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

Network Science Research Laboratory (NSRL) Discrete Event Toolkit

Science.gov (United States)

2016-01-01

ARL-TR-7579 ● JAN 2016 US Army Research Laboratory Network Science Research Laboratory (NSRL) Discrete Event Toolkit by...Laboratory (NSRL) Discrete Event Toolkit by Theron Trout and Andrew J Toth Computational and Information Sciences Directorate, ARL...Research Laboratory (NSRL) Discrete Event Toolkit 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) Theron Trout

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) ...

Project and Sports Events Management

OpenAIRE

Sebastian Madalin MUNTEANU

2011-01-01

This paper tries to capture the importance it holds the project management in socio-cultural sector which stands out when we refer to the sport. So when we talk about project management in sport, to consider a much larger vision, a new project management perspective, they involve a responsibility for the implementation of an event with global impact on very long term. Sports projects, as history shows us, played a significant role in developing societies. Also, all major sports industry proje...

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

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).

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, ...

A Multi-mission Event-Driven Component-Based System for Support of Flight Software Development, ATLO, and Operations first used by the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Project

Science.gov (United States)

Dehghani, Navid; Tankenson, Michael

2006-01-01

This viewgraph presentation reviews the architectural description of the Mission Data Processing and Control System (MPCS). MPCS is an event-driven, multi-mission ground data processing components providing uplink, downlink, and data management capabilities which will support the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) project as its first target mission. MPCS is designed with these factors (1) Enabling plug and play architecture (2) MPCS has strong inheritance from GDS components that have been developed for other Flight Projects (MER, MRO, DAWN, MSAP), and are currently being used in operations and ATLO, and (3) MPCS components are Java-based, platform independent, and are designed to consume and produce XML-formatted data

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…

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,

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

Public affairs events at Ocean Sciences Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

Uhlenbrock, Kristan

2012-02-01

AGU public affairs will be cohosting two special events at Ocean Sciences 2012 that offer scientists opportunities to expand their communication, policy, and media experience. Join the conversations that highlight two important topics to connect science to society.

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

Volcano!: An Event-Based Science Module. Teacher's Guide. Geology Module.

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, Russell G.

This book is designed for middle school earth science teachers to help their students learn scientific literacy through event-based science. Unlike traditional curricula, the event-based earth science module is a student-centered, interdisciplinary, inquiry-oriented program that emphasizes cooperative learning, teamwork, independent research,…

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.

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)

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)

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  

Leisure and Pleasure: Science events in unusual locations

Science.gov (United States)

Bultitude, Karen; Margarida Sardo, Ana

2012-12-01

Building on concepts relating to informal science education, this work compares science-related activities which successfully engaged public audiences at three different 'generic' locations: a garden festival, a public park, and a music festival. The purpose was to identify what factors contribute to the perceived success of science communication activities occurring within leisure spaces. This article reports the results of 71 short (2-3 min) structured interviews with public participants at the events, and 18 structured observations sessions, demonstrating that the events were considered both novel and interesting by the participants. Audience members were found to perceive both educational and affective purposes from the events. Three key elements were identified as contributing to the success of the activities across the three 'generic venues': the informality of the surroundings, the involvement of 'real' scientists, and the opportunity to re-engage participants with scientific concepts outside formal education.

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....

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…

Volcano!: An Event-Based Science Module. Student Edition. Geology Module.

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, Russell G.

This book is designed for middle school students to learn scientific literacy through event-based science. Unlike traditional curricula, the event-based earth science module is a student-centered, interdisciplinary, inquiry-oriented program that emphasizes cooperative learning, teamwork, independent research, hands-on investigations, and…

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)

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)

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

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)…

Public Outreach Guerilla Style: Just Add Science to Existing Events

Science.gov (United States)

Gelderman, Richard

2016-01-01

We report on a campaign to use the visual appeal of astronomy as a gateway drug to inject public outreach into settings where people aren't expecting an encounter with science. Our inspiration came from the team at guerillascience.org, who have earned a reputation for creating, at sites around the world, "experiences and events that are unexpected, thought-provoking, but, above all, that delight and entertain." Our goal is to insert astronomy into existing festivals of music, culture, and art; county and state fairs; sporting events; and local farmer's markets. With volunteers and near-zero budgets, we have been able to meaningfully engage with audience members who would never willingly attend an event advertised as science related. By purposefully relating astronomy to the non-science aspects of the event that caused the audience members to attend, new learning experiences are created that alter the often negative pre-conceived notions about science that many of them held before our encounter.

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 ...

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.

Projected changes of rainfall event characteristics for the Czech Republic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Svoboda Vojtěch

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Projected changes of warm season (May–September rainfall events in an ensemble of 30 regional climate model (RCM simulations are assessed for the Czech Republic. Individual rainfall events are identified using the concept of minimum inter-event time and only heavy events are considered. The changes of rainfall event characteristics are evaluated between the control (1981–2000 and two scenario (2020–2049 and 2070–2099 periods. Despite a consistent decrease in the number of heavy rainfall events, there is a large uncertainty in projected changes in seasonal precipitation total due to heavy events. Most considered characteristics (rainfall event depth, mean rainfall rate, maximum 60-min rainfall intensity and indicators of rainfall event erosivity are projected to increase and larger increases appear for more extreme values. Only rainfall event duration slightly decreases in the more distant scenario period according to the RCM simulations. As a consequence, the number of less extreme heavy rainfall events as well as the number of long events decreases in majority of the RCM simulations. Changes in most event characteristics (and especially in characteristics related to the rainfall intensity depend on changes in radiative forcing and temperature for the future periods. Only changes in the number of events and seasonal total due to heavy events depend significantly on altitude.

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

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.

Science policy events at the 2012 AGU Fall Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

Hankin, Erik

2012-10-01

Are you interested in the intersection of science and policy, looking to make an impact on Capitol Hill, or concerned about the increasing number of attacks against scientists and their academic freedom? AGU Public Affairs offers many events at the 2012 Fall Meeting to assist member involvement in political processes and inform scientists of their rights and options should their research come under legal fire. Learn how you can share your science with policy makers to help inform policy at two luncheon events at the Fall Meeting. If you have ever considered working as a science expert for a member of Congress or reporting science in a mass media outlet, then you should attend the first luncheon, How to be a Congressional Science Fellow or Mass Media Fellow. The event will feature current AGU Congressional Science Fellows detailing their experiences working in Congress as well as past AGU Mass Media Fellows sharing their stories of reporting for a news organization. The luncheon will be held on Tuesday, 4 December, from 12:30 to 1:30 P.M. at the Marriott Hotel, in room Golden Gate B. In addition, current and former fellows will be available for one-on-one interactions at the AGU Marketplace from 3:30 to 4:30 P.M. on Tuesday, 4 December, through Thursday, 6 December.

Using Critical Thresholds to Customize Climate Projections of Extreme Events to User Needs and Support Decisions

Science.gov (United States)

Garfin, G. M.; Petersen, A.; Shafer, M.; MacClune, K.; Hayhoe, K.; Riley, R.; Nasser, E.; Kos, L.; Allan, C.; Stults, M.; LeRoy, S. R.

2016-12-01

Many communities in the United States are already vulnerable to extreme events; many of these vulnerabilities are likely to increase with climate change. In order to promote the development of effective community responses to climate change, we tested a participatory process for developing usable climate science, in which our project team worked with decision-makers to identify extreme event parameters and critical thresholds associated with policy development and adaptation actions. Our hypothesis is that conveying climate science and data through user-defined parameters and thresholds will help develop capacity to streamline the use of climate projections in developing strategies and actions, and motivate participation by a variety of preparedness planners. Our team collaborated with urban decision-makers, in departments that included resilience, planning, public works, public health, emergency management, and others, in four cities in the semi-arid south-central plains and intermountain areas of Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. Through an iterative process, we homed in on both simple and hybrid indicators for which we could develop credible city-specific projections, to stimulate discussion about adaptation actions; throughout the process, we communicated information about confidence and uncertainty, in order to develop a blend of historic and projected climate data, as appropriate, depending on levels of uncertainty. Our collaborations have resulted in (a) the identification of more than 50 unique indicators and thresholds across the four communities, (b) the development of adaptation action strategies in each community, and (c) the implementation of actions, ranging from a climate leadership training program for city staff members, to a rainwater capture project to improve responses to expected increases in both stormwater runoff and water capture for drought episodes.

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.

Using a Family Science Day Event to Engage Youth in Climate Change Issues

Science.gov (United States)

Brevik, C.; Brevik, E. C.

2015-12-01

Each fall, Dickinson State University organizes four Family Science Day events for elementary-aged children to increase their engagement in the sciences. Offered on Saturday afternoons, each event focuses on a different science-related theme. Families can attend these events free of charge, and the kids participate in a large variety of hands-on activities which center around the event's theme. This year, the November event focused on climate change and the roles soil plays in the climate system. The timing of this topic was carefully chosen. 2015 has been declared the International Year of Soil by the United Nations, and the Soil Science Society of America theme for the month of November was Soils and Climate. This public outreach event was an amazing opportunity to help the youth in our community learn about climate change and soil in a fun, interactive environment. The activities also helped the children learn how science is a process of discovery that allows them to better understand the world they live in. In addition to the hands-on activities, a planetarium show focusing on climate change was also offered during the event. The fully immersive, 360-degree show allowed the kids and their parents to personally observe phenomena that are otherwise difficult to visualize. All of the activities at the Family Science Day event were staffed by university students, and this proved to be a very valuable experience for them as well. Some of the students who helped are majoring in a science field, and for them, the experience taught public communication. They learned to break complicated concepts down into simpler terms that young kids can understand. Education majors who participated practiced communicating science concepts to children, and students in other majors who helped with this event gained experiences that reinforced various concepts they had learned in their general education science courses.

Projected large flood event sensitivity to projection selection and temporal downscaling methodology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Raff, D. [U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Denver, Colorado (United States)

2008-07-01

Large flood events, that influence regulatory guidelines as well as safety of dams decisions, are likely to be affected by climate change. This talk will evaluate the use of climate projections downscaled and run through a rainfall - runoff model and its influence on large flood events. The climate spatial downscaling is performed statistically and a re-sampling and scaling methodology is used to temporally downscale from monthly to daily signals. The signals are run through a National Weather Service operational rainfall-runoff model to produce 6-hour flows. The flows will be evaluated for changes in large events at look-ahead horizons from 2011 - 2040, 2041 - 2070, and 2071 - 2099. The sensitivity of results will be evaluated with respect to projection selection criteria and re-sampling and scaling criteria for the Boise River in Idaho near Lucky Peak Dam. (author)

Projected large flood event sensitivity to projection selection and temporal downscaling methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raff, D.

2008-01-01

Large flood events, that influence regulatory guidelines as well as safety of dams decisions, are likely to be affected by climate change. This talk will evaluate the use of climate projections downscaled and run through a rainfall - runoff model and its influence on large flood events. The climate spatial downscaling is performed statistically and a re-sampling and scaling methodology is used to temporally downscale from monthly to daily signals. The signals are run through a National Weather Service operational rainfall-runoff model to produce 6-hour flows. The flows will be evaluated for changes in large events at look-ahead horizons from 2011 - 2040, 2041 - 2070, and 2071 - 2099. The sensitivity of results will be evaluated with respect to projection selection criteria and re-sampling and scaling criteria for the Boise River in Idaho near Lucky Peak Dam. (author)

Fire!: An Event-Based Science Module. Teacher's Guide. Chemistry and Fire Ecology Module.

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, Russell G.

This book is designed for middle school earth science or physical science teachers to help their students learn scientific literacy through event-based science. Unlike traditional curricula, the event- based earth science module is a student-centered, interdisciplinary, inquiry-oriented program that emphasizes cooperative learning, teamwork,…

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…

Collaborative Projects Weaving Indigenous and Western Science, Knowledge and Perspectives in Climate Change Education

Science.gov (United States)

Sparrow, E. B.; Chase, M.; Brunacini, J.; Spellman, K.

2017-12-01

The "Reaching Arctic Communities Facing Climate Change" and "Feedbacks and Impacts of A Warming Arctic: Engaging Learners in STEM Using GLOBE and NASA Assets" projects are examples of Indigenous and western science communities' collaborative efforts in braiding multiple perspectives and methods in climate change education. Lessons being learned and applied in these projects include the need to invite and engage members of the indigenous and scientific communities in the beginning as a project is being proposed or formulated; the need for negotiated space in the project and activities where opportunity to present and access both knowledge systems is equitable, recognizes and validates each knowledge and method, and considers the use of pedagogical practices including pace/rhythm and instructional approach most suitable to the target audience. For example with Indigenous audiences/participants, it is important to follow local Indigenous protocol to start an event and/or use a resource that highlights the current experience or voices of Indigenous people with climate change. For mixed audience groups, it is critical to have personal introductions at the beginning of an event so that each participant is given an opportunity and encouraged to voice their ideas and opinions starting with how they want to introduce themselves and thus begin to establish a welcoming and collegial atmosphere for dialog. It is also important to communicate climate science in humanistic terms, that people and communities are affected not just the environment or economies. These collaborative partnerships produce mutual benefits including increased awareness and understanding of personal connections to climate change impacts; opportunities for cultural enrichment; opportunities for accessing elder knowledge which is highly valued as well as science, education and communication tools that are needed in working together in addressing issues and making communities resilient and adaptive.

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.

(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.

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.

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.

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.

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…

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

Climate Central World Weather Attribution (WWA) project: Real-time extreme weather event attribution analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Haustein, Karsten; Otto, Friederike; Uhe, Peter; Allen, Myles; Cullen, Heidi

2015-04-01

Extreme weather detection and attribution analysis has emerged as a core theme in climate science over the last decade or so. By using a combination of observational data and climate models it is possible to identify the role of climate change in certain types of extreme weather events such as sea level rise and its contribution to storm surges, extreme heat events and droughts or heavy rainfall and flood events. These analyses are usually carried out after an extreme event has occurred when reanalysis and observational data become available. The Climate Central WWA project will exploit the increasing forecast skill of seasonal forecast prediction systems such as the UK MetOffice GloSea5 (Global seasonal forecasting system) ensemble forecasting method. This way, the current weather can be fed into climate models to simulate large ensembles of possible weather scenarios before an event has fully emerged yet. This effort runs along parallel and intersecting tracks of science and communications that involve research, message development and testing, staged socialization of attribution science with key audiences, and dissemination. The method we employ uses a very large ensemble of simulations of regional climate models to run two different analyses: one to represent the current climate as it was observed, and one to represent the same events in the world that might have been without human-induced climate change. For the weather "as observed" experiment, the atmospheric model uses observed sea surface temperature (SST) data from GloSea5 (currently) and present-day atmospheric gas concentrations to simulate weather events that are possible given the observed climate conditions. The weather in the "world that might have been" experiments is obtained by removing the anthropogenic forcing from the observed SSTs, thereby simulating a counterfactual world without human activity. The anthropogenic forcing is obtained by comparing the CMIP5 historical and natural simulations

Analysing recurrent events in exercise science and sports medicine ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Episodic or recurrent events are a class of data that is frequently reported in health sciences research. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the prevalence of published reports, especially within the South African context, that have used inappropriate statistical techniques when dealing with episodic events and to urge ...

National Academy of Sciences Recommends Continued Support of ALMA Project

Science.gov (United States)

2000-05-01

, will be built at a high-altitude, extremely dry mountain site in Chile's Atacama desert. The array is scheduled to be completed sometime in this decade. Millimeter-wave astronomy studies the universe in the spectral region where most of its energy lies, between the long-wavelength radio waves and the shorter-wavelength infrared waves. In this realm, ALMA will study the structure of the early universe and the evolution of galaxies; gather crucial data on the formation of stars, protoplanetary disks, and planets; and provide new insights on the familiar objects of our own solar system. "Most of the photons in the Universe lie in the millimeter wavelength regime; among existing or planned instruments only ALMA can image the sources of these photons with the crispness required to understand the events of galaxy, star and planet formation which launched them into space," said NRAO's Dr. Alwyn Wootten, U.S. ALMA Project Scientist. ALMA is an international partnership between the United States (National Science Foundation) and Europe. European participants include the European Southern Observatory, the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (France), the Max-Planck Gesellschaft (Germany), the Netherlands Foundation for Research in Astronomy, the United Kingdom Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council, the Oficina de Ciencia Y Tecnologia/Instituto Geografico Nacional (Spain), and the Swedish Natural Science Research Council. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.

Analysing recurrent events in exercise science and sports medicine

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Episodic or recurrent events are a class of data that is frequently described in sports medicine literature. However, the correct statis- tical techniques to deal with data containing recurrent events are not widely known within sports medicine and the exercise sciences. This is evidenced by the few papers in these specialist ...

Issues in Informal Education: Event-Based Science Communication Involving Planetaria and the Internet

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, Mitzi L.; Gallagher, D. L.; Whitt, A.; Whitaker, Ann F. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

For the last several years the Science Directorate at Marshall Space Flight Center has carried out a diverse program of Internet-based science communication. The program includes extended stories about NASA science, a curriculum resource for teachers tied to national education standards, on-line activities for students, and webcasts of real-time events. The focus of sharing real-time science related events has been to involve and excite students and the public about science. Events have involved meteor showers, solar eclipses, natural very low frequency radio emissions, and amateur balloon flights. In some cases broadcasts accommodate active feedback and questions from Internet participants. Panel participation will be used to communicate the problems and lessons learned from these activities over the last three years.

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

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

[Adverse events management. Methods and results of a development project].

Science.gov (United States)

Rabøl, Louise Isager; Jensen, Elisabeth Brøgger; Hellebek, Annemarie H; Pedersen, Beth Lilja

2006-11-27

This article describes the methods and results of a project in the Copenhagen Hospital Corporation (H:S) on preventing adverse events. The aim of the project was to raise awareness about patients' safety, test a reporting system for adverse events, develop and test methods of analysis of events and propagate ideas about how to prevent adverse events. H:S developed an action plan and a reporting system for adverse events, founded an organization and developed an educational program on theories and methods of learning from adverse events for both leaders and employees. During the three-year period from 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2004, the H:S staff reported 6011 adverse events. In the same period, the organization completed 92 root cause analyses. More than half of these dealt with events that had been optional to report, the other half events that had been mandatory to report. The number of reports and the front-line staff's attitude towards reporting shows that the H:S succeeded in founding a safety culture. Future work should be centred on developing and testing methods that will prevent adverse events from happening. The objective is to suggest and complete preventive initiatives which will help increase patient safety.

The how and why of societal publications for citizen science projects and scientists.

Science.gov (United States)

van Vliet, Arnold J H; Bron, Wichertje A; Mulder, Sara

2014-05-01

In the scientific community, the importance of communication to society is often underestimated. Scientists and scientific organisations often lack the skills to organise such communication effectively. The Dutch citizen science phenology network Nature's Calendar has been successful in communicating to the general public via numerous newspaper articles, television appearances, presentations, websites and social media. We refer to these publications as societal publications. Due to active communication to mass media, we frequently reach millions of people. This communication helped us to involve thousands of volunteers in recording the timing of phenological events like the start of flowering, leaf unfolding and bird migration, but also several health-related events like hay fever symptoms and tick bites. In this paper, we analyse and present our experiences with the Nature's Calendar project regarding societal publications. Based on this analysis, we explain the importance of societal publications for citizen science projects and scientists in general, and we show how scientists can increase the news worthiness of scientific information and what factors and activities can increase the chances of media paying attention to this news. We show that societal publications help phenological networks by facilitating the recruitment, retention and instruction of observers. Furthermore, they stimulate the generation of new ideas and partners that lead to an increase in knowledge, awareness and behavioural change of the general public or specific stakeholders. They make projects, and scientists involved, better known to the public and increase their credibility and authority. Societal publications can catalyse the production of new publications, thereby enforcing the previous mentioned points.

The how and why of societal publications for citizen science projects and scientists

Science.gov (United States)

van Vliet, Arnold J. H.; Bron, Wichertje A.; Mulder, Sara

2014-05-01

In the scientific community, the importance of communication to society is often underestimated. Scientists and scientific organisations often lack the skills to organise such communication effectively. The Dutch citizen science phenology network Nature's Calendar has been successful in communicating to the general public via numerous newspaper articles, television appearances, presentations, websites and social media. We refer to these publications as societal publications. Due to active communication to mass media, we frequently reach millions of people. This communication helped us to involve thousands of volunteers in recording the timing of phenological events like the start of flowering, leaf unfolding and bird migration, but also several health-related events like hay fever symptoms and tick bites. In this paper, we analyse and present our experiences with the Nature's Calendar project regarding societal publications. Based on this analysis, we explain the importance of societal publications for citizen science projects and scientists in general, and we show how scientists can increase the newsworthiness of scientific information and what factors and activities can increase the chances of media paying attention to this news. We show that societal publications help phenological networks by facilitating the recruitment, retention and instruction of observers. Furthermore, they stimulate the generation of new ideas and partners that lead to an increase in knowledge, awareness and behavioural change of the general public or specific stakeholders. They make projects, and scientists involved, better known to the public and increase their credibility and authority. Societal publications can catalyse the production of new publications, thereby enforcing the previous mentioned points.

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.

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…

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

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.

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,…

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.

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.

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)

Issues in Informal Education: Event-Based Science Communication Involving Planetaria and the Internet

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, M.; Gallagher, D. L.; Whitt, A.; Six, N. Frank (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

For the past four years the Science Directorate at Marshall Space Flight Center has carried out a diverse program of science communication through the web resources on the Internet. The program includes extended stories about NAS.4 science, a curriculum resource for teachers tied to national education standards, on-line activities for students, and webcasts of real-time events. Events have involved meteor showers, solar eclipses, natural very low frequency radio emissions, and amateur balloon flights. In some cases broadcasts accommodate active feedback and questions from Internet participants. We give here, examples of events, problems, and lessons learned from these activities.

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.

The Inspiring Science Education project and the resources for HEP analysis by university students

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fassouliotis, Dimitris; Kourkoumelis, Christine; Vourakis, Stylianos

2016-01-01

The Inspiring Science Education outreach project has been running for more than two years, creating a large number of inquiry based educational resources for high-school teachers and students. Its goal is the promotion of science education in schools though new methods built on the inquiry based education techniques, involving large consortia of European partners and implementation of large-scale pilots in schools. Recent hands-on activities, developing and testing the above mentioned innovative applications are reviewed. In general, there is a lack for educational scenaria and laboratory courses earmarked for more advanced, namely university, students. At the University of Athens for the last four years, the HYPATIA on-line event analysis tool has been used as a lab course for fourth year undergraduate physics students, majoring in HEP. Up to now, the course was limited to visual inspection of a few tens of ATLAS events. Recently the course was enriched with additional analysis exercises, which involve large samples of events. The students through a user friendly interface can analyse the samples and optimize the cut selection in order to search for new physics. The implementation of this analysis is described

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..

Taking the Plunge: Next Steps in Engaged Learning: Project Kaleidoscope-Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges Conference for Science Educators.

Science.gov (United States)

Frederick, Jennifer

2010-09-01

College and university science educators from across Connecticut gathered at Yale's West Campus in April 2010 for a Project Kaleidoscope (PKAL) program entitled "Taking the Plunge: Next Steps in Engaged Learning." Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and co-sponsored by the Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges (CCIC) and Yale's McDougal Graduate Teaching Center, the event was the latest in a PKAL series of one-day conferences aimed at equipping science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) instructors with effective approaches to engaging students and training future scientists.

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 ...

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.

Even More Brain-Powered Science: Teaching and Learning with Discrepant Events. Brain-Powered Science Series

Science.gov (United States)

O'Brien, Thomas

2011-01-01

How can water and a penny demonstrate the power of mathematics and molecular theory? Do spelling and punctuation really matter to the human brain? The third of Thomas O'Brien's books designed for 5-12 grade science teachers, "Even More Brain-Powered Science" uses the questions above and 11 other inquiry-oriented discrepant events--experiments or…

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…

R2R Eventlogger: Community-wide Recording of Oceanographic Cruise Science Events

Science.gov (United States)

Maffei, A. R.; Chandler, C. L.; Stolp, L.; Lerner, S.; Avery, J.; Thiel, T.

2012-12-01

Methods used by researchers to track science events during a science research cruise - and to note when and where these occur - varies widely. Handwritten notebooks, printed forms, watch-keeper logbooks, data-logging software, and customized software have all been employed. The quality of scientific results is affected by the consistency and care with which such events are recorded and integration of multi-cruise results is hampered because recording methods vary widely from cruise to cruise. The Rolling Deck to Repository (R2R) program has developed an Eventlogger system that will eventually be deployed on most vessels in the academic research fleet. It is based on the open software package called ELOG (http://midas.psi.ch/elog/) originally authored by Stefan Ritt and enhanced by our team. Lessons have been learned in its development and use on several research cruises. We have worked hard to find approaches that encourage cruise participants to use tools like the eventlogger. We examine these lessons and several eventlogger datasets from past cruises. We further describe how the R2R Science Eventlogger works in concert with the other R2R program elements to help coordinate research vessels into a coordinated mobile observing fleet. Making use of data collected on different research cruises is enabled by adopting common ways of describing science events, the science instruments employed, the data collected, etc. The use of controlled vocabularies and the practice of mapping these local vocabularies to accepted oceanographic community vocabularies helps to bind shipboard research events from different cruises into a more cohesive set of fleet-wide events that can be queried and examined in a cross-cruise manner. Examples of the use of the eventlogger during multi-cruise oceanographic research programs along with examples of resultant eventlogger data will be presented. Additionally we will highlight the importance of vocabulary use strategies to the success of the

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.

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.

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.

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…

A rural virtual health sciences library project: research findings with implications for next generation library services.

Science.gov (United States)

Richwine, M P; McGowan, J J

2001-01-01

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. Based on the results of a needs assessment, a virtual medical library was created; various levels of training were provided. Virtual library users were asked to complete a Likert-type survey, which included questions on intent of use and impact of use. At the conclusion of the project period, structured interviews were conducted. Impact of the virtual health sciences library showed a strong correlation with the impact of information provided by health sciences librarians. Both interventions resulted in avoidance of adverse health events. Data collected from the structured interviews confirmed the perceived value of the virtual library. While librarians continue to hold a strong position in supporting information access for health care providers, their roles in the information age must begin to move away from providing information toward selecting and organizing knowledge resources and instruction in their use.

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.

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

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…

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.

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

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…

Global Database of Events, Language, and Tone (GDELT Project)

Data.gov (United States)

World Wide Human Geography Data Working Group — The Global Database of Events, Language, and Tone (GDELT Project) monitors the world's broadcast, print, and web news from nearly every corner of every country in...

Linking events, science and media for flood and drought management

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, M.; Wei, Y.; Zheng, H.; Zhao, Y.

2017-12-01

Throughout history, floods and droughts have been closely related to the development of human riparian civilization. The socio-economic damage caused by floods/droughts appears to be on the rise and the frequency of floods/droughts increases due to global climate change. In this paper, we take a fresh perspective to examine the (dis)connection between events (floods and droughts), research papers and media reports in globally 42 river basins between 1990 and 2012 for better solutions in floods and droughts management. We collected hydrological data from NOAA/ESPL Physical Sciences Division (PSD) and CPC Merged Analysis of Precipitation (CMAP), all relevant scientific papers from Web of Science (WOS) and media records from Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) during the study period, presented the temporal variability at annual level of these three groups of data, and analysed the (connection) among these three groups of data in typical river basins. We found that 1) the number of flood related reports on both media and research is much more than those on droughts; 2) the concerns of media reports just focused on partial topics (death, severity and damage) and partial catchments (Mediterranean Sea and Nile River); 3) the scientific contribution on floods and droughts were limited within some river basins such as Nile River Basin, Parana River Basin, Savannah River Basin and Murray-Darling River Basin; 4) the scientific contribution on floods and droughts were limited within only a few of disciplines such as Geology, Environmental Sciences & Ecology, Agriculture, Engineering and Forestry. It is recommended that multiple disciplinary contribution and collaboration should be promoted to achieve comprehensive flood/drought management, and science and media should interactively play their valuable roles and in flood/drought issues. Keywords: Floods, droughts, events, science, media, flood and drought management

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…

Using discrepant events in science demonstrations to promote student engagement in scientific investigations: An action research study

Science.gov (United States)

Mancuso, Vincent J.

Students' scientific investigations have been identified in national standards and related reform documents as a critical component of students' learning experiences in school, yet it is not easy to implement them in science classrooms. Could science demonstrations help science teachers put this recommendation into practice? While demonstrations are a common practice in the science classroom and research has documented some positive effects in terms of student motivation and engagement from their use, the literature also shows that, as traditionally presented, science demonstrations do not always achieve their intended outcomes. This, in turn, suggested the value of investigating what design elements of demonstrations could be used to promote specific instructional goals. Employing action research as a methodology, the proposed study was developed to explore how science demonstrations can be designed so as to most effectively promote student engagement in scientific investigations. More specifically, I was interested in examining the effects of using a discrepant event as part of the demonstration, as a way to create cognitive conflict and, thus, increase interest and engagement. I also investigated the relative merit of the well-researched POE (Predict, Observe, Explain) design versus employing demonstrations that appear to the student to be unplanned (what I will refer to as NOE, or a Naturally Occurring Experience). This study was informed by Constructivism, Situated Cognition and Conceptual Change as theoretical frameworks. The project included the design, implementation and study of an intervention consisting of three instructional units designed to support students' learning of the concepts of density, molecular arrangement of gas particles, and cohesion, respectively. In each of these units, lasting a total of two 80-minute class periods, students were asked to design and conduct an investigation to gain a better understanding of the concept under study. In

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.

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…

Science Hack Day: an opportunity for public engagement, art/science mash-ups, and inspiration

Science.gov (United States)

Bellis, Matthew

2013-04-01

The idea of a Science Hack Day (http://sciencehackday.com/) is to put non-scientists (designers, web developers, artists, interested enthusiasts) in a room with scientists and some good ideas, and see what science-themed project they can create in a weekend (about 24 hours of real hacking). The motto of the organizers is ``Get Excited and Make Things with Science!'' I have participated in several of these events including the first one held in the United State in Palo Alto in 2010 and as a remote advisor to participants in Nairobi, Kenya. To these events I have brought particle physics data from both the BaBar and the CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) experiments, data from the CoGeNT dark matter direct-detection experiment, and my expertise and enthusiasm. The experience has been transformative for me as both a scientist and a science advocate. This talk will recount my experiences with Science Hack Day events in general and detail some projects that have come out of these days, including the Particle Physics Wind Chime (http://www.mattbellis.com/windchime/) and the Standard Model of Cocktail Physics (http://www.physicsdavid.net/2012/11/standard-model-of-cocktail-physics/). Opportunities for other scientists to take part in similar events will be discussed.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

A rural virtual health sciences library project: research findings with implications for next generation library services*

Science.gov (United States)

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. Methods: Based on the results of a needs assessment, a virtual medical library was created; various levels of training were provided. Virtual library users were asked to complete a Likert-type survey, which included questions on intent of use and impact of use. At the conclusion of the project period, structured interviews were conducted. Results: Impact of the virtual health sciences library showed a strong correlation with the impact of information provided by health sciences librarians. Both interventions resulted in avoidance of adverse health events. Data collected from the structured interviews confirmed the perceived value of the virtual library. Conclusion: While librarians continue to hold a strong position in supporting information access for health care providers, their roles in the information age must begin to move away from providing information toward selecting and organizing knowledge resources and instruction in their use. PMID:11209799

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...

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.

Management of investment-construction projects basing on the matrix of key events

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Morozenko Andrey Aleksandrovich

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The article considers the current problematic issues in the management of investment-construction projects, examines the questions of efficiency increase of construction operations on the basis of the formation of a reflex-adaptive organizational structure. The authors analyzed the necessity of forming a matrix of key events in the investment-construction project (ICP, which will create the optimal structure of the project, basing on the work program for its implementation. For convenience of representing programs of the project implementation in time the authors make recommendations to consolidate the works into separate, economically independent functional blocks. It is proposed to use an algorithm of forming the matrix of an investment-construction project, considering the economic independence of the functional blocks and stages of the ICP implementation. The use of extended network model is justified, which is supplemented by organizational and structural constraints at different stages of the project, highlighting key events fundamentally influencing the further course of the ICP implementation.

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.

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

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

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…

Extreme sea-level events in coastal regions

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Unnikrishnan, A.S.

that the outcome of the project has been a code that is capable of predicting correct trends more often (15 out of 20) than the other ‘black box’ codes in operation at various agencies. U. N. SINHA CSIR-Centre for Mathematical Modelling and Computer... of the extreme climate events. Their past trends, future projections and vulnerabi- lity and adaptation to such events are discussed in the report. The report was based on the efforts of both the working groups of the IPCC, WG I, which deals with the science...

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.

Management and marketing of sporting events: Nike Premier Cup Project

OpenAIRE

Nedbal, Jakub

2008-01-01

Title: Management and marketing ofsporting events: Nike Premier Cup project Points of thesis: Publish the Nike Premier Cup promotion campaign project and point out improvement possibilities for upcoming years based on analysis ofpast and present state. Methods: Data will be obtained by interview, observation, description analysis and SWOT analysis Results: Promotion campaign, improvement possibilities, final day schedule Keywords: SWOT analysis, promotion, management, marketing, Nike Premier ...

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....

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

UnB and of the Museum of Science and Technology of Brasilia destinate to converge public communication of science. In their facilities will be possible to conceive, plan, develop, encourage and support scientific activities (playful and interactive) in schools and communities in the Federal District and surrounding areas of Brasilia, focusing on different aspects of science and technology and their relationship with society through investigative practices involving, particularly students and teachers of basic education and the community in General. The project will act even in the promotion of events, courses, workshops and scientific-cultural experiences, production of radio and TV programs aimed at promoting initiation into Science and environmental awareness on basic education.

Sunray project - A long-term, nationwide educational process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nikula, Anneli

2000-01-01

The Sunray project is a nationwide educational process coordinated by the Economic Information Bureau (TaT Group) for ninth graders in Finnish comprehensive schools. The project aims at giving thorough and versatile information on radiation within the framework of various subjects (physics, biology, domestic science, history, European languages, mother tongue, health education etc.). The Sunray project covers all ninth graders of the existing 600 Finnish comprehensive schools; in all involving some 65 000 pupils. The project, which has been repeated five times, was initiated as part of the European Science and Technology week in 1995. During the first two years it was strongly linked with the science week as natural sciences were seen as a good framework for the chosen perspective. Since 1997, the project has been run as an event in its own right. The project has applied the method of processing integrated groups of themes, which is an objective of the comprehensive school system and the experimental method of science. As schools make their own decisions about the educational programmes to be adopted every semester, the project has been marketed to schools at the beginning of May. The TaT Group has arranged marketing events in some 10 localities in Finland. The Economic Information Bureau of Finland coordinates the project and in 1995-2000 the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK), the Finnish Energy Industries' Federation, the Finnish Electricity Association, Fortum Oyj and Teollisuuden Voima Oy have participated in the project

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...

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

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…

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.

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…

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.

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.

Changes in record-breaking temperature events in China and projections for the future

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Hanqing; Liu, Chun; Lu, Yanyu; He, Dongyan; Tian, Hong

2017-06-01

As global warming intensifies, more record-breaking (RB) temperature events are reported in many places around the world where temperatures are higher than ever before http://cn.bing.com/dict/search?q=.&FORM=BDVSP6&mkt=zh-cn. The RB temperatures have caused severe impacts on ecosystems and human society. Here, we address changes in RB temperature events occurring over China in the past (1961-2014) as well as future projections (2006-2100) using observational data and the newly available simulations from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5). The number of RB events has a significant multi-decadal variability in China, and the intensity expresses a strong decrease from 1961 to 2014. However, more frequent RB events occurred in mid-eastern and northeastern China over last 30 years (1981-2010). Comparisons with observational data indicate multi-model ensemble (MME) simulations from the CMIP5 model perform well in simulating RB events for the historical run period (1961-2005). CMIP5 MME shows a relatively larger uncertainty for the change in intensity. From 2051 to 2100, fewer RB events are projected to occur in most parts of China according to RCP 2.6 scenarios. Over the longer period from 2006 to 2100, a remarkable increase is expected for the entire country according to RCP 8.5 scenarios and the maximum numbers of RB events increase by approximately 600 per year at end of twenty-first century.

The event notification and alarm system for the Open Science Grid operations center

Science.gov (United States)

Hayashi, S.; Teige and, S.; Quick, R.

2012-12-01

The Open Science Grid Operations (OSG) Team operates a distributed set of services and tools that enable the utilization of the OSG by several HEP projects. Without these services users of the OSG would not be able to run jobs, locate resources, obtain information about the status of systems or generally use the OSG. For this reason these services must be highly available. This paper describes the automated monitoring and notification systems used to diagnose and report problems. Described here are the means used by OSG Operations to monitor systems such as physical facilities, network operations, server health, service availability and software error events. Once detected, an error condition generates a message sent to, for example, Email, SMS, Twitter, an Instant Message Server, etc. The mechanism being developed to integrate these monitoring systems into a prioritized and configurable alarming system is emphasized.

The event notification and alarm system for the Open Science Grid operations center

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hayashi, S; Teige and, S; Quick, R [Indiana University, University Information Technology Services (United States)

2012-12-13

The Open Science Grid Operations (OSG) Team operates a distributed set of services and tools that enable the utilization of the OSG by several HEP projects. Without these services users of the OSG would not be able to run jobs, locate resources, obtain information about the status of systems or generally use the OSG. For this reason these services must be highly available. This paper describes the automated monitoring and notification systems used to diagnose and report problems. Described here are the means used by OSG Operations to monitor systems such as physical facilities, network operations, server health, service availability and software error events. Once detected, an error condition generates a message sent to, for example, Email, SMS, Twitter, an Instant Message Server, etc. The mechanism being developed to integrate these monitoring systems into a prioritized and configurable alarming system is emphasized.

The event notification and alarm system for the Open Science Grid operations center

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hayashi, S; Teige and, S; Quick, R

2012-01-01

The Open Science Grid Operations (OSG) Team operates a distributed set of services and tools that enable the utilization of the OSG by several HEP projects. Without these services users of the OSG would not be able to run jobs, locate resources, obtain information about the status of systems or generally use the OSG. For this reason these services must be highly available. This paper describes the automated monitoring and notification systems used to diagnose and report problems. Described here are the means used by OSG Operations to monitor systems such as physical facilities, network operations, server health, service availability and software error events. Once detected, an error condition generates a message sent to, for example, Email, SMS, Twitter, an Instant Message Server, etc. The mechanism being developed to integrate these monitoring systems into a prioritized and configurable alarming system is emphasized.

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...

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…

Citizen CATE: Evaluating Outcomes of a Solar Eclipse Citizen Science Project

Science.gov (United States)

Penn, M. J.; Haden, C.

2017-12-01

On August 21, 2017, a total solar eclipse will be visible along a path of totality from Oregon to South Carolina. The Citizen Continental-America Telescopic Eclipse Experiment (CATE) will use scientists, students and volunteers to take images of the solar corona using 68 identical telescopes, software and instrument packages along the 2,500-mile path of totality. CATE partners include National Solar Observatory scientists, university faculty and students, high school students, and professional and amateur astronomers. NASA funded CATE educational components including training undergraduates and volunteers on solar imaging software and equipment. The National Science Foundation and corporations including DayStar, MathWorks, Celestron and ColorMaker funded equipment. Undergraduates participated in summer research experiences to build their capacity for gathering eclipse data, and subsequently trained volunteers across the U.S. Aligned to NASA education goals, CATE goals range from providing an authentic research experience for students and lifelong learners, to making state-of-the-art solar coronal observations, to increasing scientific literacy of the public. While project investigators are examining the wealth of scientific data that will come from CATE, evaluators are examining impacts on participants. Through mixed methods, evaluators are examining outcomes related to changes in volunteers' knowledge, skills and attitudes. Additionally, the study will examine how citizen science astronomy using CATE equipment will continue after the eclipse to sustain project impacts. Preliminary findings for undergraduates indicate that they are gaining knowledge and skills related to studying solar coronal phenomena, conducting rigorous scientific research, and interfacing with the public to conduct outreach. Preliminary findings for citizen scientists indicate a high level of engagement in the research, and that they are gaining new knowledge and skills related to solar

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…

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…

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.

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.

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.

Management of a science and technology popularization project in the nuclear area

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Soares, Wellington Antonio; Maretti Junior, Fausto [Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear (CDTN/CNEN-MG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil)]. E-mail: soaresw@cdtn.br; fmj@cdtn.br

2007-07-01

The goal of this paper is to show the management results of the 2005-2007 project 'Nuclear energy: itinerant expositions' sponsored by the Foundation for Research Support of Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG), a state agency, in a science and technology popularization program. The project coordinated by the Nuclear Technology Development Center (CDTN/CNEN) in partnership with the Minas Commerce Association (ACMinas) was designed to students from public high school of the Belo Horizonte metropolitan region. It consisted of an exposition and a previous talk motivating the audience to the nuclear technology in connection with subjects taught at schools, like physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, history, etc. Small scale models of nuclear and radioactive installations, irradiated food and fruits samples and colored gems by gamma rays were presented at the stand exposition. Designing, performing and evaluating the project required the following activities: searching of information on the target public, infrastructure mounting, team training, multimedia material elaboration, strategy for dealing with the students, talk presentation, distribution of booklet on nuclear themes, reception at the exposition, interviews with students and teachers by journalists, evaluation of the project by the schools, evaluation of the project by some students three months after the event and also reporting the project to the media. About forty people of CDTN took part in the project that reached thirty high schools and encompassed about 11,000 students. About five hundred state high school teachers of chemistry, physics and biology were reached by the experience of the project in a specialization course given by a local university. Only high approval was received by the project in the returned questionnaires. (author)

Management of a science and technology popularization project in the nuclear area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soares, Wellington Antonio; Maretti Junior, Fausto

2007-01-01

The goal of this paper is to show the management results of the 2005-2007 project 'Nuclear energy: itinerant expositions' sponsored by the Foundation for Research Support of Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG), a state agency, in a science and technology popularization program. The project coordinated by the Nuclear Technology Development Center (CDTN/CNEN) in partnership with the Minas Commerce Association (ACMinas) was designed to students from public high school of the Belo Horizonte metropolitan region. It consisted of an exposition and a previous talk motivating the audience to the nuclear technology in connection with subjects taught at schools, like physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, history, etc. Small scale models of nuclear and radioactive installations, irradiated food and fruits samples and colored gems by gamma rays were presented at the stand exposition. Designing, performing and evaluating the project required the following activities: searching of information on the target public, infrastructure mounting, team training, multimedia material elaboration, strategy for dealing with the students, talk presentation, distribution of booklet on nuclear themes, reception at the exposition, interviews with students and teachers by journalists, evaluation of the project by the schools, evaluation of the project by some students three months after the event and also reporting the project to the media. About forty people of CDTN took part in the project that reached thirty high schools and encompassed about 11,000 students. About five hundred state high school teachers of chemistry, physics and biology were reached by the experience of the project in a specialization course given by a local university. Only high approval was received by the project in the returned questionnaires. (author)

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.

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.

[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.

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.

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.

SciNews: Incorporating Science Current Events in 21st Century Classrooms

Science.gov (United States)

DiMaggio, E.

2011-12-01

Middle school students are instructed with the aid of textbooks, lectures, and activities to teach topics that satisfy state standards. However, teaching materials created to convey standard-aligned science concepts often leave students asking how the content relates to their lives and why they should be learning it. Conveying relevance is important for student learning and retention, especially in science where abstract concepts can often be incorrectly perceived as irrelevant. One way to create an educational link between classroom content and everyday life is through the use of scientific current events. Students read, hear, and watch media coverage of natural events (such as the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan), but do not necessarily relate the scientific information from media sources to classroom studies. Taking advantage of these brief 'teachable moments'--when student interest is high--provides a valuable opportunity to make classroom-to-everyday life associations and to incorporate inquiry based learning. To address this need, I create pre-packaged current event materials for middle to high school teachers that align to state standards, and which are short, effective, and easy to implement in the classroom. Each lesson takes approximately 15-30 minutes to implement, allowing teachers time to facilitate brief but meaningful discussions. I assemble materials within approximately one week of the regional or global science event, consisting of short slide shows, maps, videos, pictures, and real-time data. I use a listserv to send biweekly emails to subscribed instructors containing the current event topic and a link to download the materials. All materials are hosted on the Arizona State University Education Outreach SciNews website (http://sese.asu.edu/teacher-resources) and are archived. Currently, 285 educators subscribe to the SciNews listserv, representing 36 states and 19 countries. In order to assess the effectiveness and usefulness of Sci

The impact of a Latino outreach project on science museums: A program evaluation focused on institutional change

Science.gov (United States)

Castaneda, Mario E.

The purpose of this program evaluation was to determine the impact of the Community Science Festivals Project on the science museums that participated. This project, also known as Celebra la Ciencia (CLC), was a federally funded effort to engage the Latino communities throughout the United States in activities promoting appreciation of the importance of science education. The festivals brought together various educational, community, and scientific organizations that collaborated in producing community-hosted interactive educational events to which students and their families were invited. The evaluation takes the form of a qualitative study based on interviews of key individuals at 1 museum in each of the 5 festival cities. The evaluation focuses on the museums' changes in: (a) their view of their roles as involving the Latino population in their service area, (b) publicity efforts aimed at the Latino population, (c) outreach toward the Latino population, and (d) accommodation of Latinos within the museums. The results for each site are listed separately then are discussed jointly. Implications for practice include the following: (a) intensive and long-term programming, as opposed to one-time events, are likely more effective for creating direct impact on student achievement, although the festivals had many positive effects; (b) funding for smaller organizations (or individual departments within larger organization) seemed to have a more observable impact, enabling them to create Latino-oriented advertising, outreach, and accommodations that would not have been possible otherwise; and (c) Spanish-language media was an effective advertising tool, especially radio, but use of public service announcements should be monitored to ensure that they are aired at times that are effective for reaching the target audience. Recommendations for future studies are made.

Hacking events. Project development practices and technology use at hackathons

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Richterich, Annika

2017-01-01

Hackathons are techno-creative events during which participants get together in a physical location. They may be hosted by civic communities, corporations or public institutions. Working individually or in teams, usually for several days, participants develop projects such as hardware or software

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.

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.

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

Data Albums: An Event Driven Search, Aggregation and Curation Tool for Earth Science

Science.gov (United States)

Ramachandran, Rahul; Kulkarni, Ajinkya; Maskey, Manil; Bakare, Rohan; Basyal, Sabin; Li, Xiang; Flynn, Shannon

2014-01-01

Approaches used in Earth science research such as case study analysis and climatology studies involve discovering and gathering diverse data sets and information to support the research goals. To gather relevant data and information for case studies and climatology analysis is both tedious and time consuming. Current Earth science data systems are designed with the assumption that researchers access data primarily by instrument or geophysical parameter. In cases where researchers are interested in studying a significant event, they have to manually assemble a variety of datasets relevant to it by searching the different distributed data systems. This paper presents a specialized search, aggregation and curation tool for Earth science to address these challenges. The search rool automatically creates curated 'Data Albums', aggregated collections of information related to a specific event, containing links to relevant data files [granules] from different instruments, tools and services for visualization and analysis, and information about the event contained in news reports, images or videos to supplement research analysis. Curation in the tool is driven via an ontology based relevancy ranking algorithm to filter out non relevant information and data.

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.

ELIMINATION OF THE DISADVANTAGES OF SCHEDULING-NETWORK PLANNING BY APPLYING THE MATRIX OF KEY PROJECT EVENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Morozenko Andrey Aleksandrovich

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The article discusses the current disadvantages of the scheduling-network planning in the management of the terms of investment-construction project. Problems associated with the construction of the schedule and the definitions of the duration of the construction project are being studied. The problems of project management for the management apparatus are shown, which consists in the absence of mechanisms for prompt response to deviations in the parameters of the scheduling-network diagram. A new approach to planning the implementation of an investment-construction project based on a matrix of key events and a rejection of the current practice of determining the duration based on inauthentic regulatory data. An algorithm for determining the key events of the project is presented. For increase the reliability of the organizational structure, the load factor of the functional block in the process of achieving the key event is proposed. Recommendations for improving the interaction of the participants in the investment-construction project are given.

[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.

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…

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.

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...

Open Science & Open Data Global Sprint 2016 | 2–3 June 2016

CERN Multimedia

Achintya Rao

2016-01-01

Join us as we learn to collaboratively build projects transforming science on the web! Thursday 2 June 2016 8.00 a.m. – Friday 3 June 20.00 p.m. CERN (3179-R-E06) This two-day sprint event brings together researchers, coders, librarians and the public from around the globe to hack on open science and open data projects in their communities. This year, we have four tracks you can contribute to: tools, citizen science, curriculum and open data. CERN is hosting three projects: Everware Open Cosmics CrowdAI   You can also participate in any of the other mozsprint projects for 2016. For more information, please visit: https://indico.cern.ch/event/535760/

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.

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.

Bringing cutting-edge Earth and ocean sciences to under-served and rural audiences through informal science education

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, S. K.; Petronotis, K. E.; Ferraro, C.; Johnson, K. T. M.; Yarincik, K.

2017-12-01

The International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) is an international marine research collaboration that explores Earth's history and dynamics using ocean-going research platforms to recover data recorded in seafloor sediments and rocks and to monitor subseafloor environments. The JOIDES Resolution is the flagship vessel of IODP and is operated by the National Science Foundation. It is an inspirational hook for STEM Earth and ocean topics for children and the general public of all ages, but is not easily accessible due to its international travels and infrequent U.S. port calls. In response, a consortium of partners has created the Pop-Up/Drill Down Science project. The multi-year project, funded by NSF's Advancing Informal Science Learning program, aims to bring the JR and its science to under-served and rural populations throughout the country. Consisting of an inflatable walk-through ship, a multi-media experience, a giant interactive seafloor map and a series of interactive exhibit kiosks, the exhibit, entitled, In Search of Earth's Secrets: A Pop-Up Science Encounter, will travel to 12 communities throughout the next four years. In each community, the project will partner with local institutions like public libraries and small museums as hosts and to train local Girl Scouts to serve as exhibit facilitators. By working with local communities to select events and venues for pop-up events, the project hopes to bring cutting edge Earth and ocean science in creative new ways to underserved populations and inspire diverse audiences to explore further. This presentation will provide details of the project's goals, objectives and development and provide avenues to become involved.

So, You Want to Host a Family Science Night?

Science.gov (United States)

Lundeen, Cynthia

2005-01-01

With the exception of periodic science fairs or the occasional home-science project, science is not usually the galvanizing force for the school community. But, through family science events, it can be. It is no secret that students whose families are involved in their children's education significantly benefit in achievement, attitudes, and…

Modelling of risk events with uncertain likelihoods and impacts in large infrastructure projects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schjær-Jacobsen, Hans

2010-01-01

to prevent future budget overruns. One of the central ideas is to introduce improved risk management processes and the present paper addresses this particular issue. A relevant cost function in terms of unit prices and quantities is developed and an event impact matrix with uncertain impacts from independent......This paper presents contributions to the mathematical core of risk and uncertainty management in compliance with the principles of New Budgeting laid out in 2008 by the Danish Ministry of Transport to be used in large infrastructure projects. Basically, the new principles are proposed in order...... uncertain risk events is used to calculate the total uncertain risk budget. Cost impacts from the individual risk events on the individual project activities are kept precisely track of in order to comply with the requirements of New Budgeting. Additionally, uncertain likelihoods for the occurrence of risk...

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…

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?

"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…

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.

A Case History of the Science and Management Collaboration in Understanding Hypoxia Events in Long Bay, South Carolina, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Sanger, Denise; Hernandez, Debra; Libes, Susan; Voulgaris, George; Davis, Braxton; Smith, Erik; Shuford, Rebecca; Porter, Dwayne; Koepfler, Eric; Bennett, Joseph

2010-09-01

Communication of knowledge between the scientific and management communities is a difficult process complicated by the distinctive nature of professional career goals of scientists and decision-makers. This article provides a case history highlighting a collaboration between the science and management communities that resulted from a response to a 2004 hypoxia, or low dissolved oxygen, event in Long Bay, off Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. A working group of scientists and decision-makers was established at the time of the event and has continued to interact to develop a firm understanding of the drivers responsible for hypoxia formation in Long Bay. Several factors were found to be important to ensure that these collaborative efforts were productive: (1) genuine interest in collaboratively working across disciplines to examine a problem; (2) commitment by agency leadership, decision-makers, and researchers to create successful communication mechanisms; (3) respect for each others’ perspectives and an understanding how science and management are performed and that they are not mutually exclusive; (4) networking among researchers and decision-makers to ensure appropriate team members are involved in the process; (5) use of decision-maker input in the formulation of research and monitoring projects; and (6) commitment of resources for facilitation to ensure that researchers and decision-makers are communicating effectively.

Discrete event simulation of NASA's Remote Exploration and Experimentation Project (REE)

Science.gov (United States)

Dunphy, J.; Rogstad, S.

2001-01-01

The Remote Exploration and Experimentation Project (REE) is a new initiative at JPL to be able to place a supercomputer on board a spacecraft and allow large amounts of data reduction and compression to be done before science results are returned to Earth.

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.

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

Design basis event consequence analyses for the Yucca Mountain project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Orvis, D.D.; Haas, M.N.; Martin, J.H.

1997-01-01

Design basis event (DBE) definition and analysis is an ongoing and integrated activity among the design and analysis groups of the Yucca Mountain Project (YMP). DBE's are those that potentially lead to breach of the waste package and waste form (e.g., spent fuel rods) with consequent release of radionuclides to the environment. A Preliminary Hazards Analysis (PHA) provided a systematic screening of external and internal events that were candidate DBE's that will be subjected to analyses for radiological consequences. As preparation, pilot consequence analyses for the repository subsurface and surface facilities have been performed to define the methodology, data requirements, and applicable regulatory limits

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…

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.

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"  

Developing Science Games for use at Public Events to Better Inform Students and Citizen Scientists

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, P. M.; Chambers, L. H.; Bethea, K. L.; Crecelius, S.; Ruhlman, K.; Harte, T.

2013-12-01

At NASA's Langley Research Center, the Science Directorate participates in a wide range of public outreach events, from individual small-scale classroom visits, to the large-scale NASA events like Exploration Day at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Despite the diversity of venues, one thing is certain: the public is hungry for science and ravenous for the materials and activities that NASA produces. However, designing and producing materials and activities to capture the attention of everyone from children to grandparents can be a challenging task. The NASA Langley Science Directorate Outreach and Communications Team has taken on the task to ensure that event participants have a worthwhile science experience through a series of educational tabletop games. This diverse group of educators, scientists, writers and graphic artists has been able to produce many games and activities perfect for public exposure and understanding. These games not only capture the imagination of the citizen scientists that visit the display, but they also allow them to learn the science behind many of the things that happen around them on a daily basis, many of which they take for granted. Teaching the public through games and short activities has proven to be a winning combination of efforts. In the development of any game or activity a great deal of consideration is given to "boiling down" the science concept or educational "take away." This step is where the diverse development group has proven to be invaluable. A final product developed by this team includes a review for science validity by a scientist, words written by a science writer, educational alignment by a science educator and design by a graphic designer. This process ensures that the game will attract the right group of people and have them leave understanding new science content. Games and activities generated in this fashion have been successful in the traditional classroom and informal education venues that this team routinely

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…

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

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

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

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

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

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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

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

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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…

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...

Live Storybook Outcomes of Pilot Multidisciplinary Elementary Earth Science Collaborative Project

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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

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…

Evaluation of Music And Astronomy Under The Stars: Bringing Science To New Audiences At Music Events

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Lubowich, D.; Torff, B.

2014-07-01

Evaluations were conducted of the 2009-2012 NASA-funded Music and Astronomy Under the Stars (MAUS) program at outdoor concerts (see the separate MAUS poster at this meeting). MAUS promoted lifelong learning by providing opportunities for the public to look through telescopes, participate in hands-on activities, and view posters, banners, and videos at events where large numbers of people are gathered. Surveys were given to 1.6% of the concertgoers at MAUS events with the participants expressing their level of agreement on a four-point scale with the following statements: “The astronomy at this event has been an enjoyable experience;” “It has been easy to comprehend the astronomy at this event;” “This event has helped me learn new things about astronomy;” “This event has made me want to learn more about astronomy;” and “This event has increased my interest in science.” On a scale where 1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = agree, and 4 = strongly agree, MAUS received high ratings (>3.34/4) on all outcomes. MAUS successfully reached people at different concerts who had little interest in science. MAUS appealed to concert attendees of both genders, all ages, multiple levels of education, and all musical tastes. MAUS positively influenced the public's knowledge of and interest in astronomy. The high ratings from virtually all respondents indicate that the gains were not restricted to science enthusiasts. The data strongly supports the conclusion that MAUS—bringing astronomy to people at musical events—is effective!

GRAVITATIONAL MICROLENSING EVENTS AS A TARGET FOR THE SETI PROJECT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rahvar, Sohrab, E-mail: rahvar@sharif.edu [Department of Physics, Sharif University of Technology, P.O. Box 11365–9161, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2016-09-01

The detection of signals from a possible extrasolar technological civilization is one of the most challenging efforts of science. In this work, we propose using natural telescopes made of single or binary gravitational lensing systems to magnify leakage of electromagnetic signals from a remote planet that harbors Extraterrestrial Intelligent (ETI) technology. Currently, gravitational microlensing surveys are monitoring a large area of the Galactic bulge to search for microlensing events, finding more than 2000 events per year. These lenses are capable of playing the role of natural telescopes, and, in some instances, they can magnify radio band signals from planets orbiting around the source stars in gravitational microlensing systems. Assuming that the frequency of electromagnetic waves used for telecommunication in ETIs is similar to ours, we propose follow-up observation of microlensing events with radio telescopes such as the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), the Low Frequency Demonstrators, and the Mileura Wide-Field Array. Amplifying signals from the leakage of broadcasting by an Earth-like civilization will allow us to detect them as far as the center of the Milky Way galaxy. Our analysis shows that in binary microlensing systems, the probability of amplification of signals from ETIs is more than that in single microlensing events. Finally, we propose the use of the target of opportunity mode for follow-up observations of binary microlensing events with SKA as a new observational program for searching ETIs. Using optimistic values for the factors of the Drake equation provides detection of about one event per year.

Incorporating Science News Into Middle School Curricula: Current Events in the 21st Century Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Dimaggio, E.

2010-12-01

Middle school students are instructed with the aid of textbooks, lectures, and activities to teach topics that satisfy state standards. However, teaching materials created to convey standard-aligned science concepts often leave students asking how the content relates to their lives and why they should be learning it. Conveying relevance, especially in science when abstract concepts can often be incorrectly perceived as irrelevant, is important for student learning and retention. One way to create an educational link between classroom content and everyday life is through the use of scientific current events. Students read, hear, and watch media coverage of natural events (such as the Haiti or Chile earthquakes in 2010), but do not necessarily relate the scientific information from media sources to classroom studies. Taking advantage of these brief ‘teachable moments’-when student interest is high- provides a valuable opportunity to make classroom-to-everyday life associations and to incorporate inquiry based learning. To address this need, we are creating pre-packaged current event materials for middle school teachers in Arizona that align to state standards and which are short, effective, and easy to implement in the classroom. Each lesson takes approximately 15 minutes to implement, allowing teachers time to facilitate brief but meaningful discussions. Materials are assembled within approximately one week of the regional or global science event (e.g., volcanic eruptions, earthquakes) and may include a short slide show, maps, videos, pictures, and real-time data. A listserv is used to send biweekly emails to subscribed instructors. The email contains the current event topic, specific Arizona science standards addressed, and a link to download the materials. All materials are hosted on the Arizona State University Education Outreach website and are archived. Early implementation efforts have been received positively by participating teachers. In one case

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.

How FOSTER supports training Open Science in the GeoSciences

Science.gov (United States)

Orth, Astrid

2016-04-01

FOSTER (1) is about promoting and facilitating the adoption of Open Science by the European research community, and fostering compliance with the open access policies set out in Horizon 2020 (H2020). FOSTER aims to reach out and provide training to the wide range of disciplines and countries involved in the European Research Area (ERA) by offering and supporting face-to-face as well as distance training. Different stakeholders, mainly young researchers, are trained to integrate Open Science in their daily workflow, supporting researchers to optimise their research visibility and impact. Strengthening the institutional training capacity is achieved through a train-the-trainers approach. The two-and-half-year project started in February 2014 with identifying, enriching and providing training content on all relevant topics in the area of Open Science. One of the main elements was to support two rounds of trainings, which were conducted during 2014 and 2015, organizing more than 100 training events with around 3000 participants. The presentation will explain the project objectives and results and will look into best practice training examples, among them successful training series in the GeoSciences. The FOSTER portal that now holds a collection of training resources (e.g. slides and PDFs, schedules and design of training events dedicated to different audiences, video captures of complete events) is presented. It provides easy ways to identify learning materials and to create own e-learning courses based on the materials and examples. (1) FOSTER is funded through the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no 612425. http://fosteropenscience.eu

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

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.;

[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.

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

COMUNICA Project: a commitment for strategic communication on Earth Sciences

Science.gov (United States)

Cortes-Picas, Jordi; Diaz, Jordi; Fernandez-Turiel, Jose-Luis

2016-04-01

The Institute of Earth Sciences Jaume Almera (ICTJA-CSIC) has just celebrated its 50-year anniversary last year. It is a reference research center on Earth Sciences both national and international level. The Institute includes 4 research groups which focus their scientific activity on the structure and dynamics of the Earth, the environmental changes in the geological record, geophysical and geochemical modelling and crystallography and optical properties. Only when large geological disasters happens, mainly earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, some interaction between ICTJA-CSIC researchers and traditional media occurs, which is limited by the fact that the aim of the Institute is the scientific research and it has no responsibilities in the area of civil protection. This relationship reduces the knowledge of our activity to the general public. To overcome this situation, the ICTJA-CSIC has decided to take an active role in the social dissemination of geological and geophysical knowledge. Thus, the ICTJA-CSIC has launched the COMUNICA Project. The project is aimed to increase the social visibility of the ICTJA-CSIC and to promote the outreach of researchers. Therefore ICTJA-CSIC has created the Communication Unit, which is in charge of designing communication strategies to give to different audiences (media, students of secondary and higher education, general public) an overview of the scientific and institutional activity of the ICTJA-CSIC. A global communication plan is being designed to define the strategic actions, both internal and external. An important role has been reserved for digital channels, to promote ICTJA-CSIC activity on social networks such as Twitter, Facebook or Youtube, besides making a major effort in the renovation and maintenance of the corporate website. A strong effort will be done to collect and spread through press releases the major scientific milestones achieved by the researchers, to promote the interest of mass media. Communication

Defining a quantitative framework for evaluation and optimisation of the environmental impacts of mega-event projects.

Science.gov (United States)

Parkes, Olga; Lettieri, Paola; Bogle, I David L

2016-02-01

This paper presents a novel quantitative methodology for the evaluation and optimisation of the environmental impacts of the whole life cycle of a mega-event project: construction and staging the event and post-event site redevelopment and operation. Within the proposed framework, a mathematical model has been developed that takes into account greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting from use of transportation fuel, energy, water and construction materials used at all stages of the mega-event project. The model is applied to a case study - the London Olympic Park. Three potential post-event site design scenarios of the Park have been developed: Business as Usual (BAU), Commercial World (CW) and High Rise High Density (HRHD). A quantitative summary of results demonstrates that the highest GHG emissions associated with the actual event are almost negligible compared to those associated with the legacy phase. The highest share of emissions in the legacy phase is attributed to embodied emissions from construction materials (almost 50% for the BAU and HRHD scenarios) and emissions resulting from the transportation of residents, visitors and employees to/from the site (almost 60% for the CW scenario). The BAU scenario is the one with the lowest GHG emissions compared to the other scenarios. The results also demonstrate how post-event site design scenarios can be optimised to minimise the GHG emissions. The overall outcomes illustrate how the proposed framework can be used to support decision making process for mega-event projects planning. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

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.

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.

"Physics and Life" - Teachers Meet Scientists at Major EIROforum Event [

Science.gov (United States)

2003-11-01

More than 400 selected delegates from 22 European countries will take part in "Physics on Stage 3" , organised by the EIROforum [1] research organisations (CERN, EFDA, EMBL, ESA, ESO, ESRF, ILL) at the ESA ESTEC site (Noordwijk, The Netherlands). It is the culmination of a year-long educational programme and is a central event during the EC-sponsored European Science and Technology Week (November 8-15, 2003). Following the vastly successful preceeding events in 2000 and 2002, the main theme this year is "Physics and Life", reflecting the decision to broaden the Physics on Stage activities to encompass more of the natural sciences within an interdisciplinary approach. As before, European teachers, scientists, curricula organisers and others connected to the national education systems in Europe will gather with the main goal of exploring solutions to stimulate the interest of young people in science, by means of exciting and innovative teaching methods and materials. The rich one-week programme has many components: spectacular and original performances by students and professional actors, intensive encounters at a central fair where each country will present the latest developments from its teaching community at their stands, workshops about a host of crucial themes related to the central mission of this programme, seminars where EIROforum scientists and experienced high school teachers get together to discuss new teaching opportunities based on the latest results from front-line research projects at Europe's leading science centres, as well as a publishers fair that will also serve as an international exchange for new educational materials. A mystery cultural event will surprise everyone with its originality. And last but not least, the annual European Science Teaching Awards - the highest distinction in this field - will be presented at the end of the meeting. "Physics on Stage" is a joint project organised by EIROforum, together with the European Physical Society

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

The interdisciplinary project on High Definition Clouds and Precipitation for advancing climate prediction HD(CP)2 (hdcp2.eu) is an example for the trend in fundamental research in Europe to increasingly focus on large national and international research programs that require strong scientific coordination. The current system has traditionally been host-based: project coordination activities and funding is placed at the host institute of the central lead PI of the project. This approach is simple and has the advantage of strong collaboration between project coordinator and lead PI, while exhibiting a list of strong, inherent disadvantages that are also mentioned in this session's description: no community best practice development, lack of integration between similar projects, inefficient methodology development and usage, and finally poor career development opportunities for the coordinators. Project coordinators often leave the project before it is finalized, leaving some of the fundamentally important closing processes to the PIs. This systematically prevents the creation of professional science management expertise within academia, which leads to an automatic imbalance that hinders the outcome of large research programs to help future funding decisions. Project coordinators in academia often do not work in a professional project office environment that could distribute activities and use professional tools and methods between different projects. Instead, every new project manager has to focus on methodological work anew (communication infrastructure, meetings, reporting), even though the technological needs of large research projects are similar. This decreases the efficiency of the coordination and leads to funding that is effectively misallocated. We propose to challenge this system by creating a permanent, virtual "Centre for Earth System Science Management CESSMA" (cessma.com), and changing the approach from host- based to centre-based. This should

Projections of hepatitis A virus infection associated with flood events by 2020 and 2030 in Anhui Province, China

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Lu; Zhang, Ying; Ding, Guoyong; Liu, Qiyong; Wang, Changke; Jiang, Baofa

2016-12-01

Assessing and responding to health risk of climate change is important because of its impact on the natural and societal ecosystems. More frequent and severe flood events will occur in China due to climate change. Given that population is projected to increase, more people will be vulnerable to flood events, which may lead to an increased incidence of HAV infection in the future. This population-based study is going to project the future health burden of HAV infection associated with flood events in Huai River Basin of China. The study area covered four cities of Anhui province in China, where flood events were frequent. Time-series adjusted Poisson regression model was developed to quantify the risks of flood events on HAV infection based on the number of daily cases during summer seasons from 2005 to 2010, controlling for other meteorological variables. Projections of HAV infection in 2020 and 2030 were estimated based on the scenarios of flood events and demographic data. Poisson regression model suggested that compared with the periods without flood events, the risks of severe flood events for HAV infection were significant (OR = 1.28, 95 % CI 1.05-1.55), while risks were not significant from moderate flood events (OR = 1.16, 95 % CI 0.72-1.87) and mild flood events (OR = 1.14, 95 % CI 0.87-1.48). Using the 2010 baseline data and the flood event scenarios (one severe flood event), increased incidence of HAV infection were estimated to be between 0.126/105 and 0.127/105 for 2020. Similarly, the increased HAV infection incidence for 2030 was projected to be between 0.382/105 and 0.399/105. Our study has, for the first time, quantified the increased incidence of HAV infection that will result from flood events in Anhui, China, in 2020 and 2030. The results have implications for public health preparation for developing public health responses to reduce HAV infection during future flood events.

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'…

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…

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

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.

News Teaching: The epiSTEMe project: KS3 maths and science improvement Field trip: Pupils learn physics in a stately home Conference: ShowPhysics welcomes fun in Europe Student numbers: Physics numbers increase in UK Tournament: Physics tournament travels to Singapore Particle physics: Hadron Collider sets new record Astronomy: Take your classroom into space Forthcoming Events

Science.gov (United States)

2010-05-01

Teaching: The epiSTEMe project: KS3 maths and science improvement Field trip: Pupils learn physics in a stately home Conference: ShowPhysics welcomes fun in Europe Student numbers: Physics numbers increase in UK Tournament: Physics tournament travels to Singapore Particle physics: Hadron Collider sets new record Astronomy: Take your classroom into space Forthcoming Events

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.

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…

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.

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.

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.

International Observe the Moon Night: A Worldwide Public Observing Event that Annually Engages Scientists, Educators, and Citizen Enthusiasts in NASA Science

Science.gov (United States)

Buxner, S.; Jones, A. P.; Bleacher, L.; Wasser, M. L.; Day, B. H.; Shaner, A. J.; Bakerman, M. N.; Joseph, E.

2017-12-01

International Observe the Moon Night (InOMN) is an annual worldwide event, held in the fall, that celebrates lunar and planetary science and exploration. InOMN is sponsored by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) in collaboration with NASA's Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI), the NASA's Heliophysics Education Consortium, CosmoQuest, Night Sky Network, and Science Festival Alliance. Other key partners include the NASA Museum Alliance, Night Sky Network, and NASA Solar System Ambassadors. In 2017, InOMN will bring together thousands of people across the globe to observe and learn about the Moon and its connection to planetary science. We are partnering with the NASA Science Mission Directorate total solar eclipse team to highlight InOMN as an opportunity to harness and sustain the interest and momentum in space science and observation following the August 21st eclipse. This is part of a new partnership with the Sun-Earth Day team, through the Heliophysics Education Consortium, to better connect the two largest NASA-sponsored public engagement events, increase participation in both events, and share best practices in implementation and evaluation between the teams. Over 3,800 InOMN events have been registered between 2010 and 2016, engaging over 550,000 visitors worldwide. Most InOMN events are held in the United States, with strong representation from many other countries. InOMN events are evaluated to determine the value of the events and to allow us to improve the experience for event hosts and visitors. Our results show that InOMN events are hosted by scientists, educators, and citizen enthusiasts around the world who leverage InOMN to bring communities together, get visitors excited and learn about the Moon - and beyond, and share resources to extend engagement in lunar and planetary science and observation. Through InOMN, we annually provide resources such as event-specific Moon maps, presentations, advertising materials, and

Major Events Coordinated Security Solutions: The Application of the Project Management Body of Knowledge for Managing a Science and Technology Project

Science.gov (United States)

2011-02-01

represents the sum of knowledge related to project management and includes best practises and techniques generally accepted by the project...project has demonstrated that the principles of project management can be applied even to those activities that naturally resist the structure and...team and to engender trust in the output. DRDC believes strongly in the application of sound project management principles and uses an abbreviated

Projected changes to rain-on-snow events over North America

Science.gov (United States)

Jeong, Dae Il; Sushama, Laxmi

2016-04-01

Rain-on-snow (ROS) events have significant impacts on cold region ecosystems and water-related natural hazards, and therefore it is very important to assess how this hydro-meteorological phenomenon will evolve in a changing climate. This study evaluates the changes in ROS characteristics (i.e., frequency, amounts, and runoff) for the future 2041-2070 period with respect to the current 1976-2005 period over North America using six simulations, based on two Canadian RCMs, driven by two driving GCMs for RCP4.5 and 8.5 emission pathways. Projected changes to extreme runoff caused by the changes of the ROS characteristics are also evaluated. All simulations suggest general increases in ROS days in late autumn, winter, and early spring periods for most Canadian regions and northwestern USA for the future period, due to an increase in rain days in a warmer climate. Increases in the future ROS amounts are projected mainly due to an increase in ROS days, although increases in precipitation intensity also contributes to the future increases. Future ROS runoff is expected to increase more than future ROS amounts during snowmelt months as ROS events usually enhance runoff, given the land state and asociated reduced soil infiltration rate and also due to the faster snowmelt rate occuring during these events. The simulations also show that ROS events usually lead to extreme runoff over most of Canada and north-western and -central USA in the January-May snowmelt months for the current period and these show no significant changes in the future climate. However, the future ROS to total runoff ratio will significantly decrease for western and eastern Canada as well as north-western USA for these months, due to an overall increase of the fraction of direct snowmelt and rainfall generated runoff in a warmer climate. These results indicate the difficulties of flood risk and water resource managements in the future, particularly in Canada and north-western and -central USA, requiring

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.

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

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.

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)

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...

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.

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.

Reduced analysis and confirmatory research on co-adaptability theoretical solution to conflicting events in construction engineering projects

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2010-01-01

The co-adaptability theoretical solution to conflicting events in construction engineering projects has three problems. First, the transformation of constraint conditions of theoretical solution is very difficult in practical engineering applications; second, some coefficients are difficult to be determined; third, there are overfull circular arithmetic operations involved in it. To resolve these problems, a new method to reduce the theoretical solution complications is proposed. By analyzing the operating mechanism of theoretical solution model, redundancies in the theoretical solution can be eliminated, and the ISM mapping with the co-adaptability solution can be set up. Based on this approach, a procedure to solve practical conflicting events in construction projects is established by replacing characteristic variables with mathematic variables. The research results show that the procedure can replace the co-adaptability theoretical solution effectively and solve practical conflicting events in construction projects.

The FLARES project: An innovative detector technology for rare events searches

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Capelli, S., E-mail: capelli@mib.infn.it [Dipatimento di Fisica, Università di Milano Bicocca, piazza della Scienza 3, 20126 Milano (Italy); INFN Sezione di Milano Bicocca, piazza della Scienza 3, 20126 Milano (Italy); Baldazzi, G. [Università di Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 6/2, 40127 Bologna (Italy); INFN Sezione di Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 6/2, 40127 Bologna (Italy); Beretta, M. [Dipatimento di Fisica, Università di Milano Bicocca, piazza della Scienza 3, 20126 Milano (Italy); INFN Sezione di Milano Bicocca, piazza della Scienza 3, 20126 Milano (Italy); Bonvicini, V. [Dipartimento di Scienza dei Materiali, Università di Milano Bicocca, Via Roberto Cozzi 55, 20126 Milano (Italy); Campana, R. [Università di Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 6/2, 40127 Bologna (Italy); INFN Sezione di Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 6/2, 40127 Bologna (Italy); Evangelista, Y. [INAF - IAPS, Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, I-00133, Roma (Italy); INFN Sezione di Roma Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, I-00133 Roma (Italy); Fasoli, M. [INFN Sezione di Milano Bicocca, piazza della Scienza 3, 20126 Milano (Italy); Dipartimento di Scienza dei Materiali, Università di Milano Bicocca, Via Roberto Cozzi 55, 20126 Milano (Italy); Feroci, M. [INAF - IAPS, Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, I-00133, Roma (Italy); INFN Sezione di Roma Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, I-00133 Roma (Italy); Fuschino, F. [INFN Sezione di Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 6/2, 40127 Bologna (Italy); Università di Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 6/2, 40127 Bologna (Italy); Gironi, L. [Dipatimento di Fisica, Università di Milano Bicocca, piazza della Scienza 3, 20126 Milano (Italy); INFN Sezione di Milano Bicocca, piazza della Scienza 3, 20126 Milano (Italy); and others

2017-02-11

FLARES is an innovative project in the field of rare events searches, such as the search for the neutrinoless double beta decay. It aims at demonstrating the high potential of a technique that combines ultra-pure scintillating crystals with arrays of high performance silicon drift detectors, operated at about 120 K, to reach a 1% level energy resolution. The proposed technique will combine in a single device all the demanding features needed by an ideal experiment looking for rare events. The performance of a first production of matrices of silicon drift detectors as well as first measurements of the low temperature light yield of a selection of high purity scintillating crystals will be presented and discussed.

[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.

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....

Geological events in submerged areas: attributes and standards in the EMODnet Geology Project

Science.gov (United States)

Fiorentino, A.; Battaglini, L.; D'Angelo, S.

2017-12-01

EMODnet Geology is a European Project which promotes the collection and harmonization of marine geological data mapped by various national and regional mapping projects and recovered in the literature, in order to make them freely available through a web portal. Among the several features considered within the Project, "Geological events and probabilities" include submarine landslides, earthquakes, volcanic centers, tsunamis, fluid emissions and Quaternary faults in European Seas. Due to the different geological settings of European sea areas it was necessary to elaborate a comprehensive and detailed pattern of Attributes for the different features in order to represent the diverse characteristics of each occurrence. Datasets consist of shapefiles representing each event at 1:250,000 scale. The elaboration of guidelines to compile the shapefiles and attribute tables was aimed at identifying parameters that should be used to characterize events and any additional relevant information. Particular attention has been devoted to the definition of the Attribute table in order to achieve the best degree of harmonization and standardization according to the European INSPIRE Directive. One of the main objectives is the interoperability of data, in order to offer more complete, error-free and reliable information and to facilitate exchange and re-use of data even between non-homogeneous systems. Metadata and available information collected during the Project is displayed on the Portal (http://www.emodnet-geology.eu/) as polygons, lines and points layers according to their geometry. By combining all these data it might be possible to elaborate additional thematic maps which could support further research as well as land planning and management. A possible application is being experimented by the Geological Survey of Italy - ISPRA which, in cooperation with other Italian institutions contributing to EMODnet Geology, is working at the production of an update for submerged areas

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

Motivating nonscience majors in science and mathematics studies became one of the most interesting and important challenges in contemporary science and mathematics education. Therefore, designing and studying a learning environment, which enhances students' motivation, is an important task. This experimental study sought to explore the implications of student autonomy in topic choice in a project-based Physical Science Course for nonscience majors' on students' motivational orientation. It also suggested and tested a model explaining motivational outcomes of project-based learning environment through increased student ownership of science projects. A project, How Things Work, was designed and implemented in this study. The focus of the project was application of physical science concepts learned in the classroom to everyday life situations. Participants of the study (N = 59) were students enrolled in three selected sections of a Physical Science Course, designed to fulfill science requirements for nonscience majors. These sections were taught by the same instructor over a period of an entire 16-week semester at a large public research university. The study focused on four main variables: student autonomy in choosing a project topic, their motivational orientation, student ownership of the project, and the interest in the project topic. Achievement Goal Orientation theory became the theoretical framework for the study. Student motivational orientation, defined as mastery or performance goal orientation, was measured by an Achievement Goal Orientation Questionnaire. Student ownership was measured using an original instrument, Ownership Measurement Questionnaire, designed and tested by the researchers. Repeated measures yoked design, ANOVA, ANCOVA, and multivariate regression analysis were implemented in the study. Qualitative analysis was used to complement and verify quantitative results. It has been found that student autonomy in the project choice did not make a

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…

Downeast Drainage - Examining and Communicating the Dynamics of Bacteria Pollution Events in the Gulf of Maine

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, S. M.; Brady, D. C.; Cole, K. L.; Jones, S.; McGreavy, B.; Petersen, C.; Rothenheber, D.; Gerard, B.; Roy, S. G.

2015-12-01

The New England Sustainability Consortium is an interdisciplinary NSF EPSCoR funded project organized to strengthen the connections between science and decision-making and to advance the practice of sustainability science. The project uses complementary research capacity at several institutions to examine watershed and estuarine processes linked to bacteria pollution affecting shellfish harvesting and beach water quality in the Gulf of Maine. A fundamental research target is the development of a better approach for the prediction of coastal bacteria pollution events that can cause losses in tourism and shellfishery revenue. Enhanced prediction and communication of the events require a simultaneous examination of watershed pollution sources, drainage systems, estuarine residence times and bacterial survival. Our presentation will summarize initial observations from our investigations and stakeholder engagement activities at two project reference sites located in Wells and Bar Harbor, Maine. These will include field measurements, watershed and estuarine modeling outcomes, and stakeholder engagement results that are framed to quantify and explain land-sea interactions linked to bacterial pollution events in locations with varied relief, hydrodynamics, and stakeholder communities.

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…

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

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...

Using ESSEA Modules, Local Event Studies and Personal Learning Experiences in an Earth Systems Science Course for Preservice Middle School Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Slattery, W.; Brown, D.

2008-12-01

Most science courses, including courses that provide preparation for pre-service K-12 teachers are only taught from a deductive big picture perspective. This method is fine for most abstract learners, but pre- service classroom educators that are being prepared to teach in middle school classrooms will be faced with the challenge of building science content knowledge in students that are concrete learners. For these K-12 students a better pedagogical practice is to use local real-world familiar places, issues and personal experience to connect student learning with more abstract concepts. To make it more likely that teachers have the requisite skills and pedagogical content knowledge to build K- 12 student science concept knowledge and science process skills we have integrated ESSEA modules that connect worldwide issues such as global climate change with local event studies chosen by learners. Some recent examples include how such local events such as landfill fires and suburban sprawl impact the local area's air, land, water and life. Course participants are able to choose a more personal route to understanding how their habits impact the global environment by participating in a three week learning experience called the Lifestyle Project. This experience asks students to incrementally reduce their use of heating or air-conditioning, the amount of waste going to landfills, to conserve electricity, drive less and eat less energy intensively. Pre-post content assessments indicate that students in this course scored significantly higher on post course content assessments and reported that by engaging in personal experience to global scale learning experiences they have a new appreciation for how personal choices impact the global environment and how to use local artifacts and issues to enhance K-12 student learning.

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…

Cosmic rays Monte Carlo simulations for the Extreme Energy Events Project

CERN Document Server

Abbrescia, M; Aiola, S; Antolini, R; Avanzini, C; Baldini Ferroli, R; Bencivenni, G; Bossini, E; Bressan, E; Chiavassa, A; Cicalò, C; Cifarelli, L; Coccia, E; De Gruttola, D; De Pasquale, S; Di Giovanni, A; D'Incecco, M; Dreucci, M; Fabbri, F L; Frolov, V; Garbini, M; Gemme, G; Gnesi, I; Gustavino, C; Hatzifotiadou, D; La Rocca, P; Li, S; Librizzi, F; Maggiora, A; Massai, M; Miozzi, S; Panareo, M; Paoletti, R; Perasso, L; Pilo, F; Piragino, G; Regano, A; Riggi, F; Righini, G C; Sartorelli, G; Scapparone, E; Scribano, A; Selvi, M; Serci, S; Siddi, E; Spandre, G; Squarcia, S; Taiuti, M; Tosello, F; Votano, L; Williams, M C S; Yánez, G; Zichichi, A; Zuyeuski, R

2014-01-01

The Extreme Energy Events Project (EEE Project) is an innovative experiment to study very high energy cosmic rays by means of the detection of the associated air shower muon component. It consists of a network of tracking detectors installed inside Italian High Schools. Each tracking detector, called EEE telescope, is composed of three Multigap Resistive Plate Chambers (MRPCs). At present, 43 telescopes are installed and taking data, opening the way for the detection of far away coincidences over a total area of about 3 × 10 5 km 2 . In this paper we present the Monte Carlo simulations that have been performed to predict the expected coincidence rate between distant EEE telescopes.

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.

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.

A study in the use of the position of discrepant events in the teaching of science

Science.gov (United States)

Frassinelli, John James

The purpose of this study was to determine whether alternative placement of discrepant events would impact affective and cognitive outcomes of ninth-grade physical science students grouped into intact classes and classified as either "high" or "low" in prior academic achievement. Although researchers have found discrepant events to be effective in terms of cognition and recall, their chronological placement within science lessons had not been empirically researched. In this study, discrepant events were presented before, during, and after specific science lessons involving thermodynamics and heat. Discrepant events were withheld from the control group. To measure affective outcomes, the "enjoyment" and "motivation" scales taken from Sandman's (1973) Attitudes Towards Science Inventory (ATSI) were used to index subjects' global feelings about studying science, while a 20-item set of Semantic Differential (SD) scales was employed to determine their attitudes regarding the specific subject matter taught. To measure cognitive outcomes, a 20-item, selected response test was constructed by the researcher, with 6 items intended to assess subjects' knowledge of unit materials, and 14 items designed to query their understanding of unit concepts. Each subject (N = 131) was administered identical forms of each test in both pre-and post-test formats, both before and after the four-week study. Analyzed using a 4 x 2 mixed Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) model, data pertinent to the ATSI suggested neither between- nor within-group differences in subjects' global attitudes about studying science, although data pertinent to the SD scales indicated generally improved attitudes about studying thermodynamics and heat (F (1,122) = 2.759, p < .10). On the cognitive pretests and posttests, significant two-way interactions were observed for the overall test and experimental condition (F (3,121) = 4.068, p < .01), as well as for the overall test and higher prior achievement in physical

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

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.

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

Science.gov (United States)

Moss, David M.

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

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

[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.

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…

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

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.

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

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.

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....

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....

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

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...

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)

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)

[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.

NASA’s Universe of Learning: Engaging Subject Matter Experts to Support Museum Alliance Science Briefings

Science.gov (United States)

Marcucci, Emma; Slivinski, Carolyn; Lawton, Brandon L.; Smith, Denise A.; Squires, Gordon K.; Biferno, Anya A.; Lestition, Kathleen; Cominsky, Lynn R.; Lee, Janice C.; Rivera, Thalia; Walker, Allyson; Spisak, Marilyn

2018-06-01

NASA's Universe of Learning creates and delivers science-driven, audience-driven resources and experiences designed to engage and immerse learners of all ages and backgrounds in exploring the universe for themselves. The project is a unique partnership between the Space Telescope Science Institute, Caltech/IPAC, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, and Sonoma State University and is part of the NASA SMD Science Activation Collective. The NASA’s Universe of Learning projects pull on the expertise of subject matter experts (scientist and engineers) from across the broad range of NASA Astrophysics themes and missions. One such project, which draws strongly on the expertise of the community, is the NASA’s Universe of Learning Science Briefings, which is done in collaboration with the NASA Museum Alliance. This collaboration presents a monthly hour-long discussion on relevant NASA astrophysics topics or events to an audience composed largely of informal educators from informal learning environments. These professional learning opportunities use experts and resources within the astronomical community to support increased interest and engagement of the informal learning community in NASA Astrophysics-related concepts and events. Briefings are designed to create a foundation for this audience using (1) broad science themes, (2) special events, or (3) breaking science news. The NASA’s Universe of Learning team engages subject matter experts to be speakers and present their science at these briefings to provide a direct connection to NASA Astrophysics science and provide the audience an opportunity to interact directly with scientists and engineers involved in NASA missions. To maximize the usefulness of the Museum Alliance Science Briefings, each briefing highlights resources related to the science theme to support informal educators in incorporating science content into their venues and/or interactions with the public. During this

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.

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.

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…

Extreme heat event projections for a coastal megacity

Science.gov (United States)

Ortiz, L. E.; Gonzalez, J.

2017-12-01

As summers become warmer, extreme heat events are expected to increase in intensity, frequency, and duration. Large urban centers may affect these projections by introducing feedbacks between the atmosphere and the built environment through processes involving anthropogenic heat, wind modification, radiation blocking, and others. General circulation models are often run with spatial resolutions in the order of 100 km, limiting their skill at resolving local scale processes and highly spatially varying features such as cities' heterogeneous landscape and mountain topography. This study employs climate simulations using the Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model coupled with a modified multi-layer urban canopy and building energy model to downscale CESM1 at 1 km horizontal resolution across three time slices (2006-2010, 2075-2079, and 2095-2099) and two projections (RCP 4.5 and 8.5). New York City Metropolitan area, with a population of over 20 million and a complex urban canopy, is used as a case study. The urban canopy model of WRF was modified to include a drag coefficient as a function of the building plant area fraction and the introduction of evaporative cooling systems at building roofs to reject the anthropogenic heat from the buildings, with urban canopy parameters computed from the New York City Property Land-Use Tax-lot Output (PLUTO). Model performance is evaluated against the input model and historical records from airport stations, showing improvement in the statistical characteristics in the downscaled model output. Projection results are presented as spatially distributed anomalies in heat wave frequency, duration, and maximum intensity from the 2006-2010 benchmark period. Results show that local sea-breeze circulations mitigate heat wave impacts, following a positive gradient with increasing distance from the coastline. However, end of century RCP 8.5 projections show the possibility of reversal of this pattern, sea surface temperatures increase

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

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.)

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…

Bionergy expertise project in Southern Ostrobothnia; Bioenergia-asiantuntijuutta kehittaemaessae Etelae-Pohjanmaalla

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sivula, A.; Lauhanen, R.; Saarela, A.; Ahtola, T.; Pasila, A.

2013-06-01

The EU has set the goal for the use of renewable energy at 20 percent by the year 2020. The Finnish national goal is 38 percent. This goal has set new challenges for entrepreneurs who are working in the field of bioenergy. Bioenergy is developing all the time and because of this new information should be passed on to persons who are working in the field of bioenergy continuously. Seinajoki University of Applied Sciences (School of Forestry and Agriculture) implemented the bioenergy expertise project (Bioenergia-asiantuntijuuden kehittaeminen tyoeelaemaelaehtoeisesti) during the years 2009 - 2012 in Southern Ostrobothnia of Finland. The bioenergy expertise project developed the Learning Environment in the field of bioenergy, formed a bioenergy professionals' network, activated the bioenergy entrepreneur network, implemented the report on the future needs of bioenergy education, tested and piloted a reference model for information collection using mobile systems with the bioenergy actors, and arranged bioenergy themed events. The Learning Environment can be used to meet the needs of the University of Applied Sciences and by the entrepreneurs in the area. The bioenergy professionals' network is a group of professionals who work in the area of Southern Ostrobothnia. Bioenergy themed events attracted a lot of participants, but the most popular events were the bioenergy fairs, which were arranged in Tuomarniemi and Kurejoki. The arranged events were also useful from the entrepreneurs networking point of view. The bioenergy expertise project was overall a success and the feedback was positive. The permanent results of the project are publications, reports, the bioenergy professionals' network and the new Learning Environment. Seinajoki University of Applied Sciences is hosting the Learning Environment. The bioenergy professionals' network is continuing its activities in Jarvikilta network of professionals, which also have activities in the area of

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.

Automated Feature and Event Detection with SDO AIA and HMI Data

Science.gov (United States)

Davey, Alisdair; Martens, P. C. H.; Attrill, G. D. R.; Engell, A.; Farid, S.; Grigis, P. C.; Kasper, J.; Korreck, K.; Saar, S. H.; Su, Y.; Testa, P.; Wills-Davey, M.; Savcheva, A.; Bernasconi, P. N.; Raouafi, N.-E.; Delouille, V. A.; Hochedez, J. F..; Cirtain, J. W.; Deforest, C. E.; Angryk, R. A.; de Moortel, I.; Wiegelmann, T.; Georgouli, M. K.; McAteer, R. T. J.; Hurlburt, N.; Timmons, R.

The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) represents a new frontier in quantity and quality of solar data. At about 1.5 TB/day, the data will not be easily digestible by solar physicists using the same methods that have been employed for images from previous missions. In order for solar scientists to use the SDO data effectively they need meta-data that will allow them to identify and retrieve data sets that address their particular science questions. We are building a comprehensive computer vision pipeline for SDO, abstracting complete metadata on many of the features and events detectable on the Sun without human intervention. Our project unites more than a dozen individual, existing codes into a systematic tool that can be used by the entire solar community. The feature finding codes will run as part of the SDO Event Detection System (EDS) at the Joint Science Operations Center (JSOC; joint between Stanford and LMSAL). The metadata produced will be stored in the Heliophysics Event Knowledgebase (HEK), which will be accessible on-line for the rest of the world directly or via the Virtual Solar Observatory (VSO) . Solar scientists will be able to use the HEK to select event and feature data to download for science studies.

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...

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.

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

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

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.

Extreme Energy Events Project: Construction of the detectors and installation in Italian High Schools

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abbrescia, M.; An, S.; Antolini, R.; Badala, A.; Baldini Ferroli, R.; Bencivenni, G.; Blanco, F.; Bressan, E.; Chiavassa, A.; Chiri, C.; Cifarelli, L.; Cindolo, F.; Coccia, E.; De Pasquale, S.; Di Giovanni, A.; D'Incecco, M.; Fabbri, F.L.; Frolov, V.; Garbini, M.; Gustavino, C.

2008-01-01

The EEE Project, conceived by its leader Antonino Zichichi, aims to detect Extreme Energy Events of cosmic rays with an array of muon telescopes distributed over the Italian territory. The Project involves Italian High Schools in order to introduce young people to Physics, also countervailing the recent crisis of university scientific classes inscriptions. The detectors for the EEE telescopes are Multigap Resistive Plate Chambers (MRPC) and have been constructed by teams of High School students who went in shift at the CERN laboratories. The mechanics and the electronics were developed by groups of researchers from CERN, the Italian Centro Fermi and INFN. The first group of schools of the EEE Project has inaugurated their telescopes recently. A status report of the Project and the preliminary results are presented

Extreme Energy Events Project: Construction of the detectors and installation in Italian High Schools

CERN Document Server

Abbrescia, M; An, S; Antolini, R; Badalà, A; Baldini Ferroli, R; Bencivenni, G; Blanco, F; Bressan, E; Chiavassa, A; Chiri, C; Cifarelli, L; Cindolo, F; Coccia, E; De Pasquale, S; Di Giovanni, A; D’Incecco, M; Fabbri, F L; Frolov, V; Garbini, M; Gustavino, C; Hatzifotiadou, D; Imponente, G; Kim, J; La Rocca, P; Librizzi, F; Maggiora, A; Menghetti, H; Miozzi, S; Moro, R; Panareo, M; Pappalardo, G S; Piragino, G; Riggi, F; Romano, F; Sartorelli, G; Sbarra, C; Selvi, M; Serci, S; Williams, C; Zuyeuski, R

2008-01-01

The EEE Project, conceived by its leader Antonino Zichichi, aims to detect Extreme Energy Events of cosmic rays with an array of muon telescopes distributed over the Italian territory. The Project involves Italian High Schools in order to introduce young people to Physics, also countervailing the recent crisis of university scientific classes inscriptions. The detectors for the EEE telescopes are Multigap Resistive Plate Chambers (MRPC) and have been constructed by teams of High School students who went in shift at the CERN laboratories. The mechanics and the electronics were developed by groups of researchers from CERN, the Italian Centro Fermi and INFN. The first group of schools of the EEE Project has inaugurated their telescopes recently. A status report of the Project and the preliminary results are presented.

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…

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 ...

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...

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…

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…

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…

Transient events at the magnetopause and bipolar magnetic signatures

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Krupařová, Oksana; Šafránková, J.; Němeček, Z.; Přech, L.

2015-01-01

Roč. 115, September (2015), s. 19-26 ISSN 0032-0633 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA14-19376S; GA ČR GP13-37174P Institutional support: RVO:68378289 Keywords : flux transfer events * magnetopause deformation * magnetosheath * fluctuations * magnetic reconnection * foreshock bubbles Subject RIV: BL - Plasma and Gas Discharge Physics Impact factor: 1.942, year: 2015 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032063315000434#

Setting the Stage for Science in Schools - EIROforum presents the very best of European science teaching

Science.gov (United States)

2005-11-01

Science on Stage web site at 12:00 CET on Friday 25 November. In addition, highlights of the Festival will feature in a new "Science in School" journal, to be launched by EIROforum in 2006. The new journal is dedicated to best teaching materials and practices in Europe. The festival is the final event of a two-year-long programme of events that has taken place in virtually every European country and from which delegates have been selected for their outstanding projects promoting science. The event continues the vastly successful "Physics on Stage" festivals organised by EIROforum organisations in 2000, 2002 and 2003. Journalists are cordially invited to take part in this unique European event. The detailed programme and practical details are available on the Science on Stage web site at http://www.cern.ch/sos

Project and construction of a sequential counter with RAM chips random events

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bertini, J.

1985-01-01

The project and construction of an electronic system to observe random events, which frequency is registered in successive time intervals with predetermined duration time are presented. The system was developed to study decay of radioactive nuclei with half lives is between 10 -6 s and 10 4 s. The chip MOS RAM - 2114 - 2 which is slow and cheap was used. The register time is twc=200ns. (M.C.K.) [pt

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.

World Cup Cities Project: movement by the sport legacy of sporting mega events

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodrigo Pojar Paiva

2013-11-01

Full Text Available The achievement of sporting mega events is configured as an exceptional opportunity for the promotion of sports in the host cities. For this positive legacy to happen it must be previously planned, executed and monitored. This study aimed to present the national structure of the World Cup Cities Project and analyse the results obtained in six host cities of the FIFA World Cup 2014. The results showed that the social and sports legacy was not planned by public managers and there are no systems of control and evaluation of sport in any of the host cities, until the realization of the project World Cup Cities.

STENCIL: Science Teaching European Network for Creativity and Innovation in Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Cattadori, M.; Magrefi, F.

2013-12-01

STENCIL is an european educational project funded with support of the European Commission within the framework of LLP7 (Lifelong Learning Programme) for a period of 3 years (2011 - 2013). STENCIL includes 21 members from 9 European countries (Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, France, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia, Turkey.) working together to contribute to the general objective of improving science teaching, by promoting innovative methodologies and creative solutions. Among the innovative methods adept a particolar interest is a joint partnership between a wide spectrum of type of institutions such as schools, school authorities, research centres, universities, science museums, and other organizations, representing differing perspectives on science education. STENCIL offers to practitioners in science education from all over Europe, a platform; the web portal - www.stencil-science.eu - that provides high visibility to schools and institutions involved in Comenius and other similar European funded projects in science education. STENCIL takes advantage of the positive results achieved by the former European projects STELLA - Science Teaching in a Lifelong Learning Approach (2007 - 2009) and GRID - Growing interest in the development of teaching science (2004-2006). The specific objectives of the project are : 1) to identify and promote innovative practices in science teaching through the publication of Annual Reports on Science Education; 2) to bring together science education practitioners to share different experiences and learn from each other through the organisation of periodical study visits and workshops; 3) to disseminate materials and outcomes coming from previous EU funded projects and from isolated science education initiatives through the STENCIL web portal, as well as through international conferences and national events. This contribution aims at explaining the main features of the project together with the achieved results during the project's 3 year

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

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.

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

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…

FCC study in Science Agora 2017

CERN Multimedia

Tomihisa, Kaoru

2017-01-01

Photos from European Union's participation in Science Agora 2017 in Tokyo. A number of events highlighted the strong collaborative efforts between Europe and Japan at frontier research. The global effort to design a Future Circular Collider was one of the projects presented as it highlights the international nature of modern research and how it transcends boundaries.

Hydrometeorological multi-model ensemble simulations of the 4 November 2011 flash flood event in Genoa, Italy, in the framework of the DRIHM project

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Hally

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The e-Science environment developed in the framework of the EU-funded DRIHM project was used to demonstrate its ability to provide relevant, meaningful hydrometeorological forecasts. This was illustrated for the tragic case of 4 November 2011, when Genoa, Italy, was flooded as the result of heavy, convective precipitation that inundated the Bisagno catchment. The Meteorological Model Bridge (MMB, an innovative software component developed within the DRIHM project for the interoperability of meteorological and hydrological models, is a key component of the DRIHM e-Science environment. The MMB allowed three different rainfall-discharge models (DRiFt, RIBS and HBV to be driven by four mesoscale limited-area atmospheric models (WRF-NMM, WRF-ARW, Meso-NH and AROME and a downscaling algorithm (RainFARM in a seamless fashion. In addition to this multi-model configuration, some of the models were run in probabilistic mode, thus giving a comprehensive account of modelling errors and a very large amount of likely hydrometeorological scenarios (> 1500. The multi-model approach proved to be necessary because, whilst various aspects of the event were successfully simulated by different models, none of the models reproduced all of these aspects correctly. It was shown that the resulting set of simulations helped identify key atmospheric processes responsible for the large rainfall accumulations over the Bisagno basin. The DRIHM e-Science environment facilitated an evaluation of the sensitivity to atmospheric and hydrological modelling errors. This showed that both had a significant impact on predicted discharges, the former being larger than the latter. Finally, the usefulness of the set of hydrometeorological simulations was assessed from a flash flood early-warning perspective.

The SKI-project External events - Phase 2. Estimation of fire frequencies per plant and per building

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poern, K.

1996-08-01

The Swedish-Finnish handbook for initiating event frequencies, I-Book, does not contain any fire frequencies. This matter of fact is not defensible considering the substantial risk contribution caused by fires. In the PSAs performed hitherto the initiating fire frequencies have been determined from case to case. Because data are usually very scarce in these areas it is very important to develop unique definitions, to systematically utilize both international and national experiences and to establish an appropriate statistical estimation method. It is also important to present the accumulated experience such that it can be used for different purposes, not only within PSA but also in the concrete fire preventive work. During phase 1 of the project External Events an inventory was made of existing methods for probabilistic fire analysis in general. During phase 2 of the project it was decided to initialize the work on a complementary handbook, called X-Book, in order to encompass the frequencies of system external events, i.e. initiating events that are caused by events occurring outside the system boundaries. In Version 1 of the X-Book the attention is mainly focussed on the estimation of initiating fire frequencies, per plant and per building. This estimation is basically founded on reports that the power companies have collected for this specific purpose. This report describes the statistical model and method that have been used in the estimation process. The methodological results achieved may, possibly after some modification, be applicable also to other types of system external events

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…

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.

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…

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

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...

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.

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.

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)

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

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…

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

Transformation of soil organics under extreme climate events: a project description

Science.gov (United States)

Blagodatskaya, Evgenia

2017-04-01

Recent climate scenarios predict not only continued global warming but also an increased frequency and intensity of extreme climatic events such as strong changes in temperature and precipitation with unusual regional dynamics. Weather anomalies at European territory of Russia are currently revealed as long-term drought and strong showers in summer and as an increased frequency of soil freezing-thawing cycles. Climate extremes totally change biogeochemical processes and elements cycling both at the ecosystem level and at the level of soil profile mainly affecting soil biota. Misbalance in these processes can cause a reduction of soil carbon stock and an increase of greenhouse gases emission. Our project aims to reveal the transformation mechanisms of soil organic matter caused by extreme weather events taking into consideration the role of biotic-abiotic interactions in regulation of formation, maintenance and turnover of soil carbon stock. Our research strategy is based on the novel concept considering extreme climatic events (showers after long-term droughts, soil flooding, freezing-thawing) as abiotic factors initiating a microbial succession. Study on stoichiometric flexibility of plants under climate extremes as well as on resulting response of soil heterotrophs on stoichiometric changes in substrate will be used for experimental prove and further development of the theory of ecological stoichiometry. The results enable us to reveal the mechanisms of biotic - abiotic interactions responsible for the balance between mobilization and stabilization of soil organic matter. Identified mechanisms will form the basis of an ecosystem model enabled to predict the effects of extreme climatic events on biogenic carbon cycle in the biosphere.

"EARTH: The Operators' Manual" - a hybrid model (TV+online+in-person) to effectively communicate climate change science alongside sustainable energy solutions

Science.gov (United States)

Haines-stiles, G.; Alley, R. B.; Akuginow, E.

2011-12-01

Recent public opinion surveys have found that Americans underestimate the degree of agreement by climate scientists about global warming and climate change, and - despite growing evidence of ice sheet loss, ocean acidification, sea level rise and extreme weather events - believe less in warming trends in 2011 than they did earlier. The issue has become politicized and controversial. "EARTH: The Operators' Manual" is an informal science education project supported by NSF, the National Science Foundation. Its ambitious goal is to use a hybrid mix of broadcast programs appearing on public television and hosted by Penn State geoscientist, Richard Alley, together with on-site outreach events and online resources and tools, to present core climate science in engaging ways, and to combine that presentation of objective research with an overview of sustainable energy solutions. The project's content and communication strategies have been shaped in response to analyses of public opinion such as the SIX AMERICAS study and aim to address common "skeptic" arguments and share essential climate science. Social science research has also found that audiences seem more open to scientific information where the possibility of a positive response is also offered. The first hour-long PBS program aired nationally in April 2011, has since been re-broadcast, and is also available online. Two more programs will air in 2012, and the presentation at the Fall AGU Conference will preview segments from both programs. Five regionally-diverse science centers (in San Diego, Raleigh NC, St. Paul MN, Fort Worth TX and Portland OR) have hosted outreach events, with Richard Alley and other project participants, and will continue with additional activities through summer 2012. The project's website includes video clips, case studies of energy-saving initiatives world-wide and across the USA, plus an interactive "Energy Gauge" inviting users to assess their current Home, Travel, Food, and Goods and

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

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…

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.

Convolutional neural networks applied to neutrino events in a liquid argon time projection chamber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Acciarri, R.; Adams, C.; An, R.; Asaadi, J.; Auger, M.

2017-01-01

Here, we present several studies of convolutional neural networks applied to data coming from the MicroBooNE detector, a liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC). The algorithms studied include the classification of single particle images, the localization of single particle and neutrino interactions in an image, and the detection of a simulated neutrino event overlaid with cosmic ray backgrounds taken from real detector data. These studies demonstrate the potential of convolutional neural networks for particle identification or event detection on simulated neutrino interactions. Lastly, we also address technical issues that arise when applying this technique to data from a large LArTPC at or near ground level.

Convolutional neural networks applied to neutrino events in a liquid argon time projection chamber

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Acciarri, R.; Adams, C.; An, R.; Asaadi, J.; Auger, M.; Bagby, L.; Baller, B.; Barr, G.; Bass, M.; Bay, F.; Bishai, M.; Blake, A.; Bolton, T.; Bugel, L.; Camilleri, L.; Caratelli, D.; Carls, B.; Fernandez, R. Castillo; Cavanna, F.; Chen, H.; Church, E.; Cianci, D.; Collin, G. H.; Conrad, J. M.; Convery, M.; Crespo-Anad?n, J. I.; Del Tutto, M.; Devitt, D.; Dytman, S.; Eberly, B.; Ereditato, A.; Sanchez, L. Escudero; Esquivel, J.; Fleming, B. T.; Foreman, W.; Furmanski, A. P.; Garvey, G. T.; Genty, V.; Goeldi, D.; Gollapinni, S.; Graf, N.; Gramellini, E.; Greenlee, H.; Grosso, R.; Guenette, R.; Hackenburg, A.; Hamilton, P.; Hen, O.; Hewes, J.; Hill, C.; Ho, J.; Horton-Smith, G.; James, C.; de Vries, J. Jan; Jen, C. -M.; Jiang, L.; Johnson, R. A.; Jones, B. J. P.; Joshi, J.; Jostlein, H.; Kaleko, D.; Karagiorgi, G.; Ketchum, W.; Kirby, B.; Kirby, M.; Kobilarcik, T.; Kreslo, I.; Laube, A.; Li, Y.; Lister, A.; Littlejohn, B. R.; Lockwitz, S.; Lorca, D.; Louis, W. C.; Luethi, M.; Lundberg, B.; Luo, X.; Marchionni, A.; Mariani, C.; Marshall, J.; Caicedo, D. A. Martinez; Meddage, V.; Miceli, T.; Mills, G. B.; Moon, J.; Mooney, M.; Moore, C. D.; Mousseau, J.; Murrells, R.; Naples, D.; Nienaber, P.; Nowak, J.; Palamara, O.; Paolone, V.; Papavassiliou, V.; Pate, S. F.; Pavlovic, Z.; Porzio, D.; Pulliam, G.; Qian, X.; Raaf, J. L.; Rafique, A.; Rochester, L.; von Rohr, C. Rudolf; Russell, B.; Schmitz, D. W.; Schukraft, A.; Seligman, W.; Shaevitz, M. H.; Sinclair, J.; Snider, E. L.; Soderberg, M.; S?ldner-Rembold, S.; Soleti, S. R.; Spentzouris, P.; Spitz, J.; St. John, J.; Strauss, T.; Szelc, A. M.; Tagg, N.; Terao, K.; Thomson, M.; Toups, M.; Tsai, Y. -T.; Tufanli, S.; Usher, T.; Van de Water, R. G.; Viren, B.; Weber, M.; Weston, J.; Wickremasinghe, D. A.; Wolbers, S.; Wongjirad, T.; Woodruff, K.; Yang, T.; Zeller, G. P.; Zennamo, J.; Zhang, C.

2017-03-01

We present several studies of convolutional neural networks applied to data coming from the MicroBooNE detector, a liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC). The algorithms studied include the classification of single particle images, the localization of single particle and neutrino interactions in an image, and the detection of a simulated neutrino event overlaid with cosmic ray backgrounds taken from real detector data. These studies demonstrate the potential of convolutional neural networks for particle identification or event detection on simulated neutrino interactions. We also address technical issues that arise when applying this technique to data from a large LArTPC at or near ground level.

Critical thinking of destabilizing interpretations of events and phenomena: the role of economic sciences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Тетяна Андріївна Непокупна

2015-03-01

Full Text Available This article analyzes the global transformations and their impact on the main society life; the specifics of modern interpretations of events and phenomena, their destabilizing effects on behavior, health and life of humans; the role of economic sciences in the formation of critical thinking as a means of combating ignorance and propaganda, formation of an objective world view that grounded on knowledge

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.

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…

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…

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…

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.

Waking-up to Science!

Science.gov (United States)

2007-03-01

our genes", says Potočnik. "Unfortunately it tends to die away when we grow up. This is because the ways we raise and educate our children and the ways we work and live do not always support innovative thinking and doing. We cannot change this overnight. But I think it is worth making the effort to awaken this dormant passion and initiatives like Science on Stage can be a very effective alarm clock", he adds. The festival will close with the presentation of the European Science Teaching Awards. The teaching materials and methods voted to be the best in Europe will then be presented in the 'Science in School' magazine, distributed free of charge to 30,000 teachers in Europe. The festival is the climax of a two-year programme of events organised in virtually every European country and from which delegates have been selected for their outstanding projects for promoting science. The winners of ESO's Catch a Star! 2007 contest will also be announced during the Science on Stage festival. The event follows on from the hugely successful 'Physics on Stage' and 'Science on Stage' festivals organised by EIROforum in 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2005. Journalists are cordially invited to take part in this unique European event. Practical information, including the detailed festival programme, is available on the Science on Stage web site at http://www.ill.fr/scienceonstage2007. A detailed press kit is available at http://www.ill.fr/scienceonstage2007/fichiers/SOSpresskit.pdf

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)

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.

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…

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.

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.

Lightweight Advertising and Scalable Discovery of Services, Datasets, and Events Using Feedcasts

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, B. D.; Ramachandran, R.; Movva, S.

2010-12-01

Broadcast feeds (Atom or RSS) are a mechanism for advertising the existence of new data objects on the web, with metadata and links to further information. Users then subscribe to the feed to receive updates. This concept has already been used to advertise the new granules of science data as they are produced (datacasting), with browse images and metadata, and to advertise bundles of web services (service casting). Structured metadata is introduced into the XML feed format by embedding new XML tags (in defined namespaces), using typed links, and reusing built-in Atom feed elements. This “infocasting” concept can be extended to include many other science artifacts, including data collections, workflow documents, topical geophysical events (hurricanes, forest fires, etc.), natural hazard warnings, and short articles describing a new science result. The common theme is that each infocast contains machine-readable, structured metadata describing the object and enabling further manipulation. For example, service casts contain type links pointing to the service interface description (e.g., WSDL for SOAP services), service endpoint, and human-readable documentation. Our Infocasting project has three main goals: (1) define and evangelize micro-formats (metadata standards) so that providers can easily advertise their web services, datasets, and topical geophysical events by adding structured information to broadcast feeds; (2) develop authoring tools so that anyone can easily author such service advertisements, data casts, and event descriptions; and (3) provide a one-stop, Google-like search box in the browser that allows discovery of service, data and event casts visible on the web, and services & data registered in the GEOSS repository and other NASA repositories (GCMD & ECHO). To demonstrate the event casting idea, a series of micro-articles—with accompanying event casts containing links to relevant datasets, web services, and science analysis workflows--will be

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.

Beauty and science in a shot

Science.gov (United States)

Ciceri, Piera

2017-04-01

Taking pictures has become a daily action for young. Photography is an essential component of many areas of science, has played a crucial role in the study of anatomy, botany, archeology, ... Still today it is a "scientific tool" in the school textbooks: pictures describe, make reality larger or smaller, faster or slower, show evidence and experimental results. But a photograph has the ability to move, engage and inspire viewers. That means that a photograph can build an emotional bridge between science and people. People and students can get closer to science through beautiful, evocative and expressive shot. In this project students are involved in taking pictures with a scientific and aesthetic content looking around, setting an experiment, watching nature, playing with light, point of wiew, colors and perspective. They have to write a short text and a title that explains the scientific content, why and how they have taken the picture. Both description and title should let increase curiosity, could looks fun or stress artistic aspects. Student show their shots in an official public event in Milan managed by a committee of science and photograph experts and in a local event to parents and local community. "Shots of science" is a project promoted by the italian national association "Scienza under 18", the Physic Department of "Università degli Studi di Milano" and the "Museo di fotografia contemporanea" of Cinisello Balsamo (MI) that help students in discussing about scientific and artistic aspects of their shots. This project contributes to develop digital skills (such as to manage digital images, to share documents, to learn about copyright and creative commons license), communication skills (such as to write a caption, public speaking, to use a picture to communicate), collaboration skills (such as to work with pairs, to respect scheduled times, to be positive in giving and taking into account suggestions) and artistic skills (to learn how to compose a good

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.

"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.

Popularizing Natural Sciences by Means of Scientific Fair

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin Cápay

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Science popularization is demanding from the financial as well as the time point of view. It is necessary to find the premises that would be easily available to general public. Another important step is to promote the event so that it would attract the audience. The preparation of scientific experiments itself also requires some financial resources. If we want to take advantage of these resources in the most useful and effective way, we have to find answers to the question: “What, where and how do we want to popularise?” In the paper, we describe one-day project aimed to popularization of scientific fields carried out by eight departments of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra. The project was named Scientific Fair – Science you can see, hear and experience. Its main goal was to present seven scientific fields - Physics, Informatics, Mathematics, Geography, Ecology, Chemistry and Biology. Popularization was carried out as experimental interactive activities unveiling the undisclosed corners of science. Their aim was to inspire the audience, arouse their interest in science and motivate the participants to cognitive activities. We introduce the idea of the project in detail concentrating mainly on informatics realized by the Department of Informatics.

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 .

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…

The James Webb STEM Innovation Project: Bringing JWST to the Education Community

Science.gov (United States)

Eisenhamer, Bonnie; Harris, J.; Ryer, H.; Taylor, J.; Bishop, M.

2012-01-01

Building awareness of a NASA mission prior to launch and connecting that mission to the education community can be challenging. In order to address this challenge, the Space Telescope Science Institute's Office of Public Outreach has developed the James Webb STEM innovation Project (SIP) - an interdisciplinary project that focuses on the engineering aspects and potential scientific discoveries of JWST, while incorporating elements of project-based learning. Students in participating schools will use skills from multiple subject areas to research an aspect of the JWST's design or potential science and create models, illustrated essays, or technology-based projects to demonstrate their learning. Student projects will be showcased during special events at select venues in the project states - thus allowing parents and community members to also be benefactors of the project. Currently, the SIP is being piloted in New York, California, and Maryland. In addition, we will be implementing the SIP in partnership with NASA Explorer Schools in the states of New Mexico, Michigan, Texas, Tennessee, and Iowa.

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.

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

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)

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.

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...

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...

Moving People from Science Adjacent to Science Doers with Twitch.tv

Science.gov (United States)

Gay, Pamela L.; CosmoQuest

2017-10-01

The CosmoQuest community is testing the ability to attract people from playing online videogames to doing fully online citizen science by engaging people through the Twitch.tv streaming platform. Twitch.tv launched in 2011 as an online platform for video gamers to stream their gameplay while providing narrative. In its six years of regular growth, the platform has added support for people playing non-video games, and for those participating in non-game activities. As part of their expansion, in April 2017, Twitch.tv hosted a science week during which they streamed the Cosmos series and allowed different feeds provide real-time commentary. They also hosted panel discussions on a variety of science topics. CosmoQuest participated in this event and used it as a jumping off point for beginning to interact with Twitch.tv community members online. With CosmoQuest’s beta launch of Image Detectives, they expanded their use of this streaming platform to include regular “office hours”, during which team members did science with CosmoQuest’s online projects, took questions from community members, and otherwise promoted the CosmoQuest community. This presentation examines this case study, and looks at how well different kinds of Twitter engagements attracted audiences, the conversion rate from viewer to subscriber, and at how effectively CosmoQuest was able to migrate users from viewing citizen science on Twitch.tv to participating in citizen science on CosmoQuest.org.This project was supported through NASA cooperative agreement NNX17AD20A.

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…

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.

Projections of Heat Waves Events in the Intra-Americas Region Using Multimodel Ensemble

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moises Angeles-Malaspina

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Significant accelerated warming of the Sea Surface Temperature of 0.15°C per decade (1982–2012 was recently detected, which motivated the research for the present consequences and future projections on the heat index and heat waves in the intra-Americas region. Present records every six hours are retrieved from NCEP reanalysis (1948–2015 to calculate heat waves changes. Heat index intensification has been detected in the region since 1998 and driven by surface pressure changes, sinking air enhancement, and warm/weaker cold advection. This regional warmer atmosphere leads to heat waves intensification with changes in both frequency and maximum amplitude distribution. Future projections using a multimodel ensemble mean for five global circulation models were used to project heat waves in the future under two scenarios: RCP4.5 and RCP8.5. Massive heat waves events were projected at the end of the 21st century, particularly in the RCP8.5 scenario. Consequently, the regional climate change in the current time and in the future will require special attention to mitigate the more intense and frequent heat waves impacts on human health, countries’ economies, and energy demands in the IAR.

Evolution of extreme temperature events in short term climate projection for Iberian Peninsula.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodriguez, Alfredo; Tarquis, Ana M.; Sanchez, Enrique; Dosio, Alessandro; Ruiz-Ramos, Margarita

2014-05-01

Extreme events of maximum and minimum temperatures are a main hazard for agricultural production in Iberian Peninsula. For this purpose, in this study we analyze projections of their evolution that could be valid for the next decade, represented in this study by the 30-year period 2004-2034 (target period). For this purpose two kinds of data were used in this study: 1) observations from the station network of AEMET (Spanish National Meteorological Agency) for five Spanish locations, and 2) simulated data at a resolution of 50 ×50 km horizontal grid derived from the outputs of twelve Regional Climate Models (RCMs) taken from project ENSEMBLES (van der Linden and Mitchell, 2009), with a bias correction (Dosio and Paruolo, 2011; Dosio et al., 2012) regarding the observational dataset Spain02 (Herrera et al., 2012). To validate the simulated climate, the available period of observations was compared to a baseline period (1964-1994) of simulated climate for all locations. Then, to analyze the changes for the present/very next future, probability of extreme temperature events for 2004-2034 were compared to that of the baseline period. Although only minor changes are expected, small variations in variability may have a significant impact in crop performance. The objective of the work is to evaluate the utility of these short term projections for potential users, as for instance insurance companies. References Dosio A. and Paruolo P., 2011. Bias correction of the ENSEMBLES high-resolution climate change projections for use by impact models: Evaluation on the present climate. Journal of Geophysical Research, VOL. 116,D16106, doi:10.1029/2011JD015934 Dosio A., Paruolo P. and Rojas R., 2012. Bias correction of the ENSEMBLES high resolution climate change projections for use by impact models: Analysis of the climate change signal. Journal of Geophysical Research,Volume 117, D17, doi: 0.1029/2012JD017968 Herrera et. al. (2012) Development and Analysis of a 50 year high

[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…

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.)

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

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

Teaching Outside the Box: Challenging Gifted Students with Polar Sciences Without Benefit of a Science Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Dooley, J.

2013-12-01

In the high-stakes-testing world of one-size-fits-most educational practices, it is often the needs of the most able students that are unmet, yet these high ability learners can benefit greatly from exploration in the area of polar science. With school schedules and budgets already stretched to the breaking point and Common Core (CCSS) subjects are the focus, very few resources remain for topics considered by some as unimportant. Polar and climate science are prime examples. Here, a council member of Polar Educators International and Gifted Education Teacher, shares resources and ideas to engage this unique group of students and others. She draws from experiences and knowledge gained through ANDRILL's Arise Educator program, IPY Oslo and Montreal PolarEDUCATOR workshops, and Consortium for Ocean Leadership's Deep Earth Academy. Topics include School-wide Enrichment through use of ANDRILL's Flexhibit material and participation in Antarctica Day, afterschool Deep Freeze clubs that presented in public outreach venues for polar science events at the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore and NYC's Museum of Natural History, group project work using IODP core data from Antarctica, interaction with polar scientists via Skype, and other projects.

Designing Alternative Transport Methods for the Distributed Data Collection of ATLAS EventIndex Project

CERN Document Server

Fernandez Casani, Alvaro; The ATLAS collaboration

2016-01-01

One of the key and challenging tasks of the ATLAS EventIndex project is to index and catalog all the produced events not only at CERN but also at hundreds of worldwide grid sites, and convey the data in real time to a central Hadoop instance at CERN. While this distributed data collection is currently operating correctly in production, there are some issues that might impose performance bottlenecks in the future, with an expected rise in the event production and reprocessing rates. In this work, we first describe the current approach based on a messaging system, which conveys the data from the sources to the central catalog, and we identify some weaknesses of this system. Then, we study a promising alternative transport method based on an object store, presenting a performance comparison with the current approach, and the architectural design changes needed to adapt the system to the next run of the ATLAS experiment at CERN.

An informatics structure for the component event data bank of the ERDS feasibility project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Capobianchi, S.; Borella, A.

1980-01-01

The development of the ERDS involves complex problems in organisation and data processing and it has therefore been decided to proceed by means of pilot experiments in order to test in practice the proposed solutions. The first experiment is concerned with the development of a computerised model for collecting, handling and retrieving raw data events through an experimental Component Event Data Bank (CEDB). With CEDB this refers to organised information related to events such as failures, repairs, maintenance actions etc., concerning major LWR components of which the technical specification, operational requirements and environmental conditions are specified in detail. This pilot experiment is indeed the most challenging in the framework of the ERDS feasibility project. It is foreseen that the raw data will be supplied by national European data banks using forms and codes proper to each of them. The conversion and standardisation of these data into homogeneous 'European' codes and classifications is for the most part automatically performed. (author)

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…

The MPPC project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rohrbach, F.

1993-01-01

We report on the work done in massively parallel processing with a view to studying possible solutions for extracting interesting high-energy physics particle events at future high-luminosity hadronic colliders operating in the TeV energy domain. We concentrate on a special Single Instruction Multiple Data (SIMD) architecture: the Associative String Processor (ASP). The Massively Parallel Processing Collaboration (MPPC) Project, grouping nine European institutes, was launched by CERN to carry out this RandD programme. This report, written by partners of the MPPC collaboration, describes the main results achieved at the end of the project: construction of ASP machines, parallel software development and application studies in high-energy physics and in other fields of science. A final, positive assessment of the ASP concept has been made by the Collaboration. (orig.)

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...

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.

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.

Project BudBurst - Meeting the Needs of Climate Change Educators and Scientists

Science.gov (United States)

Henderson, S.

2015-12-01

It is challenging for many to get a sense of what climate change means as long periods of time are involved - like decades - which can be difficult to grasp. However, there are a number of citizen science based projects, including NEON's Project BudBurst, that provide the opportunity for both learning about climate change and advancing scientific knowledge. In this presentation, we will share lessons learned from Project BudBurst. Project BudBurst is a national citizen science initiative designed to engage the public in observations of phenological (plant life cycle) events and to increase climate literacy. Project BudBurst is important from an educational perspective, but also because it enables 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. It was important to better understand if and how Project BudBurst is meeting its goals. Specifically, does participation by non-experts advance scientific knowledge? Does participation advance educational goals and outcomes? Is participation an effective approach to advance/enhance science education in both formal and informal settings? Critical examination of Project BudBurst supports advancement of scientific knowledge and realization of educational objectives. Citizen science collected observations and measurements are being used by scientists as evidenced by the increase of such data in scientific publication. In addition, we found that there is a significant increase in educators utilizing citizen science as part of their instruction. Part of this increase is due to the resources and professional development materials available to educators. Working with partners also demonstrated that the needs of both science and

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

What's science? Where's science? Science journalism in German print media.

Science.gov (United States)

Summ, Annika; Volpers, Anna-Maria

2016-10-01

This article examines the current state of science coverage in German print media. It deals with the following questions: (1) how the main characteristics of science journalism can be described, (2) whether there is a difference between various scientific fields, and (3) how different definitions of science journalism lead to differing findings. Two forms of science coverage were analyzed in a standardized, two-part content analysis of German newspapers (N = 1730 and N = 1640). The results show a significant difference between a narrow and a broad definition of science journalism. In the classic understanding, science journalism is prompted by scientific events and is rather noncritical. Science coverage in a broad sense is defined by a wider range of journalistic styles, driven by non-scientific events, and with a focus on the statements of scientific experts. Furthermore, the study describes the specific role of the humanities and social sciences in German science coverage. © The Author(s) 2015.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-07-27

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

The 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.

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.

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

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

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

The Education and Outreach Project of ATLAS - A New Participant in Physics Education

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barnett, R. Michael; Johansson, K. Erik

2006-01-01

The ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN has a substantial collaborative Education and Outreach project. This article describes its activities and how it promotes physics to students around the world. With the extraordinary possibility to make groundbreaking discoveries, the ATLAS Experiment [1] at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN can play an important role in promoting contemporary physics at school. For many years ATLAS has had a substantial collaborative Education and Outreach (E and O) project in which physicists from various parts of the world take part. When the experiment begins in 2007, students from around the world will be analyzing data using cutting-edge technology. The unprecedented collision energies of the Large Hadron Collider allow ATLAS to decode the 'events' that unfold after the head-on collisions of protons (Fig. 1). The scientific results from these events will reveal much about the basic nature of matter, energy, space, and time. Students and others will be excited as they try to find events that may be signs for dark matter, extra dimensions of space, mini-black holes, string theory, and other fundamental discoveries. Science education and outreach and the promotion of awareness and appreciation of physics research have become important tasks for the research community and should be recognized as a natural and logical part of science research and as an important link between research and society. To be successful these activities have to be done in a systematic and professional way. Leading scientists together with multimedia experts can form a powerful team with teachers and educators in disseminating physics information to school and universities. The ATLAS collaboration has fully recognized the importance of education and outreach. The ATLAS E and O project can be a model for today's large science experiments in promoting science at schools and universities

The Education and Outreach Project of ATLAS - A New Participant inPhysics Education

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barnett, R. Michael; Johansson, K. Erik

2006-04-15

The ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN has a substantial collaborative Education and Outreach project. This article describes its activities and how it promotes physics to students around the world. With the extraordinary possibility to make groundbreaking discoveries, the ATLAS Experiment [1] at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN can play an important role in promoting contemporary physics at school. For many years ATLAS has had a substantial collaborative Education and Outreach (E&O) project in which physicists from various parts of the world take part. When the experiment begins in 2007, students from around the world will be analyzing data using cutting-edge technology. The unprecedented collision energies of the Large Hadron Collider allow ATLAS to decode the 'events' that unfold after the head-on collisions of protons (Fig. 1). The scientific results from these events will reveal much about the basic nature of matter, energy, space, and time. Students and others will be excited as they try to find events that may be signs for dark matter, extra dimensions of space, mini-black holes, string theory, and other fundamental discoveries. Science education and outreach and the promotion of awareness and appreciation of physics research have become important tasks for the research community and should be recognized as a natural and logical part of science research and as an important link between research and society. To be successful these activities have to be done in a systematic and professional way. Leading scientists together with multimedia experts can form a powerful team with teachers and educators in disseminating physics information to school and universities. The ATLAS collaboration has fully recognized the importance of education and outreach. The ATLAS E&O project can be a model for today's large science experiments in promoting science at schools and universities.

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…

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

Most large-river restoration projects include formal or informal implementations of adaptive management strategies which acknowledge uncertainty and use scientific inquiry to learn and refine management options. Although the central role of science in reducing uncertainty is acknowledged in such projects, specific roles and interactions can vary widely, including how science relates to decision-making within the governance of these projects. Our objective is to present some structured generalizations about science roles and interactions as developed from the authors’ experiences in adaptive management of large river restoration in the Midwest United States. Scientific information may be introduced into decision making by scientists acting in any of the three roles common to adaptive management -- action agency representative, stakeholder, or science provider. We have observed that confusion and gridlock can arise when it is unclear if a scientist is acting as an advocate for a stakeholder or management position, or instead as an independent, “honest broker” of science. Although both advocacy and independence are proper and expected in public decision making, it is useful when scientists unambiguously identify their role. While complete scientific independence may be illusory, transparency and peer review can promote the ideal. Transparency comes from setting clear directions and objectives at the decision-making level and defining at the outset how learning will help assess progress and inform decisions. Independent peer reviews of proposals, study plans, and publications serve as a powerful tool to advance scientific independence, even if funding sources present a potential conflict of interest. Selection of experts for scientific advice and review often requires consideration of the balance between benefits of the “outside” expert (independent, knowledgeable but with little specific understanding of the river system), compared to those provided by the �

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.

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.

Best Practices in Pulic Outreach Events

Science.gov (United States)

Cobb, Whitney; Buxner, Sanlyn; Shipp, Stephanie

2015-11-01

IntroductionEach year the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) sponsors public outreach events designed to increase student, educator, and general public engagement in its missions and goals. NASA SMD Education’s review of large-scale events, “Best Practices in Outreach Events,” highlighted planning and implementation best practices, which were used by the Dawn mission to strategize and implement its Ceres arrival celebration event, i C Ceres.BackgroundThe literature review focused on best identifying practices rising from evaluations of large-scale public outreach events. The following criteria guided the study:* Public, science-related events open to adults and children* Events that occurred during the last 5 years* Evaluations that included information on data collected from visitors and/or volunteers* Evaluations that specified the type of data collected, methodology, and associated resultsBest Practices: Planning and ImplementationThe literature review revealed key considerations for planning implement large-scale events. Best practices included can be pertinent for all event organizers and evaluators regardless of event size. A summary of related best practices is presented below.1) Advertise the event2) Use and advertise access to scientists* Attendees who reported an interaction with a science professional were 15% to 19% more likely to report positive learning impacts, (SFA, 2012, p. 24).3) Recruit scientists using findings such as:* High percentages of scientists (85% to 96%) from most events were interested in participating again (SFA, 2012).4) Ensure that the event is group and, particularly, child friendly5) Target specific event outcomesBest Practices Informing Real-world Planning, Implementation and EvaluationDawn mission’s collaborative design of a series of events, i C Ceres, including in-person, interactive events geared to families and live presentations, will be shared, with focus on the family event, and the evidence

Rare events: a state of the art

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uppuluri, V.R.R.

1980-12-01

The study of rare events has become increasingly important in the context of nuclear safety. Some philosophical considerations, such as the framework for the definition of a rare event, rare events and science, rare events and trans-science, and rare events and public perception, are discussed. The technical work of the Task Force on problems of Rare Events in the Reliability Analysis of Nuclear Plants (1976-1978), sponsored by OECD, is reviewed. Some recent technical considerations are discussed, and conclusions are drawn. The appendix contains an essay written by Anne E. Beachey, under the title: A Study of Rare Events - Problems and Promises

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.

Extreme Weather Events and Climate Change Attribution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thomas, Katherine [National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC (United States)

2016-03-31

A report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine concludes it is now possible to estimate the influence of climate change on some types of extreme events. The science of extreme event attribution has advanced rapidly in recent years, giving new insight to the ways that human-caused climate change can influence the magnitude or frequency of some extreme weather events. This report examines the current state of science of extreme weather attribution, and identifies ways to move the science forward to improve attribution capabilities. Confidence is strongest in attributing types of extreme events that are influenced by climate change through a well-understood physical mechanism, such as, the more frequent heat waves that are closely connected to human-caused global temperature increases, the report finds. Confidence is lower for other types of events, such as hurricanes, whose relationship to climate change is more complex and less understood at present. For any extreme event, the results of attribution studies hinge on how questions about the event's causes are posed, and on the data, modeling approaches, and statistical tools chosen for the analysis.

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

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...

A Modern Explorer's Journey - using events for innovative multipurpose educational outreach

Science.gov (United States)

Lilja Bye, Bente

2014-05-01

Earth observations are important across the specter of geo-sciences. The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) is coordinating efforts to build a Global Earth Observation System of Systems, or GEOSS. The lack of dedicated funding to support specific Science &Technology activities in support of GEOSS is one of the most important obstacles to engaging the Science &Technology communities in its implementation. Finding resources to outreach and capacity building is likewise a challenge. The continuation of GEO and GEOSS rely on political support which again is influenced by public opinions. The GEO Ministerial Summit in 2014 was an event that both needed visibility and represented an opportunity to mobilize the GEO community in producing outreach and educational material. Through the combined resources from two of GEO tasks in the GEO work plan, a multipurpose educational outreach project was planned and executed. This project addressed the following issues: How can the GEO community mobilize resources for its work plan projects in the Societal Benefit Area Water? How can we produce more educational and capacity building material? How can the GEO community support the GEO secretariat related to public relations (material and otherwise) Based on activities described in the GEO work plan, a showcase video and online campaign consisting on a series of webinars were developed and produced. The video and webinars were linked through a common reference: the water cycle. Various aspects of the water cycle ranging from general to more technical and scientific education were covered in the webinars, while the video called A Modern Explorer's Journey focused on story telling with a more emotional appeal. The video was presented to the Ministers at the GEO Ministerial Summit and distributed widely to the GEO community and through social media and articles (as embedded YouTube and more). A discussion of challenges and successes of this event-based educational outreach project will be

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…

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…

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…