in their projects and perceptions of benefits and challenges related to its use. These were analysed using inductive analysis. Results Eight key benefits related to process mapping use were reported by participants (gathering a shared understanding of the reality; identifying improvement opportunities; engaging stakeholders in the project; defining project's objectives; monitoring project progress; learning; increased empathy; simplicity of the method) and five factors related to successful process mapping exercises (simple and appropriate visual representation, information gathered from multiple stakeholders, facilitator's experience and soft skills, basic training, iterative use of process mapping throughout the project). Conclusions Findings highlight benefits and versatility of process mapping and provide practical suggestions to improve its use in practice.

  11. Improving Health with Science: Exploring Community-Driven Science Education in Kenya

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leak, Anne Emerson

    This study examines the role of place-based science education in fostering student-driven health interventions. While literature shows the need to connect science with students' place and community, there is limited understanding of strategies for doing so. Making such connections is important for underrepresented students who tend to perceive learning science in school as disconnected to their experiences out of school (Aikenhead, Calabrese-Barton, & Chinn, 2006). To better understand how students can learn to connect place and community with science and engineering practices in a village in Kenya, I worked with community leaders, teachers, and students to develop and study an education program (a school-based health club) with the goal of improving knowledge of health and sanitation in a Kenyan village. While students selected the health topics and problems they hoped to address through participating in the club, the topics were taught with a focus on providing opportunities for students to learn the practices of science and health applications of these practices. Students learned chemistry, physics, environmental science, and engineering to help them address the health problems they had identified in their community. Surveys, student artifacts, ethnographic field notes, and interview data from six months of field research were used to examine the following questions: (1) In what ways were learning opportunities planned for using science and engineering practices to improve community health? (2) In what ways did students apply science and engineering practices and knowledge learned from the health club in their school, homes, and community? and (3) What factors seemed to influence whether students applied or intended to apply what they learned in the health club? Drawing on place-based science education theory and community-engagement models of health, process and structural coding (Saldana, 2013) were used to determine patterns in students' applications of their

  12. Mega-science accelerator projects in China and their impact on economy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Chuang

    2012-01-01

    Along with the rapid development of national economy in China, a number of mega-science projects have been or being constructed. In respect to the large accelerator-based projects, the Beijing Electron-Positron Colliders (BEPC) and its upgrading project BEPCⅡ, the Hefei Light Source (HLS), the Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou (HIRFL) and its Cooling Storage Rings (HIRFL-CSR) and the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF) were successfully constructed and put into operation. The Beijing Radioactive Ion Facility (BRIF) and the China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS) are under construction. A particle accelerator is an integration of many HI-tech components. In order to reach the scientific goal of an accelerator project, a great deal new technologies need to be developed during its construction and operation and thus speed up technology development and this will positively impact on the economy. In this paper, the mega-science accelerator projects are briefly described and applications of accelerators in the economy are reviewed. The paper emphasizes spin-off of the accelerator technology developed during R and D and construction of the projects. Approaches of collaboration between academia and industry are discussed. With some examples, the benefits experienced in the laboratory-industry collaboration and approach of its economic compact are illustrated. (author)

  13. 75 FR 60091 - Science and Technology Reinvention Laboratory Personnel Management Demonstration Project...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-29

    ... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Office of the Secretary Science and Technology Reinvention Laboratory Personnel Management Demonstration Project, Department of the Army, Army Research, Development and... project; correction. SUMMARY: On September 9, 2010 (75 FR 55199), DoD published a notice concerning the...

  14. The "New" Science Specialists: Promoting and Improving the Teaching of Science in Primary Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, Coral; Chittleborough, Gail

    2014-01-01

    A Victorian government initiative called "The Primary Science Specialists Professional Learning Program" is designed to tackle students' falling interest in science by investing in the building of teacher capacity. The aims of the initiative are: to improve the science knowledge base of all teachers and therefore increase teachers'…

  15. A portfolio evaluation framework for air transportation improvement projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baik, Hyeoncheol

    This thesis explores the application of portfolio theory to the Air Transportation System (ATS) improvement. The ATS relies on complexly related resources and different stakeholder groups. Moreover, demand for air travel is significantly increasing relative to capacity of air transportation. In this environment, improving the ATS is challenging. Many projects, which are defined as technologies or initiatives, for improvement have been proposed and some have been demonstrated in practice. However, there is no clear understanding of how well these projects work in different conditions nor of how they interact with each other or with existing systems. These limitations make it difficult to develop good project combinations, or portfolios that maximize improvement. To help address this gap, a framework for identifying good portfolios is proposed. The framework can be applied to individual projects or portfolios of projects. Projects or portfolios are evaluated using four different groups of factors (effectiveness, time-to-implement, scope of applicability, and stakeholder impacts). Portfolios are also evaluated in terms of interaction-determining factors (prerequisites, co-requisites, limiting factors, and amplifying factors) because, while a given project might work well in isolation, interdependencies between projects or with existing systems could result in lower overall performance in combination. Ways to communicate a portfolio to decision makers are also introduced. The framework is unique because (1) it allows using a variety of available data, and (2) it covers diverse benefit metrics. For demonstrating the framework, an application to ground delay management projects serves as a case study. The portfolio evaluation approach introduced in this thesis can aid decision makers and researchers at universities and aviation agencies such as Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and Department of Defense (DoD), in

  16. Evaluation of authentic science projects on climate change in secondary schools: a focus on gender differences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dijkstra, Elma; Goedhart, Martin

    2011-07-01

    Background and purpose This study examines secondary-school students' opinions on participating in authentic science projects which are part of an international EU project on climate change research in seven countries. Partnerships between schools and research institutes result in student projects, in which students work with and learn from scientists about the global carbon cycle. This study focuses in particular on differences between male and female students, as female students normally like traditional school science less than male students. Sample and design Data, drawn from 1370 students from 60 secondary schools across Europe, were collected through questionnaires taken at the end of the projects. The evaluated aspects were: organization; enjoyment; difficulty; and impact of the projects. Results The findings suggest that authentic science education is appreciated very much by both male students and even more by female students. The projects had positive impacts on climate change ideas, in particular for female students. Female students felt that they had learned many new things more often than male students. Conclusions Both male and female students have positive opinions about the authentic science projects. The results further point to positive effects of activities in which students have an active role, like hands-on experiments or presentation of results. The findings are placed in the international context of science education and their implications for policy are discussed.

  17. An Analysison Provincial Medical Science Basic Research Competitiveness Based on the National Natural Science Foundation of China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xing Xia

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available [Purpose/significance] The National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC is one of the most important channels to support basic research in China. Competition for funding by the NSFC has been a very important indicator to measure the basic research level of various province and scientific research institutions. [Method/process] By combing and analyzing the status quo of NSFC in medical science, it is helpful to narrow the provincial gap and improve the basic research of medical science in China. Based on the project information of NSFC and previous scholars’ research, the paper update the index of basic research competitiveness, and analyzes project number and project funding of medical science during 2006-2016. At the same time, the competitiveness of medical science basic research and its changing trend in 31 provinces of China are analyzed. [Result/conclusion] The result shows that, in recent years, China’s basic scientific research has greatly improved, but there is a large gap between the provinces.

  18. Communicating through humour: A project of stand-up comedy about science.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pinto, Bruno; Marçal, David; Vaz, Sofia G

    2015-10-01

    A study of a project on science stand-up comedy developed in Portugal between 2009 and 2013 is presented, in which thirteen scientists, coordinated by a science communicator and a professional actor, created and presented comedy acts. Eleven of these scientists were asked about their motivations to participate, the process of performance development and the perceived value of the project. Personal motivations were highly important, but professional reasons were also mentioned. Working in a group with the guidance of coordinators, testing and re-writing the texts and gradually gaining confidence on stage were considered fundamental in the development of the shows. Additionally, a questionnaire revealed that the audience, most of whom were young adults, and held a higher education degree, were satisfied with the show. Overall, both participating scientists and audience members considered that stand-up comedy has potential for science communication. © The Author(s) 2013.

  19. Earth Science Informatics Community Requirements for Improving Sustainable Science Software Practices: User Perspectives and Implications for Organizational Action

    Science.gov (United States)

    Downs, R. R.; Lenhardt, W. C.; Robinson, E.

    2014-12-01

    Science software is integral to the scientific process and must be developed and managed in a sustainable manner to ensure future access to scientific data and related resources. Organizations that are part of the scientific enterprise, as well as members of the scientific community who work within these entities, can contribute to the sustainability of science software and to practices that improve scientific community capabilities for science software sustainability. As science becomes increasingly digital and therefore, dependent on software, improving community practices for sustainable science software will contribute to the sustainability of science. Members of the Earth science informatics community, including scientific data producers and distributers, end-user scientists, system and application developers, and data center managers, use science software regularly and face the challenges and the opportunities that science software presents for the sustainability of science. To gain insight on practices needed for the sustainability of science software from the science software experiences of the Earth science informatics community, an interdisciplinary group of 300 community members were asked to engage in simultaneous roundtable discussions and report on their answers to questions about the requirements for improving scientific software sustainability. This paper will present an analysis of the issues reported and the conclusions offered by the participants. These results provide perspectives for science software sustainability practices and have implications for actions that organizations and their leadership can initiate to improve the sustainability of science software.

  20. Science teachers’ individual and social learning related to IBSE in the frames of a large-scale, long-term, collaborative TPD project

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Birgitte Lund; Sillasen, Martin

    of collaborative inquiries locally. A major theme in the first year has been Inquiry Based Science Education (IBSE) recommended as a focus to improve science education internationally. The research presented focuses on the participating teachers’ intertwined levels of individual and social learning. Data from...... repeated surveys and case studies reveal a positive attitude towards trying IBSE in the own classroom, however with the main part of the reflections focused on students’ hands-on experiences and fewer including students manipulating science ideas, like posing hypotheses. Teachers’ reflections indicate......It is acknowledged internationally that teachers’ Professional Development (TPD) is crucial for reforming science teaching. The Danish QUEST project (“Qualifying in-service Education of Science Teachers”) is designed using widely agreed criteria for effective TPD: content focus, active learning...

  1. [Earth and Space Sciences Project Services for NASA HPCC

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merkey, Phillip

    2002-01-01

    This grant supported the effort to characterize the problem domain of the Earth Science Technology Office's Computational Technologies Project, to engage the Beowulf Cluster Computing Community as well as the High Performance Computing Research Community so that we can predict the applicability of said technologies to the scientific community represented by the CT project and formulate long term strategies to provide the computational resources necessary to attain the anticipated scientific objectives of the CT project. Specifically, the goal of the evaluation effort is to use the information gathered over the course of the Round-3 investigations to quantify the trends in scientific expectations, the algorithmic requirements and capabilities of high-performance computers to satisfy this anticipated need.

  2. A Comparison of Creativity in Project Groups in Science and Engineering Education in Denmark and China

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhou, Chunfang; Valero, Paola

    2015-01-01

    Different pedagogical strategies influence the development of creativity in project groups in science and engineering education. This study is a comparison between two cases: Problem-Based Learning (PBL) in Denmark and Project-Organized Learning (POL) in China.......Different pedagogical strategies influence the development of creativity in project groups in science and engineering education. This study is a comparison between two cases: Problem-Based Learning (PBL) in Denmark and Project-Organized Learning (POL) in China....

  3. Social Sciences in Nuclear Research

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eggermont, G.

    2001-01-01

    In 1998, an initiative was taken by SCK-CEN to include social sciences and humanities into its research programme. As a result, two working groups were created to discuss two broad items: (1) ethical choices in radiation protection; and (2) the role and culture of nuclear experts. The general objectives of SCK-CEN's social sciences programme are: (1) to improve the nuclear research approach by integrating social sciences - where needed- to solve complex problems in interaction with society; (2) to stimulate university collaboration with social disciplines in learning process towards transdisciplinary and improved social responsibility; (3) to improve the training of nuclear experts of SCK-CEN by gaining insight in their expert culture and implicit ethical choices; (4) to develop projects and an original transdisciplinary programme and project management by involving young and senior scientists, a variety of university opinions and relevant actors from industry and society. Along these lines, projects were developed on sustainability and nuclear development, transgenerational ethics related to disposal of long-lived radioactive waste and cognitive dissonance effects, legal aspects and liability, non-radiological aspects of nuclear emergencies and safety. Progress and major achievements in SCK-CEN's social science programme in 2000 are summarised

  4. Instructional strategies to improve women's attitudes toward science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newbill, Phyllis Leary

    Although negative attitudes toward science are common among women and men in undergraduate introductory science classes, women's attitudes toward science tend to be more negative than men's. The reasons for women's negative attitudes toward science include lack of self-confidence, fear of association with social outcasts, lack of women role models in science, and the fundamental differences between traditional scientific and feminist values. Attitudes are psychological constructs theorized to be composed of emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components. Attitudes serve functions, including social expressive, value expressive, utilitarian, and defensive functions, for the people who hold them. To change attitudes, the new attitudes must serve the same function as the old one, and all three components must be treated. Instructional designers can create instructional environments to effect attitude change. In designing instruction to improve women's attitudes toward science, instructional designers should (a) address the emotions that are associated with existing attitudes, (b) involve credible, attractive women role models, and (c) address the functions of the existing attitudes. Two experimental instructional modules were developed based on these recommendations, and two control modules were developed that were not based on these recommendations. The asynchronous, web-based modules were administered to 281 undergraduate geology and chemistry students at two universities. Attitude assessment revealed that attitudes toward scientists improved significantly more in the experimental group, although there was no significant difference in overall attitudes toward science. Women's attitudes improved significantly more than men's in both the experimental and control groups. Students whose attitudes changed wrote significantly more in journaling activities associated with the modules. Qualitative analysis of journals revealed that the guidelines worked exactly as predicted

  5. Use of a Laboratory Field Project in an Introductory Crop Science Course.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lane, Robert A.

    1986-01-01

    Assesses the benefits resulting from a laboratory field project and report for agricultural students in an introductory crop science course. Student responses to evaluation statements indicated that the project helped them identify crops, understand cultural and management practices, and recognize environmental influences that affect crop…

  6. STEM Projects: Should We Add the "TEM" to Science?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hall, Angela

    2012-01-01

    A recent curriculum development from the Nuffield Foundation rose to the challenge of producing a set of resources to establish STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) as a curriculum focus. The result is two STEM cross-curricular projects: "Games," inspired by the London Olympics, and "Futures," a novel…

  7. "Don't Mind the Gap!" Reflections on Improvement Science as a Paradigm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Junghans, Trenholme

    2018-06-01

    Responding to this issue's invitation to bring new disciplinary insights to the field of improvement science, this article takes as its starting point one of the field's guiding metaphors: the imperative to "mind the gap". Drawing on insights from anthropology, history, and philosophy, the article reflects on the origins and implications of this metaphoric imperative, and suggests some ways in which it might be in tension with the means and ends of improvement. If the industrial origins of improvement science in the twentieth century inform a metaphor of gaps, chasms, and spaces of misalignment as invariably imperfect and potentially dangerous, and therefore requiring bridging or closure, other currents that feed the discipline of improvement science suggest the potential value and uses of spaces of openness and ambiguity. These currents include the science of complex adaptive systems, and certain precepts of philosophical pragmatism acknowledged to inform improvement science. Going a step further, I reflect on whether or not these two contrasting approaches within improvement science should be treated as incommensurable paradigms, and what each approach tells us about the very possibility of accommodating seemingly irreconcilable or incommensurable approaches within improvement science.

  8. The Human Genome Project: big science transforms biology and medicine

    OpenAIRE

    Hood, Leroy; Rowen, Lee

    2013-01-01

    The Human Genome Project has transformed biology through its integrated big science approach to deciphering a reference human genome sequence along with the complete sequences of key model organisms. The project exemplifies the power, necessity and success of large, integrated, cross-disciplinary efforts - so-called ‘big science’ - directed towards complex major objectives. In this article, we discuss the ways in which this ambitious endeavor led to the development of novel technologies and a...

  9. CQI project improves discharge process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1998-08-01

    At Gibson Rehab Center in Williamsport, PA, a continuous quality improvement project to bolster the institution's discharge planning process has resulted in increased satisfaction and an award for quality. The 15-month project was spearheaded by a multidisciplinary team charged with identifying areas that had a significant impact on customer service and suggesting better ways of delivering that service. Among the changes the group suggested were establishing a weekly discharge planning group for new neuro patients, assigning a discharge coordinator for each treatment team, and creating an interdisciplinary communication sheet for the home health therapy staff.

  10. Approaching the Practice Quality Improvement Project in Interventional Radiology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reis, Stephen P; White, Benjamin; Sutphin, Patrick D; Pillai, Anil K; Kalva, Sanjeeva P; Toomay, Seth M

    2015-12-01

    An important component of maintenance of certification and quality improvement in radiology is the practice quality improvement (PQI) project. In this article, the authors describe several methodologies for initiating and completing PQI projects. Furthermore, the authors illustrate several tools that are vital in compiling, analyzing, and presenting data in an easily understandable and reproducible manner. Last, they describe two PQI projects performed in an interventional radiology division that have successfully improved the quality of care for patients. Using the DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, control) quality improvement framework, interventional radiology throughput has been increased, to lessen mediport wait times from 43 to 8 days, and mediport infection rates have decreased from more than 2% to less than 0.4%. Copyright © 2015 American College of Radiology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. An Interdisciplinary Team Project: Psychology and Computer Science Students Create Online Cognitive Tasks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flannery, Kathleen A.; Malita, Mihaela

    2014-01-01

    We present our case study of an interdisciplinary team project for students taking either a psychology or computer science (CS) course. The project required psychology and CS students to combine their knowledge and skills to create an online cognitive task. Each interdisciplinary project team included two psychology students who conducted library…

  12. National Science Resources Center Project for Improving Science Teaching in Elementary Schools. Appendix A. School Systems With Exemplary Elementary Science Programs. Appendix B. Elementary Science Network

    Science.gov (United States)

    1988-12-01

    Glass, Lawrence, Deer Park High School Glass, Millard, K-12 Science Supervisor Bloomfield Municipal School District Glassman, Neil, Gleason, Steve...Superientendent Vaughn Municipal Schools Knop, Ronald N., Teacher Grissom Junior High School Knox, Amie, Director of Master Teacher Program W. Wilson...Science Supervisor Pequannock Township Public Schools Mercado , Roberto, Science Coordinator Colegio Radians, Inc. Merchant, Edwin, K-12 Science

  13. New challenges for Life Sciences flight project management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huntoon, C. L.

    1999-01-01

    Scientists have conducted studies involving human spaceflight crews for over three decades. These studies have progressed from simple observations before and after each flight to sophisticated experiments during flights of several weeks up to several months. The findings from these experiments are available in the scientific literature. Management of these flight experiments has grown into a system fashioned from the Apollo Program style, focusing on budgeting, scheduling and allocation of human and material resources. While these areas remain important to the future, the International Space Station (ISS) requires that the Life Sciences spaceflight experiments expand the existing project management methodology. The use of telescience with state-the-art information technology and the multi-national crews and investigators challenges the former management processes. Actually conducting experiments on board the ISS will be an enormous undertaking and International Agreements and Working Groups will be essential in giving guidance to the flight project management Teams forged in this matrix environment must be competent to make decisions and qualified to work with the array of engineers, scientists, and the spaceflight crews. In order to undertake this complex task, data systems not previously used for these purposes must be adapted so that the investigators and the project management personnel can all share in important information as soon as it is available. The utilization of telescience and distributed experiment operations will allow the investigator to remain involved in their experiment as well as to understand the numerous issues faced by other elements of the program The complexity in formation and management of project teams will be a new kind of challenge for international science programs. Meeting that challenge is essential to assure success of the International Space Station as a laboratory in space.

  14. The Manhattan Project: Science in the Second World War

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gosling, F.G.

    1990-08-01

    The Manhattan Project: Science in the Second World War'' is a short history of the origins and development of the American atomic bomb program during World War II. Beginning with the scientific developments of the pre-war years, the monograph details of the role of the United States government in conducting a secret, nationwide enterprise that took science from the laboratory and into combat with an entirely new type of weapon. The monograph concludes with a discussion of the immediate postwar period, the debate over the Atomic Energy Act of 1946, and the founding of the Atomic Energy Commission.

  15. Using implementation science as the core of the doctor of nursing practice inquiry project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riner, Mary E

    2015-01-01

    New knowledge in health care needs to be implemented for continuous practice improvement. Doctor of nursing practice (DNP) programs are designed to increase clinical practice knowledge and leadership skills of graduates. This article describes an implementation science course developed in a DNP program focused on advancing graduates' capacity for health systems leadership. Curriculum and course development are presented, and the course is mapped to depict how the course objectives and assignments were aligned with DNP Essentials. Course modules with rational are described, and examples of how students implemented assignments are provided. The challenges of integrating this course into the life of the school are discussed as well as steps taken to develop faculty for this capstone learning experience. This article describes a model of using implementation science to provide DNP students an experience in designing and managing an evidence-based practice change project. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. ASSESSMENT OF THE INQUIRY-BASED PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS IN SCIENCE EDUCATION UPON STUDENTS’ POINTS OF VIEWS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Orhan AKINOGLU

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Aim of the study is to assess how students in 6th, 7th and 8th grades of primary education see the project works made in science education and their implementation processes. The study was fulfilled upon the descriptive survey model to collect data. Participants of the research were 100 students who had project implementation experiences in science education, and they were from 24 primary schools in 7 districts randomly chosen in the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Data of the study were collected by using a semi-constructed interview form offered to students during the 2005-2006 teaching year. In the research, following items were examined: The extent to which students are inspired from the previously made projects during their own project selection process, the level of scientific document survey and the effects of contemporary events, science and technology class topics and students’ interest areas. It was seen that internet is the mostly used source to obtain information. For students, one of the most problematic issues faced during the project implementation is the time limits set out by teacher. It was found that the most obvious benefit obtained by students from the project works is their increasing interest towards science and technology class. The most significant change seen by students regarding project preparation is their increasing grades in exams during and following the project works.

  17. Integration of basic science and clinical medicine: the innovative approach of the cadaver biopsy project at the Boston University School of Medicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eisenstein, Anna; Vaisman, Lev; Johnston-Cox, Hillary; Gallan, Alexander; Shaffer, Kitt; Vaughan, Deborah; O'Hara, Carl; Joseph, Lija

    2014-01-01

    Curricular integration has emerged as a consistent theme in medical education reform. Vertical integration of topics such as pathology offers the potential to bring basic science content into the clinical arena, but faculty/student acceptance and curricular design pose challenges for such integration. The authors describe the Cadaver Biopsy Project (CBP) at Boston University School of Medicine as a sustainable model of vertical integration. Faculty and select senior medical students obtained biopsies of cadavers during the first-year gross anatomy course (fall 2009) and used these to develop clinical cases for courses in histology (spring 2010), pathology (fall 2010-spring 2011), and radiology (fall 2011 or spring 2012), thereby linking students' first experiences in basic sciences with other basic science courses and later clinical courses. Project goals included engaging medical stu dents in applying basic science princi ples in all aspects of patient care as they acquire skills. The educational intervention used a patient (cadaver)-centered approach and small-group, collaborative, case-based learning. Through this project, the authors involved clinical and basic science faculty-plus senior medical students-in a collaborative project to design and implement an integrated curriculum through which students revisited, at several different points, the microscopic structure and pathophysiology of common diseases. Developing appropriate, measurable out comes for medical education initiatives, including the CBP, is challenging. Accumu lation of qualitative feedback from surveys will guide continuous improvement of the CBP. Documenting longer-term impact of the curricular innovation on test scores and other competency-based outcomes is an ultimate goal.

  18. [SciELO: A cooperative project for the dissemination of science].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bojo Canales, C; Fraga Medín, C; Hernández Villegas, S; Primo Peña, E

    2009-10-01

    The article describes the SciELO (Scientific Electronic Library Online) model for the electronic publication and dissemination of scientific journals, its origin and evolution, methodology, components, services and potential, and its implantation in Spain. It consists of thirteen participant countries with eight certified web portals, with another 5 under development and another two thematic ones. In February 2009 Scielo.org had 611 magazines and 195,789 articles of which 46% were about health sciences. Spain became a project member in 1999 and launched the SciELO web portal in 2001, as well as 4 magazines. It currently has 39 titles in the field of Health Sciences; one of which is the Revista Española de Sanidad Penitenciaria, which joined the project in 2007 and which currently has 6 issues from 2007 and 2008 available. This makes it one of the most important open access initiatives existing. The report concludes by stating that the SciELO model contributes to the development of research and science by offering an effective and efficient method of promoting and increasing the dissemination of scientific publications in Latin America.

  19. Electronic Learning in the German Science Project "NAWI-Interaktiv"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wegner, Claas; Homann, Wiebke; Strehlke, Friederike

    2014-01-01

    The German science project "NAWI-Interaktiv" is an example of innovative use of E-Learning and new media education. Since 2009, the learning platform provides learners and teachers with high-quality learning tools, teaching material, useful information and E-learning programs for free. This is to raise the pupils' motivation to learn…

  20. Against all odds: Tales of survival and growth of the Foundational Approaches in Science Teaching (FAST) project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamamoto, Karen Kina

    This study examines the dynamics of survival and growth of curricular and instructional innovations. It focuses on the Foundational Approaches in Science Teaching (FAST) project, a long-term survivor of reform in science education. Key questions guiding this study include: (1) How did the FAST project survive over the past 30 years? (2) What elements are essential for long-term survival and growth of an innovative science program? (3) Why did the project continue to survive amidst several waves of educational reform? The core of my conceptual framework is that the odds of survival and growth of curricular and instructional innovations are increased by the extent to which resources, theory-based curriculum development processes, and professional development strategies are not only incorporated into but also interdependent within a project. With this framework as a guide, the main methods of data collection were document analysis, interviews, and observations. FAST, developed by the University of Hawaii's Curriculum Research and Development Group (CRDG), consists of a sequential and interdisciplinary middle and high school science program for students in grades 6-10. According to the results of this study, the project was able to survive by receiving constant organizational support from CRDG and a steady source of State funding through the university since 1966; it also retained a relatively small but stable staff of highly qualified project personnel. Formulated on a discipline-based theory that values development of students' intellectual capacities as the platform for curriculum research, design, and development, the FAST project translated this vision of science education into key elements of an innovative program that survived and thrived: (1) an interdisciplinary program consisting of physical, biological, and earth sciences; inquiry as content and process; history and philosophy of science; and links between and among sciences, technology, and society; and (2

  1. Children and their 4-H animal projects: How children use science in agricultural activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Emo, Kenneth Roy

    Many children are introduced to science through informal educational programs. 4-H, an educational youth program, has a history of introducing scientific practices into agriculture. The purpose of this ethnographically-driven case study is to examine how science informs the actions of children raising market animals in a 4-H project. For two years the researcher collected data on 4-H children with market animal projects. Observations, interviews, and artifacts gathered are interpreted using the framework of activity theory. This study provides evidence for how the context of an activity system influences individual actions. Rules developed by the organization guide the actions of children to incorporate physical and psychological tools of science into their project to achieve the object: producing animals of proper weight and quality to be competitive in the county fair. Children learn the necessary actions from a community of practitioners through which expertise is distributed. Children's learning is demonstrated by the way their participation in their project changes with time, from receiving assistance from others to developing expertise in which they provide assistance to others. The strength of this educational experience is how children apply specific tools of science in ways that provide meaning and relevancy to their 4-H activity.

  2. Pacific CRYSTAL Project: Explicit Literacy Instruction Embedded in Middle School Science Classrooms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anthony, Robert J.; Tippett, Christine D.; Yore, Larry D.

    2010-01-01

    Science literacy leading to fuller and informed participation in the public debate about science, technology, society, and environmental (STSE) issues that produce justified decisions and sustainable actions is the shared and central goal of the Pacific CRYSTAL Project. There is broad agreement by science education researchers that learners need to be able to construct and interpret specific scientific discourses and texts to be literate in science. We view these capabilities as components in the fundamental sense of science literacy and as interactive and synergetic to the derived sense of science literacy, which refers to having general knowledge about concepts, principles, and methods of science. This article reports on preliminary findings from Years 1, 2, and 3 of the 5-year Pacific CRYSTAL project that aims to identify, develop, and embed explicit literacy instruction in science programs to achieve both senses of science literacy. A community-based, opportunistic, engineering research and development approach has been utilized to identify problems and concerns and to design instructional solutions for teaching middle school (Grades 6, 7, and 8) science. Initial data indicate (a) opportunities in programs for embedding literacy instruction and tasks; (b) difficulties generalist teachers have with new science curricula; (c) difficulties specialist science teachers have with literacy activities, strategies, genre, and writing-to-learn science tasks; and (d) potential literacy activities (vocabulary, reading comprehension, visual literacy, genre, and writing tasks) for middle school science. Preinstruction student assessments indicate a range of challenges in achieving effective learning in science and the need for extensive teacher support to achieve the project’s goals. Postinstructional assessments indicate positive changes in students’ ability to perform target reading and writing tasks. Qualitative data indicate teachers’ desire for external direction

  3. Improved Prioritization Criteria for Road Infrastructure Projects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ionescu Heroiu Marcel

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available This report’s main aim is to propose a methodology for assessing state-budget-funded projects based on a rigorous selection model, including clear and effective prioritization criteria. This report first argues that project prioritization and selection should be optimized against four dimensions: absorption, impact, legitimacy, and capacity. Second, it provides a diagnostic of the National Program for Local Development (PNDL, managed by the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration (MRDPA, as the most significant source of state-budget funding for local infrastructure projects. The PNDL’s current design and implementation leaves room for improvement, as reflected by the lack of strategic direction in allocating funds and the continued rise in the number of projects that get started without a feasible timeline for their completion. Further, this report makes recommendations for improvement of project evaluation and selection procedures for local infrastructure development projects, with a special focus on prioritization criteria and viable funding sources for each type of investment. The practical purpose is to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of proposed investments, maximizing impact in the context of inherently limited available financial resources. A complementary focus is on opportunities for harmonizing and better coordinating investments across various sources of funding, in the context of nearly EUR 40 billion available to Romania from the EU for the 2014-2020 programming period.

  4. Communicating Ocean Sciences to Informal Audiences (COSIA): Universities, Oceanographic Institutions, Science Centers and Aquariums Working Together to Improve Ocean Education and Public Outreach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glenn, S.; McDonnell, J.; Halversen, C.; Zimmerman, T.; Ingram, L.

    2007-12-01

    Ocean observatories have already demonstrated their ability to maintain long-term time series, capture episodic events, provide context for improved shipboard sampling, and improve accessibility to a broader range of participants. Communicating Ocean Sciences, an already existing college course from COSEE-California has demonstrated its ability to teach future scientists essential communication skills. The NSF-funded Communicating Ocean Sciences to Informal Audiences (COSIA) project has leveraged these experiences and others to demonstrate a long-term model for promoting effective science communication skills and techniques applicable to diverse audiences. The COSIA effort is one of the pathfinders for ensuring that the new scientific results from the increasing U.S. investments in ocean observatories is effectively communicated to the nation, and will serve as a model for other fields. Our presentation will describe a long-term model for promoting effective science communication skills and techniques applicable to diverse audiences. COSIA established partnerships between informal science education institutions and universities nationwide to facilitate quality outreach by scientists and the delivery of rigorous, cutting edge science by informal educators while teaching future scientists (college students) essential communication skills. The COSIA model includes scientist-educator partnerships that develop and deliver a college course that teaches communication skills through the understanding of learning theory specifically related to informal learning environments and the practice of these skills at aquariums and science centers. The goals of COSIA are to: provide a model for establishing substantive, long-term partnerships between scientists and informal science education institutions to meet their respective outreach needs; provide future scientists with experiences delivering outreach and promoting the broader impact of research; and provide diverse role models

  5. Science teachers' meaning-making when involved in a school-based professional development project

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Birgitte Lund

    2012-01-01

    A group of teachers’ meaning-making when they are collaboratively analyzing artifacts from practice in local science classrooms in a school-based professional development (PD) project is examined through repeated interviews and represented as meaning-making maps. The interpretation of the teachers......’ meaningmaking includes both their reference to outcomes from the project and their expressed ideas about teaching and learning of science. All four teachers refer to experiences from experimenting in their classrooms and interpret the collected artifacts in relation to students’ learning. Furthermore, they all...... felt encouraged to continue collaboration around science. During the interviews, the teachers emphasize various elements apparently connected to concrete challenges they each experience in their professional work. Implications in relation to the design of PD are discussed....

  6. Science teachers' meaning-making when involved in a school-based professional development project

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Birgitte Lund

    2012-01-01

    A group of teachers' meaning-making when they are collaboratively analyzing artifacts from practice in local science classrooms in a school-based professional development (PD) project is examined through repeated interviews and represented as meaning-makig maps. The interpretation of the teachers......' meaning-making includes both their reference to outcomes from the project and their expressed ideas about teaching and learning of science. All four teachers refer to experiences from experimenting in their classrooms and interpret the collected artifacts in relation to students' learning. Furthermore......, they all felt encouraged to continue collaboration around science. During the interviews, the teachers emphasize various elements apparently connected to concrete challenges they each experience in their professional work. Implications in relation to the design of PD are discussed....

  7. Improving CERN's Presence on Wikipedia - Project Report, Summer Student Lecture Program 2017

    CERN Document Server

    Storehaug, Ida

    2017-01-01

    Dissemination of information on high energy physics and related technologies is at the core of CERN’s mission, making research done at CERN available, both to the public and other researchers. Wikipedia, being the most used social media site for researchers and a popular source of science information for the public, is an obvious platform for CERN to be present on. Between 19 June and 25 August 2017, as part of the CERN Summer Student Program, a project to improve CERN’s presence on Wikipedia was carried out in the department of Scientific Information Service at CERN. In the following the use of references in the collection of CERN-related Wikipedia articles is discussed, and the topics of plagiarism and licenses are raised. Furthermore, methods to benefit from the CERN community and archives are described, followed by a summary of how to get a Wikipedia article accepted by the Wikipedia community. Lists of Wikipedia articles created or improved and of Wikipedia articles in need of improvement are given.

  8. (abstract) Science-Project Interaction in the Low-Cost Mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wall, Stephen D.

    1994-01-01

    Large, complex, and highly optimized missions have performed most of the preliminary reconnaisance of the solar system. As a result we have now mapped significant fractions of its total surface (or surface-equivalent) area. Now, however, scientific exploration of the solar system is undergoing a major change in scale, and existing missions find it necessary to limit costs while fulfilling existing goals. In the future, NASA's Discovery program will continue the reconnaisance, exploration, and diagnostic phases of planetary research using lower cost missions, which will include lower cost mission operations systems (MOS). Historically, one of the more expensive functions of MOS has been its interaction with the science community. Traditional MOS elements that this interaction have embraced include mission planning, science (and engineering) event conflict resolution, sequence optimization and integration, data production (e.g., assembly, enhancement, quality assurance, documentation, archive), and other science support services. In the past, the payoff from these efforts has been that use of mission resources has been highly optimized, constraining resources have been generally completely consumed, and data products have been accurate and well documented. But because these functions are expensive we are now challenged to reduce their cost while preserving the benefits. In this paper, we will consider ways of revising the traditional MOS approach that might save project resources while retaining a high degree of service to the Projects' customers. Pre-launch, science interaction can be made simplier by limiting numbers of instruments and by providing greater redundancy in mission plans. Post launch, possibilities include prioritizing data collection into a few categories, easing requirements on real-time of quick-look data delivery, and closer integration of scientists into the mission operation.

  9. [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.

  10. Project-Based Learning as a Vehicle for Teaching Science at the University Level

    Science.gov (United States)

    Courtney, A. R.; Wade, P.

    2012-12-01

    In a typical science course learning is teacher directed. Students are presented with knowledge and concepts via textbooks and lecture and then given the opportunity to apply them. Project-based learning (PBL) creates a context and reason to learn information and concepts. In PBL, learning is student directed and teacher facilitated. Students take ownership of their learning by finding, evaluating and synthesizing information from a variety of resources and via interaction between each other. In PBL, the project is central rather than peripheral to the curriculum. It is not just an activity that provides examples, additional practice or applications of the course content, but rather, the vehicle through which major concepts are discovered. The PBL process requires students to do revision and reflection encouraging them to think about what and how they are learning. PBL projects also allow students to develop important life-work skills such as collaboration, communication and critical thinking within the discipline. We have employed PBL in both Liberal Arts courses for non-science majors and upper division courses for science students. Three examples will be discussed. The first will be the production of video documentaries in a non-science major course; the second, a student generated electronic textbook in a 300-level energy course for science students; and lastly, a student designed analysis project in a chemistry major capstone laboratory course. The product in each of these examples was used to deliver knowledge to others in the class as well as members of the public providing motivation for students to do high-quality work. In our examples, student documentaries are publicly screened as part of a university-wide Academic Excellence Showcase; the student generated electronic textbook is available for public use on the internet; and the results of the student designed analysis were communicated to the real-world clients via letters and reports. We will discuss

  11. Social Sciences in Nuclear Research

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Eggermont, G

    2001-04-01

    In 1998, an initiative was taken by SCK-CEN to include social sciences and humanities into its research programme. As a result, two working groups were created to discuss two broad items: (1) ethical choices in radiation protection; and (2) the role and culture of nuclear experts. The general objectives of SCK-CEN's social sciences programme are: (1) to improve the nuclear research approach by integrating social sciences - where needed- to solve complex problems in interaction with society; (2) to stimulate university collaboration with social disciplines in learning process towards transdisciplinary and improved social responsibility; (3) to improve the training of nuclear experts of SCK-CEN by gaining insight in their expert culture and implicit ethical choices; (4) to develop projects and an original transdisciplinary programme and project management by involving young and senior scientists, a variety of university opinions and relevant actors from industry and society. Along these lines, projects were developed on sustainability and nuclear development, transgenerational ethics related to disposal of long-lived radioactive waste and cognitive dissonance effects, legal aspects and liability, non-radiological aspects of nuclear emergencies and safety. Progress and major achievements in SCK-CEN's social science programme in 2000 are summarised.

  12. The history and science of the Manhattan project

    CERN Document Server

    Reed, Bruce Cameron

    2014-01-01

    The development of atomic bombs under the auspices of the U. S. Army’s Manhattan Project during World War II is considered to be the outstanding news story of the twentieth century. In this book, a physicist and expert on the history of the Project presents a comprehensive overview of this momentous achievement. The first three chapters cover the history of nuclear physics from the discovery of radioactivity to the discovery of fission, and would be ideal for instructors of a sophomore-level “Modern Physics” course. Student-level exercises at the ends of the chapters are accompanied by answers. Chapter 7 covers the physics of first-generation fission weapons at a similar level, again accompanied by exercises and answers. For the interested layman and for non-science students and instructors, the book includes extensive qualitative material on the history, organization, implementation, and results of the Manhattan Project and the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombing missions. The reader also learns about the l...

  13. Improving Students' Attitudes toward Science Using Instructional Congruence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zain, Ahmad Nurulazam Md; Samsudin, Mohd Ali; Rohandi, Robertus; Jusoh, Azman

    2010-01-01

    The objective of this study was to improve students' attitudes toward science using instructional congruence. The study was conducted in Malaysia, in three low-performing secondary schools in the state of Penang. Data collected with an Attitudes in Science instrument were analysed using Rasch modeling. Qualitative data based on the reflections of…

  14. MDSplus quality improvement project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fredian, Thomas W., E-mail: twf@psfc.mit.edu [Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 175 Albany Street, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Stillerman, Joshua [Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 175 Albany Street, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Manduchi, Gabriele; Rigoni, Andrea [Consorzio RFX, Euratom-ENEA Association, Corso Stati Uniti 4, Padova 35127 (Italy); Erickson, Keith [Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton, NJ 08543 (United States)

    2016-11-15

    Highlights: • Project to improve the quality of the MDSplus software package. • Use of modern software technology, compiler options, automake. • Refactoring of older code. • Use of testing tools. - Abstract: MDSplus is a data acquisition and analysis system used worldwide predominantly in the fusion research community. Development began 29 years ago on the OpenVMS operating system. Since that time there have been many new features added and the code has been ported to many different operating systems. There have been contributions to the MDSplus development from the fusion community in the way of feature suggestions, feature implementations, documentation and porting to different operating systems. The bulk of the development and support of MDSplus, however, has been provided by a relatively small core developer group of three or four members. Given the size of the development team and the large number of users much more effort was focused on providing new features for the community than on keeping the underlying code and documentation up to date with the evolving software development standards. To ensure that MDSplus will continue to provide the needs of the community in the future, the MDSplus development team along with other members of the MDSplus user community has commenced on a major quality improvement project. The planned improvements include changes to software build scripts to better use GNU Autoconf and Automake tools, refactoring many of the source code modules using new language features available in modern compilers, using GNU MinGW-w64 to create MS Windows distributions, migrating to a more modern source code management system, improvement of source documentation as well as improvements to the (www.mdsplus.org) web site documentation and layout, and the addition of more comprehensive test suites to apply to MDSplus code builds prior to releasing installation kits to the community. This work should lead to a much more robust product and

  15. MDSplus quality improvement project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fredian, Thomas W.; Stillerman, Joshua; Manduchi, Gabriele; Rigoni, Andrea; Erickson, Keith

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Project to improve the quality of the MDSplus software package. • Use of modern software technology, compiler options, automake. • Refactoring of older code. • Use of testing tools. - Abstract: MDSplus is a data acquisition and analysis system used worldwide predominantly in the fusion research community. Development began 29 years ago on the OpenVMS operating system. Since that time there have been many new features added and the code has been ported to many different operating systems. There have been contributions to the MDSplus development from the fusion community in the way of feature suggestions, feature implementations, documentation and porting to different operating systems. The bulk of the development and support of MDSplus, however, has been provided by a relatively small core developer group of three or four members. Given the size of the development team and the large number of users much more effort was focused on providing new features for the community than on keeping the underlying code and documentation up to date with the evolving software development standards. To ensure that MDSplus will continue to provide the needs of the community in the future, the MDSplus development team along with other members of the MDSplus user community has commenced on a major quality improvement project. The planned improvements include changes to software build scripts to better use GNU Autoconf and Automake tools, refactoring many of the source code modules using new language features available in modern compilers, using GNU MinGW-w64 to create MS Windows distributions, migrating to a more modern source code management system, improvement of source documentation as well as improvements to the (www.mdsplus.org) web site documentation and layout, and the addition of more comprehensive test suites to apply to MDSplus code builds prior to releasing installation kits to the community. This work should lead to a much more robust product and

  16. ICT-infrastructures for hydrometeorology science and natural disaster societal impact assessment: the DRIHMS project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parodi, A.; Craig, G. C.; Clematis, A.; Kranzlmueller, D.; Schiffers, M.; Morando, M.; Rebora, N.; Trasforini, E.; D'Agostino, D.; Keil, K.

    2010-09-01

    Hydrometeorological science has made strong progress over the last decade at the European and worldwide level: new modeling tools, post processing methodologies and observational data and corresponding ICT (Information and Communication Technology) technologies are available. Recent European efforts in developing a platform for e-Science, such as EGEE (Enabling Grids for E-sciencE), SEEGRID-SCI (South East Europe GRID e-Infrastructure for regional e-Science), and the German C3-Grid, have demonstrated their abilities to provide an ideal basis for the sharing of complex hydrometeorological data sets and tools. Despite these early initiatives, however, the awareness of the potential of the Grid technology as a catalyst for future hydrometeorological research is still low and both the adoption and the exploitation have astonishingly been slow, not only within individual EC member states, but also on a European scale. With this background in mind and the fact that European ICT-infrastructures are in the progress of transferring to a sustainable and permanent service utility as underlined by the European Grid Initiative (EGI) and the Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe (PRACE), the Distributed Research Infrastructure for Hydro-Meteorology Study (DRIHMS, co-Founded by the EC under the 7th Framework Programme) project has been initiated. The goal of DRIHMS is the promotion of the Grids in particular and e-Infrastructures in general within the European hydrometeorological research (HMR) community through the diffusion of a Grid platform for e-collaboration in this earth science sector: the idea is to further boost European research excellence and competitiveness in the fields of hydrometeorological research and Grid research by bridging the gaps between these two scientific communities. Furthermore the project is intended to transfer the results to areas beyond the strict hydrometeorology science as a support for the assessment of the effects of extreme

  17. RadGenomics project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Iwakawa, Mayumi; Imai, Takashi; Harada, Yoshinobu [National Inst. of Radiological Sciences, Chiba (Japan). Frontier Research Center] [and others

    2002-06-01

    Human health is determined by a complex interplay of factors, predominantly between genetic susceptibility, environmental conditions and aging. The ultimate aim of the RadGenomics (Radiation Genomics) project is to understand the implications of heterogeneity in responses to ionizing radiation arising from genetic variation between individuals in the human population. The rapid progression of the human genome sequencing and the recent development of new technologies in molecular genetics are providing us with new opportunities to understand the genetic basis of individual differences in susceptibility to natural and/or artificial environmental factors, including radiation exposure. The RadGenomics project will inevitably lead to improved protocols for personalized radiotherapy and reductions in the potential side effects of such treatment. The project will contribute to future research into the molecular mechanisms of radiation sensitivity in humans and will stimulate the development of new high-throughput technologies for a broader application of biological and medical sciences. The staff members are specialists in a variety of fields, including genome science, radiation biology, medical science, molecular biology, and informatics, and have joined the RadGenomics project from various universities, companies, and research institutes. The project started in April 2001. (author)

  18. RadGenomics project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iwakawa, Mayumi; Imai, Takashi; Harada, Yoshinobu

    2002-01-01

    Human health is determined by a complex interplay of factors, predominantly between genetic susceptibility, environmental conditions and aging. The ultimate aim of the RadGenomics (Radiation Genomics) project is to understand the implications of heterogeneity in responses to ionizing radiation arising from genetic variation between individuals in the human population. The rapid progression of the human genome sequencing and the recent development of new technologies in molecular genetics are providing us with new opportunities to understand the genetic basis of individual differences in susceptibility to natural and/or artificial environmental factors, including radiation exposure. The RadGenomics project will inevitably lead to improved protocols for personalized radiotherapy and reductions in the potential side effects of such treatment. The project will contribute to future research into the molecular mechanisms of radiation sensitivity in humans and will stimulate the development of new high-throughput technologies for a broader application of biological and medical sciences. The staff members are specialists in a variety of fields, including genome science, radiation biology, medical science, molecular biology, and informatics, and have joined the RadGenomics project from various universities, companies, and research institutes. The project started in April 2001. (author)

  19. International and interlaboratory collaboration on Neutron Science Project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oyama, Yukio [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment

    1997-11-01

    For effectiveness of facility development for Neutron Science Projects at JAERI, international and interlaboratory collaborations have been extensively planned and promoted, especially in the areas of accelerator and target technology. Here status of two collaborations relevant to a spallation neutron target development is highlighted from those collaborations. The two collaborations are experiments on BNL-AGS spallation target simulation and PSI materials irradiation. Both are planned to start in spring of 1997. (author)

  20. Neutron nuclear physics under the neutron science project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chiba, Satoshi [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment

    1997-11-01

    The concept of fast neutron physics facility in the Neutron Science Research project is described. This facility makes use of an ultra-short proton pulse (width < 1 ns) for fast neutron time-of-flight works. The current design is based on an assumption of the maximum proton current of 100 {mu}A. Available neutron fluence and energy resolution are explained. Some of the research subjects to be performed at this facility are discussed. (author)

  1. [Neurophenomenology: Project for a Science of Past Experiences].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Segovia-Cuellar, Andrés

    2012-09-01

    Since the middle of 20(th) Century, cognitive science has been recognized as the genuine convergence field for all scientific advances in human mind studies with the mechanisms enabling knowledge. Since then, it has become a multidisciplinary area where several research disciplines and actors have acquired citizenship, allowing new expectations on the scientific study of human uniqueness. Critical assessment of the discussion that the discourse of theoretical biology has been assuming regarding the study of the cognitive phenomenon with special attention to the enactive project and, extensively, to the neuro-phenomenology of Francisco J. Varela. Starting with a brief and synthesized history of cognitive science, we will establish the key principles for understanding the emergence of the enactive paradigm and the "embodied" turn influenced by continental phenomenology in the cognitive science, as well as the general guidelines of Neurophenomenology. The "hard problem" of consciousness still faces several types of reductionism relegating the cognitive issue to a kind of merely rational, individual, abstract and disembodied mechanism, thus strengthening the functionalist paradigm in mind philosophy. A solution to classic dichotomies in mind sciences must start rejecting such assumptions. Copyright © 2012 Asociación Colombiana de Psiquiatría. Publicado por Elsevier España. All rights reserved.

  2. Evaluation of American Indian Science and Engineering Society Intertribal Middle School Science and Math Bowl Project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    AISES, None

    2013-09-25

    Engineering Fair (NAISEF) and EXPO at the Albuquerque, NM Convention Center. Albuquerque is also the home of the AISES national office. The AISES staff also recruits volunteers to assist with implementation of the science and math bowl event. In 2011, there were 7 volunteers; in 2012, 15 volunteers, and in 2013, 19 volunteers. Volunteers are recruited from a variety of local sources, including Sandia Laboratories, Southwest Indian Polytechnic Institute students, Department of Defense, as well as family members of AISES staff. For AISES, the goals of the Intertribal Middle School Science and Math Bowl project are to have more Native students learn science, for them to gain confidence in competing, and to reward their effort in order to motivate them to pursue studies in the sciences and engineering. For DOE, the goals of the project are to get more Native students to compete at the National Science Bowl, held in Washington, DC.

  3. The Evolution of Successful Satellite Science to Air Quality Application Projects: From Inception to Realization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soja, A. J.

    2012-12-01

    Teams of scientist have been working for almost a decade with state, local, regional and federal Air Quality regulators and scientists on several projects that have been focused on improving biomass burning emissions within our nation's National Emissions Inventory (NEI). Initially, the NEI was based strictly on ground-based information that often used data aggregated from previous years reported at the county-centroid and completely ignored the spatial domain of all fires. This methodology resulted in gross inaccuracies; however it was an ingrained system and the users and organizations were largely comfortable. Improvements were viewed as too costly. Our task was to convince regulators, managers and users of the value that could be added by using satellite data to enhance the NEI. Certainly, there were individuals that understood the value of using satellite data, but they needed support to convince the establishment of the intrinsic, cost-effective value of publically-available satellite data. It was essential to present arguments, as well as requested verification and validation statistics, in the format that most suited the objectives of application organizations. This process incorporated: knowledge of state-of-the-art satellite data, algorithms and science; a working knowledge of the users applications and requirements; interacting with individuals with a variety of skill sets and goals; and perhaps most importantly, listening to the goals and responsibilities of the user community and fully communicating. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency and several state and regional organizations are using satellite data to estimate biomass burnings emissions at daily and annual scales for a number of critical environmental management and policy activities including regulation setting and regional strategy development for attainment of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). We continue to work at the local, state and federal levels to improve the

  4. Improving nutrition through nuclear science

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2003-06-01

    Good nutrition is essential to health and quality of life. As a United Nations agency dedicated to helping Member States achieve their social and economic goals, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recognizes the importance of good nutrition and is working to address the problems underlying poor nutrition. In fact, many Agency activities serve basic human needs, by applying nuclear science to increase food production, improve health care, improve management of water resources, and assess sources of environmental pollution. Global progress in reducing malnutrition throughout the human life cycle has been slow and patchy. In its 2000 Report on the World Nutrition Situation, the United Nations Sub Committee on Nutrition estimated that in developing countries 182 million children under five years of age are chronically undernourished and 150 million are underweight. An estimated 30 million infants are born each year with impaired growth due to poor nutrition during pregnancy. Worldwide, renewed international commitments have been made to address this situation, and the IAEA is a vital partner in these efforts. Nuclear science provides valuable tools for monitoring factors that influence nutrition, such as micronutrients, body composition, and breast milk uptake. Through its sub-programme on nutrition, the Agency is helping countries to use isotope applications and other nuclear techniques to their nutritional problems and is supporting leading-edge research on the interaction between nutrition and environmental pollution and infection with the ultimate goal of improving human nutrition

  5. Student and Faculty Outcomes of Undergraduate Science Research Projects by Geographically Dispersed Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lawton Shaw

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Senior undergraduate research projects are important components of most undergraduate science degrees. The delivery of such projects in a distance education format is challenging. Athabasca University (AU science project courses allow distance education students to complete research project courses by working with research supervisors in their local area, coordinated at a distance by AU faculty. This paper presents demographics and course performance for 155 students over five years. Pass rates were similar to other distance education courses. Research students were surveyed by questionnaire, and external supervisors and AU faculty were interviewed, to examine the outcomes of these project courses for each group. Students reported high levels of satisfaction with the course, local supervisors, and faculty coordinators. Students also reported that the experience increased their interest in research, and the probability that they would pursue graduate or additional certification. Local supervisors and faculty affirmed that the purposes of project courses are to introduce the student to research, provide opportunity for students to use their cumulative knowledge, develop cognitive abilities, and independent thinking. The advantages and challenges associated with this course model are discussed.

  6. Improving middle and high school students' comprehension of science texts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brandi E. JOHNSON

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Throughout the United States, many middle and high school students struggle to comprehend science texts for a variety of reasons. Science texts are frequently boring, focused on isolated facts, present too many new concepts at once, and lack the clarity and organization known to improve comprehension. Compounding the problem is that many adolescent readers do not possess effective comprehension strategies, particularly for difficult expository science texts. Some researchers have suggested changing the characteristics of science texts to better assist adolescent readers with understanding, while others have focused on changing the strategies of adolescent readers. In the current paper, we review the literature on selected strategy instruction programs used to improve science text comprehension in middle and high school students and suggest avenues for future research.

  7. Improving middle and high school students' comprehension of science texts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brandi E. Johnson

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available Throughout the United States, many middle and high school students struggle to comprehend science texts for a variety of reasons. Science texts are frequently boring, focused on isolated facts, present too many new concepts at once, and lack the clarity and organization known to improve comprehension. Compounding the problem is that many adolescent readers do not possess effective comprehension strategies, particularly for difficult expository science texts. Some researchers have suggested changing the characteristics of science texts to better assist adolescent readers with understanding, while others have focused on changing the strategies of adolescent readers. In the current paper, we review the literature on selected strategy instruction programs used to improve science text comprehension in middle and high school students and suggest avenues for future research.

  8. Investigating Science Interest in a Game-Based Learning Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Annetta, Leonard; Vallett, David; Fusarelli, Bonnie; Lamb, Richard; Cheng, Meng-Tzu; Holmes, Shawn; Folta, Elizabeth; Thurmond, Brandi

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the effect Serious Educational Games (SEGs) had on student interest in science in a federally funded game-based learning project. It can be argued that today's students are more likely to engage in video games than they are to interact in live, face-to-face learning environments. With a keen eye on…

  9. National Science Resources Center Project to Improve Science Teaching in Elementary Schools. Appendix C. Elementary Science Information Database

    Science.gov (United States)

    1988-12-01

    individual particles. They mix the powders with water and perform tests with heat, iodine, and vinegar in order to gain additional information about the...illusions ; light ; fermentation ; chromatography ; moon ; astronomy AN SCIENCE - A PROCESS APPROACH, PART G focuses on experimentation, incorporating all...skills ; flowers plants astronomy ; animals ; sensory perception ; vision ; optical illusions ; eyes ; density ; viscosity ; fermentation ; moon

  10. D4SCIENCE-II - Report on inter-projects coordination and collaboration

    OpenAIRE

    Castelli, Donatella; Zoppi, Franco

    2010-01-01

    This deliverable reports on the collaborations with other FP7 projects and R&D programmes established by D4Science-II from the beginning of the project until July 2010. The collaborations described are of different nature, as they range from purely technical exchanges involving mutual exploitation of technologies to the sharing of e- Infrastructure resources and to the joint organization of networking and dissemination events. The deliverable presents these collaborations clustered into: (i) ...

  11. Virtual Mockup test based on computational science and engineering. Near future technology projected by JSPS-RFTFADVENTURE project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoshimura, Shinobu

    2001-01-01

    The ADVENTURE project began on August, 1997, as a project in the computational science' field of JSPS-RFTFADVENTURE project, and is progressed as five year project. In this project, by using versatile parallel computer environment such as PC cluster, super parallel computer, and so on , to solve an arbitrary shape of actual dynamical equation by using 10 to 100 million freedom class mode under maintaining a general use analytical capacity agreeable with present general use computational mechanics system, further development of a large-scale parallel computational mechanics system (ADVENTURE system) capable of carrying out an optimization design on shapes, physical properties, loading conditions, and so on is performed. Here was scoped, after outlining on background of R and D on ADVENTURE system and its features, on near future virtual mockup test forecast from it. (G.K.)

  12. Examining of the Predictors of Pre-Service Teachers' Perceptions of the Quality of the Science Fair Projects in Turkey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tortop, Hasan Said

    2014-01-01

    This study aimed at examining the predictors of quality of science fair (SF) projects in the light of pre-service teachers' evaluation of SF rubric' domains. These projects were selected by judges in A city for the A Regional Exhibition of Science and Mathematics Project Study for Primary School Students: The SF projects were evaluated by thirty…

  13. Thinking Science Australia: A Short History of How Thirty Science Lessons Transform Learning and Teaching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Tim

    2016-01-01

    Originally called Cognitive Acceleration through Science Education, Thinking Science is a program of 30 lessons, usually delivered in Years 7 and 8, that has been shown to improve learner outcomes in science, maths and English. Over recent years, it has grown in popularity in Australia and was the subject of an ARC-funded research project at the…

  14. Improvement of the cost-benefit analysis algorithm for high-rise construction projects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gafurov Andrey

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The specific nature of high-rise investment projects entailing long-term construction, high risks, etc. implies a need to improve the standard algorithm of cost-benefit analysis. An improved algorithm is described in the article. For development of the improved algorithm of cost-benefit analysis for high-rise construction projects, the following methods were used: weighted average cost of capital, dynamic cost-benefit analysis of investment projects, risk mapping, scenario analysis, sensitivity analysis of critical ratios, etc. This comprehensive approach helped to adapt the original algorithm to feasibility objectives in high-rise construction. The authors put together the algorithm of cost-benefit analysis for high-rise construction projects on the basis of risk mapping and sensitivity analysis of critical ratios. The suggested project risk management algorithms greatly expand the standard algorithm of cost-benefit analysis in investment projects, namely: the “Project analysis scenario” flowchart, improving quality and reliability of forecasting reports in investment projects; the main stages of cash flow adjustment based on risk mapping for better cost-benefit project analysis provided the broad range of risks in high-rise construction; analysis of dynamic cost-benefit values considering project sensitivity to crucial variables, improving flexibility in implementation of high-rise projects.

  15. Improvement of the cost-benefit analysis algorithm for high-rise construction projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gafurov, Andrey; Skotarenko, Oksana; Plotnikov, Vladimir

    2018-03-01

    The specific nature of high-rise investment projects entailing long-term construction, high risks, etc. implies a need to improve the standard algorithm of cost-benefit analysis. An improved algorithm is described in the article. For development of the improved algorithm of cost-benefit analysis for high-rise construction projects, the following methods were used: weighted average cost of capital, dynamic cost-benefit analysis of investment projects, risk mapping, scenario analysis, sensitivity analysis of critical ratios, etc. This comprehensive approach helped to adapt the original algorithm to feasibility objectives in high-rise construction. The authors put together the algorithm of cost-benefit analysis for high-rise construction projects on the basis of risk mapping and sensitivity analysis of critical ratios. The suggested project risk management algorithms greatly expand the standard algorithm of cost-benefit analysis in investment projects, namely: the "Project analysis scenario" flowchart, improving quality and reliability of forecasting reports in investment projects; the main stages of cash flow adjustment based on risk mapping for better cost-benefit project analysis provided the broad range of risks in high-rise construction; analysis of dynamic cost-benefit values considering project sensitivity to crucial variables, improving flexibility in implementation of high-rise projects.

  16. Preparing Future Secondary Computer Science Educators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ajwa, Iyad

    2007-01-01

    Although nearly every college offers a major in computer science, many computer science teachers at the secondary level have received little formal training. This paper presents details of a project that could make a significant contribution to national efforts to improve computer science education by combining teacher education and professional…

  17. SpaceScience@Home: Authentic Research Projects that Use Citizen Scientists

    Science.gov (United States)

    Méndez, B. J. H.

    2008-06-01

    In recent years, several space science research projects have enlisted the help of large numbers of non-professional volunteers, ``citizen scientists'', to aid in performing tasks that are critical to a project, but require more person-time (or computing time) than a small professional research team can practically perform themselves. Examples of such projects include SETI@home, which uses time from volunteers computers to process radio-telescope observation looking for signals originating from extra-terrestrial intelligences; Clickworkers, which asks volunteers to review images of the surface of Mars to identify craters; Spacewatch, which used volunteers to review astronomical telescopic images of the sky to identify streaks made by possible Near Earth Asteroids; and Stardust@home, which asks volunteers to review ``focus movies'' taken of the Stardust interstellar dust aerogel collector to search for possible impacts from interstellar dust particles. We shall describe these and other similar projects and discuss lessons learned from carrying out such projects, including the educational opportunities they create.

  18. Citizen Science: The Small World Initiative Improved Lecture Grades and California Critical Thinking Skills Test Scores of Nonscience Major Students at Florida Atlantic University.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caruso, Joseph P; Israel, Natalie; Rowland, Kimberly; Lovelace, Matthew J; Saunders, Mary Jane

    2016-03-01

    Course-based undergraduate research is known to improve science, technology, engineering, and mathematics student achievement. We tested "The Small World Initiative, a Citizen-Science Project to Crowdsource Novel Antibiotic Discovery" to see if it also improved student performance and the critical thinking of non-science majors in Introductory Biology at Florida Atlantic University (a large, public, minority-dominant institution) in academic year 2014-15. California Critical Thinking Skills Test pre- and posttests were offered to both Small World Initiative (SWI) and control lab students for formative amounts of extra credit. SWI lab students earned significantly higher lecture grades than control lab students, had significantly fewer lecture grades of D+ or lower, and had significantly higher critical thinking posttest total scores than control students. Lastly, more SWI students were engaged while taking critical thinking tests. These results support the hypothesis that utilizing independent course-based undergraduate science research improves student achievement even in nonscience students.

  19. Establishing a portfolio of quality-improvement projects in pediatric surgery through advanced improvement leadership systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerrein, Betsy T; Williams, Christina E; Von Allmen, Daniel

    2013-01-01

    Formal quality-improvement (QI) projects require that participants are educated in QI methods to provide them with the capability to carry out successful, meaningful work. However, orchestrating a portfolio of projects that addresses the strategic mission of the institution requires an extension of basic QI training to provide the division or business unit with the capacity to successfully develop and manage the portfolio. Advanced Improvement Leadership Systems is a program to help units create a meaningful portfolio. This program, used by the Division of Pediatric General and Thoracic Surgery at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, helped establish a portfolio of targeted QI projects designed to achieve outstanding outcomes at competitive costs in multiple clinical areas aligned with the institution's strategic goals (improve disease-based outcomes, patient safety, flow, and patient and family experience). These objectives are addressed in an institutional strategic plan built around 5 core areas: Safety, Productivity, Care Coordination and Outcomes, Patient and Family Experience, and Value. By combining the portfolio of QI projects with improvements in the divisional infrastructure, effective improvement efforts were realized throughout the division. In the 9 months following the program, divisional capability resulted in a 16.5% increase (5.7% to 22.2%) of formally trained staff working on 10 QI teams. Concurrently, a leadership team, designed to coordinate projects, remove barriers, and provide technical support, provided the capacity to pursue this ongoing effort. The Advanced Improvement Leadership Systems program increased the Division's efficiency and effectiveness in pursing the QI mission that is integral at our hospital.

  20. Establishing a Portfolio of Quality-Improvement Projects in Pediatric Surgery through Advanced Improvement Leadership Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerrein, Betsy T; Williams, Christina E; von Allmen, Daniel

    2013-01-01

    Formal quality-improvement (QI) projects require that participants are educated in QI methods to provide them with the capability to carry out successful, meaningful work. However, orchestrating a portfolio of projects that addresses the strategic mission of the institution requires an extension of basic QI training to provide the division or business unit with the capacity to successfully develop and manage the portfolio. Advanced Improvement Leadership Systems is a program to help units create a meaningful portfolio. This program, used by the Division of Pediatric General and Thoracic Surgery at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, helped establish a portfolio of targeted QI projects designed to achieve outstanding outcomes at competitive costs in multiple clinical areas aligned with the institution’s strategic goals (improve disease-based outcomes, patient safety, flow, and patient and family experience). These objectives are addressed in an institutional strategic plan built around 5 core areas: Safety, Productivity, Care Coordination and Outcomes, Patient and Family Experience, and Value. By combining the portfolio of QI projects with improvements in the divisional infrastructure, effective improvement efforts were realized throughout the division. In the 9 months following the program, divisional capability resulted in a 16.5% increase (5.7% to 22.2%) of formally trained staff working on 10 QI teams. Concurrently, a leadership team, designed to coordinate projects, remove barriers, and provide technical support, provided the capacity to pursue this ongoing effort. The Advanced Improvement Leadership Systems program increased the Division’s efficiency and effectiveness in pursing the QI mission that is integral at our hospital. PMID:24361020

  1. Enhancing Science and Mathematics Education for Child Care Providers and Preschool Teachers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, Jennifer Meux; Hosoume, Kimi

    The Lawrence Hall of Science (LHS), University of California at Berkeley has completed a 3-year project to develop a science and mathematics education course and science curriculum for early childhood educators. This project was in response to the need for improving the science and mathematics knowledge and teaching skills of adults who work with…

  2. Fuels planning: science synthesis and integration; fact sheet: The Fuels Synthesis Project overview

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rocky Mountain Research Station USDA Forest Service

    2004-01-01

    The geographic focus of the "Fuels Planning: Science Synthesis and Integration" project #known as the Fuels Synthesis Project# is on the dry forests of the Western United States. Target audiences include fuels management specialists, resource specialists, National Environmental Policy Act #NEPA# planning team leaders, line officers in the USDA Forest Service...

  3. The PERFORM project: using performing arts to increase engagement and understanding of science.

    Science.gov (United States)

    James, Jon

    2017-04-01

    This commentary describes some of the current challenges for science education in the UK and how an EU educational project (PERFORM) is seeking to use performing arts to engage young people with science, its values and the processes of research. © FEMS 2017. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  4. HiggsHunters - a citizen science project for ATLAS

    CERN Document Server

    Haas, Andrew; The ATLAS collaboration

    2016-01-01

    Since the launch of HiggsHunters.org in November 2014, citizen science volunteers have classified more than a million points of interest in images from the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. Volunteers have been looking for displaced vertices and unusual features in images recorded during LHC Run-1. We discuss the design of the project, its impact on the public, and the surprising results of how the human volunteers performed relative to the computer algorithms in identifying displaced secondary vertices.

  5. A Community-University Exchange Project Modeled after Europe's Science Shops

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tryon, Elizabeth; Ross, J. Ashleigh

    2012-01-01

    This article describes a pilot project of the Morgridge Center for Public Service at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for a new structure for community-based learning and research. It is based on the European-derived science shop model for democratizing campus-community partnerships using shared values of mutual respect and validation of…

  6. Effect of project work on secondary school students science process ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study investigated the effect of students' project work on secondary school science process skills acquisition in Biology. The study was carried out in Owerri North Local Government Area of Imo State. Three research questions guided the study and three null hypotheses were postulated and tested at 0.05 level of ...

  7. Interstate Electrification Improvement Project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Puckette, Margaret [Shorepower Technologies, Hillsboro, OR (United States); Kim, Jeff [Shorepower Technologies, Hillsboro, OR (United States)

    2015-07-01

    The Interstate Electrification Improvement Project, publicly known as the Shorepower Truck Electrification Project (STEP), started in May 2011 and ended in March 2015. The project grant was awarded by the Department of Energy’s Vehicles Technology Office in the amount of $22.2 million. It had three overarching missions: 1. Reduce the idling of Class 8 tractors when parked at truck stops, to reduce diesel fuel consumption and thus U.S. dependence on foreign petroleum; 2. Stimulate job creation and economic activity as part of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009; 3. Reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from diesel combustion and the carbon footprint of the truck transportation industry. The project design was straightforward. First, build fifty Truck Stop Electrification (TSE) facilities in truck stop parking lots across the country so trucks could plug-in to 110V, 220V, or 480VAC, and shut down the engine instead of idling. These facilities were strategically located at fifty truck stops along major U.S. Interstates with heavy truck traffic. Approximately 1,350 connection points were installed, including 150 high-voltage electric standby Transport Refrigeration Unit (eTRU) plugs--eTRUs are capable of plugging in to shore power1 to cool the refrigerated trailer for loads such as produce, meats and ice cream. Second, the project provided financial incentives on idle reduction equipment to 5,000 trucks in the form of rebates, to install equipment compatible with shore power. This equipment enables drivers to shut down the main engine when parked, to heat or cool their cab, charge batteries, or use other household appliances without idling—a common practice that uses approximately 1 gallon of diesel per hour. The rebate recipients were intended to be the first fleets to plug into Shorepower to save diesel fuel and ensure there is significant population of shore power capable trucks. This two part project was designed to complement each other by

  8. Summary of EPRI projects for improving power plant maintenance and maintainability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shugars, H.G.; Poole, D.N.; Pack, R.W.

    1979-01-01

    The Electric Power Research Institute is sponsoring projects to improve power plant maintenance and maintainability. Areas presently being emphasized are improvements in plant design for maintainability, improvements in performing nuclear plant refuelings, and development of on-line monitoring and diagnostic systems for various plant components. The seven projects are reviewed. They are: (1) human factors review of power plant maintainability; (2) refueling outage improvement; (3) on-line monitoring and diagnostics for power plant machinery; (4) acoustic emission and vibrati1on signature analysis of fossil fuel plant components; (5) acoustic monitoring of power plant valves; (6) on-line monitoring and diagnostics for generators; and (7) detection of water induction in steam turbines. Each project contractor and the project manager are listed for reference. 8 references

  9. Optimising Impact in Astronomy for Development Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grant, Eli

    2015-08-01

    Positive outcomes in the fields of science education and international development are notoriously difficult to achieve. Among the challenges facing projects that use astronomy to improve education and socio-economic development is how to optimise project design in order to achieve the greatest possible benefits. Over the past century, medical scientists along with statisticians and economists have progressed an increasingly sophisticated and scientific approach to designing, testing and improving social intervention and public health education strategies. This talk offers a brief review of the history and current state of `intervention science'. A similar framework is then proposed for astronomy outreach and education projects, with applied examples given of how existing evidence can be used to inform project design, predict and estimate cost-effectiveness, minimise the risk of unintended negative consequences and increase the likelihood of target outcomes being achieved.

  10. Improving Project Management Using Formal Models and Architectures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kahn, Theodore; Sturken, Ian

    2011-01-01

    This talk discusses the advantages formal modeling and architecture brings to project management. These emerging technologies have both great potential and challenges for improving information available for decision-making. The presentation covers standards, tools and cultural issues needing consideration, and includes lessons learned from projects the presenters have worked on.

  11. Examining the relationship between leadership and mega science projects

    CERN Document Server

    Eggleton, David Christopher; Tang, Puay

    A development over the past 70 to 80 years within scientific research has been the need for very large pieces of apparatus to enable the exploration of new scientific topics, particularly within particle physics and space science. These ‘megascience projects’ are generally undertaken as cooperative ventures by countries seeking to pursue scientific experimental opportunities in these fields. Such projects, a subcategory of large/megaprojects that have a minimum budget of one billion US dollars, are characterised by high levels of technological uncertainty, given that their success depends on the development of new, highly-advanced technologies . However, there is a notable lack of research into the leadership of megascience projects - an important consideration when embarking on a substantial project. The leadership literature traditionally categorises leaders into five discrete leadership styles, but there is a gap when it comes to understanding the characteristics and development of leaders of megascien...

  12. Exploring the effects of developing collaboration in a primary science teacher community

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sillasen, Martin Krabbe

    2010-01-01

    This paper presents findings from a qualitative study to explore factors that may facilitate sustainable changes of collaboration in a primary science teacher community in one school. The context for this study is a development project aimed at improving science teaching by changing teacher......’s collective work in schools and developing network between schools. The objective is to improve the collaboration within primary science teacher communities on sharing best practice and developing new ways of teaching. This study represents an in-depth approach to explore possibilities and constraints for how...... a development project can facilitate sustainable change in primary science teachers’ collaboration. The purpose of the research project introduced here is to examine closer, why many development projects fail to produce sustainable results. The framework of McLaughlin and Talbert (2006) on building teacher...

  13. Looking at Life. Study Guide. Unit A2. ZIM-SCI, Zimbabwe Secondary School Science Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hosking, Bunty

    The Zimbabwe Secondary School Science Project (ZIM-SCI) developed student study guides, corresponding teaching guides, and science kits for a low-cost science course which could be taught during the first 2 years of secondary school without the aid of qualified teachers and conventional laboratories. This ZIM-SCI study guide presents activities…

  14. Looking at Life. Teacher's Guide. Unit A2. ZIM-SCI, Zimbabwe Secondary School Science Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hosking, Bunty

    The Zimbabwe Secondary School Science Project (ZIM-SCI) developed student study guides, corresponding teaching guides, and science kits for a low-cost science course which could be taught during the first 2 years of secondary school without the aid of qualified teachers and conventional laboratories. This teaching guide, designed to be read in…

  15. Improving food and agricultural production. Thailand. Project findings and recommendations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-01-01

    This document is the terminal report of a United Nations Development Program project to improve food and agricultural production in Thailand by means of nuclear and related technology. The project resulted in improved mutant material to be made available to plant breeders as well as in reports and recommendations on soil-water-plant management practices and livestock management. An additional benefit has been the specialized training that has been provided to many researchers in the country through the project

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  17. A Guide to Undergraduate Science Course and Laboratory Improvements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Straumanis, Joan, Ed.; Watson, Robert F., Ed.

    Reported are activities carried out at colleges and universities during 1976-1980 with support from the National Science Foundation's Local Course Improvement (LOCI) and Instructional Scientific Equipment Program (ISEP). It is intended as a reference for persons interested in current course and laboratory developments in the sciences at the…

  18. The Power Plant Mapping Student Project: Bringing Citizen Science to Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tayne, K.; Oda, T.; Gurney, K. R.; O'Keeffe, D.; Petron, G.; Tans, P. P.; Frost, G. J.

    2014-12-01

    An emission inventory (EI) is a conventional tool to quantify and monitor anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants into the atmosphere. Gridded EI can visually show geographical patterns of emissions and their changes over time. These patterns, when available, are often determined using location data collected by regional governments, industries, and researchers. Datasets such as Carbon Monitoring and Action (CARMA, www.carma.org) are particularly useful for mapping emissions from large point sources and have been widely used in the EI community. The EI community is aware of potentially significant errors in the geographical locations of point sources, including power plants. The big challenge, however, is to review tens of thousands of power plant locations around the world and correct them where needed. The Power Plant Mapping Student Project (PPMSP) is a platform designed for students in 4th through 12th grade to improve the geographical location of power plants indicated in existing datasets to benefit international EI research. In PPMSP, we use VENTUS, a web-based platform (http://ventus.project.asu.edu/) that invites citizens to contribute power plant location data. Using VENTUS, students view scenes in the vicinity of reported power plant coordinates on Google Maps. Students either verify the location of a power plant or search for it within a designated radius using various indicators, an e-guide, and a power plant photo gallery for assistance. If the power plant cannot be found, students mark the plant as unverified. To assure quality for research use, the project contains multiple checkpoints and levels of review. While participating in meaningful research that directly benefits the EI research community, students are engaged in relevant science curricula designed to meet each grade level's Next Generation Science Standards. Students study energy, climate change, the atmosphere, and geographical information systems. The curricula is

  19. Generic project definitions for improvement of health care delivery: a case-based approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niemeijer, Gerard C; Does, Ronald J M M; de Mast, Jeroen; Trip, Albert; van den Heuvel, Jaap

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to create actionable knowledge, making the definition of process improvement projects in health care delivery more effective. This study is a retrospective analysis of process improvement projects in hospitals, facilitating a case-based reasoning approach to project definition. Data sources were project documentation and hospital-performance statistics of 271 Lean Six Sigma health care projects from 2002 to 2009 of general, teaching, and academic hospitals in the Netherlands and Belgium. Objectives and operational definitions of improvement projects in the sample, analyzed and structured in a uniform format and terminology. Extraction of reusable elements of earlier project definitions, presented in the form of 9 templates called generic project definitions. These templates function as exemplars for future process improvement projects, making the selection, definition, and operationalization of similar projects more efficient. Each template includes an explicated rationale, an operationalization in the form of metrics, and a prototypical example. Thus, a process of incremental and sustained learning based on case-based reasoning is facilitated. The quality of project definitions is a crucial success factor in pursuits to improve health care delivery. We offer 9 tried and tested improvement themes related to patient safety, patient satisfaction, and business-economic performance of hospitals.

  20. Translational Science Project Team Managers: Qualitative Insights and Implications from Current and Previous Postdoctoral Experiences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wooten, Kevin C; Dann, Sara M; Finnerty, Celeste C; Kotarba, Joseph A

    2014-07-01

    The development of leadership and project management skills is increasingly important to the evolution of translational science and team-based endeavors. Team science is dependent upon individuals at various stages in their careers, inclusive of postdocs. Data from case histories, as well as from interviews with current and former postdocs, and those supervising postdocs, indicate six essential tasks required of project managers in multidisciplinary translational teams, along with eight skill-related themes critical to their success. To optimize the opportunities available and to ensure sequential development of team project management skills, a life cycle model for the development of translational team skills is proposed, ranging from graduate trainees, postdocs, assistant professors, and finally to mature scientists. Specific goals, challenges and project management roles and tasks are recommended for each stage for the life cycle.

  1. Improving patient care through student leadership in team quality improvement projects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tschannen, Dana; Aebersold, Michelle; Kocan, Mary Jo; Lundy, Francene; Potempa, Kathleen

    2015-01-01

    In partnership with a major medical center, senior-level nursing students completed a root cause analysis and implementation plan to address a unit-specific quality issue. To evaluate the project, unit leaders were asked their perceptions of the value of the projects and impact on patient care, as well as to provide exemplars depicting how the student root cause analysis work resulted in improved patient outcome and/or unit processes. Liaisons noted benefits of having an RCA team, with positive impact on patient outcomes and care processes.

  2. Evaluation of authentic science projects on climate change in secondary schools : a focus on gender differences

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dijkstra, Elma; Goedhart, Martin

    2011-01-01

    Background and purpose: This study examines secondary-school students' opinions on participating in authentic science projects, which are part of an international EU project on climate change research in seven countries. Partnerships between schools and research institutes result in student projects

  3. Adoption of ICT in Science Education: A Case Study of Communication Channels in a Teachers' Professional Development Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Juuti, Kalle; Lavonen, Jari; Aksela, Maija; Meisalo, Veijo

    2009-01-01

    This paper analyses the use of various communication channels in science teachers' professional development project aiming to develop versatile uses for ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) in science teaching. A teacher network was created specifically for this project, and the researchers facilitated three forms of communication…

  4. Can model weighting improve probabilistic projections of climate change?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Raeisaenen, Jouni; Ylhaeisi, Jussi S. [Department of Physics, P.O. Box 48, University of Helsinki (Finland)

    2012-10-15

    Recently, Raeisaenen and co-authors proposed a weighting scheme in which the relationship between observable climate and climate change within a multi-model ensemble determines to what extent agreement with observations affects model weights in climate change projection. Within the Third Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP3) dataset, this scheme slightly improved the cross-validated accuracy of deterministic projections of temperature change. Here the same scheme is applied to probabilistic temperature change projection, under the strong limiting assumption that the CMIP3 ensemble spans the actual modeling uncertainty. Cross-validation suggests that probabilistic temperature change projections may also be improved by this weighting scheme. However, the improvement relative to uniform weighting is smaller in the tail-sensitive logarithmic score than in the continuous ranked probability score. The impact of the weighting on projection of real-world twenty-first century temperature change is modest in most parts of the world. However, in some areas mainly over the high-latitude oceans, the mean of the distribution is substantially changed and/or the distribution is considerably narrowed. The weights of individual models vary strongly with location, so that a model that receives nearly zero weight in some area may still get a large weight elsewhere. Although the details of this variation are method-specific, it suggests that the relative strengths of different models may be difficult to harness by weighting schemes that use spatially uniform model weights. (orig.)

  5. The DOE/NREL Environmental Science Program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Douglas R. Lawson; Michael Gurevich

    2001-01-01

    This paper summarizes the several of the studies in the Environmental Science Program being sponsored by DOE's Office of Heavy Vehicle Technologies (OHVT) through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The goal of the Environmental Science Program is to understand atmospheric impacts and potential health effects that may be caused by the use of petroleum-based fuels and alternative transportation fuels from mobile sources. The Program is regulatory-driven, and focuses on ozone, airborne particles, visibility and regional haze, air toxics, and health effects of air pollutants. Each project in the Program is designed to address policy-relevant objectives. Current projects in the Environmental Science Program have four areas of focus: improving technology for emissions measurements; vehicle emissions measurements; emission inventory development/improvement; ambient impacts, including health effects

  6. The DOE/NREL Environmental Science Program

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Douglas R. Lawson; Michael Gurevich

    2001-05-14

    This paper summarizes the several of the studies in the Environmental Science Program being sponsored by DOE's Office of Heavy Vehicle Technologies (OHVT) through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The goal of the Environmental Science Program is to understand atmospheric impacts and potential health effects that may be caused by the use of petroleum-based fuels and alternative transportation fuels from mobile sources. The Program is regulatory-driven, and focuses on ozone, airborne particles, visibility and regional haze, air toxics, and health effects of air pollutants. Each project in the Program is designed to address policy-relevant objectives. Current projects in the Environmental Science Program have four areas of focus: improving technology for emissions measurements; vehicle emissions measurements; emission inventory development/improvement; ambient impacts, including health effects.

  7. Environmental handling in the Japan: Project of improvement of lands

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tascon Carvajal, R.

    1993-01-01

    Some administrative aspects, politicians and strategies are described continued by the Japan to protect the environment in the agrarian sector. It is analyzed the project of improvement of lands, their objectives and functions and the operative mark inside which is unwrapped, their procedures for the implementation as sampling and planning, definitive design and construction. Equally the projects of improvement of lands of reduced reach are discussed, in what concerns to irrigation and drainage, consolidation of lands, prevention of disasters and development of the community. The perspectives of the projects of development of lands of long reach are mentioned inside a general strategy of productivity, sustainability, justness and improvement of the level of life

  8. The Case for Improving U.S. Computer Science Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nager, Adams; Atkinson, Robert

    2016-01-01

    Despite the growing use of computers and software in every facet of our economy, not until recently has computer science education begun to gain traction in American school systems. The current focus on improving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in the U.S. School system has disregarded differences within STEM…

  9. Understanding and Improving Blind Students' Access to Visual Information in Computer Science Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, Catherine M.

    Teaching people with disabilities tech skills empowers them to create solutions to problems they encounter and prepares them for careers. However, computer science is typically taught in a highly visual manner which can present barriers for people who are blind. The goal of this dissertation is to understand and decrease those barriers. The first projects I present looked at the barriers that blind students face. I first present the results of my survey and interviews with blind students with degrees in computer science or related fields. This work highlighted the many barriers that these blind students faced. I then followed-up on one of the barriers mentioned, access to technology, by doing a preliminary accessibility evaluation of six popular integrated development environments (IDEs) and code editors. I found that half were unusable and all had some inaccessible portions. As access to visual information is a barrier in computer science education, I present three projects I have done to decrease this barrier. The first project is Tactile Graphics with a Voice (TGV). This project investigated an alternative to Braille labels for those who do not know Braille and showed that TGV was a potential alternative. The next project was StructJumper, which created a modified abstract syntax tree that blind programmers could use to navigate through code with their screen reader. The evaluation showed that users could navigate more quickly and easily determine the relationships of lines of code when they were using StructJumper compared to when they were not. Finally, I present a tool for dynamic graphs (the type with nodes and edges) which had two different modes for handling focus changes when moving between graphs. I found that the modes support different approaches for exploring the graphs and therefore preferences are mixed based on the user's preferred approach. However, both modes had similar accuracy in completing the tasks. These projects are a first step towards

  10. Mapping Project on Energy and the Social Sciences. Progress report, October 1, 1978-June 30, 1979

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Walker, C.A.; Doob, L.W.; Gould, L.C.

    1979-01-01

    This is a progress report of activities in the fourth year of the Yale Institution for Social and Policy Studies Mapping Project on Energy and the Social Sciences. The Mapping Project evaluates past and present social and behavioral science energy studies, assesses the potential for social and behavioral science contributions to a resolution of the energy problems in the future, and diffuses social and behavioral science information and perspectives to policymakers and others concerned with US or world energy developments. Activities in FY 1979 included meetings, workshops, collecting bibliographic material, publications, evaluating DOE programs in buildings and transportation, performing a special study of potential social impacts of 4 coal technologies, and developing plans for 10 specific research studies on energy.

  11. Scientific Knowledge and Attitude Change: The Impact of a Citizen Science Project. Research Report

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brossard, Dominique; Lewenstein, Bruce; Bonney, Rick

    2005-01-01

    This paper discusses the evaluation of an informal science education project, The Birdhouse Network (TBN) of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. The Elaboration Likelihood Model and the theory of Experiential Education were used as frameworks to analyse the impact of TBN on participants' attitudes toward science and the environment, on their…

  12. Improving Earth Science Metadata: Modernizing ncISO

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Brien, K.; Schweitzer, R.; Neufeld, D.; Burger, E. F.; Signell, R. P.; Arms, S. C.; Wilcox, K.

    2016-12-01

    ncISO is a package of tools developed at NOAA's National Center for Environmental Information (NCEI) that facilitates the generation of ISO 19115-2 metadata from NetCDF data sources. The tool currently exists in two iterations: a command line utility and a web-accessible service within the THREDDS Data Server (TDS). Several projects, including NOAA's Unified Access Framework (UAF), depend upon ncISO to generate the ISO-compliant metadata from their data holdings and use the resulting information to populate discovery tools such as NCEI's ESRI Geoportal and NOAA's data.noaa.gov CKAN system. In addition to generating ISO 19115-2 metadata, the tool calculates a rubric score based on how well the dataset follows the Attribute Conventions for Dataset Discovery (ACDD). The result of this rubric calculation, along with information about what has been included and what is missing is displayed in an HTML document generated by the ncISO software package. Recently ncISO has fallen behind in terms of supporting updates to conventions such updates to the ACDD. With the blessing of the original programmer, NOAA's UAF has been working to modernize the ncISO software base. In addition to upgrading ncISO to utilize version1.3 of the ACDD, we have been working with partners at Unidata and IOOS to unify the tool's code base. In essence, we are merging the command line capabilities into the same software that will now be used by the TDS service, allowing easier updates when conventions such as ACDD are updated in the future. In this presentation, we will discuss the work the UAF project has done to support updated conventions within ncISO, as well as describe how the updated tool is helping to improve metadata throughout the earth and ocean sciences.

  13. The Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP): Overview and Progress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenzweig, C.; Hatfield, J.; Jones, J. W.; Ruane, A. C.

    2012-12-01

    The Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP) is an international effort to assess the state of global agricultural modeling and to understand climate impacts on the agricultural sector. AgMIP connects the climate science, crop modeling, and agricultural economic modeling communities to generate probabilistic projections of current and future climate impacts. The goals of AgMIP are to improve substantially the characterization of risk of hunger and world food security due to climate change and to enhance adaptation capacity in both developing and developed countries. This presentation will describe the general approach of AgMIP and highlight its findings and activities. AgMIP crop model intercomparisons have been established for wheat (27 models participating), maize (25 models), and rice (15+ models), and are being established for sugarcane, soybean, sorghum/millet, and peanut. In coordination with these pilots, methodologies to utilize weather generators and downscaled climate simulations for agricultural applications are under development. An AgMIP global agricultural economics model intercomparison with participation of 11 international groups is ongoing, and a number of global biophysical models are currently being evaluated for future climate impacts on agricultural lands both as part of the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (ISI-MIP) and for contribution to the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (AR5). AgMIP is also organizing regional research efforts, and has already held workshops in South America, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, Europe, and North America. Outcomes from these meetings have informed AgMIP activities, and 10 research teams from Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia have been selected for project funding. Additional activities are planned for Australia and East Asia. As the AgMIP research community continues to work towards its goals, three key cross-cutting scientific challenges have emerged and are being

  14. 34 CFR 637.13 - What are design projects?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION MINORITY SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM What Kinds of Projects Does the Secretary Assist Under This Program? § 637.13 What are design projects? (a) Design... 34 Education 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What are design projects? 637.13 Section 637.13...

  15. 34 CFR 637.15 - What are cooperative projects?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION MINORITY SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM What Kinds of Projects Does the Secretary Assist Under This Program? § 637.15 What are cooperative projects? (a... 34 Education 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What are cooperative projects? 637.15 Section 637.15...

  16. 34 CFR 637.12 - What are institutional projects?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION MINORITY SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM What Kinds of Projects Does the Secretary Assist Under This Program? § 637.12 What are institutional projects? (a... 34 Education 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What are institutional projects? 637.12 Section 637.12...

  17. Leveraging the power of music to improve science education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crowther, Gregory J.; McFadden, Tom; Fleming, Jean S.; Davis, Katie

    2016-01-01

    We assessed the impact of music videos with science-based lyrics on content knowledge and attitudes in a three-part experimental research study of over 1000 participants (mostly K-12 students). In Study A, 13 of 15 music videos were followed by statistically significant improvements on questions about material covered in the videos, while performance on 'bonus questions' not covered by the videos did not improve. Video-specific improvement was observed in both basic knowledge and genuine comprehension (levels 1 and 2 of Bloom's taxonomy, respectively) and after both lyrics-only and visually rich versions of some videos. In Study B, musical versions of additional science videos were not superior to non-musical ones in their immediate impact on content knowledge, though musical versions were significantly more enjoyable. In Study C, a non-musical video on fossils elicited greater immediate test improvement than the musical version ('Fossil Rock Anthem'); however, viewers of the music video enjoyed a modest advantage on a delayed post-test administered 28 days later. Music video viewers more frequently rated their video as 'fun', and seemed more likely to revisit and/or share the video. Our findings contribute to a broader dialogue on promising new pedagogical strategies in science education.

  18. SNF project engineering process improvement plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    DESAI, S.P.

    1999-01-01

    This Engineering Process Improvement Plan documents the activities and plans to be taken by the SNF Project to support its engineering process and to produce a consolidated set of engineering procedures that are fully compliant with the requirements of HNF-PRO-1819. All new procedures will be issued and implemented by September 30, 1999

  19. InterScience and fusion: Projects, collaborations, and spin-offs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Castracane, J.

    1995-01-01

    InterScience, Inc. is a small, high technology research and development company which participates in the mission of the fusion energy research program in a variety of ways. The company specializes in basic physics and advanced technologies applied to research and commercial opportunities. InterScience has numerous federal and private sponsors for research and development activities in plasma physics, electro-optics, materials science, electronics, and biomedical engineering. The company currently has several direct research and development projects which involve the assembly of diagnostic hardware for installation and operation at tokamak facilities both in the U.S. and abroad. In addition, the company works in a technical support capacity for both the magnetic and inertial confinement fusion programs. Successful participation in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program has provided an avenue for the transfer of expertise from the fusion program to alternate agencies and research areas. Examples of this include fiberoptic sensors with data acquisition systems, advanced spectral imaging and image processing, fiberoptic imaging interferometry for biomedical instrumentation development and, micro-electro-mechanical systems

  20. 76 FR 56406 - Science and Technology Reinvention Laboratory Demonstration Project; Department of the Army; Army...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-13

    ... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Office of the Secretary Science and Technology Reinvention Laboratory Demonstration Project; Department of the Army; Army Research, Development and Engineering Command; Tank... personnel management demonstration project for eligible TARDEC employees. Within that notice the table...

  1. Science against Crime.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cooke, Julia

    2002-01-01

    Describes a project involving students in forensic science and crime prevention to improve their investigative skills using a DNA fingerprinting workshop and designing burglar alarms, investigating blood splatter patterns, investigating vehicle collisions, and researching crime prevention advice on the Internet. (YDS)

  2. Project LASER: Learning about science, engineering, and research

    Science.gov (United States)

    1990-01-01

    The number of American students entering science and engineering careers and their ranking in comparison with other countries is on the decline. This decline has alarmed Congress which, in 1987, established a Task Force on Women, Minorities, and the Handicapped in Science and Technology to define the problem and find solutions. If left unchanged, the task force has warned that the prospects for maintaining an advanced industrial society will diminish. NASA is supportive of the six goals outlined by the task force, which are paraphrase herein, and is carefully assessing its education programs to identify those offering the greatest potential for achieving the task force objectives with a reasonable range of resources. A major initiative is under way on behalf of NASA at its Marshall Space Flight Center, where highly effective features of several NASA education programs along with innovations are being integrated into a comprehensive pilot program. This program, dubbed Project LASER, is discussed.

  3. Dagik Earth: A Digital Globe Project for Classrooms, Science Museums, and Research Institutes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saito, A.; Tsugawa, T.

    2017-12-01

    Digital globe system is a powerful tool to make the audiences understand phenomena on the Earth and planets in intuitive way. Geo-cosmos of Miraikan, Japan uses 6-m spherical LED, and is one of the largest systems of digital globe. Science on a Sphere (SOS) by NOAA is a digital globe system that is most widely used in science museums around the world. These systems are so expensive that the usage of the digital globes is mainly limited to large-scale science museums. Dagik Earth is a digital globe project that promotes educational programs using digital globe with low cost. It aims to be used especially in classrooms. The cost for the digital globe of Dagik Earth is from several US dollars if PC and PC projector are available. It uses white spheres, such as balloons and balance balls, as the screen. The software is provided by the project with free of charge for the educational usage. The software runs on devices of Windows, Mac and iOS. There are English and Chinese language versions of the PC software besides Japanese version. The number of the registered users of Dagik Earth is about 1,400 in Japan. About 60% of them belongs to schools, 30% to universities and research institutes, and 8% to science museums. In schools, it is used in classes by teachers, and science activities by students. Several teachers have used the system for five years and more. In a students' activity, Dagik Earth contents on the typhoon, solar eclipse, and satellite launch were created and presented in a school festival. This is a good example of the usage of Dagik Earth for STEM education. In the presentation, the system and activity of Dagik Earth will be presented, and the future expansion of the project will be discussed.

  4. The International Science and Technology Center: Scope of activities and scientific projects in the field of nuclear data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klepatsky, Alexander B.

    2002-01-01

    The review of the ISTC (The International Science and Technology Center) Programs and activities including Science Project Program, Partner Program, Seminar Program and others is presented. Project funding by technology area, by funding Parties, by CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) States etc. is demonstrated with emphasis on projects in the field of nuclear data. The ISTC opportunities for international cooperation in the fields of nuclear data measurements, calculation, evaluation and dissemination are discussed. (author)

  5. The Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) and EoR Key-Science Project

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brentjens, Michiel; Koopmans, L. V. E.; de Bruyn, A. G.; Zaroubi, S.

    The Low-Frequency ARray (LOFAR) is a novel radio-telescope facility with its core and operation center in the Netherlands. LOFAR is one of several current pathfinders toward SKA. One of LOFAR's key science projects is the detection and characterization of the redshifted 21-cm emission from neutral

  6. Observing Some Life Cycles. Teacher's Guide. Unit E3. ZIM-SCI, Zimbabwe Secondary School Science Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chitepo, Thoko; And Others

    The Zimbabwe Secondary School Science Project (ZIM-SCI) developed student study guides, corresponding teaching guides, and science kits for a low-cost science course which could be taught during the first 2 years of secondary school without the aid of qualified teachers and conventional laboratories. This teaching guide contains instructional…

  7. The Citizen Science Project 'Mueckenatlas' Helps Monitor the Distribution and Spread of Invasive Mosquito Species in Germany.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walther, Doreen; Kampen, Helge

    2017-11-07

    The citizen science project 'Mueckenatlas' (mosquito atlas) was implemented in early 2012 to improve mosquito surveillance in Germany. Citizens are asked to support the spatiotemporal mapping of culicids by submitting mosquito specimens collected in their private surroundings. The Mueckenatlas has developed into an efficient tool for data collection with close to 30,000 mosquitoes submitted by the end of 2015. While the vast majority of submissions included native mosquito species, a small percentage represented invasive species. The discovery of Aedes albopictus (Skuse) (Diptera: Culicidae), Aedes japonicus japonicus (Theobald) (Diptera: Culicidae) and Aedes koreicus (Edwards) (Diptera: Culicidae) specimens via the Mueckenatlas project prompted targeted monitoring activities in the field which produced additional information on the distribution of these species in Germany. Among others, Mueckenatlas submissions led to the detection of three populations of Ae. j. japonicus in West, North and Southeast Germany in 2012, 2013, and 2015, respectively. As demonstrated by on-site monitoring, the origins of Ae. j. japonicus specimens submitted to the Mueckenatlas mirror the distribution areas of the four presently known German populations as found by active field sampling (the fourth population already reported prior to the launch of the Mueckenatlas). The data suggest that a citizen science project such as the Mueckenatlas may aid in detecting changes in the mosquito fauna and can therefore be used to guide the design of more targeted field surveillance activities. © The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America.

  8. Curiosity: the Mars Science Laboratory Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, Richard A.

    2012-01-01

    The Curiosity rover landed successfully in Gale Crater, Mars on August 5, 2012. This event was a dramatic high point in the decade long effort to design, build, test and fly the most sophisticated scientific vehicle ever sent to Mars. The real achievements of the mission have only just begun, however, as Curiosity is now searching for signs that Mars once possessed habitable environments. The Mars Science Laboratory Project has been one of the most ambitious and challenging planetary projects that NASA has undertaken. It started in the successful aftermath of the 2003 Mars Exploration Rover project and was designed to take significant steps forward in both engineering and scientific capabilities. This included a new landing system capable of emplacing a large mobile vehicle over a wide range of potential landing sites, advanced sample acquisition and handling capabilities that can retrieve samples from both rocks and soil, and a high reliability avionics suite that is designed to permit long duration surface operations. It also includes a set of ten sophisticated scientific instruments that will investigate both the geological context of the landing site plus analyze samples to understand the chemical & organic composition of rocks & soil found there. The Gale Crater site has been specifically selected as a promising location where ancient habitable environments may have existed and for which evidence may be preserved. Curiosity will spend a minimum of one Mars year (about two Earth years) looking for this evidence. This paper will report on the progress of the mission over the first few months of surface operations, plus look retrospectively at lessons learned during both the development and cruise operations phase of the mission..

  9. 34 CFR 637.14 - What are special projects?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION MINORITY SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM What Kinds of Projects Does the Secretary Assist Under This Program? § 637.14 What are special projects? There are two... 34 Education 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What are special projects? 637.14 Section 637.14...

  10. SF Bay Water Quality Improvement Fund: Projects and Accomplishments

    Science.gov (United States)

    San Francisco Bay Water Quality Improvement Fund (SFBWQIF) projects listed here are part of an EPA competitive grant program to improve SF Bay water quality focused on restoring impaired waters and enhancing aquatic resources.

  11. Project, building and utilization of a tomograph of micro metric resolution to application in soil science

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Macedo, Alvaro; Torre Neto, Andre; Cruvinel, Paulo Estevao; Crestana, Silvio

    1996-08-01

    This paper describes the project , building and utilization of a tomograph of micro metric resolution in soil science. It describes the problems involved in soil's science study and it describes the system and methodology

  12. Improve services project -- Republic of the Marshall Islands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Langidrik, J

    1995-01-01

    The Republic of the Marshall Islands has 60 dispensary sites, each staffed by 1 health assistant, to cover 80-800 people/site on 34 atolls. Until the spring of 1994, only curative services were available on a regular basis, and preventive services were provided by traveling health teams from the urban centers. In 1994, the health assistants in selected outer islands were trained to administer immunizations from vaccines which are sent regularly by air. Additional project sites are being selected. In 1993, 2 dispensaries initiated a project to 1) increase the number of women with access to prenatal care during the first trimester, 2) increase immunization levels, 3) improve access to preventive services, and 4) improve reporting and record-keeping systems. This project includes an important training component for the health assistant, the wife of the health assistant, the traditional birth attendant, the youth peer educator, community leaders, and a member of the local council. By 1994, this project was expanded to 13 dispensaries on 2 atolls. In 1995, 18 more dispensaries on 4 more atolls will be able to offer these additional services.

  13. Strengthening Mathematics And Science Education (SMASE) For Improving The Quality Of Teachers in Nigeria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shuaibu, Zainab Muhammad

    2016-04-01

    The education system in Nigeria, especially at the basic education level, teachers who teach mathematics and science need to be confident with what they are teaching, they need to have appropriate techniques and strategies of motivating the pupils. If these subjects are not taught well at the basic education level its extraordinarily hard to get them (pupils/students) back to track, no matter what will be done in the secondary and tertiary level. Teachers as the driving force behind improvements in the education system are in the best position to understand and propose solutions to problems faced by students. Teachers must have access to sustainable, high quality professional development in order to improve teaching and student learning. Teachers' professional development in Nigeria, however, has long been criticized for its lack of sustainability and ability to produce effective change in teaching and students achievement. Education theorists today believe that a critical component of educational reform lies in providing teachers with various opportunities and supports structures that encourage ongoing improvement in teachers' pedagogy and discipline-specific content knowledge. However, the ongoing reforms in education sector and the need to refocus the Nigeria education system towards the goal of the National Economical Empowerment and Development Strategies (NEEDS) demand that the existing In-service and Education Training (INSET) in Nigeria be refocused. It is against this premise that an INSET programme aimed at Strengthening Mathematics And Science Education (SMASE) for primary and secondary school teachers was conceived. The relevance of the SMASE INSET according to the Project Design Matrix (PDM) was derived from an In-service aimed at enhancing the quality of teachers in terms of positive attitude, teaching methodology, mastery of content, resource mobilization and utilization of locally available teaching and learning materials. The intervention of

  14. Investigating and stimulating primary teachers’ attitudes towards science: Summary of a large-scale research project

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Walma van der Molen, Julie Henriëtte; van Aalderen-Smeets, Sandra

    2013-01-01

    Attention to the attitudes of primary teachers towards science is of fundamental importance to research on primary science education. The current article describes a large-scale research project that aims to overcome three main shortcomings in attitude research, i.e. lack of a strong theoretical

  15. Forces. 'O' Level Teacher's Guide. Unit 1. ZIM-SCI, Zimbabwe Secondary School Science Project. Year 3.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Udwin, Martin

    The Zimbabwe Secondary School Science Project (ZIM-SCI) developed student study guides, corresponding teaching guides, and science kits for a low-cost science course which could be taught during the third year of secondary school without the aid of qualified teachers and conventional laboratories. This teaching guide, designed to be read in…

  16. How can innovative project delivery systems improve the overall efficiency of GDOT in transportation project delivery?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-04-01

    The USDOT and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recommend the smart use of innovative project : delivery systems, such as design-build, to improve efficiency and effectiveness of developing transportation : projects. Although design-build provide...

  17. TRUST: A Successful Formal-Informal Teacher Education Partnership Designed to Improve and Promote Urban Earth Science Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sloan, H.; Drantch, K.; Steenhuis, J.

    2006-12-01

    We present an NSF-funded collaborative formal-informal partnership for urban Earth science teacher preparation and professional development. This model brings together The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) and Brooklyn and Lehman College of the City University of New York (CUNY) to address science-impoverished classrooms that lack highly qualified teachers by focusing on Earth science teacher certification. Project design was based on identified needs in the local communities and schools, careful analysis of content knowledge mastery required for Earth science teacher certification, and existing impediments to certification. The problem-based approach required partners to push policy envelopes and to invent new ways of articulating content and pedagogy at both intra- and inter-institutional levels. One key element of the project is involvement of the local board of education, teachers, and administrators in initial design and ongoing assessment. Project components include formal Earth systems science courses, a summer institute primarily led and delivered by AMNH scientists through an informal series of lectures coupled to workshops led by AMNH educators, a mechanism for assigning course credit for informal experiences, development of new teaching approaches that include teacher action plans and an external program of evaluation. The principal research strand of this project focuses on the resulting model for formal-informal teacher education partnership, the project's impact on participating teachers, policy issues surrounding the model and the changes required for its development and implementation, and its potential for Earth science education reform. As the grant funded portion of the project draws to a close we begin to analyze data collected over the past 3 years. Third-year findings of the project's external evaluation indicate that the problem-based approach has been highly successful, particularly its impact on participating teachers. In addition

  18. Project TIMS (Teaching Integrated Math/Science)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edwards, Leo, Jr.

    1993-01-01

    The goal of this project is to increase the scientific knowledge and appreciation bases and skills of pre-service and in-service middle school teachers, so as to impact positively on teaching, learning, and student retention. This report lists the objectives and summarizes the progress thus far. Included is the working draft of the TIMS (Teaching Integrated Math/Science) curriculum outline. Seven of the eight instructional subject-oriented modules are also included. The modules include informative materials and corresponding questions and educational activities in a textbook format. The subjects included here are the universe and stars; the sun and its place in the universe; our solar system; astronomical instruments and scientific measurements; the moon and eclipses; the earth's atmosphere: its nature and composition; and the earth: directions, time, and seasons. The module not included regards winds and circulation.

  19. Measures to improve nuclear power project management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ma Xinchao

    2012-01-01

    Focusing on correct application of ability level principle in setting organizational structure, the effective management system has been established, and 8 practical management regimes have been developed. Personnel training and management work shall be well done and enhanced. Experience feedback in construction management shall be well done for all systems. Exchange of construction and management techniques shall be actively carried out. All staff shall participate in safety management. KPI system is adopted for assessing stakeholders' project management method, and PDCA cycle is adopted for continued improved. Management level upgrading measures are proposed to ensure the smooth construction of nuclear power project. Setting forth and popularizing management theory can provide reference for and promote the smooth progress of various nuclear power projects. (author)

  20. Final Technical Report for earmark project "Atmospheric Science Program at the University of Louisville"

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dowling, Timothy Edward [University of Louisville

    2014-02-11

    We have completed a 3-year project to enhance the atmospheric science program at the University of Louisville, KY (est. 2008). The goals were to complete an undergraduate atmospheric science laboratory (Year 1) and to hire and support an assistant professor (Years 2 and 3). Both these goals were met on schedule, and slightly under budget.

  1. Improving the attractiveness of CDM projects through allowing and incorporating options

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carmichael, David G.; Ballouz, Joseph J.; Balatbat, Maria C.A.

    2015-01-01

    The paper puts forward a proposal that, within Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects, investors be allowed to benefit from options; this will require a CDM rule change. Through the presence of options, the downside risk resulting from low carbon prices and/or low achieved emission reductions on projects can be limited, while any upside resulting from high carbon prices and/or high achieved emission reductions can be taken advantage of. It is demonstrated that the presence of options improves the financial attractiveness of CDM projects, and this is at no detriment to any stakeholder. The flow-on from the proposal is that more CDM projects should be realisable if options are available, and this in turn will lead to reduced global emissions and improved sustainability. The proposal is supported by the necessary theory and is demonstrated on two registered CDM projects, one on hydropower and one on wind power. - Highlights: • The paper proposes that options be allowed within CDM projects. • Introducing options will require a CDM rule change. • Options improve the financial attractiveness of CDM projects. • Allowing options comes at no cost or detriment to any party. • Allowing options is a win–win situation to both society and the project proponent.

  2. Ninety to Nothing: a PDSA quality improvement project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prybutok, Gayle Linda

    2018-05-14

    Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a case study of a successful quality improvement project in an acute care hospital focused on reducing the time of the total patient visit in the emergency department. Design/methodology/approach A multidisciplinary quality improvement team, using the PDSA (Plan, Do, Study, Act) Cycle, analyzed the emergency department care delivery process and sequentially made process improvements that contributed to project success. Findings The average turnaround time goal of 90 minutes or less per visit was achieved in four months, and the organization enjoyed significant collateral benefits both internal to the organization and for its customers. Practical implications This successful PDSA process can be duplicated by healthcare organizations of all sizes seeking to improve a process related to timely, high-quality patient care delivery. Originality/value Extended wait time in hospital emergency departments is a universal problem in the USA that reduces the quality of the customer experience and that delays necessary patient care. This case study demonstrates that a structured quality improvement process implemented by a multidisciplinary team with the authority to make necessary process changes can successfully redefine the norm.

  3. Scientific Value and Educational Goals: Balancing Priorities and Increasing Adult Engagement in a Citizen Science Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sickler, Jessica; Cherry, Tammy Messick; Allee, Leslie; Smyth, Rebecca Rice; Losey, John

    2014-01-01

    The Lost Ladybug Project is a citizen science project that engages individuals and groups in research and learning about ladybug population dynamics. With a dual purpose of advancing scientists' research about ladybug populations and achieving learning outcomes with participants, the project's summative evaluation led to critical reflection on the…

  4. Evaluation of Authentic Science Projects on Climate Change in Secondary Schools: A Focus on Gender Differences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dijkstra, Elma; Goedhart, Martin

    2011-01-01

    Background and purpose: This study examines secondary-school students' opinions on participating in authentic science projects which are part of an international EU project on climate change research in seven countries. Partnerships between schools and research institutes result in student projects, in which students work with and learn from…

  5. The potential improvement of team-working skills in Biomedical and Natural Science students using a problem-based learning approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Forough L. Nowrouzian

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Teamwork has become an integral part of most organisations today, and it is clearly important in Science and other disciplines. In Science, research teams increase in size while the number of single-authored papers and patents decline. Team-work in laboratory sciences permits projects that are too big or complex for one individual to be tackled. This development requires that students gain experience of team-work before they start their professional career. Students working in teams this may increase productivity, confidence, innovative capacity and improvement of interpersonal skills. Problem-based learning (PBL is an instructional approach focusing on real analytical problems as a means of training an analytical scientist. PBL may have a positive impact on team-work skills that are important for undergraduates and postgraduates to enable effective collaborative work. This survey of the current literature explores the development of the team-work skills in Biomedical Science students using PBL.

  6. Avoiding failure: tools for successful and sustainable quality-improvement projects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Donnelly, Lane F.

    2017-01-01

    Involvement in successful and sustained quality improvement can be a very rewarding experience. However, it can be very difficult work. Up to 70% of attempted organizational change is not sustained. There are many reasons why quality-improvement projects might not be successful. In this article, the author reviews items associated with an increased or decreased likelihood of success. Such items have been categorized as structural issues, human issues and environmental context. This paper is intended to serve those embarking on quality-improvement projects as a resource to help position them for success. (orig.)

  7. Avoiding failure: tools for successful and sustainable quality-improvement projects

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Donnelly, Lane F. [Texas Children' s Hospital, Department of Radiology, Houston, TX (United States)

    2017-06-15

    Involvement in successful and sustained quality improvement can be a very rewarding experience. However, it can be very difficult work. Up to 70% of attempted organizational change is not sustained. There are many reasons why quality-improvement projects might not be successful. In this article, the author reviews items associated with an increased or decreased likelihood of success. Such items have been categorized as structural issues, human issues and environmental context. This paper is intended to serve those embarking on quality-improvement projects as a resource to help position them for success. (orig.)

  8. Avoiding failure: tools for successful and sustainable quality-improvement projects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donnelly, Lane F

    2017-06-01

    Involvement in successful and sustained quality improvement can be a very rewarding experience. However, it can be very difficult work. Up to 70% of attempted organizational change is not sustained. There are many reasons why quality-improvement projects might not be successful. In this article, the author reviews items associated with an increased or decreased likelihood of success. Such items have been categorized as structural issues, human issues and environmental context. This paper is intended to serve those embarking on quality-improvement projects as a resource to help position them for success.

  9. Forces. 'O' Level Study Guide. Unit 1. ZIM-SCI, Zimbabwe Secondary School Science Project. Year 3.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Udwin, Martin

    The Zimbabwe Secondary School Science Project (ZIM-SCI) developed student study guides, corresponding teaching guides, and science kits for a low-cost science course which could be taught during the third year of secondary school without the aid of qualified teachers and conventional laboratories. This ZIM-SCI study guide is a five-part unit…

  10. Community petascale project for accelerator science and simulation: Advancing computational science for future accelerators and accelerator technologies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spentzouris, P.; Cary, J.; McInnes, L.C.; Mori, W.; Ng, C.; Ng, E.; Ryne, R.

    2008-01-01

    The design and performance optimization of particle accelerators are essential for the success of the DOE scientific program in the next decade. Particle accelerators are very complex systems whose accurate description involves a large number of degrees of freedom and requires the inclusion of many physics processes. Building on the success of the SciDAC-1 Accelerator Science and Technology project, the SciDAC-2 Community Petascale Project for Accelerator Science and Simulation (ComPASS) is developing a comprehensive set of interoperable components for beam dynamics, electromagnetics, electron cooling, and laser/plasma acceleration modelling. ComPASS is providing accelerator scientists the tools required to enable the necessary accelerator simulation paradigm shift from high-fidelity single physics process modeling (covered under SciDAC1) to high-fidelity multiphysics modeling. Our computational frameworks have been used to model the behavior of a large number of accelerators and accelerator R and D experiments, assisting both their design and performance optimization. As parallel computational applications, the ComPASS codes have been shown to make effective use of thousands of processors.

  11. Self-reported needs for improving the supervision competence of PhD supervisors from the medical sciences in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Raffing, Rie; Jensen, Thor Bern; Tønnesen, Hanne

    2017-01-01

    Background: Quality of supervision is a major predictor for successful PhD projects. A survey showed that almost all PhD students in the Health Sciences in Denmark indicated that good supervision was important for the completion of their PhD study. Interestingly, approximately half of the students...... and wishes regarding the content of a new program in supervision, with a special focus on the supervision of PhD students in medical fields. Methods: A semi-structured interview guide was developed, and 20 PhD supervisors from the Graduate School of Health and Medical Sciences at the Faculty of Health...... and Medical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen were interviewed. Empirical data were analysed using qualitative methods of analysis. Results: Overall, the results indicated a general interest in improved competence and development of a new supervision programme. Those who were not interested argued that...

  12. Improving Scientific Research Methodology in Undergraduate Medical Students: a case of team based training blended in a research project

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    W.Zhang; C.Cambier; Y.Zhang; J.M.Vandeweerd; P.Gustin

    2014-01-01

    An educational intervention targeting medical students and aiming to develop skills useful to the writing of a health science research protocol over a short period of time has been developed in the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. The methodology blending the principles of PBL and TBL is detailed and key issues of this implementation are discussed. Twenty-one students were enrolled in a research master degree and participated to three mandatory 180-minutes sessions. Beyond classical skills useful to solve a problem, this new intervention focused on the transformation of knowledge to create an authentic content, which is a feature of the project-based learning(PBL). The training process was designed according to team-based learning(TBL) procedure except that work sharing between groups and pooling resources and outcomes of each group allowed the construction of one final class original research project in the field of respiratory pharmacology. The combination of both learning methods allowed promoting individual and group accountability necessary to improve self-learning and the quality of the final joint project. The peer reviewing was an essential factor in creating the students’ motivation and improving of team discussion. The grades individually assigned for skills and quality of the project by an external teacher suggested that key objectives of the intervention were reached. In conclusion, the educational intervention described in this paper appears as an appropriate method to develop specific skills necessary to write and discuss a research project within a research team.Further works are necessary to measure the degree of satisfaction of students and improvement of performance.

  13. Avatars of Hollywood in Physical Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Efthimiou, Costas J.; Llewellyn, Ralph A.

    2006-01-01

    This paper reports the results of the initial phase of an ambitious project known as Physics in Films, designed to help improve public understanding of the basic principles of physical science that the authors have embarked upon. The project began with several large groups of nonscience majors enrolled in the general education physical science course at the University of Central Florida (UCF), a course with a counterpart in nearly every college and university (and many high schools) in the nation.

  14. The book of science mysteries classroom science activities to support student enquiry-based learning

    CERN Document Server

    McOwan, Peter; Olivotto, Cristina

    2015-01-01

    In this booklet, you will be introduced to an exciting new way to teach science in your classroom. The TEMI project (Teaching Enquiry with Mysteries Incorporated) is an EU-funded project that brings together experts in teacher training from across Europe to help you introduce enquiry-based learning successfully in the classroom and improve student engagement and skills.

  15. Classroom Environment in the Implementation of an Innovative Curriculum Project in Science Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suarez, Mercedes; Pias, Rosa; Membiela, Pedro; Dapia, Dolores

    1998-01-01

    Analyzes the perceptions of students, teachers, and external observers in order to study the influence of classroom environment on the implementation of an innovative project in science education. Contains 33 references. (DDR)

  16. Computational Science Research in Support of Petascale Electromagnetic Modeling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, L.-Q.

    2008-01-01

    Computational science research components were vital parts of the SciDAC-1 accelerator project and are continuing to play a critical role in newly-funded SciDAC-2 accelerator project, the Community Petascale Project for Accelerator Science and Simulation (ComPASS). Recent advances and achievements in the area of computational science research in support of petascale electromagnetic modeling for accelerator design analysis are presented, which include shape determination of superconducting RF cavities, mesh-based multilevel preconditioner in solving highly-indefinite linear systems, moving window using h- or p- refinement for time-domain short-range wakefield calculations, and improved scalable application I/O

  17. Science Students Creating Hybrid Spaces when Engaging in an Expo Investigation Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramnarain, Umesh; de Beer, Josef

    2013-02-01

    In this paper, we report on the experiences of three 9th-grade South African students (13-14 years) in doing open science investigation projects for a science expo. A particular focus of this study was the manner in which these students merge the world of school science with their social world to create a hybrid space by appropriating knowledge and resources of the school and home. Within this hybrid space they experienced a deeper, more meaningful and authentic engagement in science practical work. This hybrid space redefined the landscape of the science learning experience for these students, as they could derive the twofold benefit of appropriating support when necessary and at the same time maintain their autonomy over the investigation. For South Africa and quite probably other countries; these findings serve as a guideline as to how opportunities can be created for students to do open science investigations, against prevailing school factors such as large classes, a lack of physical resources, the lack of time for practical work and the demands of syllabus coverage.

  18. Improvement Science Meets Improvement Scholarship: Reframing Research for Better Healthcare.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cribb, Alan

    2018-06-01

    In this editorial essay I explore the possibilities of 'improvement scholarship' in order to set the scene for the theme of, and the other papers in, this issue. I contrast a narrow conception of quality improvement (QI) research with a much broader and more inclusive conception, arguing that we should greatly extend the existing dialogue between 'problem-solving' and 'critical' currents in improvement research. I have in mind the potential for building a much larger conversation between those people in 'improvement science' who are expressly concerned with tackling the problems facing healthcare and the wider group of colleagues who are engaged in health-related scholarship but who do not see themselves as particularly interested in quality improvement, indeed who may be critical of the language or concerns of QI. As one contribution to that conversation I suggest that that the increasing emphasis on theory and rigour in improvement research should include more focus on normative theory and rigour. The remaining papers in the issue are introduced including the various ways in which they handle the 'implicit normativity' of QI research and practice, and the linked theme of combining relatively 'tidy' and potentially 'unruly' forms of knowledge.

  19. 34 CFR 637.1 - What is the Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program (MSEIP)?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 34 Education 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What is the Minority Science and Engineering... Education (Continued) OFFICE OF POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION MINORITY SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM General § 637.1 What is the Minority Science and Engineering Improvement...

  20. Astronomy and Space Science On The School - An Outreach Project for Elementary and High School Students of Brasilia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferreira, Jose Leonardo

    2016-07-01

    This project aims to develop interdisciplinary actions, articulated and convergence in the field of education, dissemination and popularization of science and technology in Brasilia-DF, the Federal District of Brazil. These actions are also been carried out at DF surroundings areas. Since 2015 linked convergent actions are focused on the development of space science and astronomy teaching with hands on experimental activities. Workshops, short basic astronomy courses, expositions and planetarium show are been carried out by a team of professors, graduate and under graduate students from University of Brasilia- UnB. At the same time upgrade actions are been done in order to modernize The Luiz Cruls Astronomical Observatory located at the far campus of UnB, named Fazenda Água Limpa. It is now a Center for research and space science dissemination and popularization not only for students but also for the whole community of Brasilia. Working toghether with the Physics Institute of UnB we have the recently created Museum of Science and Technology of Brasilia, also located at the UnB campus. The Museum is responsible for contac with schools and Brasilia community and for the organization of the activities of the Science on the School Project. Science on the School is an educational, scientific and cultural proposal approved and financed by the brazillian national research council (CNPq) and by the Science and Technology Reseach Foundation of Brasilia. Besides science dissemination for the brazillian society the project is also developing theoretical and experimental research in the area of Space Science and Astronomy. The project also aim to transform the Museum in a strong Science Education Center for the Brazil central region population, It is going to be a cultural environment and leisure for the Federal District and surrounding areas of Brasilia. In this work we will describe the coordinate actions of The Luiz Cruls Astronomical Observatory the Physics Institute of

  1. Assessing local resources and culture before instituting quality improvement projects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hawkins, C Matthew

    2014-12-01

    The planning phases of quality improvement projects are commonly overlooked. Disorganized planning and implementation can escalate chaos, intensify resistance to change, and increase the likelihood of failure. Two important steps in the planning phase are (1) assessing local resources available to aid in the quality improvement project and (2) evaluating the culture in which the desired change is to be implemented. Assessing local resources includes identifying and engaging key stakeholders and evaluating if appropriate expertise is available for the scope of the project. This process also involves engaging informaticists and gathering available IT tools to plan and automate (to the extent possible) the data-gathering, analysis, and feedback steps. Culture in a department is influenced by the ability and willingness to manage resistance to change, build consensus, span boundaries between stakeholders, and become a learning organization. Allotting appropriate time to perform these preparatory steps will increase the odds of successfully performing a quality improvement project and implementing change. Copyright © 2014 American College of Radiology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Science achievement of students in the Republic of Yemen and implications for improvement of science instruction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ismail, Nageeb Kassem

    The purpose of this study was to establish a research base from which strategies could be developed for improving science education in Yemen. The study measured the achievement in general science of Yemeni students attending primary, preparatory, and secondary schools, and their counterparts attending three- or five-year education programs in primary teacher training institutions. A sample of 1,984 students from six major cities in Yemen was given the Second International Science Study test in May 1988. Achievement scores of these selected groups were compared. The mean achievement in general science was 11.93 for science track students, 9.21 for three-year teacher training institution students, and 8.49 for five-year teacher training institution students. These mean scores were based on a total of 35 items. This low level of achievement was further verified by making comparisons of the achievement of selected groups from Yemeni high schools in six cities with each other. The following factors were measured in this study: location, grade level, gender and type of science program studied. Selected groups from Yemeni high schools were also compared to their peers in other nations. The researcher compared students of the science track and teacher training institutions to their counterparts in 13 nations and students of the literature track to their counterparts in eight nations. Fifth and ninth grade students' scores were compared with the scores of their counterparts in 15 and 17 nations respectively. In every comparison, every Yemeni group ranked at the bottom of the achievement list. (Jacobson W., & Doran, R. 1988) The outcomes of this research indicate the profound need for improving science programs in all grade levels in Yemen. The research recommendations for improvement in science education in Yemen fall into four areas: a change in attitudes toward education, a change in teacher education, a change in classroom conditions, and a change in educational

  3. The PACA Project: Creating Synergy Between Observing Campaigns, Outreach and Citizen Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yanamandra-Fisher, Padma

    2017-04-01

    The PACA (Pro-Am Collaborative Astronomy) Project's primary goal is to develop and build synergy between professional and amateur astronomers from observations in the many aspects of support of missions and campaigns. To achieve this, the PACA has three main components: observational campaigns aligned with scientific research; outreach to engage all forms of audiences and citizen science projects that aim to produce specific scientific results, by engaging professional scientific and amateur communities and a variety of audiences. The primary observational projects are defined by specific scientific goals by professionals, resulting in global observing campaigns involving a variety of observers, and observing techniques. Some of PACA's observing campaigns have included global characterization of comets (e.g., C/ISON, SidingSpring, 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, Lovejoy, etc.), planets (Jupiter, Saturn and Mars) and currently expanded to include (i) polarimetric exploration of solar system objects with small apertures and (ii) in collaboration with CITIZEN CATE, a citizen science observing campaign to observe the 2017 Continental America Total Eclipse, engage many levels of informal audiences using interactive social media to participate in the campaign. Our Outreach campaigns leverage the multiple social media/platforms for at least two important reasons: (i) the immediate dissemination of observations and interaction with the global network and (ii) free or inexpensive resources for most of the participants. The final stage of the PACA ecosystem is the integration of these components into publications. We shall highlight some of the interesting challenges and solutions of the PACA Project so far and provide a view of future projects and new partnerships in all three categories.

  4. Project HEAT: Temperature as an Organizing Theme for Inquiry-Based Learning in the Environmental Sciences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albright, T. P.; Howard, K. L.; Ewing-Taylor, J.

    2014-12-01

    Professionals in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields do not reflect the diversity of the US population. Among the most effective ways to attract and retain underrepresented students in STEM disciplines is to provide opportunities for participation in the scientific process and interaction with practicing scientists. Project HEAT (Hot Environments, Animals, & Temperature) is "boot-camp"-style workshop aimed at increasing interest in STEM topics among underrepresented, first-generation, college-bound middle school students. Linking to our NASA-funded research project "Desert Birds in a Warming World", we focused on how surprisingly variable temperature is in space and time, why temperature is important to plants, animals, and people, and how we measure temperature in the field and from space. Perhaps more importantly, this theme was a vehicle for students to experience science as a process: field observations, brainstorming questions and hypotheses, designing experiments to test them, and analyzing and reporting their data. The centerpiece was a set of experiments with small temperature sensors and radiation shields that teams of students designed, executed at a local park, analyzed, and reported. Two years of pre and post assessments revealed that Project HEAT participants increased understanding in content areas and showed slight increases in STEM interest. Year two results were markedly stronger than year one in both assessments as well as our perception. We attribute this to earlier summer timing of the workshop, a change from two half-day weeks to one full-day week, and a more age-homogeneous selection of students. In comments, participants expressed their special enjoyment of the hands-on nature of the program and the outdoor learning. Though providing such opportunities can be challenging, our experience here suggests that it can be worth while. Project HEAT also benefited our cadre of graduate student mentors by providing exposure

  5. rAvis: an R-package for downloading information stored in Proyecto AVIS, a citizen science bird project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varela, Sara; González-Hernández, Javier; Casabella, Eduardo; Barrientos, Rafael

    2014-01-01

    Citizen science projects store an enormous amount of information about species distribution, diversity and characteristics. Researchers are now beginning to make use of this rich collection of data. However, access to these databases is not always straightforward. Apart from the largest and international projects, citizen science repositories often lack specific Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to connect them to the scientific environments. Thus, it is necessary to develop simple routines to allow researchers to take advantage of the information collected by smaller citizen science projects, for instance, programming specific packages to connect them to popular scientific environments (like R). Here, we present rAvis, an R-package to connect R-users with Proyecto AVIS (http://proyectoavis.com), a Spanish citizen science project with more than 82,000 bird observation records. We develop several functions to explore the database, to plot the geographic distribution of the species occurrences, and to generate personal queries to the database about species occurrences (number of individuals, distribution, etc.) and birdwatcher observations (number of species recorded by each collaborator, UTMs visited, etc.). This new R-package will allow scientists to access this database and to exploit the information generated by Spanish birdwatchers over the last 40 years.

  6. Using SQUIRE 2.0 as a Guide for Planning Your Quality Improvement Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stausmire, Julie M; Ulrich, Charla

    2017-12-01

    This article is the third of a 4-part quality improvement resource series for critical care nurses interested in implementing system process or performance improvement projects. Part 1 defined the differences between research and quality improvement. Part 2 discussed how nurses and managers could identify meaningful quality improvement projects that will make a real difference in their critical care unit while fitting within their time constraints and resources. Part 3 uses the recently revised Standards for Quality Improvement Reporting Excellence guidelines as a basis for designing, implementing, documenting, and publishing quality improvement projects. © 2017 American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.

  7. "Adotta scienza e arte nella tua classe": The results of a successfully teaching project which combines science with art⋆

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giansanti, S.

    2015-03-01

    The project called Adotta scienza e arte nella tua classe ("Adopt Science and Art in your class"), on the interconnection between science and art, has been addressed to the Italian secondary middle and high school involving more than 200 teachers and about 2200 students. The main purpose of this project is to make the young students aware of the strong link between science and art is a unique cultural and interdisciplinary occasion. To reach this goal, the Adotta project asked students to produce an artwork inspired by the interpretation of a quotation among a hundred commented quotes by physicists, mathematicians, scientist, writers, artists, accompanied by an original short sentence written by students themselves. More than 1000 artworks have been produced and collected in two galleries on Facebook. From their analysis emerges the students' feeling about science, which is usually associated to human brain, based on mathematical laws and related to technological progress, but it is also a powerful tool that should be responsibly used. This project also valorizes teachers' role in scientific education through activities that encourage students to recognize science in every aspect of their lives.

  8. Exploring Connections Between Earth Science and Biology - Interdisciplinary Science Activities for Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vd Flier-Keller, E.; Carolsfeld, C.; Bullard, T.

    2009-05-01

    To increase teaching of Earth science in schools, and to reflect the interdisciplinary nature and interrelatedness of science disciplines in today's world, we are exploring opportunities for linking Earth science and Biology through engaging and innovative hands-on science activities for the classroom. Through the NSERC-funded Pacific CRYSTAL project based at the University of Victoria, scientists, science educators, and teachers at all levels in the school system are collaborating to research ways of enriching the preparation of students in math and science, and improving the quality of science education from Kindergarten to Grade 12. Our primary foci are building authentic, engaging science experiences for students, and fostering teacher leadership through teacher professional development and training. Interdisciplinary science activities represent an important way of making student science experiences real, engaging and relevant, and provide opportunities to highlight Earth science related topics within other disciplines, and to expand the Earth science taught in schools. The Earth science and Biology interdisciplinary project builds on results and experiences of existing Earth science education activities, and the Seaquaria project. We are developing curriculum-linked activities and resource materials, and hosting teacher workshops, around two initial areas; soils, and marine life and the fossil record. An example activity for the latter is the hands-on examination of organisms occupying the nearshore marine environment using a saltwater aquarium and touch tank or beach fieldtrip, and relating this to a suite of marine fossils to facilitate student thinking about representation of life in the fossil record e.g. which life forms are typically preserved, and how are they preserved? Literacy activities such as fossil obituaries encourage exploration of paleoenvironments and life habits of fossil organisms. Activities and resources are being tested with teachers

  9. Space Science in Project SMART: A UNH High School Outreach Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, C. W.; Broad, L.; Goelzer, S.; Lessard, M.; Levergood, R.; Lugaz, N.; Moebius, E.; Schwadron, N.; Torbert, R. B.; Zhang, J.; Bloser, P. F.

    2016-12-01

    Every summer for the past 25 years the University of New Hampshire (UNH) has run a month-long, residential outreach program for high school students considering careers in mathematics, science, or engineering. Space science is one of the modules. Students work directly with UNH faculty performing original work with real spacecraft data and hardware and present the results of that effort at the end of the program. Recent research topics have included interplanetary waves and turbulence as recorded by the ACE and Voyager spacecraft, electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves seen by the RBSP spacecraft, interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICME) acceleration and interstellar pickup ions as seen by the STEREO spacecraft, and prototyping CubeSat hardware. Student research efforts can provide useful results for future research efforts by the faculty while the students gain unique exposure to space physics and a science career. In addition, the students complete a team project. Since 2006, that project has been the construction and flight of a high-altitude balloon payload and instruments. The students typically build the instruments they fly. In the process, students learn circuit design and construction, microcontroller programming, and core atmospheric and space science. Our payload design has evolved significantly since the first flight of a simple rectangular box and now involves a stable descent vehicle that does not require a parachute, an on-board flight control computer, in-flight autonomous control and data acquisition of multiple student-built instruments, and real-time camera images sent to ground. This is a program that can be used as a model for other schools to follow and that high schools can initiate. More information can be found at .

  10. Investigating and Stimulating Primary Teachers' Attitudes Towards Science: Summary of a Large-Scale Research Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walma van der Molen, Juliette; van Aalderen-Smeets, Sandra

    2013-01-01

    Attention to the attitudes of primary teachers towards science is of fundamental importance to research on primary science education. The current article describes a large-scale research project that aims to overcome three main shortcomings in attitude research, i.e. lack of a strong theoretical concept of attitude, methodological flaws in…

  11. Science Literacy Project for Mid-Career Public Radio Producers, Reporters, Editors and News Directors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Scott, Bari [SoundVision Productions, Berkeley, CA (United States)

    2012-12-01

    SoundVision held a post-workshop teleconference for our 2011 graduates (as we have done for all participants) to consolidate what they'd learned during the workshop. To maximize the Science Literacy Project's impact after it ends, we strengthened and reinforced our alumni's vibrant networking infrastructure so they can continue to connect and support each other, and updated our archive system to ensure all of our science and science journalism resources and presentations will be easy to access and use over time.

  12. Field review of fish habitat improvement projects in central Idaho

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beschta, R.L.; Griffith, J.; Wesche, T.A.

    1993-05-01

    The goal of this field review was to provide information to the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) regarding previous and ongoing fish habitat improvement projects in central Idaho. On July 14, 1992, the review team met at the Sawtooth National Recreation Area office near Ketchum, Idaho, for a slide presentation illustrating several habitat projects during their construction phases. Following the slide presentation, the review team inspected fish habitat projects that have been implemented in the last several years in the Stanley Basin and adjacent valleys. At each site the habitat project was described to the field team and a brief period for project inspection followed. The review team visited approximately a dozen sites on the Challis, Sawtooth, and Boise National Forests over a period of approximately two and a half days. There are two objectives of this review namely to summarize observations for specific field sites and to provide overview commentary regarding the BPA habitat improvement program in central Idaho

  13. Outline of quantum beam science research and J-PARC project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Okada, Sohei

    2009-01-01

    The word of atomic power indicates the fields of science and technology described by not only nuclear energy but also radiation utilization where Quantum Beam Technology' is intrinsic to both high intensity particles as neutron, proton, ion, electron, muon, for example, and electromagnetic waves as synchrotron radiation and light quantum. The quantum beams have functions to 'observe' with 'nano eyes', to 'create' with 'nano hands' and to 'cure' with 'nano- scalpel'. The applications are widely spread to the industries, research and development (R and D) and medical treatments. The Japan Atomic Energy Agency, JAEA, pursues R and D activities in order to contribute to sustain global environments and energy production, to qualify life science and advanced medical treatment, to develop new materials and to innovate on quantum beam probes. Authors constructed 'J-PARC', the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex in cooperation with the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization, and commenced its operation in fiscal 2008. The facilities started to provide neutrons and other secondary particles to each of beam lines at increasing intensities, by proton bombardment onto a target. The objective of this project is to utilize the particles for a variety of areas in science and technology from materials science, life science and particle physics to industrial applications. The completion of the facilities will open new prospects for advanced applications of quantum beams. (K. Kikuchi)

  14. Visualization and characterization of users in a citizen science project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morais, Alessandra M. M.; Raddick, Jordan; Coelho dos Santos, Rafael D.

    2013-05-01

    Recent technological advances allowed the creation and use of internet-based systems where many users can collaborate gathering and sharing information for specific or general purposes: social networks, e-commerce review systems, collaborative knowledge systems, etc. Since most of the data collected in these systems is user-generated, understanding of the motivations and general behavior of users is a very important issue. Of particular interest are citizen science projects, where users without scientific training are asked for collaboration labeling and classifying information (either automatically by giving away idle computer time or manually by actually seeing data and providing information about it). Understanding behavior of users of those types of data collection systems may help increase the involvement of the users, categorize users accordingly to different parameters, facilitate their collaboration with the systems, design better user interfaces, and allow better planning and deployment of similar projects and systems. Behavior of those users could be estimated through analysis of their collaboration track: registers of which user did what and when can be easily and unobtrusively collected in several different ways, the simplest being a log of activities. In this paper we present some results on the visualization and characterization of almost 150.000 users with more than 80.000.000 collaborations with a citizen science project - Galaxy Zoo I, which asked users to classify galaxies' images. Basic visualization techniques are not applicable due to the number of users, so techniques to characterize users' behavior based on feature extraction and clustering are used.

  15. The meaning-making of science teachers participating in a school-based PD project

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Birgitte Lund

    The meaning-making of four science teachers involved in collaboratively analyzing video and other artifacts from practice in local science classrooms in a school-based professional development project is examined through repeated interviews and represented as meaning-making maps. The research aim...... is to examine how these collaborative inquiries make sense to the teachers: what they identify as outcomes, how they make use of inputs and support in their classrooms and in collegial interactions and how their ideas about teaching and learning of science might play a role. An adapted version...... learning of science in concrete situations. They refer to outcomes from sharing experiments with new tools and materials and refer to being encouraged to continue collaboration around science at the school. Beside this the teachers emphasize various outcomes apparently for each of them in areas where...

  16. The meaning-making of science teachers participating in as school based PD project

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Birgitte Lund

    The meaning-making of four science teachers involved in collaboratively analyzing video and other artifacts from practice in local science classrooms in a school-based professional development project is examined through repeated interviews and represented as meaning-making maps. The research aim...... is to examine how these collaborative inquiries make sense to the teachers: what they identify as outcomes, how they make use of inputs and support in their classrooms and in collegial interactions and how their ideas about teaching and learning of science might play a role. An adapted version...... learning of science in concrete situations. They refer to outcomes from sharing experiments with new tools and materials and refer to being encouraged to continue collaboration around science at the school. Beside this the teachers emphasize various outcomes apparently for each of them in areas where...

  17. Steam Pressure-Reducing Station Safety and Energy Efficiency Improvement Project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lower, Mark D [ORNL; Christopher, Timothy W [ORNL; Oland, C Barry [ORNL

    2011-06-01

    The Facilities and Operations (F&O) Directorate is sponsoring a continuous process improvement (CPI) program. Its purpose is to stimulate, promote, and sustain a culture of improvement throughout all levels of the organization. The CPI program ensures that a scientific and repeatable process exists for improving the delivery of F&O products and services in support of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Management Systems. Strategic objectives of the CPI program include achieving excellence in laboratory operations in the areas of safety, health, and the environment. Identifying and promoting opportunities for achieving the following critical outcomes are important business goals of the CPI program: improved safety performance; process focused on consumer needs; modern and secure campus; flexibility to respond to changing laboratory needs; bench strength for the future; and elimination of legacy issues. The Steam Pressure-Reducing Station (SPRS) Safety and Energy Efficiency Improvement Project, which is under the CPI program, focuses on maintaining and upgrading SPRSs that are part of the ORNL steam distribution network. This steam pipe network transports steam produced at the ORNL steam plant to many buildings in the main campus site. The SPRS Safety and Energy Efficiency Improvement Project promotes excellence in laboratory operations by (1) improving personnel safety, (2) decreasing fuel consumption through improved steam system energy efficiency, and (3) achieving compliance with applicable worker health and safety requirements. The SPRS Safety and Energy Efficiency Improvement Project being performed by F&O is helping ORNL improve both energy efficiency and worker safety by modifying, maintaining, and repairing SPRSs. Since work began in 2006, numerous energy-wasting steam leaks have been eliminated, heat losses from uninsulated steam pipe surfaces have been reduced, and deficient pressure retaining components have been replaced. These improvements helped ORNL

  18. Lessons learnt from a primary care asthma improvement project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lenney, Warren; Clayton, Sadie; Gilchrist, Francis J; Price, David; Small, Iain; Smith, Judy; Sutton, Emma J

    2016-01-07

    Asthma is a very common disease that can occur at any age. In the UK and in many other countries it is mainly managed in primary care. The published evidence suggests that the key to improving diagnosis and management lies in better training and education rather than in the discovery of new medications. An asthma improvement project managed through the British Lung Foundation is attempting to do this. The project has three pilot sites: two in England supported by the Department of Health and one in Scotland supported by the Scottish Government. If the project is successful it will be rolled out to other health areas within the UK. The results of this project are not yet available. This article highlights the challenges encountered in setting up the project and may well be applicable to other areas in the UK and to other countries where similar healthcare systems exist. The encountered challenges reflect the complex nature of healthcare systems and electronic data capture in primary care. We discuss the differences between general practices in their ability and willingness to support the project, the training and education of their staff on asthma management, governance issues in relation to information technology systems, and the quality of data capture. Virtually all the challenges have now been overcome, but discussing them should ensure that others become aware of them at an early stage should they wish to undertake similar projects in the future.

  19. Improvement in Student Science Proficiency Through InSciEd Out

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sonju, James D.; Leicester, Jean E.; Hoody, Maggie; LaBounty, Thomas J.; Frimannsdottir, Katrin R.; Ekker, Stephen C.

    2012-01-01

    Abstract Integrated Science Education Outreach (InSciEd Out) is a collaboration formed between Mayo Clinic, Winona State University, and Rochester Public Schools (MN) with the shared vision of achieving excellence in science education. InSciEd Out employs an equitable partnership model between scientists, teachers, education researchers, and the community. Teams of teachers from all disciplines within a single school experience cutting-edge science using the zebrafish model system, as well as current pedagogical methods, during a summer internship at the Mayo Clinic. Within the internship, the teachers produce new curriculum that directly addresses opportunities for science education improvement at their own school. Zebrafish are introduced within the new curriculum to support a living model of the practice of science. Following partnership with the InSciEd Out program and 2 years of implementation in the classroom, teacher-interns from a K–8 public school reported access to local scientific technology and expertise they had not previously recognized. Teachers also reported improved integration of other disciplines into the scientific curriculum and a flow of concepts vertically from K through 8. Students more than doubled selection of an Honors science track in high school to nearly 90%. 98% of students who took the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments in their 5th and 8th grade year (a span that includes 2 years of InSciEd Out) showed medium or high growth in science proficiency. These metrics indicate that cooperation between educators and scientists can result in positive change in student science proficiency and demonstrate that a higher expectation in science education can be achieved in US public schools. PMID:23244687

  20. Science 101: What Constitutes a Good Science Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robertson, Bill

    2016-01-01

    Having written columns dealing with science fairs before, Bill Robertson notes that it's been a long time since he has tackled the subject of what passes for a "science fair" in schools these days. Because science fairs have changed over the years, Robertson revisits the topic and explains the scientific method. The main focus of the…

  1. Projects for the implementation of science technology society approach in basic concept of natural science course as application of optical and electrical instruments’ material

    Science.gov (United States)

    Satria, E.

    2018-03-01

    Preservice teachers in primary education should be well equipped to meet the challenges of teaching primary science effectively in 21century. The purpose of this research was to describe the projects for the implementation of Science-Technology-Society (STS) approach in Basic Concept of Natural Science course as application of optical and electrical instruments’ material by the preservice teachers in Elementary Schools Teacher Education Program. One of the reasons is the lack of preservice teachers’ ability in making projects for application of STS approach and optical and electrical instruments’ material in Basic Concept of Natural Science course. This research applied descriptive method. The instrument of the research was the researcher himself. The data were gathered through observation and documentation. Based on the results of the research, it was figured out that preservice teachers, in groups, were creatively and successful to make the projects of optical and electrical instruments assigned such as projector and doorbell. It was suggested that the construction of the instruments should be better (fixed and strong structure) and more attractive for both instruments, and used strong light source, high quality images, and it could use speaker box for projector, power battery, and heat sink for electrical instruments.

  2. Magellan Project: Evolving enhanced operations efficiency to maximize science value

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheuvront, Allan R.; Neuman, James C.; Mckinney, J. Franklin

    1994-01-01

    Magellan has been one of NASA's most successful spacecraft, returning more science data than all planetary spacecraft combined. The Magellan Spacecraft Team (SCT) has maximized the science return with innovative operational techniques to overcome anomalies and to perform activities for which the spacecraft was not designed. Commanding the spacecraft was originally time consuming because the standard development process was envisioned as manual tasks. The Program understood that reducing mission operations costs were essential for an extended mission. Management created an environment which encouraged automation of routine tasks, allowing staff reduction while maximizing the science data returned. Data analysis and trending, command preparation, and command reviews are some of the tasks that were automated. The SCT has accommodated personnel reductions by improving operations efficiency while returning the maximum science data possible.

  3. An educational approach to improve outcomes in acute kidney injury (AKI): report of a quality improvement project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Gang; Baines, Richard; Westacott, Rachel; Selby, Nick; Carr, Susan

    2014-03-20

    To assess the impact of a quality improvement project that used a multifaceted educational intervention on how to improve clinician's knowledge, confidence and awareness of acute kidney injury (AKI). 2 large acute teaching hospitals in England, serving a combined population of over 1.5 million people. All secondary care clinicians working in the clinical areas were targeted, with a specific focus on clinicians working in acute admission areas. A multifaceted educational intervention consisting of traditional didactic lectures, case-based teaching in small groups and an interactive web-based learning resource. We assessed clinicians' knowledge of AKI and their self-reported clinical behaviour using an interactive questionnaire before and after the educational intervention. Secondary outcome measures included clinical audit of patient notes before and after the intervention. 26% of clinicians reported that they were aware of local AKI guidelines in the preintervention questionnaire compared to 64% in the follow-up questionnaire (χ²=60.2, pquality improvement project utilising a multifaceted educational intervention improved awareness of AKI as demonstrated by changes in the clinician's self-reported management of patients with AKI. Elements of the project have been sustained beyond the project period, and demonstrate the power of quality improvement projects to help initiate changes in practice. Our findings are limited by confounding factors and highlight the need to carry out formal randomised studies to determine the impact of educational initiatives in the clinical setting.

  4. Delaware GK-12: Improvement of Science Education in Vocational Technical High Schools Through Collaborative Learning and Coteaching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madsen, J.; Skalak, K.; Watson, G.; Scantlebury, K.; Allen, D.; Quillen, A.

    2006-12-01

    With funding from the National Science Foundation, the University of Delaware (UD) in partnership with the New Castle County Vocational Technical School District (NCCoVoTech) in Delaware has initiated a GK-12 Program. In each of year this program, nine full time UD graduate students in the sciences, who have completed all or most of their coursework, will be selected to serve as fellows. Participation in the GK-12 program benefits the graduate fellows in many ways. In addition to gaining general insight into current issues of science education, the fellows enhance their experience as scientific researchers by directly improving their ability to effectively communicate complex quantitative and technical knowledge to an audience with multiple and diverse learning needs. In the first year of this project, fellows have been paired with high school science teachers from NCCoVoTech. These pairs, along with the principal investigators (PIs) of this program have formed a learning community that is taking this opportunity to examine and to reflect on current issues in science education while specifically addressing critical needs in teaching science in vocational technical high schools. By participating in summer workshops and follow-up meetings facilitated by the PIs, the fellows have been introduced to a number of innovative teaching strategies including problem-based learning (PBL). Fellow/teacher pairs have begun to develop and teach PBL activities that are in agreement with State of Delaware science standards and that support student learning through inquiry. Fellows also have the opportunity to engage in coteaching with their teacher partner. In this "teaching at the elbow of another", fellows will gain a better understanding of and appreciation for the complexities and nuances of teaching science in vocational technical high schools. While not taught as a stand-alone course in NCCoVoTech high schools, earth science topics are integrated into the science curriculum at

  5. Improving Sustainability Performance for Public-Private-Partnership (PPP Projects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liyin Shen

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Improving sustainability performance in developing infrastructure projects is an important strategy for pursuing the mission of sustainable development. In recent years, the business model of public-private-partnership (PPP is promoted as an effective approach in developing infrastructure projects. It is considered that the distribution of the contribution on project investment between private and public sectors is one of the key variables affecting sustainability performance of PPP-type projects. This paper examines the impacts of the contribution distribution between public and private sectors on project sustainability performance. A model named the sustainability performance-based evaluation model (SPbEM is developed for assisting the assessment of the level of sustainability performance of PPP projects. The study examines the possibility of achieving better sustainability through proper arrangement of the investment distribution between the two primary sectors in developing PPP-type infrastructure projects.

  6. [Nebraska 4-H Wheat Science School Enrichment Project, Teacher/Leader Guides 213-222 and 227.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nebraska Univ., Lincoln. Inst. of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

    Through the 4-H Wheat Science project, students learn the importance of wheat from the complete process of growing wheat to the final product of bread. The curriculum is designed to include hands-on experiences in science, consumer education, nutrition, production economics, vocabulary, and applied mathematics. Teachers can select those units out…

  7. Plasma Science and Applications at the Intel Science Fair: A Retrospective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berry, Lee

    2009-11-01

    For the past five years, the Coalition for Plasma Science (CPS) has presented an award for a plasma project at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). Eligible projects have ranged from grape-based plasma production in a microwave oven to observation of the effects of viscosity in a fluid model of quark-gluon plasma. Most projects have been aimed at applications, including fusion, thrusters, lighting, materials processing, and GPS improvements. However diagnostics (spectroscopy), technology (magnets), and theory (quark-gluon plasmas) have also been represented. All of the CPS award-winning projects so far have been based on experiments, with two awards going to women students and three to men. Since the award was initiated, both the number and quality of plasma projects has increased. The CPS expects this trend to continue, and looks forward to continuing its work with students who are excited about the possibilities of plasma. You too can share this excitement by judging at the 2010 fair in San Jose on May 11-12.

  8. From neutron science project to J-PARC. From the viewpoint of JAERI

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oyama, Yukio

    2006-01-01

    Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI), at present Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), has been developing particle accelerators since its establishment in 1956 for obtaining basic data on the neutron. Also reactor-based neutron sciences have been developed at JAERI/JAEA. Under the so-called omega project which was started in 1988, JAERI/JAEA has been conducting researches on Engineering Test Accelerator for the nuclear transmutation and has built a Basic Test Accelerator. In 1996, a special team for neutron science promotion was organized and pushed R and D works on proton accelerators, targets, neutron engineering, radiation safety and so on. Integration of proton accelerator projects at JAERI and KEK (Institute for High Energy Physics) was proposed in 1998, and both institutes agreed to establish a unified proton accelerator facility, J-PARC. JAEA is promoting the industrial application of neutrons. Also the research on nuclear transmutation at J-PARC, which is not endorsed yet, is an essential objective for JAEA. (K.Y.)

  9. Science school and culture school: improving the efficiency of high school science teaching in a system of mass science education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charlton, Bruce G

    2006-01-01

    Educational expansion in western countries has been achieved mainly by adding years to full-time education; however, this process has probably reduced efficiency. Sooner or later, efficiency must improve, with a greater educational attainment per year. Future societies will probably wish more people to study science throughout high school (aged c. 11-19 years) and the first college degree. 'Science' may be defined as any abstract, systematic and research-based discipline: including mathematics, statistics and the natural sciences, economics, music theory, linguistics, and the conceptual or quantitative social sciences. Since formal teaching is usually necessary to learn science, science education should be regarded as the core function of high schools. One standard way to improve efficiency is the 'division of labour', with increased specialization of function. Modern schools are already specialized: teachers are specialized according to age-group taught, subject matter expertise, and administrative responsibilities. School students are stratified by age and academic aptitude. I propose a further institutional division of school function between science education, and cultural education (including education in arts, sports, ethics, social interaction and good citizenship). Existing schools might split into 'science school' and 'culture school', reflected in distinct buildings and zones, separate administrative structures, and the recruitment of differently-specialized teaching personnel. Science school would be distinguished by its focus on education in disciplines which promote abstract systematic cognition. All students would spend some part of each day (how much would depend on their aptitude and motivation) in the 'science school'; experiencing a traditional-style, didactic, disciplined and rigorous academic education. The remainder of the students' time at school would be spent in the cultural division, which would focus on broader aspects, and aim to generate

  10. Community Action Projects: Applying Biotechnology in the Real World

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Phuong D.; Siegel, Marcelle A.

    2015-01-01

    Project-based learning and action research are powerful pedagogies in improving science education. We implemented a semester-long course using project-based action research to help students apply biotechnology knowledge learned in the classroom to the real world. Students had several choices to make in the project: working individually or as a…

  11. Statistics on Science and Technology in Latin America, Experience with UNESCO Pilot Projects, 1972-1974.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thebaud, Schiller

    This report examines four UNESCO pilot projects undertaken in 1972 in Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and Uruguay to study the methods used for national statistical surveys of science and technology. The projects specifically addressed the problems of comparing statistics gathered by different methods in different countries. Surveys carried out in Latin…

  12. 77 FR 58111 - Notice of Submission for OMB Review; Institute of Education Sciences; FAFSA Completion Project...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-09-19

    ... DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Notice of Submission for OMB Review; Institute of Education Sciences; FAFSA Completion Project Evaluation SUMMARY: The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) at the U.S. Department of Education (ED) is conducting a rigorous study of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid...

  13. Collaborative Project: Building improved optimized parameter estimation algorithms to improve methane and nitrogen fluxes in a climate model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mahowald, Natalie [Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States)

    2016-11-29

    Soils in natural and managed ecosystems and wetlands are well known sources of methane, nitrous oxides, and reactive nitrogen gases, but the magnitudes of gas flux to the atmosphere are still poorly constrained. Thus, the reasons for the large increases in atmospheric concentrations of methane and nitrous oxide since the preindustrial time period are not well understood. The low atmospheric concentrations of methane and nitrous oxide, despite being more potent greenhouse gases than carbon dioxide, complicate empirical studies to provide explanations. In addition to climate concerns, the emissions of reactive nitrogen gases from soils are important to the changing nitrogen balance in the earth system, subject to human management, and may change substantially in the future. Thus improved modeling of the emission fluxes of these species from the land surface is important. Currently, there are emission modules for methane and some nitrogen species in the Community Earth System Model’s Community Land Model (CLM-ME/N); however, there are large uncertainties and problems in the simulations, resulting in coarse estimates. In this proposal, we seek to improve these emission modules by combining state-of-the-art process modules for emissions, available data, and new optimization methods. In earth science problems, we often have substantial data and knowledge of processes in disparate systems, and thus we need to combine data and a general process level understanding into a model for projections of future climate that are as accurate as possible. The best methodologies for optimization of parameters in earth system models are still being developed. In this proposal we will develop and apply surrogate algorithms that a) were especially developed for computationally expensive simulations like CLM-ME/N models; b) were (in the earlier surrogate optimization Stochastic RBF) demonstrated to perform very well on computationally expensive complex partial differential equations in

  14. HiggsHunters - a citizen science project for ATLAS

    CERN Document Server

    AUTHOR|(INSPIRE)INSPIRE-00053405; The ATLAS collaboration

    2017-01-01

    Since the launch of HiggsHunters.org in November 2014, citizen science volunteers have classified more than a million points of interest in images from the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. Volunteers have been looking for displaced vertices and unusual features in images recorded during LHC Run-1. We discuss the design of the project, its impact on the public, and the results of how the human volunteers performed relative to the computer algorithms in identifying displaced secondary vertices. People were better than existing algorithms at identifying displaced vertices for some masses and lifetimes, and showed good ability to recognize unexpected new features in the data.

  15. The Costa Rica GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) Project as a Learning Science Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castro Rojas, María Dolores; Zuñiga, Ana Lourdes Acuña; Ugalde, Emmanuel Fonseca

    2015-12-01

    GLOBE is a global educational program for elementary and high school levels, and its main purpose in Costa Rica is to develop scientific thinking and interest for science in high school students through hydrology research projects that allow them to relate science with environmental issues in their communities. Youth between 12 and 17 years old from public schools participate in science clubs outside of their regular school schedule. A comparison study was performed between different groups, in order to assess GLOBE's applicability as a learning science atmosphere and the motivation and interest it generates in students toward science. Internationally applied scales were used as tools for measuring such indicators, adapted to the Costa Rican context. The results provide evidence statistically significant that the students perceive the GLOBE atmosphere as an enriched environment for science learning in comparison with the traditional science class. Moreover, students feel more confident, motivated and interested in science than their peers who do not participate in the project. However, the results were not statistically significant in this last respect.

  16. 76 FR 58840 - Central Valley Project Improvement Act; Refuge Water Management Plans

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-22

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Central Valley Project Improvement Act; Refuge Water Management Plans AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior. ACTION: Notice of availability. SUMMARY: To meet the requirements of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act of 1992 (CVPIA) and subsequent...

  17. Learning about the Earth through Societally-relevant Interdisciplinary Research Projects: the Honours Integrated Science Program at McMaster

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eyles, C.; Symons, S. L.; Harvey, C. T.

    2016-12-01

    Students in the Honours Integrated Science (iSci) program at McMaster University (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada) learn about the Earth through interdisciplinary research projects that focus on important societal issues. The iSci program is a new and innovative undergraduate program that emphasizes the links between scientific disciplines and focuses on learning through research and the development of scientific communication skills. The program accepts up to 60 students each year and is taught by a team of 18 instructors comprising senior and junior faculty, post-doctoral fellows, a lab coordinator, instructional assistant, a librarian and library staff, and an administrator. The program is designed around a pedagogical model that emphasizes hands-on learning through interdisciplinary research (Research-based Integrated Education: RIE) and is mostly project-based and experiential. In their freshman year students learn fundamental Earth science concepts (in conjunction with chemistry, physics, mathematics and biology) through research projects focused on environmental contamination, interplanetary exploration, the effect of drugs on the human body and environment, sustainable energy, and cancer. In subsequent years they conduct research on topics such as the History of the Earth, Thermodynamics, Plant-Animal Interactions, Wine Science, Forensics, and Climate Change. The iSci program attracts students with a broad interest in science and has been particularly effective in directing high quality students into the Earth sciences as they are introduced to the discipline in their first year of study through research projects that are interesting and stimulating. The structure of the iSci program encourages consideration of geoscientific applications in a broad range of societally relevant research projects; these projects are reviewed and modified each year to ensure their currency and ability to meet program learning objectives.

  18. Earth Science Enterprise Scientific Data Purchase Project: Verification and Validation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jenner, Jeff; Policelli, Fritz; Fletcher, Rosea; Holecamp, Kara; Owen, Carolyn; Nicholson, Lamar; Dartez, Deanna

    2000-01-01

    This paper presents viewgraphs on the Earth Science Enterprise Scientific Data Purchase Project's verification,and validation process. The topics include: 1) What is Verification and Validation? 2) Why Verification and Validation? 3) Background; 4) ESE Data Purchas Validation Process; 5) Data Validation System and Ingest Queue; 6) Shipment Verification; 7) Tracking and Metrics; 8) Validation of Contract Specifications; 9) Earth Watch Data Validation; 10) Validation of Vertical Accuracy; and 11) Results of Vertical Accuracy Assessment.

  19. Training Teens to Teach Agricultural Biotechnology: A National 4-H Science Demonstration Project

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chad Ripberger

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available This article discusses a National 4-H Science agricultural biotechnology demonstration project and the impact of the pilot programs on the teenage leaders and teachers. A total of 82 teenagers were extensively trained, who in turn, engaged 620 youth participants with agricultural biotechnology education in afterschool and summer programs in five states. This article details the national and state level trainings for these teen teachers as well as the content rich partners from agribusinesses, agricultural commodity groups, and universities who supported their involvement. The impact on the content knowledge, science process and life skills, and program development and implementation skills of the teen leaders and teachers was evaluated using multiple instruments over multiple administrations (pre-training, post-training, and post-teaching. Results indicate significant gains in most areas assessed. Project recommendations and future plans are also discussed.

  20. What drives continuous improvement project success in healthcare?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stelson, Paul; Hille, Joshua; Eseonu, Chinweike; Doolen, Toni

    2017-02-13

    Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present findings from a study of factors that affect continuous improvement (CI) project success in hospitals. Design/methodology/approach Quantitative regression analysis was performed on Likert scale survey responses. Qualitative thematic analysis was performed on open-ended survey responses and written reports on CI projects. Findings The paper identifies managerial and employee factors that affect project success. These factors include managerial support, communication, and affective commitment. Affective commitment is the extent to which employees perceive the change as being needed or necessary. Practical implications The results highlight how managerial decisions, approaches to communication - including communication before, during and after CI projects affect project success. The results also show that success depends on the way employees perceive proposed changes. This suggests the need for a more individualized approach to CI, lean, and broader change initiatives. Originality/value This research is the first to fuse project success and sustainability theory to CI projects, beyond Kaizen events, in healthcare environments. The research is particularly important at a time when healthcare organizations are required to make rapid changes with limited resources as they work toward outcome-based assessment and reimbursement rules.

  1. Quality Assurance Project Plan for Citizen Science Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    The Quality Assurance Project Plan is necessary for every project that collects or uses environmental data. It documents the project planning process and serves as a blueprint for how your project will run.

  2. Why technology matters as much as science in improving healthcare

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Szczerba Robert J

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background More than half a million new items of biomedical research are generated every year and added to Medline. How successful are we at applying this steady accumulation of scientific knowledge and so improving the practice of medicine in the USA? Discussion The conventional wisdom is that the US healthcare system is plagued by serious cost, access, safety and quality weaknesses. A comprehensive solution must involve the better translation of an abundance of clinical research into improved clinical practice. Yet the application of knowledge (i.e. technology remains far less well funded and less visible than the generation, synthesis and accumulation of knowledge (i.e. science, and the two are only weakly integrated. Worse, technology is often seen merely as an adjunct to practice, e.g. electronic health records. Several key changes are in order. A helpful first step lies in better understanding the distinction between science and technology, and their complementary strengths and limitations. The absolute level of funding for technology development must be increased as well as being more integrated with traditional science-based clinical research. In such a mission-oriented federal funding strategy, the ties between basic science research and applied research would be better emphasized and strengthened. Summary It bears repeating that only by applying the wealth of existing and future scientific knowledge can healthcare delivery and patient care ever show significant improvement.

  3. Institutional repository in communication: the REPOSCOM project implemented in the digital libraries federation of communication science

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sueli Mara Soares Pinto Ferreira

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Considering the conceptualization, characterization and context of the institutional repositories (IR this paper discuss the procedures, policies and strategies delineated to the implementation of IR in a research environment. The object of discussion is the project called Reposcom - Institutional Repository of Intercom (Brazilian Society of Interdisciplinary Studies of Communication – which is part of a broader project managed by the Portcom – Information Network in Communication Sciences of Countries of Portuguese Language – and called Digital Libraries Federation in the Communication Sciences. Aiming to share the knowledge and experience acquired with the implementation of the Reposcom, this paper describes its work activities, the decisions made, the customization of the software DSpace (the technological solution and the initial results achieved with the project.

  4. Exploring social networks of municipal science education stakeholders in Danish Science Municipalities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    von der Fehr, Ane

    development in the science and technology industry. Therefore, much effort has been invested to improve science education. The importance of school external stakeholders in development of education has been an increasingly emphasised, also in the field of science education. This has led to a growing focus......Science education development is a field of many interests and a key interest is recruitment of students who wish to pursue an education in science. This is an urgent societal demand in Denmark as well as internationally, since highly skilled science graduates are needed for the continuous...... involved in science education development. These municipal science education networks (MSE networks) were identified as important for development of science education in the SM project. Therefore, it was a key interest to explore these networks in order to investigate how the central stakeholders affected...

  5. NASA's Student Launch Projects: A Government Education Program for Science and Engineering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shepherd, Christena C.

    2009-01-01

    Among the many NASA education activities, the Student Launch projects are examples of how one agency has been working with students to inspire math, science and engineering interest. There are two Student Launch projects: Student Launch Initiative (SLI) for middle and high school students and the University Student Launch Initiative (USLI) for college students. The programs are described and website links are provided for further information. This document presents an example of how an agency can work with its unique resources in partnership with schools and communities to bring excitement to the classroom.

  6. Quality improvement primer part 1: Preparing for a quality improvement project in the emergency department.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chartier, Lucas B; Cheng, Amy H Y; Stang, Antonia S; Vaillancourt, Samuel

    2018-01-01

    Emergency medicine (EM) providers work in a fast-paced and often hectic environment that has a high risk for patient safety incidents and gaps in the quality of care. These challenges have resulted in opportunities for frontline EM providers to play a role in quality improvement (QI) projects. QI has developed into a mature field with methodologies that can dramatically improve the odds of having a successful project with a sustainable impact. However, this expertise is not yet commonly taught during professional training. In this first of three articles meant as a QI primer for EM clinicians, we will introduce QI methodology and strategic planning using a fictional case study as an example. We will review how to identify a QI problem, define components of an effective problem statement, and identify stakeholders and core change team members. We will also describe three techniques used to perform root cause analyses-Ishikawa diagrams, Pareto charts and process mapping-and how they relate to preparing for a QI project. The next two papers in this series will focus on the execution of the QI project itself using rapid-cycle testing and on the evaluation and sustainability of QI projects.

  7. [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.

  8. Improving Science Education through Accountability Relationships in Schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wildy, Helen; Wallace, John

    1997-01-01

    Presents a contrast between bureaucratic and professional models of accountability and their impact on the science education enterprise. Topics include improving performance, climate of trust, principles and consequences, demonstrating acceptance of responsibilities, and feedback. Concludes that it is necessary to develop the skills and processes…

  9. The Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 Citizen Science Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faherty, Jacqueline K.; Kuchner, Marc; Schneider, Adam; Meisner, Aaron; Gagné, Jonathan; Filippazzo, Joeseph; Trouille, Laura; Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 Collaboration; Jacqueline Faherty

    2018-01-01

    In February of 2017 our team launched a new citizen science project entitled Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 to scan the cosmos for fast moving stars, brown dwarfs, and even planets. This Zooniverse website, BackyardWorlds.org, invites anyone with a computer or smartphone to flip through WISE images taken over a several year baseline and mark any point source that appears to move. This “blinking technique” is the same that Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto with over 80 years ago. In the first few days of our program we recruited over 30,000 volunteers. After 3/4 of a year with the program we have completed 30% of the sky and our participants have identified several hundred candidate movers. These include (1) over 20 candidate Y-type brown dwarfs, (2) a handful of new co-moving systems containing a previously unidentified low mass object and a known nearby star, (3) over 100 previously missed M dwarfs, (4) and more than 200 candidate L and T brown dwarfs, many of which occupy outlier positions on reduced proper motion diagrams. Our first publication credited four citizen scientists as co-authors. The Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 project is both scientifically fruitful and empowering for any mind across the globe that has ever wanted to participate in a discovery-driven astronomy research project.

  10. Improving student learning via mobile phone video content: Evidence from the BridgeIT India project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wennersten, Matthew; Quraishy, Zubeeda Banu; Velamuri, Malathi

    2015-08-01

    Past efforts invested in computer-based education technology interventions have generated little evidence of affordable success at scale. This paper presents the results of a mobile phone-based intervention conducted in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu in 2012-13. The BridgeIT project provided a pool of audio-visual learning materials organised in accordance with a system of syllabi pacing charts. Teachers of Standard 5 and 6 English and Science classes were notified of the availability of new videos via text messages (SMS), which they downloaded onto their phones using an open-source application and showed, with suggested activities, to students on a TV screen using a TV-out cable. In their evaluation of this project, the authors of this paper found that the test scores of children who experienced the intervention improved by 0.36 standard deviations in English and 0.98 standard deviations in Science in Andhra Pradesh, relative to students in similar classrooms who did not experience the intervention. Differences between treatment and control schools in Tamil Nadu were less marked. The intervention was also cost-effective, relative to other computer-based interventions. Based on these results, the authors argue that is possible to use mobile phones to produce a strong positive and statistically significant effect in terms of teaching and learning quality across a large number of classrooms in India at a lower cost per student than past computer-based interventions.

  11. The Disk Mass project; science case for a new PMAS IFU module

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Verheijen, M. A. W.; Bershady, M. A.; Andersen, D. R.; Swaters, R. A.; Westfall, K.; Kelz, A.; Roth, M. M.

    2004-01-01

    We present our Disk Mass project as the main science case for building a new fiber IFU-module for the PMAS spectrograph, currently mounted at the Cassegrain focus of the 3.5m telescope on Calar Alto. Compared to traditional long-slit observations, the large light collecting power of 2-dimensional

  12. Improved Methodology for Benefit Estimation of Preservation Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    2018-04-01

    This research report presents an improved process for evaluating the benefits and economic tradeoffs associated with a variety of highway preservation projects. It includes a summary of results from a comprehensive phone survey concerning the use and...

  13. Quality improvement tools and processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lau, Catherine Y

    2015-04-01

    The Model for Improvement and the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle is a popular quality improvement (QI) tool for health care providers to successfully lead QI projects and redesign care processes. This tool has several distinct components that must be addressed in sequence to organize and critically evaluate improvement activities. Unlike other health sciences clinical research, QI projects and research are based on dynamic hypotheses that develop into observable, serial tests of change with continuous collection and feedback of performance data to stakeholders. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Space Sciences Education and Outreach Project of Moscow State University

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krasotkin, S.

    2006-11-01

    sergekras@mail.ru The space sciences education and outreach project was initiated at Moscow State University in order to incorporate modern space research into the curriculum popularize the basics of space physics, and enhance public interest in space exploration. On 20 January 2005 the first Russian University Satellite “Universitetskiy-Tatyana” was launched into circular polar orbit (inclination 83 deg., altitude 940-980 km). The onboard scientific complex “Tatyana“, as well as the mission control and information receiving centre, was designed and developed at Moscow State University. The scientific programme of the mission includes measurements of space radiation in different energy channels and Earth UV luminosity and lightning. The current education programme consists of basic multimedia lectures “Life of the Earth in the Solar Atmosphere” and computerized practice exercises “Space Practice” (based on the quasi-real-time data obtained from “Universitetskiy-Tatyana” satellite and other Internet resources). A multimedia lectures LIFE OF EARTH IN THE SOLAR ATMOSPHERE containing the basic information and demonstrations of heliophysics (including Sun structure and solar activity, heliosphere and geophysics, solar-terrestrial connections and solar influence on the Earth’s life) was created for upper high-school and junior university students. For the upper-university students there a dozen special computerized hands-on exercises were created based on the experimental quasi-real-time data obtained from our satellites. Students specializing in space physics from a few Russian universities are involved in scientific work. Educational materials focus on upper high school, middle university and special level for space physics students. Moscow State University is now extending its space science education programme by creating multimedia lectures on remote sensing, space factors and materials study, satellite design and development, etc. The space

  15. NASA Citizen Science for Earth Systems Program: fusing public participation and remote sensing to improve our understanding of the planet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whitehurst, A.; Murphy, K. J.

    2017-12-01

    The objectives of the NASA Citizen Science for Earth Systems Program (CSESP) include both the evaluation of using citizen science data in NASA Earth science related research and engaging the public in Earth systems science. Announced in 2016, 16 projects were funded for a one year prototype phase, with the possibility of renewal for 3 years pending a competitive evaluation. The current projects fall into the categories of atmospheric composition (5), biodiversity and conservation (5), and surface hydrology/water and energy cycle (6). Out of the 16, 8 of the projects include the development and/or implementation of low cost sensors to facilitate data collection. This presentation provides an overview of the NASA CSESP program to both highlight the diversity of innovative projects being funded and to share information with future program applicants.

  16. Project for the Space Science in Moscow State University of Geodesy and Cartography (MIIGAiK)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Semenov, M.; Oberst, J.; Malinnikov, V.; Shingareva, K.; Grechishchev, A.; Karachevtseva, I.; Konopikhin, A.

    2012-04-01

    Introduction: Based on the proposal call of the Government of Russian Federation 40 of international scientists came to Russia for developing and support-ing research capabilities of national educational institutions. Moscow State University of Geodesy and Cartography (MIIGAiK) and invited scientist Prof. Dr. Jurgen Oberst were awarded a grant to establish a capable research facility concerned with Planetary Geodesy, Cartography and Space Exploration. Objectives: The goals of the project are to build laboratory infrastructure, and suitable capability for MIIGAiK to participate in the planning, execution and analyses of data from future Russian planetary mis-sions and also to integrate into the international science community. Other important tasks are to develop an attractive work place and job opportunities for planetary geodesy and cartography students. For this purposes new MIIGAiK Extraterrestrial Laboratory (MExLab) was organized. We involved professors, researchers, PhD students in to the projects of Moon and planets exploration at the new level of Russian Space Science development. Main results: MExLab team prepare data for upcom-ing Russian space missions, such as LUNA-GLOB and LUNA-RESOURSE. We established cooperation with Russian and international partners (IKI, ESA, DLR, and foreign Universities) and actively participated in international conferences and workshops. Future works: For the future science development we investigated the old Soviet Archives and received the access to the telemetry data of the Moon rovers Lunokhod-1 and Lunokhod-2. That data will be used in education purposes and could be the perfect base for the analysis, development and support in new Russian and international missions and especially Moon exploration projects. MExLab is open to cooperate and make the consortiums for science projects for the Moon and planets exploration. Acknowledgement: Works are funded by the Rus-sian Government (Project name: "Geodesy, cartography and the

  17. Political diversity will improve social psychological science.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duarte, José L; Crawford, Jarret T; Stern, Charlotta; Haidt, Jonathan; Jussim, Lee; Tetlock, Philip E

    2015-01-01

    Psychologists have demonstrated the value of diversity--particularly diversity of viewpoints--for enhancing creativity, discovery, and problem solving. But one key type of viewpoint diversity is lacking in academic psychology in general and social psychology in particular: political diversity. This article reviews the available evidence and finds support for four claims: (1) Academic psychology once had considerable political diversity, but has lost nearly all of it in the last 50 years. (2) This lack of political diversity can undermine the validity of social psychological science via mechanisms such as the embedding of liberal values into research questions and methods, steering researchers away from important but politically unpalatable research topics, and producing conclusions that mischaracterize liberals and conservatives alike. (3) Increased political diversity would improve social psychological science by reducing the impact of bias mechanisms such as confirmation bias, and by empowering dissenting minorities to improve the quality of the majority's thinking. (4) The underrepresentation of non-liberals in social psychology is most likely due to a combination of self-selection, hostile climate, and discrimination. We close with recommendations for increasing political diversity in social psychology.

  18. Analysis of an Interactive Technology Supported Problem-Based Learning STEM Project Using Selected Learning Sciences Interest Areas (SLSIA)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, David Devraj

    2017-01-01

    This paper reports an analysis of an interactive technology-supported, problem-based learning (PBL) project in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) from a Learning Sciences perspective using the Selected Learning Sciences Interest Areas (SLSIA). The SLSIA was adapted from the "What kinds of topics do ISLS [International…

  19. Impact of a quality improvement project on deceased organ donor management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olmos, Andrea; Feiner, John; Hirose, Ryutaro; Swain, Sharon; Blasi, Annabel; Roberts, John P.; Niemann, Claus U.

    2017-01-01

    Context Donors showed poor glucose control in the period between declaration of brain death and organ recovery. The level of hyperglycemia in the donors was associated with a decline in terminal renal function. Objective To determine whether implementation of a quality improvement project improved glucose control and preserved renal function in deceased organ donors. Methods Data collected retrospectively included demographics, medical history, mechanism of death, laboratory values, and data from the United Network for Organ Sharing. Results After implementation of the quality improvement project, deceased donors had significantly lower mean glucose concentrations (mean [SD], 162 [44] vs 212 [42] mg/dL; P donor cohorts from before and after the quality improvement project were analyzed together, mean glucose concentration remained a significant predictor of terminal creatinine level (P donors indicated that higher terminal creatinine level was associated with delayed graft function in recipients (P donor glucose homeostasis, and the data confirm that poor glucose homeostasis is associated with worsening terminal renal function. PMID:26645930

  20. The Windows to the Universe Project: Using the Internet to Support K-12 Science Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gardiner, L.; Johnson, R.; Bergman, J.; Russell, R.; Genyuk, J.; La Grave, M.

    2003-12-01

    The World Wide Web can be a powerful tool for reaching the public as well as students and teachers around the world, supporting both formal and informal science education. The Windows to the Universe Project, initiated in 1995, provides a case study of approaches for the use of the web to support earth and space science education and literacy efforts. Through the use of innovative approaches such as easy to use design, multi-level content, and science concepts presented in a broader background context that includes connections to culture and the humanities, Windows to the Universe is an accessible format for individuals of various ages and learning styles. A large global audience regularly uses the web site to learn about earth and space science as well as related humanities content such as myths from around the world. User surveys show that the site has over 4 millions users per year, 65 percent of which are K-12 teachers and students. Approximately 46 percent of users access the site once per week or more. Recently, we have had the opportunity to expand our efforts while we continue to update existing content based on new scientific findings and events. Earth science content on Windows to the Universe is currently growing with a new geology section and development efforts are underway to expand our space weather content with a new curriculum. Educational games allow users to learn about space in a playful context, and an online journaling tool further integrates literacy into the learning experience. In addition, we are currently translating the entire Windows to the Universe web site into Spanish. We have included educators in the project as co-designers from its inception, and by aggressively utilizing and providing professional development opportunities for teachers, the web site is now used in thousands of classrooms around the world. In the past year we have continued to support K-12 educators by adding to our suite of classroom activities and leading

  1. Proposed Casey's Pond Improvement Project, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-05-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA), evaluating the impacts associated with the proposed Casey's Pond Improvement Project at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) in Batavia, Illinois. The improvement project would maximize the efficiency of the Fermilab Industrial Cooling Water (ICW) distribution system, which removes (via evaporation) the thermal load from experimental and other support equipment supporting the high energy physics program at Fermilab. The project would eliminate the risk of overheating during fixed target experiments, ensure that the Illinois Water Quality Standards are consistently achieved and provide needed additional water storage for fire protection. Based on the analysis in the EA, the DOE has determined that the proposed action does not constitute a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment, within the meaning of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969. Therefore, the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement is not required

  2. Improving education and supervision of Queensland X-ray Operators through video conference technology: A teleradiography pilot project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rawle, Marnie; Oliver, Tanya; Pighills, Alison; Lindsay, Daniel

    2017-12-01

    X-ray Operator (XO) supervision in Queensland is performed by radiographers in a site removed from the XO site. This has historically been performed by telephone when the XO requires immediate help, as well as post-examination through radiographer review and the provision of written feedback on images produced. This project aimed to improve image quality through the provision of real-time support of XOs by the introduction of video conference (VC) supervision. A 6-month pilot project compared image quality with and without VC supervision. VC equipment was installed in the X-ray room at two rural sites, as well as at the radiographer site, to enable visual and oral supervision. The VC unit enabled visualisation of the X-ray examination technique as it was being undertaken, as well as the images produced prior to transmission to the Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS). Statistically significant improvement in image quality criteria measures were seen for patient positioning (P = 0.008), image quality (P < 0.001) and diagnostic value (P < 0.001) of images taken during this project. No statistically significant differences were seen during case level assessment in the inclusion of only appropriate imaging (P = 0.06), and the inclusion of unacceptable imaging (P = 0.06), however improvements were seen in both of these criteria. The survey revealed 24.6% of examinations performed would normally have involved the XO contacting the radiographer for assistance, although, assistance was actually provided in 88.3% of examinations. This project has demonstrated that significant improvement in image quality is achievable with VC supervision. A larger study with a control arm that did not receive direct supervision should be used to validate the findings of this study. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Medical Radiation Sciences published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australian Society of Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy and New Zealand

  3. Designing Summer Research Experiences for Teachers and Students That Promote Classroom Science Inquiry Projects and Produce Research Results

    Science.gov (United States)

    George, L. A.; Parra, J.; Rao, M.; Offerman, L.

    2007-12-01

    Research experiences for science teachers are an important mechanism for increasing classroom teachers' science content knowledge and facility with "real world" research processes. We have developed and implemented a summer scientific research and education workshop model for high school teachers and students which promotes classroom science inquiry projects and produces important research results supporting our overarching scientific agenda. The summer training includes development of a scientific research framework, design and implementation of preliminary studies, extensive field research and training in and access to instruments, measurement techniques and statistical tools. The development and writing of scientific papers is used to reinforce the scientific research process. Using these skills, participants collaborate with scientists to produce research quality data and analysis. Following the summer experience, teachers report increased incorporation of research inquiry in their classrooms and student participation in science fair projects. This workshop format was developed for an NSF Biocomplexity Research program focused on the interaction of urban climates, air quality and human response and can be easily adapted for other scientific research projects.

  4. Model Evaluation and Uncertainty in Agricultural Impacts Assessments: Results and Strategies from the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenzweig, C.; Hatfield, J.; Jones, J. W.; Ruane, A. C.

    2012-12-01

    The Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP) is an international effort to assess the state of global agricultural modeling and to understand climate impacts on the agricultural sector. AgMIP connects the climate science, crop modeling, and agricultural economic modeling communities to generate probabilistic projections of current and future climate impacts. The goals of AgMIP are to improve substantially the characterization of risk of hunger and world food security due to climate change and to enhance adaptation capacity in both developing and developed countries. This presentation will describe the general approach of AgMIP, highlight AgMIP efforts to evaluate climate, crop, and economic models, and discuss AgMIP uncertainty assessments. Model evaluation efforts will be outlined using examples from various facets of AgMIP, including climate scenario generation, the wheat crop model intercomparison, and the global agricultural economics model intercomparison being led in collaboration with the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (ISI-MIP). Strategies developed to quantify uncertainty in each component of AgMIP, as well as the propagation of uncertainty through the climate-crop-economic modeling framework, will be detailed and preliminary uncertainty assessments that highlight crucial areas requiring improved models and data collection will be introduced.

  5. OPEN INNOVATION PROJECT: THE SYSTEM OF ONLINE INDICATORS IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION OF AMAZONAS (SiON

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moises Andrade Coelho

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to evaluate the implementation of an open innovation project in a public institution in the state of Amazonas. The theoretical and empirical background deals with science, technology and innovation indicators and open innovation. The study is characterized as a qualitative and descriptive research, with the case study as a methodological procedure. The delimitation of the universe was composed by a public institution in the area of science, technology and innovation (ST&I. In the case study, it was used an approach as tool to assess the implementation of open innovation projects. The results are shown several stages of open innovation project analyzed.  The study demonstrates the implications of open innovation project adoption to the strengthening of external networks and the maturing of the internal environment. The relevance of the study is based on the evaluation of an open innovation project in a public institution in order to foster the transition from traditional innovation processes to open innovation processes.

  6. Photo Z: A Real Research Project for Undergraduate Non-Majors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rector, Travis A.; Puckett, A. W.; Hinnah, K. D.

    2009-01-01

    Research-Based Science Education (RBSE) is a method of instruction that models the processes of scientific inquiry and exploration used by scientists to discover new knowledge. It is "research-based" in the sense that students work together on a real astronomical research project. In other words, in order to learn science, students are given the opportunity to actually do science. We present "Photo Z," a new RBSE project wherein students search for distant galaxies using data from the NOAO Deep Wide Field Survey (NDWFS). Students download FITS data files from the NDWFS cutout server. They then complete photometry of galaxies in three bands (Bw, V and I) using Polaris, a custom-made plugin written for ImageJ. The photometric color of each galaxy allows an estimate of its redshift as well as its star-formation history. Many student projects are possible. An example is to search for galaxies clustered around high-redshift quasars. An advantage of this project is that the datasets are readily available online. This project is part of an NSF CCLI grant to develop and test RBSE curricula in an undergraduate course setting. The goals of RBSE are fourfold: (1) To teach that science is a process, not just a body of knowledge; (2) To improve retention of science content by using it in a research project; (3) to improve attitudes towards STEM careers, particularly among first-year students; and (4) to develop task-driven skills, such as critical thinking and teamwork skills, that are useful in any career path. These curricula are currently being developed and tested at the University of Alaska Anchorage, Indiana University Bloomington, and Pima Community College.

  7. Potential Science and Technology Game Changers for the Ground Warfare of 2050: Selected Projections Made in 2017

    Science.gov (United States)

    2018-02-01

    ARL-TR-8283 ● FEB 2018 US Army Research Laboratory Potential Science and Technology Game Changers for the Ground Warfare of 2050...Science and Technology Game Changers for the Ground Warfare of 2050: Selected Projections Made in 2017 by Alexander Kott Office of the Director...Brian Sadler Vehicle Technology Directorate, ARL Ananthram Swami Computational and Information Sciences Directorate, ARL Approved for

  8. Citizen Data Science for Social Good in Complex Systems: Case Studies and Vignettes from Recent Projects

    OpenAIRE

    Banerjee, Soumya

    2017-01-01

    The confluence of massive amounts of openly available data, sophisticated machine learning algorithms and an enlightened citizenry willing to engage in data science presents novel opportunities for crowd sourced data science for social good. In this submission, I present vignettes of data science projects that I have been involved in and which have impact in various spheres of life and on social good. Complex systems are all around us: from social networks to transportation sys...

  9. 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)…

  10. An Analysis of the Supports and Constraints for Scientific Discussion in High School Project-Based Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alozie, Nonye M.; Moje, Elizabeth Birr; Krajcik, Joseph S.

    2010-01-01

    One goal of project-based science is to promote the development of scientific discourse communities in classrooms. Holding rich high school scientific discussions is challenging, especially when the demands of content and norms of high school science pose challenges to their enactment. There is little research on how high school teachers enact…

  11. Sustainability in the AAP Bronchiolitis Quality Improvement Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shadman, Kristin A; Ralston, Shawn L; Garber, Matthew D; Eickhoff, Jens; Mussman, Grant M; Walley, Susan C; Rice-Conboy, Elizabeth; Coller, Ryan J

    2017-11-01

    Adherence to American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) bronchiolitis clinical practice guideline recommendations improved significantly through the AAP's multiinstitutional collaborative, the Bronchiolitis Quality Improvement Project (BQIP). We assessed sustainability of improvements at participating institutions for 1 year following completion of the collaborative. Twenty-one multidisciplinary hospital-based teams provided monthly data for key inpatient bronchiolitis measures during baseline and intervention bronchiolitis seasons. Nine sites provided data in the season following completion of the collaborative. Encounters included children younger than 24 months who were hospitalized for bronchiolitis without comorbid chronic illness, prematurity, or intensive care. Changes between baseline-, intervention-, and sustainability-season data were assessed using generalized linear mixed-effects models with site-specific random effects. Differences between hospital characteristics, baseline performance, and initial improvement between sites that did and did not participate in the sustainability season were compared. A total of 2275 discharges were reviewed, comprising 995 baseline, 877 intervention, and 403 sustainability- season encounters. Improvements in all key bronchiolitis quality measures achieved during the intervention season were maintained during the sustainability season, and orders for intermittent pulse oximetry increased from 40.6% (95% confidence interval [CI], 22.8-61.1) to 79.2% (95% CI, 58.0- 91.3). Sites that did and did not participate in the sustainability season had similar characteristics. BQIP participating sites maintained improvements in key bronchiolitis quality measures for 1 year following the project's completion. This approach, which provided an evidence-based best-practice toolkit while building the quality-improvement capacity of local interdisciplinary teams, may support performance gains that persist beyond the active phase of the

  12. Aurorasaurus: A citizen science platform for viewing and reporting the aurora

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacDonald, E. A.; Case, N. A.; Clayton, J. H.; Hall, M. K.; Heavner, M.; Lalone, N.; Patel, K. G.; Tapia, A.

    2015-09-01

    A new, citizen science-based, aurora observing and reporting platform has been developed with the primary aim of collecting auroral observations made by the general public to further improve the modeling of the aurora. In addition, the real-time ability of this platform facilitates the combination of citizen science observations with auroral oval models to improve auroral visibility nowcasting. Aurorasaurus provides easily understandable aurora information, basic gamification, and real-time location-based notification of verified aurora activity to engage citizen scientists. The Aurorasaurus project is one of only a handful of space weather citizen science projects and can provide useful results for the space weather and citizen science communities. Early results are promising with over 2000 registered users submitting over 1000 aurora observations and verifying over 1700 aurora sightings posted on Twitter.

  13. Atoms and Molecules. 'O' Level. Teacher's Guide. Unit 2. ZIM-SCI, Zimbabwe Secondary School Science Project. Year 3.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mandizha, George

    The Zimbabwe Secondary School Science Project (ZIM-SCI) developed student study guides, corresponding teaching guides, and science kits for a low-cost science course which could be taught during the third year of secondary school without the aid of qualified teachers and conventional laboratories. This teaching guide, designed to be used in…

  14. Evaluation of an institutional project to improve venous thromboembolism prevention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Minami, Christina A; Yang, Anthony D; Ju, Mila; Culver, Eckford; Seifert, Kathryn; Kreutzer, Lindsey; Halverson, Terri; O'Leary, Kevin J; Bilimoria, Karl Y

    2016-12-01

    Northwestern Memorial Hospital (NMH) was historically a poor performer on the venous thromboembolism (VTE) outcome measure. As this measure has been shown to be flawed by surveillance bias, NMH embraced process-of-care measures to ensure appropriate VTE prophylaxis to assess healthcare-associated VTE prevention efforts. To evaluate the impact of an institution-wide project aimed at improving hospital performance on VTE prophylaxis measures. A retrospective observational study. NMH, an 885-bed academic medical center in Chicago, Illinois PATIENTS: Inpatients admitted to NMH from January 1, 2013 to May 1, 2013 and from October 1, 2014 to April 1, 2015 were eligible for evaluation. Using the define-measure-analyze-improve-control (DMAIC) process-improvement methodology, a multidisciplinary team implemented and iteratively improved 15 data-driven interventions in 4 broad areas: (1) electronic medical record (EMR) alerts, (2) education initiatives, (3) new EMR order sets, and (4) other EMR changes. The Joint Commission's 6 core measures and the Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) SCIP-VTE-2 measure. Based on 3103 observations (1679 from January 1, 2013 to May 1, 2013, and 1424 from October 1, 2014 to April 1, 2015), performance on the core measures improved. Performance on measure 1 (chemoprophylaxis) improved from 82.5% to 90.2% on medicine services, and from 94.4% to 97.6% on surgical services. The largest improvements were seen in measure 4 (platelet monitoring), with a performance increase from 76.7% adherence to 100%, and measure 5 (warfarin discharge instructions), with a performance increase from 27.4% to 88.8%. A systematic hospital-wide DMAIC project improved VTE prophylaxis measure performance. Sustained performance has been observed, and novel control mechanisms for continued performance surveillance have been embedded in the hospital system. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2016;11:S29-S37. © 2016 Society of Hospital Medicine. © 2016 Society of Hospital

  15. Continuous Improvement Implementation in the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust: A Case Study of a Continuous Improvement Programme & Project

    OpenAIRE

    Velzen, Jeena

    2012-01-01

    This paper aims at identifying the extent to which the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust has fulfilled literature requirements for successful continuous improvement as exemplified by its Better for You programme and chemotherapy service improvement project. Both the theory and ideals of the continuous improvement programme, along with the actualization of these philosophies and methodologies in the context of the particular project,were compared against a framework for the enabling...

  16. Scientist-teacher collaboration: Integration of real data from a coastal wetland into a high school life science ecology-based research project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hagan, Wendy L.

    Project G.R.O.W. is an ecology-based research project developed for high school biology students. The curriculum was designed based on how students learn and awareness of the nature of science and scientific practices so that students would design and carry out scientific investigations using real data from a local coastal wetland. This was a scientist-teacher collaboration between a CSULB biologist and high school biology teacher. Prior to implementing the three-week research project, students had multiple opportunities to practice building requisite skills via 55 lessons focusing on the nature of science, scientific practices, technology, Common Core State Standards of reading, writing, listening and speaking, and Next Generation Science Standards. Project G.R.O.W. culminated with student generated research papers and oral presentations. Outcomes reveal students struggle with constructing explanations and the use of Excel to create meaningful graphs. They showed gains in data organization, analysis, teamwork and aspects of the nature of science.

  17. LANSCE: Los Alamos Neutron Science Center

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kippen, Karen Elizabeth

    2017-01-01

    The principle goals of this project is to increase flux and improve resolution for neutron energies above 1 keV for nuclear physics experiments; and preserve current strong performance at thermal energies for material science.

  18. LANSCE: Los Alamos Neutron Science Center

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kippen, Karen Elizabeth [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

    2017-11-02

    The principle goals of this project is to increase flux and improve resolution for neutron energies above 1 keV for nuclear physics experiments; and preserve current strong performance at thermal energies for material science.

  19. Integrated learning of mathematics, science and technology concepts through LEGO/Logo projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Lina

    This dissertation examined integrated learning in the domains of mathematics, science and technology based on Piaget's constructivism, Papert's constructionism, and project-based approach to education. Ten fifth grade students were involved in a two-month long after school program where they designed and built their own computer-controlled LEGO/Logo projects that required the use of gears, ratios and motion concepts. The design of this study centered on three notions of integrated learning: (1) integration in terms of what educational materials/settings provide, (2) integration in terms of students' use of those materials, and (3) integration in the psychological sense. In terms of the first notion, the results generally showed that the LEGO/Logo environment supported the integrated learning of math, science and technology concepts. Regarding the second notion, the students all completed impressive projects of their own design. They successfully combined gears, motors, and LEGO parts together to create motion and writing control commands to manipulate the motion. But contrary to my initial expectations, their successful designs did not require numerical reasoning about ratios in designing effective gear systems. When they did reason about gear relationships, they worked with "qualitative" ratios, e.g., "a larger driver gear with a smaller driven gear increases the speed." In terms of the third notion of integrated learning, there was evidence in all four case study students of the psychological processes involved in linking mathematical, scientific, and/or technological concepts together to achieve new conceptual units. The students not only made connections between ideas and experiences, but also recognized decisive patterns and relationships in their project work. The students with stronger overall project performances showed more evidence of synthesis than the students with relatively weaker performances did. The findings support the conclusion that all three

  20. The Use of Mobile Technologies in Project-Based Science: A Case Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avraamidou, Lucy

    2013-01-01

    The main aim of this study was to examine how a group of elementary students perceived their engagement in a project-based science intervention investigating the water quality of a local lake. The students collaborated with a scientist to conduct various experiments and used handheld computers to collect and analyze data in order to examine the…

  1. The Moon Zoo citizen science project: Preliminary results for the Apollo 17 landing site

    OpenAIRE

    Bugiolacchi, Roberto; Bamford, Steven; Tar, Paul; Thacker, Neil; Crawford, Ian A.; Joy, Katherine H.; Grindrod, Peter M.; Lintott, Chris

    2016-01-01

    Moon Zoo is a citizen science project that utilises internet crowd-sourcing techniques. Moon Zoo users are asked to review high spatial resolution images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC), onboard NASA’s LRO spacecraft, and perform characterisation such as measuring impact crater sizes and identify morphological ‘features of interest’. The tasks are designed to address issues in lunar science and to aid future exploration of the Moon. We have tested various methodologies and...

  2. Using Focused Laboratory Management and Quality Improvement Projects to Enhance Resident Training and Foster Scholarship

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ford, Bradley A.; Klutts, J. Stacey; Jensen, Chris S.; Briggs, Angela S.; Robinson, Robert A.; Bruch, Leslie A.; Karandikar, Nitin J.

    2017-01-01

    Training in patient safety, quality, and management is widely recognized as an important element of graduate medical education. These concepts have been intertwined in pathology graduate medical education for many years, although training programs face challenges in creating explicit learning opportunities in these fields. Tangibly involving pathology residents in management and quality improvement projects has the potential to teach and reinforce key concepts and further fulfill Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education goals for pursuing projects related to patient safety and quality improvement. In this report, we present our experience at a pathology residency program (University of Iowa) in engaging pathology residents in projects related to practical issues of laboratory management, process improvement, and informatics. In this program, at least 1 management/quality improvement project, typically performed during a clinical chemistry/management rotation, was required and ideally resulted in a journal publication. The residency program also initiated a monthly management/informatics series for pathology externs, residents, and fellows that covers a wide range of topics. Since 2010, all pathology residents at the University of Iowa have completed at least 1 management/quality improvement project. Many of the projects involved aspects of laboratory test utilization, with some projects focused on other areas such as human resources, informatics, or process improvement. Since 2012, 31 peer-reviewed journal articles involving effort from 26 residents have been published. Multiple projects resulted in changes in ongoing practice, particularly within the hospital electronic health record. Focused management/quality improvement projects involving pathology residents can result in both meaningful quality improvement and scholarly output. PMID:28913416

  3. Using Focused Laboratory Management and Quality Improvement Projects to Enhance Resident Training and Foster Scholarship.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krasowski, Matthew D; Ford, Bradley A; Klutts, J Stacey; Jensen, Chris S; Briggs, Angela S; Robinson, Robert A; Bruch, Leslie A; Karandikar, Nitin J

    2017-01-01

    Training in patient safety, quality, and management is widely recognized as an important element of graduate medical education. These concepts have been intertwined in pathology graduate medical education for many years, although training programs face challenges in creating explicit learning opportunities in these fields. Tangibly involving pathology residents in management and quality improvement projects has the potential to teach and reinforce key concepts and further fulfill Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education goals for pursuing projects related to patient safety and quality improvement. In this report, we present our experience at a pathology residency program (University of Iowa) in engaging pathology residents in projects related to practical issues of laboratory management, process improvement, and informatics. In this program, at least 1 management/quality improvement project, typically performed during a clinical chemistry/management rotation, was required and ideally resulted in a journal publication. The residency program also initiated a monthly management/informatics series for pathology externs, residents, and fellows that covers a wide range of topics. Since 2010, all pathology residents at the University of Iowa have completed at least 1 management/quality improvement project. Many of the projects involved aspects of laboratory test utilization, with some projects focused on other areas such as human resources, informatics, or process improvement. Since 2012, 31 peer-reviewed journal articles involving effort from 26 residents have been published. Multiple projects resulted in changes in ongoing practice, particularly within the hospital electronic health record. Focused management/quality improvement projects involving pathology residents can result in both meaningful quality improvement and scholarly output.

  4. System engineering and science projects: lessons from MeerKAT

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kapp, Francois

    2016-08-01

    The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is a large science project planning to commence construction of the world's largest Radio Telescope after 2018. MeerKAT is one of the precursor projects to the SKA, based on the same site that will host the SKA Mid array in the central Karoo area of South Africa. From the perspective of signal processing hardware development, we analyse the challenges that MeerKAT encountered and extrapolate them to SKA in order to prepare the System Engineering and Project Management methods that could contribute to a successful completion of SKA. Using the MeerKAT Digitiser, Correlator/Beamformer and Time and Frequency Reference Systems as an example, we will trace the risk profile and subtle differences in engineering approaches of these systems over time and show the effects of varying levels of System Engineering rigour on the evolution of their risk profiles. It will be shown that the most rigorous application of System Engineering discipline resulted in the most substantial reduction in risk over time. Since the challenges faced by SKA are not limited to that of MeerKAT, we also look into how that translates to a system development where there is substantial complexity in both the created system as well as the creating system. Since the SKA will be designed and constructed by consortia made up from the ten member countries, there are many additional complexities to the organisation creating the system - a challenge the MeerKAT project did not encounter. Factors outside of engineering, for instance procurement models and political interests, also play a more significant role, and add to the project risks of SKA when compared to MeerKAT.

  5. Project Management Life Cycle Models to Improve Management in High-rise Construction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burmistrov, Andrey; Siniavina, Maria; Iliashenko, Oksana

    2018-03-01

    The paper describes a possibility to improve project management in high-rise buildings construction through the use of various Project Management Life Cycle Models (PMLC models) based on traditional and agile project management approaches. Moreover, the paper describes, how the split the whole large-scale project to the "project chain" will create the factor for better manageability of the large-scale buildings project and increase the efficiency of the activities of all participants in such projects.

  6. Project Management Life Cycle Models to Improve Management in High-rise Construction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Burmistrov Andrey

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper describes a possibility to improve project management in high-rise buildings construction through the use of various Project Management Life Cycle Models (PMLC models based on traditional and agile project management approaches. Moreover, the paper describes, how the split the whole large-scale project to the "project chain" will create the factor for better manageability of the large-scale buildings project and increase the efficiency of the activities of all participants in such projects.

  7. Improving food and agricultural production in Thailand

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Snitwongse, P.; Lamm, C.G.

    1987-01-01

    In the early 1960s, the IAEA and FAO jointly initiated the first in a series of large-scale multi-faceted agricultural field projects using nuclear techniques in agricultural sciences. The first project, in Yugoslavia, served as a model for future ones in India, Brazil, Bangladesh, Republic of Korea, Venezuela, and Thailand. The Thailand project - for the time being the last one of this series - started in January 1986 for a 5-year period, the project carries major objectives centering on the use of isotopes, radiation, and related technologies in three particular areas: Mutation breeding. Scientists are aiming to generate new genetic sources of disease-resistant varieties of crops that are economically important; Soil Science. Aims are to help farmers make the best use of fertilizers, biofertilizers, and water, and to maximize biological nitrogen fixation and the use of local rock phosphates as sources of crop nutrients; Animal science. Project scientists are aiming to improve livestock productivity on small farms

  8. Improvement of Students’ Environmental Literacy by Using Integrated Science Teaching Materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suryanti, D.; Sinaga, P.; Surakusumah, W.

    2018-02-01

    This study aims to determine the improvement of student environmental literacy through the use of integrated science teaching materials on pollution topics. The research is used weak experiment method with the one group pre-test post-test design. The sample of the study were junior high school students in Bandung amounted to 32 people of 7th grade. Data collection in the form of environmental literacy test instrument consist of four components of environmental literacy that is (1) Knowledge, (2) Competencies (Cognitive Skill), (3) Affective and (4) Environmentally Responsible Behavior. The results show that the student’s environmental literacy ability is improved after using integrated science teaching materials. An increase in the medium category is occurring in the knowledge (N-gain=46%) and cognitive skill (N-gain=31%), while the increase in the low category occurs in the affective component (N-gain=25%) and behaviour (N-gain=24%). The conclusions of this study as a whole the improvement of students’ environmental literacy by using integrated science teaching material is in the medium category (N-gain=34%).

  9. 'Adotta scienza e arte nella tua classe': The results of a successfully teaching project which combines science with art

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Giansanti, S.

    2015-01-01

    The project called 'Adotta scienza e arte nella tua classe' ('Adopt Science and Art in your class'), on the interconnection between science and art, has been addressed to the Italian secondary middle and high school involving more than 200 teachers and about 2200 students. The main purpose of this project is to make the young students aware of the strong link between science and art is a unique cultural and interdisciplinary occasion. To reach this goal, the Adotta project asked students to produce an artwork inspired by the interpretation of a quotation among a hundred commented quotes by physicists, mathematicians, scientist, writers, artists, accompanied by an original short sentence written by students themselves. More than 1000 artworks have been produced and collected in two galleries on Facebook. From their analysis emerges the students’ feeling about science, which is usually associated to human brain, based on mathematical laws and related to technological progress, but it is also a powerful tool that should be responsibly used. This project also valorizes teachers’ role in scientific education through activities that encourage students to recognize science in every aspect of their lives.

  10. SAFETY IMPROVES DRAMATICALLY IN FLUOR HANFORD SOIL AND GROUNDWATER REMEDIATION PROJECT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    GERBER MS

    2007-01-01

    This paper describes dramatic improvements in the safety record of the Soil and Groundwater Remediation Project (SGRP) at the Hanford Site in southeast Washington state over the past four years. During a period of enormous growth in project work and scope, contractor Fluor Hanford reduced injuries, accidents, and other safety-related incidents and enhanced a safety culture that earned the SGRP Star Status in the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) in 2007. This paper outlines the complex and multi-faceted work of Fluor Hanford's SGRP and details the steps taken by the project's Field Operations and Safety organizations to improve safety. Holding field safety meetings and walkdowns, broadening safety inspections, organizing employee safety councils, intensively flowing down safety requirements to subcontractors, and adopting other methods to achieve remarkable improvement in safety are discussed. The roles of management, labor and subcontractors are detailed. Finally, SGRP's safety improvements are discussed within the context of overall safety enhancements made by Fluor Hanford in the company's 11 years of managing nuclear waste cleanup at the Hanford Site

  11. [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.

  12. Implementing service improvement projects within pre-registration nursing education: a multi-method case study evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baillie, Lesley; Bromley, Barbara; Walker, Moira; Jones, Rebecca; Mhlanga, Fortune

    2014-01-01

    Preparing healthcare students for quality and service improvement is important internationally. A United Kingdom (UK) initiative aims to embed service improvement in pre-registration education. A UK university implemented service improvement teaching for all nursing students. In addition, the degree pathway students conducted service improvement projects as the basis for their dissertations. The study aimed to evaluate the implementation of service improvement projects within a pre-registration nursing curriculum. A multi-method case study was conducted, using student questionnaires, focus groups with students and academic staff, and observation of action learning sets. Questionnaire data were analysed using SPSS v19. Qualitative data were analysed using Ritchie and Spencer's (1994) Framework Approach. Students were very positive about service improvement. The degree students, who conducted service improvement projects in practice, felt more knowledgeable than advanced diploma students. Selecting the project focus was a key issue and students encountered some challenges in practice. Support for student service improvement projects came from action learning sets, placement staff, and academic staff. Service improvement projects had a positive effect on students' learning. An effective partnership between the university and partner healthcare organisations, and support for students in practice, is essential. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. ISTC projects devoted to improving laser beam quality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malakhov, Yu. I.

    2007-05-01

    Short overview is done about the activity of ISTC in a direction concerned with improving powerful laser beam quality by means of nonlinear and linear adaptive optics methods. Completed projects #0591 and #1929 resulted in the development of a stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) phase conjugation mirror of superhigh fidelity employing the kinoform optical elements (rasters of small lenses) of new generation designed for pulsed or pulse-periodic lasers with nanosecond scale pulse duration. Project #2631 is devoted to development of an adaptive optical system for phase registration and correction of laser beams with wave front vortices. The principles of operation of conventional adaptive systems are based on the assumption that the phase is a smooth continuous function in space. Therefore the solution of the Project tasks will assume a new step in adaptive optics.

  14. A rural virtual health sciences library project: research findings with implications for next generation library services*

    OpenAIRE

    Richwine, Margaret (Peggy); McGowan, Julie J.

    2001-01-01

    Purpose: The Shared Hospital Electronic Library of Southern Indiana (SHELSI) research project was designed to determine whether access to a virtual health sciences library and training in its use would support medical decision making in rural southern Indiana and achieve the same level of impact seen by targeted information services provided by health sciences librarians in urban hospitals.

  15. NASA Earth Science Education Collaborative

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwerin, T. G.; Callery, S.; Chambers, L. H.; Riebeek Kohl, H.; Taylor, J.; Martin, A. M.; Ferrell, T.

    2016-12-01

    The NASA Earth Science Education Collaborative (NESEC) is led by the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies with partners at three NASA Earth science Centers: Goddard Space Flight Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Langley Research Center. This cross-organization team enables the project to draw from the diverse skills, strengths, and expertise of each partner to develop fresh and innovative approaches for building pathways between NASA's Earth-related STEM assets to large, diverse audiences in order to enhance STEM teaching, learning and opportunities for learners throughout their lifetimes. These STEM assets include subject matter experts (scientists, engineers, and education specialists), science and engineering content, and authentic participatory and experiential opportunities. Specific project activities include authentic STEM experiences through NASA Earth science themed field campaigns and citizen science as part of international GLOBE program (for elementary and secondary school audiences) and GLOBE Observer (non-school audiences of all ages); direct connections to learners through innovative collaborations with partners like Odyssey of the Mind, an international creative problem-solving and design competition; and organizing thematic core content and strategically working with external partners and collaborators to adapt and disseminate core content to support the needs of education audiences (e.g., libraries and maker spaces, student research projects, etc.). A scaffolded evaluation is being conducted that 1) assesses processes and implementation, 2) answers formative evaluation questions in order to continuously improve the project; 3) monitors progress and 4) measures outcomes.

  16. Generic project definitions for improvement of health care delivery: A case-base approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Niemeijer, G.C.; Does, R.J.M.M.; de Mast, J.; Trip, A.; van den Heuvel, J.

    2011-01-01

    Background: The purpose of this article is to create actionable knowledge, making the definition of process improvement projects in health care delivery more effective. Methods: This study is a retrospective analysis of process improvement projects in hospitals, facilitating a case-based reasoning

  17. 77 FR 33240 - Central Valley Project Improvement Act, Water Management Plans

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-05

    ... Project water conservation best management practices that shall ``develop criteria for evaluating the... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Central Valley Project Improvement Act, Water Management Plans AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior. ACTION: Notice of availability. SUMMARY: The...

  18. 75 FR 70020 - Central Valley Project Improvement Act, Water Management Plans

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-11-16

    ... office on Central Valley Project water conservation best management practices that shall ``* * * develop... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Central Valley Project Improvement Act, Water Management Plans AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior ACTION: Notice of Availability. SUMMARY: The...

  19. 76 FR 12756 - Central Valley Project Improvement Act, Water Management Plans

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-08

    ... office on Central Valley Project water conservation best management practices that shall ``* * * develop... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Central Valley Project Improvement Act, Water Management Plans AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior. ACTION: Notice of availability. SUMMARY: The...

  20. 77 FR 64544 - Central Valley Project Improvement Act, Water Management Plans

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-10-22

    ... Central Valley Project water conservation best management practices that shall ``develop criteria for... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Central Valley Project Improvement Act, Water Management Plans AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior. ACTION: Notice of availability. SUMMARY: The...