Science and Technology

In recent years, several New England projects have promoted professional development and curriculum design in optics and photonics. Funded in part by the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program of the National Science Foundation (NSF), these projects have prepared middle and high school teachers, college faculty and career counselors from more than 100 New England institutions to introduce fiber optics, telecommunications and photonics technology education. Four of these projects will be discussed here: (1) The New England Board of Higher Education's (NEBHE) Fiber Optics Technology Education Project, (FOTEP) was designed to teach fiber optics theory and to provide laboratory experiences at the secondary and postsecondary levels. (2) Springfield Technical Community College's Northeast Center for Telecommunications Technologies (NCTT) is developing curricula and instructional materials in lightwave, networking and wireless telecommunications technologies. (3) The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics project ComTech developed a 12-week, hands-on curriculum and teaching strategies for middle and high school science and technology teachers in telecommunications and focused on optical communication (fiber optics). (4) NEBHE's project PHOTON is preparing middle, secondary and postsecondary instructors to introduce theory and laboratory experiences in photonics, including geometric and wave optics as well as principles of lasers and photonics applications.

The renewed interest of stakeholders in multilateral weapons control in the security and disarmament implications of developments in science and technology (S&T) provides an opportunity for critical reflection on and political action aimed at realizing the vision for sustainable security.

This paper argues that if substantive progress is to be made, greater attention must be paid to the evolving narrative and underpinning beliefs and assumptions about S&T in the context of disarmament and invites stakeholders in multilateral weapons control to take a closer look at how they make sense of S&T developments in the context of disarmament and related governance initiatives.

The paper raises questions about what is or is not identified as problematic in relation to S&T developments and what space is created for political action and encourages stakeholders to envision a technological future that accords with the ideals articulated in Agenda 2030, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Secretary-General’s Agenda for Disarmament.

Since 9/11, intelligence has evolved within a changing atmosphere of modern tactics and techniques for information collection. This atmosphere, coupled with massive leaps in technological advancement such as social media, mobile communications, processing analytics, large-form solid-state data storage, novel computational hardware, and software equipment, has thrust intelligence communities around the world into a strange new world of multi-dimensional intelligence. While science and technology and human capability both remain valuable facets of the same overlapping intelligence construct, there is an emerging trend of diametrically opposed camps pushing for one method over the other. This article explains how in terms of field application and intelligence information processing and analysis, both HUMINT and TECHINT could be maximized by the elimination of forced rivalry and by the encouragement of mutual cooperation that is currently lacking.

In this study, the effect of computer aided teaching of acid-base subject on the attitude towards science and technology course is investigated. In the material developed by the researcher, it was aimed to enable students learn acid-base subject by interactive animations and simulations. For the purpose of collecting data in the research,“Attitude towards Science and Technology Course Scale”, developed by Nuhoğlu (2008), was used. In the statistical analysis of data, t-test was performed. Results indicate that, teaching of ...

This article focuses on issues concerning science and technology relationships posed by the emergence of a new drug discovery method, namely, combinatorial chemistry and biology. We assess the scientific content of combinatorial chemistry and biology using citations in patents to scientific journals and compare this research platform with biotechnology. We also identify the institutional affiliation of all the authors of the cited papers, which leads us to an analysis of knowledge spillovers between the main participants in the research network. Finally, we examine the relevance of localisation in the process of knowledge exchange with regard to EU countries and the US. The result of the analysis provides evidence to support the view that the inventive capacity of a country is dependent upon the basic research which is carried out, especially in universities and public research centres located in the inventor's country.

It is shown that it is possible to use synchrotron X-radiation to measure fast fluorescent emission in compounds not readily available in single-crystal form. Of 85 compounds tested, about half were found to have fluorescence below the limit of the technique used, which was about 0.05% of Bi4Ge3O12 (BGO). Others had emissions in the 0.1 to 1% range, and a

Over the last decades Nanotechnology has promised to advance science and technology in many areas. Within medicine, Nanomedicine promises to deliver new methods for diagnosis, prognosis and therapy. As the amount of available information is rapidly growing, new Biomedical Informatics approaches have to be developed to satisfy the increasing demand on data and knowledge management. In 2007, a new sub-discipline, already named "Nanoinformatics", was created with support from the US National Science Foundation. In Europe, a project named ACTION-Grid was launched in 2008 with support from the European Commission to analyze the challenges and agenda for developing Nanoinformatics as a discipline related to Nanotechnology, Biomedicine and Informatics. For MIE 2009, members of this consortium proposed a workshop to discuss the scientific and strategic issues associated with this topic. Nanoinformatics aims to create a bridge between Nanomedicine and Information Technology applyin...

This dissertation investigates the ways in which geoengineering interlinks with global environmental politics (GEP) and how they cohere together. The core question is how geoengineering fits in today’s political context and how it affects this. To this end, the bulk of this paper aims to analyse two political regimes that have set a regulatory framework for
geoengineering activities - the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the London Convention (LC) - and explore how these contribute to shape climate politics and governance. To do so, I conduct content analysis of their resolutions and combine it with primary literature and interviews to geoengineering experts. My research firstly reveals that
the CBD brings a more multilateral and cross-disciplinary approach to environmental politics.
Secondly, the LC makes a call for more research and science-based mechanisms as a means to shed light on decision-making processes. Despite these, I argue that geoengineering does not play a major role in GEP due to the lack of scientific research, political adherence, and
governance framework. It remains to be seen whether and how geoengineering will acquire political and institutional stability in the future. Heretofore, my hope is that this research may prove useful in tracing some of the first implications of geoengineering in the political
domain.

This study analyzes the age profile of scientific employees and its relation to personnel costs and scientific productivity within eight faculties at the University of Vienna. The age demography can overall be divided into two main categories: Category one faculties represent an increased number of younger aged researchers (Catholic-, Protestant Theology, Law, Economics, Information Sciences, and Medicine), category two faculties show an increased number of older aged researchers (Social Sciences, Humanities, and Science). In addition, it can be demonstrated that the personnel costs for full professors are higher within four faculties (Catholic-, Protestant Theology, Law, and Economics and Information Sciences). Inevitably, this leads to savings for habilitated and non- habilitated researchers at these faculties. The faculty of Medicine represents a well-balanced use of personnel costs. Three faculties (Social Sciences, Humanities, and Sciences) have to pay dramatically more for their older aged habilitated and non-habilitated personnel. For the entire university and two faculties, Medicine and Humanities, a positive and significant relationship between age and the average weekly teaching performance is shown. This study suggests that institutions with a high percentage of older researchers, mainly in the categories of habilitated and non- habilitated personnel, must change their policy to become more flexible and attractive for new talented young people. Due to the fact, that this cannot only be realized through the introduction of new laws, each faculty must establish a scientific plan combined with reorganizations of the personnel structure and personnel costs.

The SOFIA and SIRTF EPO Programs have partnered with the Conceptual Astronomy and Physics Education Research (CAPER) Team in designing, evaluating, and facilitating an online program for K-12 teachers to experience multiwavelength astronomy. An aggressive approach to online course design and delivery has resulted in a highly successful learning experience for teacher-participants. Important aspects of the Invisible Universe Online will eventually be used as a part of SOFIA's Airborne Ambassadors Program for pre-flight training of educators. The Invisible Universe Online is delivered via WebCT through the Montana State University National Teacher Enhancement Network (http://btc.montana.edu/). Currently in its fourth semester, the course has served 115 K-12 teachers. This distance learning online class presents our search for astronomical origins and provides an enhanced understanding of how astronomers use all energies of light to unfold the secrets of the universe. We cover the long chain of events from the birth of the universe through the formation of galaxies, stars, and planets by focusing on the scientific questions, technological challenges, and space missions pursuing this search for origins. Through textbook and internet readings, inquiry exploration with interactive java applets, and asynchronous discussions, we help our students achieve the following course goals: develop scientific background knowledge of astronomical objects and phenomena at multiple wavelengths; understand contemporary scientific research questions related to how galaxies formed in the early universe and how stars and planetary systems form and evolve; describe strategies and technologies for using non-visible wavelengths of EM radiation to study various phenomena; and integrate related issues of astronomical science and technology into K-12 classrooms. This course is being developed, evaluated, and offered through the support of SOFIA and SIRTF EPO Programs, two NASA infrared missions associated with the Origins program.

Este artigo tem por objetivo apresentar os avanços científicos e tecnológicos relacionados com a exploração do planeta Marte e sua colonização pela humanidade no futuro como local alternativo de fuga de seres humanos visando sua sobrevivência como espécie contra ameaças internas e externas ao planeta Terra.

Both science and technology education have a commitment to teaching process; investigations or scientific method in science, design in technology, and problem solving in both areas. The separate debates in science and technology education reveal different curricular emphases in processes and content, reflecting different goals, and pedagogic and educational research traditions. This paper explores these differences and argues that each curriculum area can learn from the other. Despite the interest in processes, problem solving remains neglected in each area, particularly with respect to empirical accounts of student problem-solving activities and the supporting pedagogy. This paper draws on the situated learning and social constructivist literature to provide insights into problem solving in technology education. The research reported here, gives accounts of the problem-solving strategies of English secondary school students. These strategies represent their responses to technology activities and the learning environment created by teachers.

Biological processes and methods have been influencing science and technology for many decades. The ideas of feedback and control processes Norbert Wiener used in his cybernetics were based on observation of these phenomena in biological systems. Artificial intelligence and intelligent systems have been fundamentally interested in the phenomenology of living systems, namely perception, decision-making, action, and learning. Natural systems exhibit many properties that form fundamentals for a number of nature inspired applications – dynamics, flexibility, robustness, self-organisation, simplicity of basic elements, and decentralization. This paper reviews examples of nature inspired software applications focused on optimization problems, mostly drawing inspiration from collective behaviour of social colonies.

This tutorial is an outgrowth of a classroom-based simulation project and should act as a general outline for using simulations in English for Science and Technology classrooms. The simulation w as created based on an actual court case involving two software companies; how ever, the case w as altered significantly to meet the needs of the students. Twenty-six Japanese students studying computer science at a university in northern Japan participated in the simulation. In phase one of the simulation, teams of  students w ere required to make difficult decisions about the case in their role as company engineers. They subsequently wrote of their positions in teams. In phase two of the simulation, each student w as required to preside over the related court case, judge between the two companies, and render a fair verdict in writing. The students’  writing exhibited an understanding of the complexity of problems and sound reasoning for addressing such problems; therefore the simulation-based curriculum was deemed highly successful. Furthermore, students remained engaged throughout the simulation, in part because they could see its long-term value.

Currently, the Vector Space Model algorithm has been widely implemented for the document search feature because of its reliability in retrieving information. One of them in the search for verses of the Qur'an based on the translation. However, if the phrase or word used is different (even though it has one meaning) with the word in the document in the database, the system will not display the verse. As we know that the Qur'an has a very deep meaning, so an interpretation of the verse is needed. Therefore, this research focuses on implementing the Vector Space Model (VSM) algorithm for searching verses and hadiths in science and technology by using the discussion parameters of these verses or hadiths. The test results obtained with 20 keyword samples using metric recall were 81% with an average time of 2.24 seconds.

In 1989, former President Bush stated that, as one of the national goals, “the United States would be first in the world in math and science. ” Little did we realize at that time how this would prove to be quite a challenge as the nation was just gearing up to face the challenges and opportunities put forth by the exploding technology revolution coupled with disappointing science test scores. Many different approaches have been suggested for improving public education in this country. A common element in many of these approaches has been the emphasis on technology. Reform literature often cites the need for more extensive and more effective computer and telecommunication network instructional applications. The motivation underlying these calls for reform potentially was linked to the observation that technology has fundamentally transformed corporate America, yet technology’s impact in our nation’s classrooms has usually been very modest. In 1994, Goals 2000: Educate America Act bec...

This study was designed to identify the relationship between free time management and quality of life, exploring whether the amount of free time or the way people using their free time relates to their quality of life. Data were collected from National Pingtung University of Science and Technology in Taiwan. Of the 500 questionnaires distribute, 403 usable questionnaires were received