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The article focuses on the book "Critical Heuristics of Social Planning. A New Approach to Practical Philosophy." The book focuses on critical system thinking. After 18 years it is Ulrich who in his paper' criticizes total systems intervention (TSI). He criticizes TSI approach because it limits its critical efforts in the choice of methodology. If the choice turns out to be a hard or soft method, then it is conducted in its own paradigm. Ulrich labels TSI as shallow methodological complementarianism.

Focuses on Japan's Science and Technology Agency's 1995 White Paper on Science and Technology. Factors that contribute to Japan's postwar growth; Emphasis on creativity and originality in science and technology; Building excellence through centers of excellence.

COVID-19, Royal Society, future, research, science, expertise, communications In the important collection of papers presented here, we are able to profile work of researchers from diverse academic disciplines including public health, data modelling, psychology, law, philosophy and communications amongst others. Keywords: COVID-19; Royal Society; future; research; science; expertise; communications EN COVID-19 Royal Society future research science expertise communications S1 S3 3 05/11/21 20210302 NES 210302 It is now over a year since the first case of COVID-19 was identified in Aotearoa New Zealand. [Extracted from the article]

In the paper, the author reviews various uses of the term emergent property and summarizes the meaning of emergent property as understood in systems theory. Having examined the non-trivial similarities between systems thinking and the phenomenological approach, the author concludes that the study of phenomenology promises to be the most fruitful line of research for systems thinking. He may well be right but it also seems possible that philosophical pragmatism could provide another rich vein for systems researchers.

The article focuses on the paper discussing topics related to the development of modern data analysis. The paper presents several analyses of one particular dataset and tackles on the digitization of the engineering sciences including seismic records and speech while other topics talked about explanatory data analysis.

The paper motivates, presents, demonstrates in use, and evaluates a methodology for conducting design science (DS) research in information systems (IS). DS is of importance in a discipline oriented to the creation of successful artifacts. Several researchers have pioneered DS research in IS, yet over the past 15 years, little DS research has been done within the discipline. The lack of a methodology to serve as a commonly accepted framework for DS research and of a template for its presentation may have contributed to its slow adoption. The design science research methodology (DSRM) presented here incorporates principles, practices, and procedures required to carry out such research and meets three objectives: it is consistent with prior literature, it provides a nominal process model for doing DS research, and it provides a mental model for presenting and evaluating DS research in IS. The DS process includes six steps: problem identification and motivation, definition of the objectives for a solution, design and development, demonstration, evaluation, and communication. We demonstrate and evaluate the methodology by presenting four case studies in terms of the DSRM, including cases that present the design of a database to support health assessment methods, a software reuse measure, an Internet video telephony application, and an IS planning method. The designed methodology effectively satisfies the three objectives and has the potential to help aid the acceptance of DS research in the IS discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a view of research and development absorptive capacity from a Māori perspective. The assessment is part of a case study of a longitudinal programme - Science for Technological Innovation: Kia kotahi mai - Te Ao Putaiao me te Ao Hanagarau that aims to increase Aotearoa New Zealand's capacity to use sci-tech for economic benefit. The paper finds that while Aotearoa New Zealand's macro policy and meso institutional levels have become more responsive to Māori research and development demands, at the micro level of the individual or the firm there are still constraints given the small numbers of Māori in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. In response to this, a novel model of Māori sci-tech capacity is under development that considers not only research and development technical capacities, but also the human and relational capacities required to accelerate absorptive capacity to respond to Māori social and economic aspirations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Industry-Defined Fundamental Research program is designed to bring together industrial and academic researchers to develop basic science in areas important for the success of American industry. In September 2009, the National Science Foundation awarded $1.2 million to fund a pilot of the program. With those funds, the Industrial Research Institute has identified key areas of concern and solicited white papers in those areas; the white papers outline how further awards could be used to develop basic science around central questions in the fields of coatings and adhesives, materials interfaces, renewable energy, renewable feed-stocks, and nanotechnology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information about several papers discussed at the seventh and eighth meetings of the Conferences on Science and World Affairs in Stowe, Vermont is presented. The seventh conference dealt with international cooperation in science. The eight conference focused on disarmament and world security. Other papers centered on issues regarding demilitarized zones, test-ban agreements and the economic consequences of disarmament.

The theory of National Innovation System emphasizes innovation as a source of economic and productivity growth and stresses the importance of collaboration between science and industry. The basic objective of this paper was to research whether there is an interaction between Croatian companies and scientific institutions, and whether it affects an increase of innovativeness of economic entities. The results of the performed empirical research and their econometric analysis indicate a conclusion that a positive impact of the collaboration on intensity of innovation in Croatian companies is still absent. The results indicate that the system of innovation in the Republic of Croatia, when compared to developed countries, is still in a transition and that commercialisation of academic knowledge is a phenomenon paid somewhat greater attention only recently. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This short communication explores the collection and collecting activity of the Hawke’s Bay Philosophical Institute and its precursor in Napier, New Zealand, during the late nineteenth century. Affiliated to the New Zealand Institute (NZI), two well-known figures of New Zealand science, museums and collecting were influential: William Colenso, FLS, FRS, who placed an emphasis on natural history collecting by members; and Augustus Hamilton, who sought to professionalise the museum and its objectives. Collection items were an essential source of scientific knowledge used for research, illustrating papers and as a prompt for learned discussion. Many New Zealand collections owe their origins to similar collecting by NZI members during this period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The emergence of a participatory culture, brought about mainly by the use of Web2.0 technology, is challenging us to reconsider aspects of teaching and learning. Adapting the learning-as-digital-game-building approach, this paper explores how new educational practices can help students build skills for the 21st century. Purpose: This paper examines elementary students' learning experiences through digital game building and playing. The following research questions guided the study: (1) What emotions do students experience during the process of building digital games for others to use?; (2) What traits do students display when they learn through digital game-building?; and (3) What do students learn from the digital game-building experience? Sample: The participants were 21 elementary students (19 boys and two girls), aged between seven and 11, who were on a summer camp at a university in Canada. Design and methods: This small-scale study made use of enactivism (Li, Clark, and Winchester, Instructional design and technology grounded in enactivism: A paradigm shift?, British Journal of Educational Technology 41, no. 3: 403-419, 2010), a new theoretical framework, as a basis for analysing the students' experiences and responses as they created computer games to teach others the concept of Issac Newton's Three Laws of Motion. Quantitative and qualitative data collected included student and parent surveys, teacher and student interviews, field observations and the digital games created by the students. Data were subjected to quantitative and thematic analyses. Results: The results indicated that only a small minority of students reported never feeling the positive emotions excited/happy or smart/proud during the process of building digital games. In addition, analysis suggested that creativity, engagement and new identity were the three salient traits displayed by the students when learning by digital game-building. There was also evidence that students increased their understanding of the subject matter in question (mathematics, science and technology) and enhanced their general problem-solving abilities through the process. Conclusions: This small-scale study suggests that student engagement in the game-building experience can enhance not just the learning of the game design process but also subject matter and generic skills. Thus, the learning-as-building approach can empower students to 'take over the technology' and become creators rather than passive consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents one of the papers discussed at the convocation of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, on the impact of science on human activity held on April 1, 1949. It is said that because of science, the western world no longer possesses the sense of common values which gave coherence to human activities in earlier ages. In this paper, the author examines some of the spiritual implications of the commitment of the scientist on his program of dealing with the universe and considers some of the consequences of the new insights which have been acquired in carrying out the program thus far.

In this paper, we offer a perspective on complementarity, acknowledging that it is not possible for human perception and cognition to grasp reality with unambiguous concepts or theories. Therefore, multiple concepts and perspectives are valid when they are not exaggerated beyond reasonable limits and do not claim exclusive validity. We recommend a humble stance enabling respectful dialogue between different perspectives in medical science and practice.KEY POINTSNo single perspective in clinical or scientific medicine can exhaustively explain medical phenomena.Scientific attitude is characterised by a willingness to look for objections against what we prefer as truths.Complementarity or unifying contradictions are concepts that allow for humility and pluralism in clinical and scientific medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper outlines a collaborative project between a group of Fine Art and Geography students who helped develop and contribute to a conversation about recording 'place'. Introducing methodologies from both disciplines, the project started from the premise of all environmental 'recordings' being 'inputs' and so questioned what could be defined as 'data' when encountering a location. Brunel's Grand Entrance to the Thames Tunnel (London) provided the motivation for 10 objective and subjective 'recordings' which were subsequently distilled into a smaller subset and then used to produce a short film that was presented at an international conference. Important to the collaborative nature of the project were ongoing opportunities to share equipment, techniques, material and references across disciplines. It was an experiment to measure the potential for 'mapping' to capture physical and historical information, as well as embodied experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our waterways, particularly in urban environments, are subject to increasing pressures from human activity. Similarly, urbanisation has irreversibly changed the Māori cultural experience of their natural world including freshwater ecosystems. The Water Warriors is a collaborative project between Te Pā o Rākaihautū and Hagley Community College that was established to look after the waterways and re-connect rangatahi (youth) with these environments within urban Ōtautahi (Christchurch). Fundamental to this project was the opportunity to integrate science with mātauranga Māori as equally valid knowledge systems. In doing this, our pononga (students) will not have to wait until they are adults to enjoy and experience science through a Māori world view and through this work simultaneously bring to life a cultural narrative of science. This paper describes the Water Warriors initiative along with an active student voice reflecting on their experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors propose an alternative mechanism to science court, a procedure created by the Task Force of the Presidential Advisory Group on Anticipated Advances in Science and Technology to resolve disputes which arise from scientific facts essential in public policy decisions. The mechanism proposed is modeled on mediation. Its primary aim is not to resolve conflicts but to bring out the facts though better communication, whether differences between scientists remained or not. The only similarity between the mediation mechanism and "science court" is the selection of issues which will be tackled. The issues must not only be significant to policy but should also have technical components which are important and disputed at the same time.

The article discusses the relationship between national consciousness, basic science and applied science. This paper investigates the benefits of national influences on the conduct of basic science and applied science. It also looks into what extent does these benefits be fostered. Specifically, the national consciousness in applying fundamental scientific research. It is said that the view of true knowledge is acquired by practical experience contrary to the grandiose theoretical constructs. This may be seen as another way of curbing the scientific arrogance.

Discusses the secrecy campaign surrounding scientific and technical information in the U.S. Vitality of American science; Objective of the secrecy campaign; Consequences of the restriction on scientific organization conferences; Application of export controls to block the transfer of technology; Statutory authority for the control of scientific and technical communication; Application of contract controls.

The article provides information on the topics discussed in the journal related to statistics for the physical, chemical and engineering sciences. The issue of the journal summarizes the highlights of the 48th volume, it provides statistics on journal operations for manuscripts submitted in 2005 and describes general trends in statistical content of manuscripts submitted and accepted to the journal 2005 to 2006. The journal had received 186 new submission in 2005.

The gamma distribution is relevant to numerous areas of application in the physical, environmental, and biological sciences. The focus of this paper is on testing the shape, scale, and mean of the gamma distribution. Testing the shape parameter of the gamma distribution is relevant to failure time modeling where it can be used to determine if the failure rate is constant, increasing, or decreasing. Testing the scale parameter is also relevant to problems in survival analysis, where when the shape parameter κ = 1, the reciprocal of the scale parameter measures the hazard function. Finally, testing the mean of the gamma distribution allows us to determine if the average concentration of an environmental contaminant is higher, lower, or equivalent to a health-based standard. In this paper, we first derive new small sample-based tests and then via simulation, we study the Type I error rate and statistical power of these tests. Results of these simulation studies reveal that in terms of maintaining Type I error rate, the new tests perform extremely well as long as the shape parameter is not too small, and even then the results are only slightly conservative. We illustrate the new tests using three real datasets taken from the fields of engineering, medicine, and environmental science. This article has supplementary material online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interface between science and policy provides rich opportunities to frame both the science agenda and the policy agenda for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. This opportunity is rarely utilized to the extent that it could, however. The disciplines of science and policy are clearly distinct from one another, and they are based fundamentally on different thought processes. Because of this, it is extremely difficult and rare for an individual or indeed a single group to maintain skills and knowledge at the forefront of both disciplines simultaneously. In this paper, agriculture is used as a test case to explore ways of building and maximizing the intertwining of science and policy to deliver the most favoured outcomes—especially outcomes that deliver benefits to industry. Initially, there must be a very clear definition of the outcomes to be targeted, and science needs to articulate clearly both the base-line position of knowledge and a view of what is deemed feasible. Ultimately, change needs to occur at the level of the practitioner, and so any actions from science and policy need to be based very strongly on an understanding of the factors that drive change in industry. The Australian Government's Greenhouse Challenge for Agriculture is shown as an example of a programme that works at the interface of science and policy to promote actions in industry that deliver wide-ranging and multiple benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The practices of students, teachers, educational policymakers and managers are laden with assumptions of fact and value. Clearly, assumptions of value influence the way in which individuals and groups construe the nature and purpose of education, but this should not blind us to the existence of assumptions of fact about how to promote learning and improve the conduct and organisation of teaching. Many of these assumptions of fact may be false or inadequate, and as such they may limit the success of our educational endeavours. Using the UK's national literacy strategy as its principal illustration, this paper shows how a Popperian approach to science can advance our knowledge of what is the case about learning, teaching, and the organisation and conduct of formal education, and how such a non-positivist science can contribute to the improvement of educational practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has often been observed that archaeologists are adept at borrowing theory but not very good about building it. Analyses of the uptake by archaeologists of perspectives from a diversity of sources indicate that such borrowings rarely (if ever) lead to the building of archaeological theory. The return of explicit discussion of evolutionary theory within archaeology affords us the chance to explore whether the traditional pattern of borrowing is being repeated once again, and, if it is, to suggest some strategies which might help us to do better. The core of the paper comprises two case studies to support an argument that evolutionary archaeologists need to integrate the development of evaluation strategies into the process of theory building. These studies focus our attention on the need to reconcile interpretation and inference with the temporality of archaeological records, and provide good examples of how a serious consideration of problems that are revealed by this reconciliation can be a positive force in theory building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper links the history of educational research in the United Kingdom to changes in the philosophy and practice of science. Its thesis is the claim that the lifetime of the British Journal of Educational Studies corresponds to a notable ferment in the social sciences, sometimes characterised as 'post-positivism'or 'post-cartesianism'. After the Second World War, the philosophy of science was subjected to a series of challenging criticisms, many of them directed against so-called logical positivist ideas developed in Germany and Austria during the 1920s and transported, often by refugees, to the UK and elsewhere in the following decade. To accommodate these criticisms, social scientists grappled with new ideas, methods and assumptions. Over the last 50 years, the history of educational research — and educational studies — has been deeply marked by the circulation of these criticisms, by efforts made to surmount them, and by new controversies fostered in the wake of such revisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although not a palaeontologist himself, Walter Baldock Durrant Mantell’s enduring contribution to the conduct of New Zealand colonial science was his collecting of fossil moa bones, which were sent to London for Richard Owen to catalogue. In a similar catalytic way, his administration of the Colonial Museum and the New Zealand Institute enabled others, especially James Hector, to devote more of their time to science. Recent emphasis on WBD Mantell’s negotiations to purchase land in the South Island from Māori tribes and on his political career (Evison HC. 2010.New Zealand racism in the making: the life and times of Walter Mantell. Lower Hutt: Panuitia Press), largely ignores his contribution to colonial New Zealand science, and particularly to his ‘exertions’ on moas. This short communication, originally presented as a poster at the ‘Finding New Zealand’s scientific heritage’ conference, attempts to redress the balance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), statistical scientists develop solutions for a variety of national security challenges through scientific excellence, typically as members of interdisciplinary teams. At LANL, mentoring is actively encouraged and practiced to develop statistical skills and positive career-building behaviors. Mentoring activities targeted at different career phases from student to junior staff are an important catalyst for both short and long term career development. This article discusses mentoring strategies for undergraduate and graduate students through internships as well as for postdoctoral research associates and junior staff. Topics addressed include project selection, progress, and outcome; intellectual and social activities that complement the student internship experience; key skills/knowledge not typically obtained in academic training; and the impact of such internships on students’ careers. Experiences and strategies from a number of successful mentorships are presented. Feedback from former mentees obtained via a questionnaire is incorporated. These responses address some of the benefits the respondents received from mentoring, helpful contributions and advice from their mentors, key skills learned, and how mentoring impacted their later careers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

However, science was already being taught in New Zealand when Rutherford was a boy. Rutherford did rise "from humble beginnings in rural New Zealand to world eminence", and this Special Issue celebrates his achievements on the occasion of his 150th birthday. Keywords: Rutherford; New Zealand physicist; science; physics; education; Marsden; atomic nucleus; New Zealand schools EN Rutherford New Zealand physicist science physics education Marsden atomic nucleus New Zealand schools 409 414 6 10/19/21 20210901 NES 210901 When things were going well, and new discoveries were coming out at the rate of about one a week, a tune recognizable by the elect as "Onward, Christian Soldiers" could be heard accompanying the Professor's steps along the corridors: when things were going less well another tune, no less holy, held sway. When given the title Lord Rutherford of Nelson in 1931, Rutherford dispatched a cable to his mother saying "Now Lord Rutherford. [Extracted from the article]

The article presents the author's accounts on the development of science education in Ghana, Africa, as based from a working paper prepared for the Fourteenth Pugwash Conference on Science and World Affairs. These accounts are being derived from the author's observations during the six months he spent in 1963-64 as a visiting professor of physics at the University of Ghana. The author said that his length of stay in Ghana was long enough to gain an impressive view of people's great efforts to overcome their difficulties, of their optimistic belief in progress through education, and finally of their openmindedness and warm hospitality.

The author comments on the science-versus-press controversy whereby scientists are conceived to be bad copy, inaccessible, unintelligible and uncooperative, or the press being thought to inaccurately sensationalize scientists and misinterpret their discoveries in the interest of a good story. He states that there are not supporting statistics for the accusation that the press is too often inaccurate and sensational. He says that publishers and editors agree that the press is not perfect, committing errors over and over again. Science writing is getting better and better every day in every way and the reporting of scientific discoveries is no longer the easy task as it was some years ago.

The article presents one of the papers discussed at the convocation of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, on the impact of science on human activity held on April 1, 1949. It is said that because of science, the western world no longer possesses the sense of common values which gave coherence to human activities in earlier ages. In this paper, the author discusses the relationship of science with morality and religion. The author states that though there is a sense that science's body of knowledge is neutral and its results can be used for evil purposes, there is also a sense in which it is neither evil nor neutral but an expression of spiritual idealism.

As research into human spatial behavior diversifies and progresses, the accumulation of empirical findings seems to outpace the opportunities for conceptual organization in the field. This state of affairs is common in some newer areas of science where classical patterns of explanation are no longer found to be achievable or even relevant. In the quest for conceptual frameworks that would help make sense of research developments defying familiar modes of theorizing, many of these ‘sciences of complexity’ have turned to formal theories of modeling for logical integration and insight. Addressing a similar apparent need in behavioral geography, this paper outlines a framework derived from discrete model theory that clarifies the relationships between three seemingly different types of models of spatial choice (based on the principles of stimulus-response, rational choice, and cognitive information processing). Several general questions of interest to behavioral modelers may be approached in the context of that framework, which could contribute to some of the ongoing empirical work in the field a useful theoretical dimension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to argue for the necessity of a rigorous sexual science. The consequences of the absence of a sexual science and data on human sexual behavior are noted. Similarly, the obstacles which prevent a rigorous sexual science are also discussed. Finally, suggestions for the future of sexual science are introduced. Sexual science is defined, simple goals are described, measurement issues are examined, and theoretical objectives are suggested. The paper concludes with the following statement: "Future generations will find it incomprehensible-and perhaps unconscionably negligent-that so little effort was marshalled to obtain data on, and establish a science of, human sexual behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article comments on A. Guy Larkins' criticism on the author's paper on alternative research orientations in social education. Larkin's critique has centered on terminology and language use. Larkin accuses the author of his unconventional use of the term science to refer to alternative research activities. It explains the difference of the standards of exactness of phenomenological and emancipatory inquiry orientations from the standards of exactness associated with the statistical procedures of empirical-analytic method.

The article presents one of the papers discussed at the convocation of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, on the impact of science on human activity held on April 1, 1949. It is said that because of science, the western world no longer possesses the sense of common values which gave coherence to human activities in earlier ages. In this paper, the author talks about the modern age in western civilization. The author stresses that the outstanding characteristic of this age is that all its thinking about the world is dominated by the scientific spirit.

Forest fires in Algeria in the 1850s and 1860s suggest a link between environmentally induced catastrophes and the geographies of property and territory in the colony. In eastern Algeria, these fires helped fuel a discussion over the security and reliability of European settlers' property rights and of the colonial state's ability to guarantee them. Following a brief analysis of forestry policy in France and Algeria, this paper analyzes some of the correspondence and official reports that emerged in the wake of major conflagrations. By the early 1860s, settlers and private forestry companies were calling the colonial state's credibility into question and demanding far-reaching changes to the property law and land-use regimes in place in the colony. Eventually, colonial authorities moved to help cement settlers' property claims, eliminating enclaves and imposing new rules on 'native' Algerians' rights to use the forest. This essay concludes by suggesting that the process of making property private, in Algeria and elsewhere, is informed by perceptions of risk and by the modes of awareness inspired by environmentally induced catastrophic events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is increasing attention for embedding research in mental healthcare. This involves a linkage between scientific research and routine practice, where research is fed by questions from practice and scientific insights are implemented better and faster in clinical practice. This paper illustrates bridging the gap, by focusing on eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR), and provides arguments why it is relevant to connect research and practice. It also discusses why experimental psychopathology may have a substantial contribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the insights that brought many brilliant theories in sciences. This paper looks into the double image projected for science in contemporary society providing for knowledge and methods for solving problems of many sorts. Another image is the danger force it poses to the human race as inventions proliferate but leaning on the perverted side threatening our welfare and human values as well as the harmony in nature. There are two tests used in this study to find out how science have been taught in the past few years.

The article focuses on the verification of the theory of relativity by some scientists during World War I and the years that followed. Some people believed that Sir Arthur Eddington should have become more respected than Albert Einstein because he invented the nuclear model of atom. Some people also claim that Eddington is responsible for the fame of Einstein because of the proofs he made. During the First World War, Eddington led an expedition that proved the theory of relativity through the deflection of light from stars during a solar eclipse.

New Zealand's system of public funding of research was restructured during 1990-92 to delineate the policy, funder, and provider roles. Crown Research Institutes (CRIs) were created as companies operating in a competitive, global, market-led economy, in order to be efficient in the use of public money and accountable to government goals. This paper explores how restructuring impacted on those who work in science, through an ethnographic study of a CRI. This CRI responded to this environment by corporatisation, instituting a management system which, through accountability requirements and normative control, sought to gain power over scientific workers. As a result they experienced alienation and estrangement, which they resisted by developing compliance tactics that enabled them to stay in employment and ostensibly align with organisational and governmental goals, while maintaining and protecting their self-identities and making their work meaningful. The implications and risks of this response to the research funding system are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper aims to provide an account of the genesis and development of a collection of scientific work that has received strong international recognition - the paradigm of school effectiveness. It shows how this theory, based on the design of measurement tools, has gradually influenced educational management and policies in promoting the effectiveness and quality of educational systems. In mobilising allies, setting up laboratories and extending its networks into major international organisations, school effectiveness research has contributed to the emergence of a new form of governance of education systems at a European level and to the promotion of new assessment methods of research in education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What do members of the general public know about polar regions, and how much do they care? Who knows or cares? This paper explores data from the General Social Survey (GSS), which in 2006 questioned a representative sample of more than 1800 U.S. adults about their knowledge and opinions concerning polar regions. The polar survey items were modeled on long-running GSS assessments of general science knowledge and opinions, recently summarized in the U.S. National Science Board's report Science and Engineering Indicators 2008. Polar knowledge proves to be limited but certainly not absent among survey respondents. Polar knowledge, general science knowledge, and education—together with individual background characteristics (age, sex, income)—predict policy-relevant opinions. Political orientation filters the impacts of education, and also shows consistent, significant effects across all the polar opinion questions. These 2006 GSS polar results will provide a baseline for comparison when the questions are repeated on a 2010 survey, after the International Polar Year concludes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the first decade of the 21st century China has been able to enter political, military and commercial deals with countries of the asean community, the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, and the countries and observers in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (sco). In November 2006 China sealed this circle with a strategic partnership with Africa at a major feast of leaders celebrating the friendship and co-operation between the two. The emergence of China as a force in Africa complicated the tussle between the EU and the USA over the 'who controls Africa'. The new relations between Africa and China could be described in the words of Gramsci, as, 'the old is dying yet the new is yet to be born'. Chinese relations with Africa combine elements of the old (extraction of raw materials), yet the experience of transformation in China ensures that there are many positive and negative lessons to be learnt. What is new is the prospect for the consolidation of African independence and the challenge to the hegemony of the dollar and US imperialism. I argue in this paper that, in the short term, one of China's most important roles will be to break the disarticulation between the financial and productive sectors of the economy and to stem the outflow of capital from Africa. In the long run the experience of linking new ideas of science and technology to a home grown path of reconstruction can be an important lesson for Africa. State-to-state relations are usually opportunistic and it is for this reason that transnational civil society linkages between the Chinese and African people will be more important than relations between leaders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The argument presented in this paper is that accounting has been significantly implicated in the changing location of science as a social practice in the United Kingdom during the past two decades. Accounting has facilitated the commodification of scientific knowledge products, making science a closed and private activity rather than an open and codifiable one. This shift has adversely disrupted the preexisting trust in science exhibited by the public. In an ironic twist, it appears that accounting may now offer the prospect of creating a new public governance of science via economic and financial market mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the term ‘science’ is evoked with immense frequency in the political arena, it continues to be misunderstood. Perhaps the most repeated example of this – particularly when dealing with environmental policy and regulatory issues – is when science is called upon to provide the unattainable: namely, proof. What is scientific knowledge and, more importantly, what is it capable of providing us? These questions must be answered – by policymakers, politicians, the public, and scientists themselves – if we hope to ever resolve today's environmental controversies in a just and equitable way. This paper begins by critically examining the concepts of uncertainty and proof as they apply to science. Discussion then turns to the issue of values in science. This is to speak of the normative decisions that are made routinely in the environmental sciences (but often without them being recognized as such). To conclude, insights are gleaned from the preceding sections to help us understand how science should be utilized and conducted, particularly as it applies to environmental policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problem-solving research has consistently found that students have great difficulty when asked to apply concepts and principles discussed in texts and lectures. It is often unnoticed knowledge extensions or transformations that allow faculty experts to solve such problems. Because faculty members normally use these extensions automatically, they do not emphasize them in their teaching. Therefore, knowledge transformations often remain completely hidden to students. This paper presents a first attempt at a field guide to help faculty members identify and teach about hidden knowledge transformations. Examples from introductory psychology and physics teaching are included, along with some pedagogical techniques that have been found to be helpful in dealing with these in both disciplines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the problems that the U.S. Congress faces in asserting its role in science policymaking. The issue that some political leaders are the ones making decision which rightfully and by law should be made by the Congress becomes popular in the U.S. Several government officials also comments on the issue. In response, bills were introduced in Congress to establish a congressional office of science technology and a congressional scientific advisory staff. The bill which involved the Congress' participation in the scientific affairs of the country is not new, however, it took the Congress for almost a year to authorized the operation of the Science Policy Research Division of the Library of Congress.

Information about several papers discussed during the Fourteenth Pugwash Conference on science and world affairs that was held in Venice, Italy is presented. On the five working groups, three worked on problems of international cooperation and two on disarmament. The conference was intended to deal mainly with international cooperation in science.

The article addresses the problem faced by developing countries in applying scientific and technological innovation to achieve economic growth. It cites the problems of developing countries in meeting the requirements of such innovations, such as the number of people with technical skills and knowledge on science and technology. According to the author, developing countries can effectively use technology and science in achieving economic progress through the establishment of an institution that would formulate problems and organizational instrument to find applicable solution to the problem.