Sample records for accepted scientific theory

  1. Taming theory with thought experiments: Understanding and scientific progress.

    PubMed

    Stuart, Michael T

    2016-08-01

    I claim that one way thought experiments contribute to scientific progress is by increasing scientific understanding. Understanding does not have a currently accepted characterization in the philosophical literature, but I argue that we already have ways to test for it. For instance, current pedagogical practice often requires that students demonstrate being in either or both of the following two states: 1) Having grasped the meaning of some relevant theory, concept, law or model, 2) Being able to apply that theory, concept, law or model fruitfully to new instances. Three thought experiments are presented which have been important historically in helping us pass these tests, and two others that cause us to fail. Then I use this operationalization of understanding to clarify the relationships between scientific thought experiments, the understanding they produce, and the progress they enable. I conclude that while no specific instance of understanding (thus conceived) is necessary for scientific progress, understanding in general is. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. The Earth expansion theory and its transition from scientific hypothesis to pseudoscientific belief

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sudiro, P.

    2014-06-01

    During the first half of 20th century, the dominant global tectonics model based on Earth contraction had increasing problems accommodating new geological evidence, with the result that alternative geodynamic theories were investigated. Due to the level of scientific knowledge and the limited amount of data available in many scientific disciplines at the time, not only was contractionism considered a valid scientific theory but the debate also included expansionism, mobilism on a fixed-dimension planet, or various combinations of these geodynamic hypotheses. Geologists and physicists generally accepted that planets could change their dimensions, although the change of volume was generally believed to happen because of a contraction, not an expansion. Constant generation of new matter in the universe was a possibility accepted by science, as it was the variation in the cosmological constants. Continental drift, instead, was a more heterodox theory, requiring a larger effort from the geoscientists to be accepted. The new geological data collected in the following decades, an improved knowledge of the physical processes, the increased resolution and penetration of geophysical tools, and the sensitivity of measurements in physics decreased the uncertainty level in many fields of science. Theorists now had less freedom for speculation because their theories had to accommodate more data, and more limiting conditions to respect. This explains the rapid replacement of contracting Earth, expanding Earth, and continental drift theories by plate tectonics once the symmetrical oceanic magnetic striping was discovered, because none of the previous models could explain and incorporate the new oceanographic and geophysical data. Expansionism could survive after the introduction of plate tectonics because its proponents have increasingly detached their theory from reality by systematically rejecting or overlooking any contrary evidence, and selectively picking only the data that

  3. Three Decades of Anti-evolution Campaign and its Results: Turkish Undergraduates' Acceptance and Understanding of the Biological Evolution Theory

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Peker, Deniz; Comert, Gulsum Gul; Kence, Aykut

    2010-06-01

    Even though in the early years of the Republic of Turkey Darwin’s theory of evolution was treated as a scientific theory and taught fairly in schools, despite all the substantial evidence accumulated supporting the theory of evolution since then, Darwin and his ideas today have been scorned by curriculum and education policy makers. Furthermore, Turkish students and academics have been faced with unprecedented creationist propaganda for many years. In this paper, we first provide a glimpse of the theory of evolution and creationism in Turkey, we then report the results of our survey study ( N = 1,098) about the undergraduates’ acceptance and understanding of Darwinian evolution and some of the socioeconomic variables affecting those measures. Our cross sectional study shows that acceptance and understanding of the theory of evolution is quite low. We criticize the current state of evolution education in Turkey and call for a change towards a scientific treatment of the theory evolution in schools.

  4. Quantifying falsifiability of scientific theories

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nemenman, Ilya

    I argue that the notion of falsifiability, a key concept in defining a valid scientific theory, can be quantified using Bayesian Model Selection, which is a standard tool in modern statistics. This relates falsifiability to the quantitative version of the statistical Occam's razor, and allows transforming some long-running arguments about validity of scientific theories from philosophical discussions to rigorous mathematical calculations.

  5. Theory of Multiple Intelligences: Is It a Scientific Theory?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chen, Jie-Qi

    2004-01-01

    This essay discusses the status of multiple intelligences (MI) theory as a scientific theory by addressing three issues: the empirical evidence Gardner used to establish MI theory, the methodology he employed to validate MI theory, and the purpose or function of MI theory.

  6. The pivotal role of perceived scientific consensus in acceptance of science

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lewandowsky, Stephan; Gignac, Gilles E.; Vaughan, Samuel

    2013-04-01

    Although most experts agree that CO2 emissions are causing anthropogenic global warming (AGW), public concern has been declining. One reason for this decline is the `manufacture of doubt' by political and vested interests, which often challenge the existence of the scientific consensus. The role of perceived consensus in shaping public opinion is therefore of considerable interest: in particular, it is unknown whether consensus determines people's beliefs causally. It is also unclear whether perception of consensus can override people's `worldviews', which are known to foster rejection of AGW. Study 1 shows that acceptance of several scientific propositions--from HIV/AIDS to AGW--is captured by a common factor that is correlated with another factor that captures perceived scientific consensus. Study 2 reveals a causal role of perceived consensus by showing that acceptance of AGW increases when consensus is highlighted. Consensus information also neutralizes the effect of worldview.

  7. Teaching Evolution at A-Level: Is "Intelligent Design" a Scientific Theory That Merits Inclusion in the Biology Syllabus?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Freeland, Peter

    2013-01-01

    Charles Darwin supposed that evolution involved a process of gradual change, generated randomly, with the selection and retention over many generations of survival-promoting features. Some theists have never accepted this idea. "Intelligent design" is a relatively recent theory, supposedly based on scientific evidence, which attempts to…

  8. Measuring the Acceptance of Evolutionary Theory in Texas 2-Year Colleges

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brown, Jack; Scott, Joyce A.

    2016-01-01

    Evolutionary theory is the central unifying theory of the life sciences. However, acceptance and understanding of the theory have been found to be lacking in the general public, high school, and university populations. Prior research has linked low acceptance of the theory to a poor knowledge base in evolution, to the nature of science, and to…

  9. Parental Acceptance-Rejection Theory and the Phylogenetic Model.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rohner, Ronald P.

    Guided by specific theoretical and methodological points of view--the phylogenetic perspective and the universalistic approach respectively--this paper reports on a worldwide study of the antecedents and effects of parental acceptance and rejection. Parental acceptance-rejection theory postulates that rejected children throughout our species share…

  10. Integrative assessment of Evolutionary theory acceptance and knowledge levels of Biology undergraduate students from a Brazilian university

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tavares, Gustavo Medina; Bobrowski, Vera Lucia

    2018-03-01

    The integrative role that Evolutionary theory plays within Biology is recognised by most scientific authors, as well as in governmental education policies, including Brazilian policies. However, teaching and learning evolution seems problematic in many countries, and Brazil is among those. Many factors may affect teachers' and students' perceptions towards evolution, and studies can help to reveal those factors. We used a conceptual questionnaire, the Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) instrument, and a Knowledge test to assess (1) the level of acceptance and understanding of 23 undergraduate Biology students nearing the end of their course, (2) other factors that could affect these levels, including course structure, and (3) the most difficult topics regarding evolutionary biology. The results of this study showed that the students, on average, had a 'Very High Acceptance' (89.91) and a 'Very Low Knowledge' (59.42%) of Evolutionary theory, and also indicated a moderate positive correlation between the two (r = 0.66, p = .001). The most difficult topics were related to the definition of evolution and dating techniques. We believe that the present study provides evidence for policymakers to reformulate current school and university curricula in order to improve the teachers' acceptance and understanding of evolution and other biological concepts, consequently, helping students reduce their misconceptions related to evolutionary biology.

  11. The relationship between biology teachers' understanding of the nature of science and the understanding and acceptance of the theory of evolution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cofré, Hernán; Cuevas, Emilia; Becerra, Beatriz

    2017-11-01

    Despite the importance of the theory of evolution (TE) to scientific knowledge, a number of misconceptions continue to be found among biology teachers. In this context, the first objective of this study was to identify the impact of professional development programme (PDP) on teachers' understanding of nature of science (NOS) and evolution and on the acceptance of this theory. Its second objective was to study the relationship among these variables. Three instruments were used to quantify these variables: the Views of the Nature of Science Version D (VNOS D+), the Assessing Contextual Reasoning about Natural Selection (ACORN), and the Measure of Acceptance of Theory of Evolution (MATE). The results indicate that the PDP had a positive impact on teachers, significantly improving their understanding of the NOS and natural selection, as well as their acceptance of the TE. Furthermore, a positive correlation between the understanding of the NOS obtained by teachers in the first part of the PDP and the understanding and acceptance of evolution that these teachers showed at the end of the programme was determined. However, no relationship between an understanding of the NOS and gains in the understanding and acceptance of evolution was found.

  12. Teachers' Implicit Theories of Intelligence: Influences from Different Disciplines and Scientific Theories

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jonsson, Anna-Carin; Beach, Dennis; Korp, Helena; Erlandson, Peter

    2012-01-01

    A sample of 226 Swedish high school teachers from various knowledge domains completed self-report measures of intelligence regarding implicit theories and scientific theories of intelligence. A mixed ANOVA showed that teachers from language, social science and practical disciplines had a significant preference for an incremental theory of…

  13. The process of accepting breast cancer among Chinese women: A grounded theory study.

    PubMed

    Chen, Shuang-Qin; Liu, Jun-E; Li, Zhi; Su, Ya-Li

    2017-06-01

    To describe the process by which Chinese women accept living with breast cancer. Individual interviews were conducted with 18 Chinese women who completed breast cancer treatment. Data were collected from September 2014 to January 2015 at a large tertiary teaching hospital in Beijing, China. In this grounded theory study, data were analyzed using constant comparative and coding analysis methods. In order to explain the process of accepting having breast cancer among women in China through the grounded theory study, a model that includes 5 axial categories was developed. Cognitive reconstruction emerged as the core category. The extent to which the women with breast cancer accepted having the disease was found to increase with the treatment stage and as their treatment stage progressed with time. The accepting process included five stages: non-acceptance, passive acceptance, willingness to accept, behavioral acceptance, and transcendence of acceptance. Our study using grounded theory study develops a model describing the process by which women accept having breast cancer. The model provides some intervention opportunities at every point of the process. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  14. The Scientific Value of Cognitive Load Theory: A Research Agenda Based on the Structuralist View of Theories

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gerjets, Peter; Scheiter, Katharina; Cierniak, Gabriele

    2009-01-01

    In this paper, two methodological perspectives are used to elaborate on the value of cognitive load theory (CLT) as a scientific theory. According to the more traditional critical rationalism of Karl Popper, CLT cannot be considered a scientific theory because some of its fundamental assumptions cannot be tested empirically and are thus not…

  15. Scientific Reasoning: Theory Evidence Coordination in Physics-Based and Non-Physics-Based Tasks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ibrahim, Bashirah; Ding, Lin; Mollohan, Katherine N.; Stammen, Andria

    2016-01-01

    Scientific reasoning is crucial to any scientific discipline. One sub-skill particularly relevant to the scientific enterprise is theory evidence coordination. This study, underpinned by Kuhn's framework for scientific reasoning, investigates how university students coordinate their self-generated theory and evidence in a physics topic (energy)…

  16. The Changing Face of Scientific Discourse: Analysis of Genomic and Proteomic Database Usage and Acceptance.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brown, Cecelia

    2003-01-01

    Discusses the growth in use and acceptance of Web-based genomic and proteomic databases (GPD) in scholarly communication. Confirms the role of GPD in the scientific literature cycle, suggests GPD are a storage and retrieval mechanism for molecular biology information, and recommends that existing models of scientific communication be updated to…

  17. The Model-Based View of Scientific Theories and the Structuring of School Science Programmes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Develaki, Maria

    2007-01-01

    Model theory in contemporary philosophy of science interprets scientific theories as sets of models, and contributes significantly to the understanding of the relation between theories, models, and the real world. The clarification of this relation is fundamental for the understanding of the nature of scientific methods and scientific knowledge…

  18. The Scientific Theory Profile: A Philosophy of Science Model for Science Teachers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Loving, Cathleen

    The model developed for use with science teachers--called the Scientific Theory Profile--consists of placing three well-known philosophers of science on a grid, with the x-axis being their methods for judging theories (rational vs. natural) and the y-axis being their views on scientific theories representing the Truth versus mere models of what…

  19. Factors Affecting Acceptance & Use of ReWIND: Validating the Extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nair, Pradeep Kumar; Ali, Faizan; Leong, Lim Chee

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: This study aims to explain the factors affecting students' acceptance and usage of a lecture capture system (LCS)--ReWIND--in a Malaysian university based on the extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2) model. Technological advances have become an important feature of universities' plans to improve the…

  20. The Development and Validation of the Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution Instrument.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rutledge, Michael L.; Warden, Melissa A.

    1999-01-01

    Describes the development and validation of the Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE), a 20-item, Likert-scaled instrument that assesses teachers' overall acceptance of evolutionary theory. (Author/CCM)

  1. The scientific theory profile: A philosophy of science model for science teachers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Loving, Cathleen C.

    A model called the Scientific Theory Profile was developed for use with preservice and inservice science teachers or with graduate students interested in the various ways scientific theories are perceived. Early indications - from a survey of institutions with science education programs and a survey of current science methods texts - are that too little emphasis is placed on what contemporary writings reveal about the nature and importance of scientific theories. This prompted the development of the Profile. The Profile consists of a grid, with the x-axis representing methods for judging theories (rational vs. natural), and the y-axis representing views on reigning scientific theories as being the Truth versus models of what works best (realism vs. anti-realism). Three well-known philosophers of science who were selected for detailed analysis and who form the keystone positions on the Profile are Thomas Kuhn, Carl Hempel, and Sir Karl Popper. The hypothesis was that an analysis of the writings of respected individuals in philosophy and history of science who have different perspectives on theories (as well as overarching areas of agreement) could be translated into relative coordinates on a graph; and that this visual model might be helpful to science teachers in developing a balanced philosophy of science and a deeper understanding of the power of reigning theories. Nine other contemporary philosophers, all influenced by the three originals, are included in brief analyses, with their positions on the grid being relative to the keystones. The Scientific Theory Profile then forms the basis for a course, now in the planning stages, in perspectives on the nature of science, primarily for science teachers, with some objectives and activities suggested.

  2. Emotional and Spiritual Quotient Approach Improve Biology Education Students’ Acceptance of Evolution Theory

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Darussyamsu, R.; Fadilah, M.; Putri, D. H.

    2018-04-01

    Emotional and spiritual aspect is one of main factors that influence students’ acceptance of a theory. This study aim to measure university students’ acceptance of evolution by learns evolution using emotional and spiritual quotient (ESQ) approach. This is a quasi-experimental research using one shot case study design with the subject 36 biology educational students at Biology Department, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Science, Universitas Negeri Padang. Data collected using the MATE instrument by Rutledge and Warden (2000) after the students learn evolution for eight meetings since January until March 2017. The result showed that by learning evolution theory combine with ESQ aspects increase students acceptance from very low become moderate acceptance. It concluded that ESQ aspects can improve students’ acceptance of evolution. Any criteria depend on it are discussed.

  3. Conceptual Change in Psychology Students' Acceptance of the Scientific Foundation of the Discipline

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Amsel, Eric; Ashley, Aaron; Baird, Todd; Johnston, Adam

    2014-01-01

    Two studies explored conceptual change in undergraduate psychology students' acceptance of the scientific foundations of the discipline. In Study 1, Introductory Psychology students completed the Psychology as Science questionnaire (PAS) at the beginning and end of the semester and did so from their own (Self Condition) and their instructors'…

  4. Acceptance threshold theory can explain occurrence of homosexual behaviour.

    PubMed

    Engel, Katharina C; Männer, Lisa; Ayasse, Manfred; Steiger, Sandra

    2015-01-01

    Same-sex sexual behaviour (SSB) has been documented in a wide range of animals, but its evolutionary causes are not well understood. Here, we investigated SSB in the light of Reeve's acceptance threshold theory. When recognition is not error-proof, the acceptance threshold used by males to recognize potential mating partners should be flexibly adjusted to maximize the fitness pay-off between the costs of erroneously accepting males and the benefits of accepting females. By manipulating male burying beetles' search time for females and their reproductive potential, we influenced their perceived costs of making an acceptance or rejection error. As predicted, when the costs of rejecting females increased, males exhibited more permissive discrimination decisions and showed high levels of SSB; when the costs of accepting males increased, males were more restrictive and showed low levels of SSB. Our results support the idea that in animal species, in which the recognition cues of females and males overlap to a certain degree, SSB is a consequence of an adaptive discrimination strategy to avoid the costs of making rejection errors. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

  5. Kraepelin and degeneration theory.

    PubMed

    Hoff, Paul

    2008-06-01

    Emil Kraepelin's contribution to the clinical and scientific field of psychiatry is recognized world-wide. In recent years, however, there have been a number of critical remarks on his acceptance of degeneration theory in particular and on his political opinion in general, which was said to have carried "overtones of proto-fascism" by Michael Shepherd [28]. The present paper discusses the theoretical cornerstones of Kraepelinian psychiatry with regard to their relevance for Kraepelin's attitude towards degeneration theory. This theory had gained wide influence not only in scientific, but also in philosophical and political circles in the last decades of the nineteenth century. There is no doubt that Kraepelin, on the one hand, accepted and implemented degeneration theory into the debate on etiology and pathogenesis of mental disorders. On the other hand, it is not appropriate to draw a simple and direct line from early versions of degeneration theory to the crimes of psychiatrists and politicians during the rule of national socialism. What we need, is a differentiated view, since this will be the only scientific one. Much research needs to be done here in the future, and such research will surely have a significant impact not only on the historical field, but also on the continuous debate about psychiatry, neuroscience and neurophilosophy.

  6. Mechanisms of mindfulness training: Monitor and Acceptance Theory (MAT).

    PubMed

    Lindsay, Emily K; Creswell, J David

    2017-02-01

    Despite evidence linking trait mindfulness and mindfulness training with a broad range of effects, still little is known about its underlying active mechanisms. Mindfulness is commonly defined as (1) the ongoing monitoring of present-moment experience (2) with an orientation of acceptance. Building on conceptual, clinical, and empirical work, we describe a testable theoretical account to help explain mindfulness effects on cognition, affect, stress, and health outcomes. Specifically, Monitor and Acceptance Theory (MAT) posits that (1), by enhancing awareness of one's experiences, the skill of attention monitoring explains how mindfulness improves cognitive functioning outcomes, yet this same skill can increase affective reactivity. Second (2), by modifying one's relation to monitored experience, acceptance is necessary for reducing affective reactivity, such that attention monitoring and acceptance skills together explain how mindfulness improves negative affectivity, stress, and stress-related health outcomes. We discuss how MAT contributes to mindfulness science, suggest plausible alternatives to the account, and offer specific predictions for future research. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Emphasizing history in communicating scientific debates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sherwood, S. C.

    2010-12-01

    Communication to the public of the reality of anthropogenic climate change has been less successful than many expect. The scientists themselves, the media, special interest groups, or the complexity of modern society are often blamed. However a look at past scientific paradigm shifts, in particular the Copernican revolution and the discovery of relativity, shows close parallels with the modern situation. Common aspects include the gradual formation of a scientific consensus in advance of the public; a politically partisan backlash against the new theory that, paradoxically, occurs after the arrival of conclusive supporting evidence; the prevalence of convincing but invalid pseudo-scientific counterarguments; the general failure of "debates" to increase public acceptance of the scientists' position; and, in the case of the heliocentric solar system, a very long time scale to final public acceptance (> 100 years). Greater emphasis on the lessons from such historical parallels, and on the success so far of consensus predictions of global warming made up to and including the first IPCC report in 1990, might be one useful way of enhancing the public's trust in science and scientists and thereby accelerate acceptance of uncomfortable scientific findings.

  8. Exploring the Intrinsic Motivation of Hedonic Information Systems Acceptance: Integrating Hedonic Theory and Flow with TAM

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Zhihuan

    Research on Information Systems (IS) acceptance is substantially focused on extrinsic motivation in workplaces, little is known about the underlying intrinsic motivations of Hedonic IS (HIS) acceptance. This paper proposes a hybrid HIS acceptance model which takes the unique characteristics of HIS and multiple identities of a HIS user into consideration by interacting Hedonic theory, Flow theory with Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The model was empirically tested by a field survey. The result indicates that emotional responses, imaginal responses, and flow experience are three main contributions of HIS acceptance.

  9. Evolution Acceptance and Epistemological Beliefs of College Biology Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Borgerding, Lisa A.; Deniz, Hasan; Anderson, Elizabeth Shevock

    2017-01-01

    Evolutionary theory is central to biology, and scientifically accurate evolution instruction is promoted within national and state standards documents. Previous literature has identified students' epistemological beliefs as potential predictors of evolution acceptance. The present work seeks to explore more directly how student views of evolution…

  10. Expansive Learning: Benefits and Limitations of Subject-Scientific Learning Theory

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Grotluschen, Anke

    2005-01-01

    One critical learning theory that has survived is once again being acclaimed. Subject-scientific theory requires learners to be taken seriously. Their reasons and resistance need to be brought into the open. This requirement was too radical for schools since it does not allow a fixed syllabus. It has borne fruit, however, in continuing education.…

  11. Realism, Instrumentalism, and Scientific Symbiosis: Psychological Theory as a Search for Truth and the Discovery of Solutions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cacioppo, John T.; Semin, Gun R.; Berntson, Gary G.

    2004-01-01

    Scientific realism holds that scientific theories are approximations of universal truths about reality, whereas scientific instrumentalism posits that scientific theories are intellectual structures that provide adequate predictions of what is observed and useful frameworks for answering questions and solving problems in a given domain. These…

  12. Mechanisms of Mindfulness Training: Monitor and Acceptance Theory (MAT)1

    PubMed Central

    Lindsay, Emily K.; Creswell, J. David

    2016-01-01

    Despite evidence linking trait mindfulness and mindfulness training with a broad range of effects, still little is known about its underlying active mechanisms. Mindfulness is commonly defined as (1) the ongoing monitoring of present-moment experience (2) with an orientation of acceptance. Building on conceptual, clinical, and empirical work, we describe a testable theoretical account to help explain mindfulness effects on cognition, affect, stress, and health outcomes. Specifically, Monitor and Acceptance Theory (MAT) posits that (1), by enhancing awareness of one’s experiences, the skill of attention monitoring explains how mindfulness improves cognitive functioning outcomes, yet this same skill can increase affective reactivity. Second (2), by modifying one’s relation to monitored experience, acceptance is necessary for reducing affective reactivity, such that attention monitoring and acceptance skills together explain how mindfulness improves negative affectivity, stress, and stress-related health outcomes. We discuss how MAT contributes to mindfulness science, suggest plausible alternatives to the account, and offer specific predictions for future research. PMID:27835764

  13. Addressing the Lack of Measurement Invariance for the Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wagler, Amy; Wagler, Ron

    2013-01-01

    The Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) was constructed to be a single-factor instrument that assesses an individual's overall acceptance of evolutionary theory. The MATE was validated and the scores resulting from the MATE were found to be reliable for the population of inservice high school biology teachers. However, many…

  14. Reliability of the Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) Instrument with University Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rutledge, Michael L.; Sadler, Kim C.

    2007-01-01

    The Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) instrument was initially designed to assess high school biology teachers' acceptance of evolutionary theory. To determine if the MATE instrument is reliable with university students, it was administered to students in a non-majors biology course (n = 61) twice over a 3-week period.…

  15. Educational Technology Acceptance across Cultures: A Validation of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology in the Context of Turkish National Culture

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gogus, Aytac; Nistor, Nicolae; Riley, Richard W.; Lerche, Thomas

    2012-01-01

    The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT; Venkatesh et al., 2003, 2012) proposes a major model of educational technology acceptance (ETA) which has been yet validated only in few languages and cultures. Therefore, this study aims at extending the applicability of UTAUT to Turkish culture. Based on acceptance and cultural data…

  16. Criticism of generally accepted fundamentals and methodologies of traffic and transportation theory

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kerner, Boris S.

    It is explained why the set of the fundamental empirical features of traffic breakdown (a transition from free flow to congested traffic) should be the empirical basis for any traffic and transportation theory that can be reliable used for control and optimization in traffic networks. It is shown that generally accepted fundamentals and methodologies of traffic and transportation theory are not consistent with the set of the fundamental empirical features of traffic breakdown at a highway bottleneck. To these fundamentals and methodologies of traffic and transportation theory belong (i) Lighthill-Whitham-Richards (LWR) theory, (ii) the General Motors (GM) model class (formore » example, Herman, Gazis et al. GM model, Gipps’s model, Payne’s model, Newell’s optimal velocity (OV) model, Wiedemann’s model, Bando et al. OV model, Treiber’s IDM, Krauß’s model), (iii) the understanding of highway capacity as a particular stochastic value, and (iv) principles for traffic and transportation network optimization and control (for example, Wardrop’s user equilibrium (UE) and system optimum (SO) principles). Alternatively to these generally accepted fundamentals and methodologies of traffic and transportation theory, we discuss three-phase traffic theory as the basis for traffic flow modeling as well as briefly consider the network breakdown minimization (BM) principle for the optimization of traffic and transportation networks with road bottlenecks.« less

  17. The Large-Scale Structure of Scientific Method

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kosso, Peter

    2009-01-01

    The standard textbook description of the nature of science describes the proposal, testing, and acceptance of a theoretical idea almost entirely in isolation from other theories. The resulting model of science is a kind of piecemeal empiricism that misses the important network structure of scientific knowledge. Only the large-scale description of…

  18. Socioscientific Issues: A Path Towards Advanced Scientific Literacy and Improved Conceptual Understanding of Socially Controversial Scientific Theories

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pinzino, Dean William

    This thesis investigates the use of socioscientific issues (SSI) in the high school science classroom as an introduction to argumentation and socioscientific reasoning, with the goal of improving students' scientific literacy (SL). Current research is reviewed that supports the likelihood of students developing a greater conceptual understanding of scientific theories as well as a deeper understanding of the nature of science (NOS), through participation in informal and formal forms of argumentation in the context of SSI. Significant gains in such understanding may improve a student's ability to recognize the rigor, legitimacy, and veracity of scientific claims and better discern science from pseudoscience. Furthermore, students that participate in significant SSI instruction by negotiating a range of science-related social issues can make significant gains in content knowledge and develop the life-long skills of argumentation and evidence-based reasoning, goals not possible in traditional lecture-based science instruction. SSI-based instruction may therefore help students become responsible citizens. This synthesis also suggests that that the improvements in science literacy and NOS understanding that develop from sustained engagement in SSI-based instruction will better prepare students to examine and scrutinize socially controversial scientific theories (i.e., evolution, global warming, and the Big Bang).

  19. The Development of Genetics in the Light of Thomas Kuhn's Theory of Scientific Revolutions.

    PubMed

    Portin, Petter

    2015-01-01

    The concept of a paradigm is in the key position in Thomas Kuhn's theory of scientific revolutions. A paradigm is the framework within which the results, concepts, hypotheses and theories of scientific research work are understood. According to Kuhn, a paradigm guides the working and efforts of scientists during the time period which he calls the period of normal science. Before long, however, normal science leads to unexplained matters, a situation that then leads the development of the scientific discipline in question to a paradigm shift--a scientific revolution. When a new theory is born, it has either gradually emerged as an extension of the past theory, or the old theory has become a borderline case in the new theory. In the former case, one can speak of a paradigm extension. According to the present author, the development of modern genetics has, until very recent years, been guided by a single paradigm, the Mendelian paradigm which Gregor Mendel launched 150 years ago, and under the guidance of this paradigm the development of genetics has proceeded in a normal fashion in the spirit of logical positivism. Modern discoveries in genetics have, however, created a situation which seems to be leading toward a paradigm shift. The most significant of these discoveries are the findings of adaptive mutations, the phenomenon of transgenerational epigenetic inheritance, and, above all, the present deeply critical state of the concept of the gene.

  20. Are ecological and evolutionary theories scientific?

    PubMed

    Murray, B G

    2001-05-01

    Scientists observe nature, search for generalizations, and provide explanations for why the world is as it is. Generalizations are of two kinds. The first are descriptive and inductive, such as Boyle's Law. They are derived from observations and therefore refer to observables (in this case, pressure and volume). The second are often imaginative and form the axioms of a deductive theory, such as Newton's Laws of Motion. They often refer to unobservables (e.g. inertia and gravitation). Biology has many inductive generalizations (e.g. Bergmann's Rule and 'all cells arise from preexisting cells') but few, if any, recognized universal laws and virtually no deductive theory. Many biologists and philosophers of biology have agreed that predictive theory is inappropriate in biology, which is said to be more complex than physics, and that one can have nonpredictive explanations, such as the neo-Darwinian Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection. Other philosophers dismiss nonpredictive, explanatory theories, including evolutionary 'theory', as metaphysics. Most biologists do not think of themselves as philosophers or give much thought to the philosophical basis of their research. Nevertheless, their philosophy shows in the way they do research. The plethora of ad hoc (i.e. not universal) hypotheses indicates that biologists are reluctant inductivists in that the search for generalization does not have a high priority. Biologists test their hypotheses by verification. Theoretical physicists, in contrast, are deductive unifiers and test their explanatory hypotheses by falsification. I argue that theoretical biology (concerned with unobservables, such as fitness and natural selection) is not scientific because it lacks universal laws and predictive theory. In order to make this argument, I review the differences between verificationism and falsificationism, induction and deduction, and descriptive and explanatory laws. I show how these differ with a specific example of a

  1. Acceptability of a theory of planned behaviour email-based nutrition intervention.

    PubMed

    Kothe, E J; Mullan, B A

    2014-03-01

    This study investigated feasibility and acceptability of a new email-delivered intervention promoting fruit and vegetable consumption in a university-based population of Australian young adults. The study explored whether there are differences in the reported feasibility and acceptability between demographic groups within the population of interest and at three levels of intervention intensity. The email-delivered intervention program consists of an implementation intention 'planning task' and between 3 and 15 short email messages over a 15-day study period. The intervention program was developed using the Theory of Planned Behaviour and was designed to modify perceived behavioural control. One hundred and ten participants (mean age = 19.21 years, 25.6% male) completed the feasibility and acceptability questionnaire at Day 15. This questionnaire contained items about all intervention components. High acceptability and feasibility scores were found for all intervention parts and at all levels of intervention intensity. There were few significant differences in the reported acceptability of items between key demographic sub-groups, and no differences in reported acceptability at different levels of intervention intensity. These results suggest that this email-delivered intervention is an acceptable and feasible tool for promoting fruit and vegetable consumption for participants in the target population.

  2. Religious Affiliation, Religiosity, Gender, and Rape Myth Acceptance: Feminist Theory and Rape Culture.

    PubMed

    Barnett, Michael D; Sligar, Kylie B; Wang, Chiachih D C

    2018-04-01

    Rape myths are false beliefs about rape, rape victims, and rapists, often prejudicial and stereotypical. Guided by feminist theory and available empirical research, this study aimed to examine the influences of gender, religious affiliation, and religiosity on rape myth acceptance of U.S. emerging adults. A sample of 653 university students aged 18 to 30 years were recruited from a large public university in the southern United States to complete the research questionnaires. Results indicated that individuals who identified as Roman Catholic or Protestant endorsed higher levels of rape myth acceptance than their atheist or agnostic counterparts. Men were found more likely to ascribe to rape myths than their female counterparts. Religiosity was positively associated with rape myth acceptance, even after controlling the effect of conservative political ideology. No significant interaction was found between gender and religious affiliation or gender and religiosity. Limitations, future research directions, and implications of the findings are discussed from the perspective of feminist theory.

  3. The Non-Theoretical View on Educational Theory: Scientific, Epistemological and Methodological Assumptions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Penalva, José

    2014-01-01

    This article examines the underlying problems of one particular perspective in educational theory that has recently gained momentum: the Wilfred Carr approach, which puts forward the premise that there is no theory in educational research and, consequently, it is a form of practice. The article highlights the scientific, epistemological and…

  4. Understanding Patterns of Evolution Acceptance--A New Implementation of the Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) with Midwestern University Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Romine, William L.; Walter, Emily M.; Bosse, Ephiram; Todd, Amber N.

    2017-01-01

    We validate the Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) on undergraduate students using the Rasch model and utilize the MATE to explore qualitatively how students express their acceptance of evolution. At least 24 studies have used the MATE, most with the assumption that it is unidimensional. However, we found that the MATE is best…

  5. Marx's scientific theory of surplus population.

    PubMed

    Liu, Z

    1985-07-01

    This paper discusses Marx's scientific theory of surplus population in relation to the Malthusian theory of population. Marx establishes the principle that the existence of relative surplus population is determined by the immanent conditions of the mode of social production. Marx proves scientifically that the appearance of capitalist surplus population is not due to the abstract numerical ratio relation proposed by Mathus in which natural reproduction of humanity takes the geometric progression and the increase in the means of subsistence the arithmetic, but is the result of capitalist accumulation, the increase of the organic component of capital, the incessant increase in constant capital, and the relative decrease in the variable part of capital. Surplus population, according to Marx, cannot be compared with the surplus of the means of subsistence but with its condition of reproduction. Marx differentiates the surplus population into 2 kinds: the ancient population presses on the productive power, while modern productive power presses on population. In class society based on private ownership of the means of production, laborers can realize the integration with the means of production only under the condition that they provide the exploiters with surplus product; therefore, a certain amount of the laboring population are always turning into the relative surplus population. In the process of transition from the transitional to the modern type of population reproduction, there exists a traditional type of population characterized by a high birth rate, low mortality, and high natural growth rate. The situation in China is the result of the level of development of the productive forces and the corresponding underdevelopment of culture and education, but it is by no means the result of the effect of Malthus's "natural law" that population increases in a geometric progression.

  6. Effects of an Educational Experience Incorporating an Inventory of Factors Potentially Influencing Student Acceptance of Biological Evolution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wiles, Jason R.; Alters, Brian

    2011-12-01

    This investigation provides an extensive review of scientific, religious, and otherwise non-scientific factors that may influence student acceptance of biological evolution. We also measure the extent to which students' levels of acceptance changed following an educational experience designed to address an inclusive inventory of factors identified as potentially affecting student acceptance of evolution (n = 81, pre-test/post-test) n = 37, one-year longitudinal). Acceptance of evolution was measured using the Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) instrument among participants enrolled in a secondary-level academic programme during the summer prior to their final year of high school and as they transitioned to the post-secondary level. Student acceptance of evolution was measured to be significantly higher than initial levels both immediately following and over one year after the educational experience. Results reported herein carry implications for future quantitative and qualitative research as well as for cross-disciplinary instruction plans related to evolutionary science and non-scientific factors which may influence student understanding of evolution.

  7. It's Theories All the Way Down: A Response to Scientific Research in Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gee, James Paul

    2005-01-01

    This article considers the six principles that the National Research Council's report Scientific Research in Education claims define an enterprise as scientific. I argue that these principles are relatively vacuous generalities because one cannot determine anything about any of them from outside specific theories of specific domains (and domains…

  8. How People Reason: A Grounded Theory Study of Scientific Reasoning about Global Climate Change

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Shiyu

    Scientific reasoning is crucial in both scientific inquiry and everyday life. While the majority of researchers have studied "how people reason" by focusing on their cognitive processes, factors related to the underpinnings of scientific reasoning are still under-researched. The present study aimed to develop a grounded theory that captures not only the cognitive processes during reasoning but also their underpinnings. In particular, the grounded theory and phenomenographic methodologies were integrated to explore how undergraduate students reason about competing theories and evidence on global climate change. Twenty-six undergraduate students were recruited through theoretical sampling. Constant comparative analysis of responses from interviews and written assessments revealed that participants were mostly drawn to the surface features when reasoning about evidence. While prior knowledge might not directly contribute to participants' performance on evidence evaluation, it affected their level of engagement when reading and evaluating competing arguments on climate issues. More importantly, even though all participants acknowledged the relative correctness of multiple perspectives, they predominantly favored arguments that supported their own beliefs with weak scientific reasoning about the opposing arguments. Additionally, factors such as personal interests, religious beliefs, and reading capacity were also found to have bearings on the way participants evaluated evidence and arguments. In all, this work contributes to the current endeavors in exploring the nature of scientific reasoning. Taking a holistic perspective, it provides an in-depth discussion of factors that may affect or relate to scientific reasoning processes. Furthermore, in comparison with traditional methods used in the literature, the methodological approach employed in this work brought an innovative insight into the investigation of scientific reasoning. Last but not least, this research may

  9. Analysing Teachers' Operations When Teaching Students: What Constitutes Scientific Theories?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Holmqvist, Mona O.; Olander, Clas

    2017-01-01

    The aim of the study is to analyse teachers' efforts to develop secondary school students' knowledge and argumentation skills of what constitutes scientific theories. The analysis is based on Leontiev's three-level structure of activity (activity, action, and operation), as these levels correspond to the questions why, what, and how content is…

  10. Parental Acceptance and Rejection: Theory, Measures, and Research in the Arab World

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ahmed, Ramadan A.; Rohner, Ronald P.; Khaleque, Abdul; Gielen, Uwe P.

    2010-01-01

    Purpose. The purpose of this article is to summarize the rich and growing body of research that draws from parental acceptance-rejection theory (PARTheory) and associated measures as used throughout the Arab world. Methodology. This body of work includes more than 100 studies that explore the reliability and validity of Arabic adaptations of…

  11. THE MODERN SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH ON THE THEORY OF TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE

    PubMed Central

    Wei-Bo, Lu

    1983-01-01

    Traditional Chinese Medicine, unlike in many countries, with its well defined concepts and content, is developed due to the progressive policies of the government. The past 30 years work on scientific lines complemented by the successful and significant efforts to integrate Traditional Chinese Medicine with Western medicine has proved the scientific essence of the theory of this system. Added to this are the social acceptebility, relevance, and effectiveness. This brief review of some of the major work done indicates the bright future it has in contributing to the improvement of the health of the world. PMID:22556966

  12. Analysing teachers' operations when teaching students: what constitutes scientific theories?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Holmqvist, Mona O.; Olander, Clas

    2017-05-01

    The aim of the study is to analyse teachers' efforts to develop secondary school students' knowledge and argumentation skills of what constitutes scientific theories. The analysis is based on Leontiev's three-level structure of activity (activity, action, and operation), as these levels correspond to the questions why, what, and how content is taught. The unit of analysis was a school development project in science education, where design-based interventions were conducted. Data comprised notes and minutes from eight meetings, plans, and video recordings of the lessons, and a written teacher evaluation. The teachers' (n = 7) learning actions were analysed to identify (a) concept formation in science education, (b) expressions of agency, (c) discursive manifestations of contradictions, and (d) patterns of interaction during the science interventions. Three lessons on what constitutes scientific theories were implemented in three different student groups (n = 24, 23, 24), framed by planning and evaluation meetings for each lesson. The results describe (1) the ways in which teachers became more skilled at ensuring instruction met their students' needs and (2) the ways in which teachers' operations during instruction changed as a result of their developed knowledge of how to express the content based on theoretical assumptions.

  13. Terra Incognita - Cosmological Theory and Space Colonization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tolkowsky, G.

    Philosophical and scientific cosmological theory may impact human motivation to colonize space. Isotropic theories regarding cosmic structure and function offer no a-priori advantages to the habitation of any given cosmic zone, and therefore deprive colonization ideology of a cosmological motive. In contrast, certain aniso- tropic theories, which assign superior qualities to some cosmic zones over others, provide such motives. It follows that future space colonization may partially depend on the emergence of anisotropic cosmological theories, some of which are already contained in Western intellectual tradition but are not currently accepted.

  14. Adding Innovation Diffusion Theory to the Technology Acceptance Model: Supporting Employees' Intentions to Use E-Learning Systems

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, Yi-Hsuan; Hsieh, Yi-Chuan; Hsu, Chia-Ning

    2011-01-01

    This study intends to investigate factors affecting business employees' behavioral intentions to use the e-learning system. Combining the innovation diffusion theory (IDT) with the technology acceptance model (TAM), the present study proposes an extended technology acceptance model. The proposed model was tested with data collected from 552…

  15. Scientific Productivity and Idea Acceptance in Nobel Laureates

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Charyton, Christine; DeDios, Samantha Lynn; Nygren, Thomas Eugene

    2015-01-01

    We investigated how new ideas become accepted for Nobel laureates in science. Archival data were collected for 204 Nobel laureates from 1980 to 2009 in physics, chemistry, and medicine or physiology. Acceptance was evaluated for Nobel laureates by Prize area and three key publications in the Nobel laureates' publishing careers: (a) first…

  16. Aristotelian Rhetorical Theory as a Framework for Teaching Scientific and Technical Communication.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Newman, Sara

    1999-01-01

    Describes an upper level rhetorical theory course for Scientific and Technical Communication majors (developed and taught by the author) that is grounded in Aristotle's "On Rhetoric" and in his understanding that effective communication is a systematic "tekhne"/art. Describes how the course uses Aristotle's work as a…

  17. Investigating m-Health Acceptance from a Protection Motivation Theory Perspective: Gender and Age Differences.

    PubMed

    Guo, Xitong; Han, Xiaocui; Zhang, Xiaofei; Dang, Yuanyuan; Chen, Chun

    2015-08-01

    Mobile health (m-health) services are becoming increasingly important and widely accepted. However, empirical studies on potential users' m-health acceptance behavior remain underexplored. Indeed, m-health adoption is not only a technology acceptance behavior, but also a health-related behavior. Based on the Protection Motivation Theory, this article explores users' m-health adoption behavior from the perspectives of threat appraisal and coping appraisal, and also examines the moderating role of gender and age through a survey of potential users. The survey was conducted among 500 potential m-health service participants. Our results show that threat appraisal and coping appraisal factors influence adoption intention through attitude. It is also found that gender and age play different moderating roles with threat appraisal and coping appraisal factors. Gender and age play different roles between threat appraisal and coping appraisal factors in the acceptance of m-health. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

  18. Application of Construal Level and Value-Belief Norm Theories to Undergraduate Decision-Making on a Wildlife Socio-Scientific Issue

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sutter, A. McKinzie; Dauer, Jenny M.; Forbes, Cory T.

    2018-01-01

    One aim of science education is to develop scientific literacy for decision-making in daily life. Socio-scientific issues (SSI) and structured decision-making frameworks can help students reach these objectives. This research uses value belief norm (VBN) theory and construal level theory (CLT) to explore students' use of personal values in their…

  19. What Determines Student Acceptance of Politically Controversial Scientific Conclusions?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Walker, J. D.; Wassenberg, Deena; Franta, Gabriel; Cotner, Sehoya

    2017-01-01

    Certain scientific conclusions are controversial, in that they are rejected by a substantial proportion of nonscientists despite an overwhelming scientific consensus. Science educators are motivated to help students understand the evidence behind the scientific consensus on these matters and to move students' views into alignment with those held…

  20. Perceived Social Acceptance, Theory of Mind and Social Adjustment in Children with Intellectual Disabilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fiasse, Catherine; Nader-Grosbois, Nathalie

    2012-01-01

    Perceived social acceptance, theory of mind (ToM) and social adjustment were investigated in 45 children with intellectual disabilities (ID) compared with 45 typically developing (TD) preschoolers, matched for developmental age assessed by means of the Differential Scales of Intellectual Efficiency-Revised edition (EDEI-R, Perron-Borelli, 1996).…

  1. Perceived social acceptance, theory of mind and social adjustment in children with intellectual disabilities.

    PubMed

    Fiasse, Catherine; Nader-Grosbois, Nathalie

    2012-01-01

    Perceived social acceptance, theory of mind (ToM) and social adjustment were investigated in 45 children with intellectual disabilities (ID) compared with 45 typically developing (TD) preschoolers, matched for developmental age assessed by means of the Differential Scales of Intellectual Efficiency-Revised edition (EDEI-R, Perron-Borelli, 1996). Children's understanding of beliefs and emotions was assessed by means of ToM belief tasks (Nader-Grosbois & Thirion-Marissiaux, 2011) and ToM emotion tasks (Nader-Grosbois & Thirion-Marissiaux, 2011). Seven items from the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for children (PSPCSA, Harter & Pike, 1980) assessed children's perceived social acceptance. Their teachers completed the Social Adjustment for Children Scale (EASE, Hughes, Soares-Boucaud, Hochmann, & Frith, 1997). For both groups together, the results showed that perceived social acceptance mediates the relation between ToM skills and social adjustment. The presence or absence of intellectual disabilities does not moderate the relations either between ToM skills and perceived social acceptance, or between perceived social acceptance and social adjustment. The study did not confirm the difference hypothesis of structural and relational patterns between these three processes in children with ID, but instead supported the hypothesis of a similar structure that develops in a delayed manner. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Non-Scientific Criteria for Belief Sustain Counter-Scientific Beliefs.

    PubMed

    Metz, S Emlen; Weisberg, Deena S; Weisberg, Michael

    2018-02-01

    Why is evolutionary theory controversial among members of the American public? We propose a novel explanation: allegiance to different criteria for belief. In one interview study, two online surveys, and one nationally representative phone poll, we found that evolutionists and creationists take different justifications for belief as legitimate. Those who accept evolution emphasize empirical evidence and scientific consensus. Creationists emphasize not only the Bible and religious authority, but also knowledge of the heart. These criteria for belief remain predictive of views about evolution even when taking into account other related factors like religion, political affiliation, and education. Each view is supported by its own internally specified criteria for what constitutes a justified belief. Changing minds may thus require changing epistemic norms. Copyright © 2018 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

  3. Incorporating the 'Theory of Planned Behavior' into personalized healthcare behavior change research: a call to action.

    PubMed

    Horne, Justine; Madill, Janet; Gilliland, Jason

    2017-11-01

    The 'Theory of Planned Behavior' (TPB) has been tested and validated in the scientific literature across multiple disciplines and is arguably the most widely accepted theory among behavior change academics. Despite this widespread acceptability, the TPB has yet to be incorporated into personalized healthcare behavior change research. Several prominent personalized healthcare researchers suggest that personalizing healthcare recommendations have a positive impact on changes in lifestyle habits. However, research in this area has demonstrated conflicting findings. We provide a scientific and theoretical basis to support a proposed expansion of the TPB to include personalization, and call to action-personalized healthcare behavior change researchers to test this expansion. Specific recommendations for study design are included.

  4. Factors influencing nurses' acceptance of hospital information systems in Iran: application of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology.

    PubMed

    Sharifian, Roxana; Askarian, Fatemeh; Nematolahi, Mohtaram; Farhadi, Payam

    User acceptance is a precondition for successful implementation of hospital information systems (HISs). Increasing investment in information technology by healthcare organisations internationally has made user acceptance an important issue in technology implementation and management. Despite the increased focus on hospital information systems, there continues to be user resistance. The present study aimed to investigate the factors affecting hospital information systems nurse-user acceptance of HISs, based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), in the Shiraz University of Medical Sciences teaching hospitals. A descriptive-analytical research design was employed to study nurses' adoption and use of HISs. Data collection was undertaken using a cross-sectional survey of nurses (n=303). The research model was examined using the LISREL path confirmatory modeling. The results demonstrated that the nurses' behavioural intention (BI) to use hospital information systems was predicted by Performance Expectancy (PE) (β= 2.34, p<0.01), Effort Expectancy (EE) (β= 2.21, p<0.01), Social Influence (SI) (β= 2.63, p<0.01) and Facilitating Conditions (FC) (β= 2.84, p<0.01). The effects of these antecedents of BI explained 72.8% of the variance in nurses' intention to use hospital information systems (R2 = 0.728). Application of the research model suggested that nurses' acceptance of HISs was influenced by performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions, with performance expectancy having the strongest effect on user intention.

  5. Three Decades of Anti-Evolution Campaign and Its Results: Turkish Undergraduates' Acceptance and Understanding of the Biological Evolution Theory

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Peker, Deniz; Comert, Gulsum Gul; Kence, Aykut

    2010-01-01

    Even though in the early years of the Republic of Turkey Darwin's theory of evolution was treated as a scientific theory and taught fairly in schools, despite all the substantial evidence accumulated supporting the theory of evolution since then, Darwin and his ideas today have been scorned by curriculum and education policy makers. Furthermore,…

  6. Why was Relativity Accepted?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brush, S. G.

    Historians of science have published many studies of the reception of Einstein's special and general theories of relativity. Based on a review of these studies, and my own research on the role of the light-bending prediction in the reception of general relativity, I discuss the role of three kinds of reasons for accepting relativity (1) empirical predictions and explanations; (2) social-psychological factors; and (3) aesthetic-mathematical factors. According to the historical studies, acceptance was a three-stage process. First, a few leading scientists adopted the special theory for aesthetic-mathematical reasons. In the second stage, their enthusiastic advocacy persuaded other scientists to work on the theory and apply it to problems currently of interest in atomic physics. The special theory was accepted by many German physicists by 1910 and had begun to attract some interest in other countries. In the third stage, the confirmation of Einstein's light-bending prediction attracted much public attention and forced all physicists to take the general theory of relativity seriously. In addition to light-bending, the explanation of the advance of Mercury's perihelion was considered strong evidence by theoretical physicists. The American astronomers who conducted successful tests of general relativity became defenders of the theory. There is little evidence that relativity was `socially constructed' but its initial acceptance was facilitated by the prestige and resources of its advocates.

  7. On Coordinating Theory with Evidence: The Role of Epistemic Commitments in Scientific Reasoning among College Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zeineddin, Ava; Abd-El-Khalick, Fouad

    2008-01-01

    This study examined the impact of two epistemic commitments on the quality of college students' scientific reasoning in the domain of hydrostatics. These were the commitment to the consistency of theory with prior knowledge and commitment to the consistency of theory with evidence. Participants were 12 sophomore science majors enrolled in a large…

  8. What Does Galileo's Discovery of Jupiter's Moons Tell Us About the Process of Scientific Discovery?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lawson, Anton E.

    In 1610, Galileo Galilei discovered Jupiter''smoons with the aid of a new morepowerful telescope of his invention. Analysisof his report reveals that his discoveryinvolved the use of at least three cycles ofhypothetico-deductive reasoning. Galileofirst used hypothetico-deductive reasoning to generateand reject a fixed star hypothesis.He then generated and rejected an ad hocastronomers-made-a-mistake hypothesis.Finally, he generated, tested, and accepted a moonhypothesis. Galileo''s reasoningis modeled in terms of Piaget''s equilibration theory,Grossberg''s theory of neurologicalactivity, a neural network model proposed by Levine &Prueitt, and another proposedby Kosslyn & Koenig. Given that hypothetico-deductivereasoning has played a rolein other important scientific discoveries, thequestion is asked whether it plays a rolein all important scientific discoveries. In otherwords, is hypothetico-deductive reasoningthe essence of the scientific method? Possiblealternative scientific methods, such asBaconian induction and combinatorial analysis,are explored and rejected as viablealternatives. Educational implications of thishypothetico-deductive view of scienceare discussed.

  9. Should the Equilibrium Point Hypothesis (EPH) be Considered a Scientific Theory?

    PubMed Central

    Sainburg, Robert L.

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this commentary is to discuss factors that limit consideration of the equilibrium point hypothesis as a scientific theory. The EPH describes control of motor neuron threshold through the variable lambda, which corresponds to a unique referent configuration for a muscle, joint, or combination of joints. One of the most compelling features of the equilibrium point hypothesis is the integration of posture and movement control into a single mechanism. While the essential core of the hypothesis is based upon spinal circuitry interacting with peripheral mechanics, the proponents have extended the theory to include the higher-level processes that generate lambda, and in doing so, imposed an injunction against the supraspinal nervous system modeling, computing, or predicting dynamics. This limitation contradicts evidence that humans take account of body and environmental dynamics in motor selection, motor control, and motor adaptation processes. A number of unresolved limitations to the EPH have been debated in the literature for many years, including whether muscle resistance to displacement, measured during movement, is adequate to support this form of control, violations in equifinality predictions, spinal circuits that alter the proposed invariant characteristic for muscles, and limitations in the description of how the complexity of spinal circuitry might be integrated to yield a unique and stable equilibrium position for a given motor neuron threshold. In addition, an important empirical limitation of EPH is the measurement of the invariant characteristic, which needs to be done under a constant central state. While there is no question that the EPH is an elegant and generative hypothesis for motor control research, the claim that this hypothesis has reached the status of a scientific theory is premature. PMID:25386681

  10. Should the Equilibrium Point Hypothesis (EPH) be Considered a Scientific Theory?

    PubMed

    Sainburg, Robert L

    2015-04-01

    The purpose of this commentary is to discuss factors that limit consideration of the equilibrium point hypothesis as a scientific theory. The EPH describes control of motor neuron threshold through the variable lambda, which corresponds to a unique referent configuration for a muscle, joint, or combination of joints. One of the most compelling features of the equilibrium point hypothesis is the integration of posture and movement control into a single mechanism. While the essential core of the hypothesis is based upon spinal circuitry interacting with peripheral mechanics, the proponents have extended the theory to include the higher-level processes that generate lambda, and in doing so, imposed an injunction against the supraspinal nervous system modeling, computing, or predicting dynamics. This limitation contradicts evidence that humans take account of body and environmental dynamics in motor selection, motor control, and motor adaptation processes. A number of unresolved limitations to the EPH have been debated in the literature for many years, including whether muscle resistance to displacement, measured during movement, is adequate to support this form of control, violations in equifinality predictions, spinal circuits that alter the proposed invariant characteristic for muscles, and limitations in the description of how the complexity of spinal circuitry might be integrated to yield a unique and stable equilibrium position for a given motor neuron threshold. In addition, an important empirical limitation of EPH is the measurement of the invariant characteristic, which needs to be done under a constant central state. While there is no question that the EPH is an elegant and generative hypothesis for motor control research, the claim that this hypothesis has reached the status of a scientific theory is premature.

  11. Belief versus acceptance: why do people not believe in evolution?

    PubMed

    Williams, James D

    2009-11-01

    Despite being an established and accepted scientific theory for 150 years, repeated public polls show that evolution is not believed by large numbers of people. This essay examines why people do not accept evolution and argues that its poor representation in some science textbooks allows misconceptions, established and reinforced in early childhood, to take hold. There is also a lack of up-to-date examples of evidence for evolution in school textbooks. Poor understanding by science graduates and teachers of the nature of science and incorrect definitions by them of key terminology, serve only to undermine efforts to improve public understanding of evolution. This paper has several recommendations, including the introduction of evolution to primary age children and a call to bring evolution back as the central tenet of biology.

  12. Historical Scientific Models and Theories as Resources for Learning and Teaching: The Case of Friction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Besson, Ugo

    2013-05-01

    This paper presents a history of research and theories on sliding friction between solids. This history is divided into four phases: from Leonardo da Vinci to Coulomb and the establishment of classical laws of friction; the theories of lubrication and the Tomlinson's theory of friction (1850-1930); the theories of wear, the Bowden and Tabor's synthesis and the birth of Tribology (1930-1980); nanotribology, friction at the atomic scale, and new fields of research (after 1980). Attention is given to recent research, so giving the sense of a topic that is still alive and currently an object of interest, with interpretative controversies. The development of explanatory and visual models is especially stressed, in connection with students' common ideas and with didactic purposes. The history shows that many models proposed in the past have been modified but not abandoned, so that here the scientific evolution has worked more by adding than by eliminating. The last sections discuss problems and proposals on teaching friction and the possible uses in teaching of models, images and theories found in history. Concerning the role of the history in science teaching, the case of friction has particular features, because some recent developments are unknown to most teachers and many results, also not very recent, contrast with the laws usually proposed in textbooks. Here history can supply a number of models, examples and experiments which can constitute useful resources to improve student understanding, joining together objectives of cultural value and of better scientific knowledge.

  13. Metaphor in psychosis: on the possible convergence of Lacanian theory and neuro-scientific research

    PubMed Central

    Ribolsi, Michele; Feyaerts, Jasper; Vanheule, Stijn

    2015-01-01

    Starting from the theories of leading psychiatrists, like Kraepelin and de Clérambault, the French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan (1901–1981) formulated an original theory of psychosis, focusing on the subject and on the structuring role of language. In particular, he postulated that language makes up the experience of subjectivity and that psychosis is marked by the absence of a crucial metaphorization process. Interestingly, in contemporary psychiatry there is growing empirical evidence that schizophrenia is characterized by abnormal interpretation of verbal and non-verbal information, with a great difficulty to put such information in the appropriate context. Neuro-scientific contributions have investigated this difficulty suggesting the possibility of interpreting schizophrenia as a semiotic disorder which makes the patients incapable of understanding the figurative meaning of the metaphoric speech, probably due to a dysfunction of certain right hemisphere areas, such as the right temporoparietal junction and the right superior/middle temporal gyrus. In this paper we first review the Lacanian theory of psychosis and neuro-scientific research in the field of symbolization and metaphoric speech. Next, we discuss possible convergences between both approaches, exploring how they might join and inspire one another. Clinical and neurophysiological research implications are discussed. PMID:26089805

  14. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Pre-Service Teachers' Technology Acceptance: A Validation Study Using Structural Equation Modeling

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Teo, Timothy; Tan, Lynde

    2012-01-01

    This study applies the theory of planned behavior (TPB), a theory that is commonly used in commercial settings, to the educational context to explain pre-service teachers' technology acceptance. It is also interested in examining its validity when used for this purpose. It has found evidence that the TPB is a valid model to explain pre-service…

  15. Reproduction of Social Class in Teacher Education: The Influence of Scientific Theories on Future Teachers' Implicit Beliefs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jonsson, Anna-Carin; Beach, Dennis

    2010-01-01

    The aim of this article was to investigate the influence of a hegemonic class concept in teacher education, more specifically, the changes in the construction of implicit theories of intelligence within future teachers when they were exposed to the scientific g-factor theory of intelligence. A 2 x 2 ANOVA (first versus last semester at the teacher…

  16. Climate Change Conceptual Change: Scientific Information Can Transform Attitudes.

    PubMed

    Ranney, Michael Andrew; Clark, Dav

    2016-01-01

    Of this article's seven experiments, the first five demonstrate that virtually no Americans know the basic global warming mechanism. Fortunately, Experiments 2-5 found that 2-45 min of physical-chemical climate instruction durably increased such understandings. This mechanistic learning, or merely receiving seven highly germane statistical facts (Experiment 6), also increased climate-change acceptance-across the liberal-conservative spectrum. However, Experiment 7's misleading statistics decreased such acceptance (and dramatically, knowledge-confidence). These readily available attitudinal and conceptual changes through scientific information disconfirm what we term "stasis theory"--which some researchers and many laypeople varyingly maintain. Stasis theory subsumes the claim that informing people (particularly Americans) about climate science may be largely futile or even counterproductive--a view that appears historically naïve, suffers from range restrictions (e.g., near-zero mechanistic knowledge), and/or misinterprets some polarization and (noncausal) correlational data. Our studies evidenced no polarizations. Finally, we introduce HowGlobalWarmingWorks.org--a website designed to directly enhance public "climate-change cognition." Copyright © 2016 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

  17. The Theory of Evolution - A Jewish Perspective

    PubMed Central

    Steinberg, Avraham

    2010-01-01

    scientific information will be discovered. The theory of evolution is based upon certain facts, many assumptions, speculations, and interpretations, and some fundamental non-evidence-based beliefs. Judaism accepts all experimentally proven facts and observations of the theory of evolution. Judaism accepts some of the assumptions and interpretations embedded in the theory of evolution, but rejects other assumptions and speculations which contradict fundamental Jewish beliefs, and which are anyway not scientifically proven; to those Judaism offers different interpretations. Judaism strongly rejects all the extensions of the theory of evolution beyond natural sciences, which endorse the biological assumption of the “survival of the fittest” in commerce and human societies as a whole by justifying claims of social inequality, sexism, racism, Nazism, eugenics, and other moral-social deviations as “laws of nature”. PMID:23908780

  18. The theory of evolution - a jewish perspective.

    PubMed

    Steinberg, Avraham

    2010-07-01

    information will be discovered. The theory of evolution is based upon certain facts, many assumptions, speculations, and interpretations, and some fundamental non-evidence-based beliefs. Judaism accepts all experimentally proven facts and observations of the theory of evolution. Judaism accepts some of the assumptions and interpretations embedded in the theory of evolution, but rejects other assumptions and speculations which contradict fundamental Jewish beliefs, and which are anyway not scientifically proven; to those Judaism offers different interpretations. Judaism strongly rejects all the extensions of the theory of evolution beyond natural sciences, which endorse the biological assumption of the "survival of the fittest" in commerce and human societies as a whole by justifying claims of social inequality, sexism, racism, Nazism, eugenics, and other moral-social deviations as "laws of nature".

  19. Scientific Representation and Science Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Matta, Corrado

    2014-01-01

    In this article I examine three examples of philosophical theories of scientific representation with the aim of assessing which of these is a good candidate for a philosophical theory of scientific representation in science learning. The three candidate theories are Giere's intentional approach, Suárez's inferential approach and Lynch and…

  20. Integrating social capital theory, social cognitive theory, and the technology acceptance model to explore a behavioral model of telehealth systems.

    PubMed

    Tsai, Chung-Hung

    2014-05-07

    Telehealth has become an increasingly applied solution to delivering health care to rural and underserved areas by remote health care professionals. This study integrated social capital theory, social cognitive theory, and the technology acceptance model (TAM) to develop a comprehensive behavioral model for analyzing the relationships among social capital factors (social capital theory), technological factors (TAM), and system self-efficacy (social cognitive theory) in telehealth. The proposed framework was validated with 365 respondents from Nantou County, located in Central Taiwan. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to assess the causal relationships that were hypothesized in the proposed model. The finding indicates that elderly residents generally reported positive perceptions toward the telehealth system. Generally, the findings show that social capital factors (social trust, institutional trust, and social participation) significantly positively affect the technological factors (perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness respectively), which influenced usage intention. This study also confirmed that system self-efficacy was the salient antecedent of perceived ease of use. In addition, regarding the samples, the proposed model fitted considerably well. The proposed integrative psychosocial-technological model may serve as a theoretical basis for future research and can also offer empirical foresight to practitioners and researchers in the health departments of governments, hospitals, and rural communities.

  1. Integrating Social Capital Theory, Social Cognitive Theory, and the Technology Acceptance Model to Explore a Behavioral Model of Telehealth Systems

    PubMed Central

    Tsai, Chung-Hung

    2014-01-01

    Telehealth has become an increasingly applied solution to delivering health care to rural and underserved areas by remote health care professionals. This study integrated social capital theory, social cognitive theory, and the technology acceptance model (TAM) to develop a comprehensive behavioral model for analyzing the relationships among social capital factors (social capital theory), technological factors (TAM), and system self-efficacy (social cognitive theory) in telehealth. The proposed framework was validated with 365 respondents from Nantou County, located in Central Taiwan. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to assess the causal relationships that were hypothesized in the proposed model. The finding indicates that elderly residents generally reported positive perceptions toward the telehealth system. Generally, the findings show that social capital factors (social trust, institutional trust, and social participation) significantly positively affect the technological factors (perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness respectively), which influenced usage intention. This study also confirmed that system self-efficacy was the salient antecedent of perceived ease of use. In addition, regarding the samples, the proposed model fitted considerably well. The proposed integrative psychosocial-technological model may serve as a theoretical basis for future research and can also offer empirical foresight to practitioners and researchers in the health departments of governments, hospitals, and rural communities. PMID:24810577

  2. Acceptability of picture archiving and communication system (PACS) among hospital healthcare personnel based on a unified theory of acceptance and use of technology.

    PubMed

    Ahmadi, Maryam; Mehrabi, Nahid; Sheikhtaheri, Abbas; Sadeghi, Mojtaba

    2017-09-01

    The picture archiving and communication system (PACS) is a healthcare system technology which manages medical images and integrates equipment through a network. There are some theories about the use and acceptance of technology by people to describe the behavior and attitudes of end users towards information technologies. We investigated the influential factors on users' acceptance of PACS in the military hospitals of Tehran. In this applied analytical and cross-sectional study, 151 healthcare employees of military hospitals who had experience in using the PACS system were investigated. Participants were selected by census. The following variables were considered: performance expectancy, efforts expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions and behavioral intention. Data were gathered using a questionnaire. Its validity and reliability were approved by a panel of experts and was piloted with 30 hospital healthcare staff (Cronbach's alpha =0.91). Spearman correlation coefficient and multiple linear regression analysis were used in analyzing the data. Expected performance, efforts expectancy, social impact and facilitating conditions had a significant relationship with behavioral intention. The multiple regression analysis indicated that only performance expectancy can predict the user's behavioral intentions to use PACS technology. Performance and effort expectancies are quite influential in accepting the use of PACS in hospitals. All healthcare personnel should become aware that using such technology is necessary in a hospital. Knowing the influencing factors that affect the acceptance of using new technology can help in improving its use, especially in a healthcare system. This can improve the offered healthcare services' quality.

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wallace, Michael L.

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

  4. Integrative Assessment of Evolutionary Theory Acceptance and Knowledge Levels of Biology Undergraduate Students from a Brazilian University

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tavares, Gustavo Medina; Bobrowski, Vera Lucia

    2018-01-01

    The integrative role that Evolutionary theory plays within Biology is recognised by most scientific authors, as well as in governmental education policies, including Brazilian policies. However, teaching and learning evolution seems problematic in many countries, and Brazil is among those. Many factors may affect teachers' and students'…

  5. In defence of inclusive fitness theory.

    PubMed

    Herre, Edward Allen; Wcislo, William T

    2011-03-24

    Arising from M. A. Nowak, C. E. Tarnita & E. O. Wilson 466, 1057-1062 (2010); Nowak et al. reply. Arguably the defining characteristic of the scientific process is its capacity for self-criticism and correction. Nowak et al. challenge proposed connections between relatedness and the evolution of eusociality, suggest instead that defensible nests and "spring-loaded" traits are key, and present alternative modelling approaches. They then dismiss the utility of Hamilton's insight that relatedness has a profound evolutionary effect, formalized in his widely accepted inclusive fitness theory as Hamilton's rule ("Rise and fall of inclusive fitness theory"). However, we believe that Nowak et al. fail to make their case for logical, theoretical and empirical reasons.

  6. An explanation of resisted discoveries based on construal-level theory.

    PubMed

    Fang, Hui

    2015-02-01

    New discoveries and theories are crucial for the development of science, but they are often initially resisted by the scientific community. This paper analyses resistance to scientific discoveries that supplement previous research results or conclusions with new phenomena, such as long chains in macromolecules, Alfvén waves, parity nonconservation in weak interactions and quasicrystals. Construal-level theory is used to explain that the probability of new discoveries may be underestimated because of psychological distance. Thus, the insufficiently examined scope of an accepted theory may lead to overstating the suitable scope and underestimating the probability of its undiscovered counter-examples. Therefore, psychological activity can result in people instinctively resisting new discoveries. Direct evidence can help people judge the validity of a hypothesis with rational thinking. The effects of authorities and textbooks on the resistance to discoveries are also discussed. From the results of our analysis, suggestions are provided to reduce resistance to real discoveries, which will benefit the development of science.

  7. The Relationship Between College Zoology Students' Religious Beliefs and Their Ability to Objectively View the Scientific Evidence Supporting Evolutionary Theory.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sinclair, Anne; Baldwin, Beatrice

    An anonymous 12-item, multiple-choice questionnaire was administered to 218 southern college, introductory zoology students prior to and following a study of evolutionary theory to assess their understanding and acceptance of the credibility of the evidence supporting the theory. Key topics addressed were the history of evolutionary thought, basic…

  8. Acceptability of picture archiving and communication system (PACS) among hospital healthcare personnel based on a unified theory of acceptance and use of technology

    PubMed Central

    Ahmadi, Maryam; Mehrabi, Nahid; Sheikhtaheri, Abbas; Sadeghi, Mojtaba

    2017-01-01

    Background and aim The picture archiving and communication system (PACS) is a healthcare system technology which manages medical images and integrates equipment through a network. There are some theories about the use and acceptance of technology by people to describe the behavior and attitudes of end users towards information technologies. We investigated the influential factors on users’ acceptance of PACS in the military hospitals of Tehran. Methods In this applied analytical and cross-sectional study, 151 healthcare employees of military hospitals who had experience in using the PACS system were investigated. Participants were selected by census. The following variables were considered: performance expectancy, efforts expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions and behavioral intention. Data were gathered using a questionnaire. Its validity and reliability were approved by a panel of experts and was piloted with 30 hospital healthcare staff (Cronbach’s alpha =0.91). Spearman correlation coefficient and multiple linear regression analysis were used in analyzing the data. Results Expected performance, efforts expectancy, social impact and facilitating conditions had a significant relationship with behavioral intention. The multiple regression analysis indicated that only performance expectancy can predict the user’s behavioral intentions to use PACS technology. Conclusion Performance and effort expectancies are quite influential in accepting the use of PACS in hospitals. All healthcare personnel should become aware that using such technology is necessary in a hospital. Knowing the influencing factors that affect the acceptance of using new technology can help in improving its use, especially in a healthcare system. This can improve the offered healthcare services’ quality. PMID:29038717

  9. Using Innovation Diffusion Theory and the Technolgy Acceptance Model to Evaluate the Security of Wireless Mobile Devices at a Post Secondary Institution

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Feliciano-Torres, Hector L.

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this quantitative, descriptive non experimental study was to investigate the use of wireless mobile network devices at a post-secondary institution using the innovation diffusion theory (IDT) and technology acceptance model (TAM) as background theories. The researcher intended to explore how students and personnel of the institution…

  10. Early reactions to Harvey's circulation theory: the impact on medicine.

    PubMed

    Lubitz, Steven A

    2004-09-01

    In early 17th century Europe, scientific concepts were still based largely on ancient philosophical and theological explanations. During this same era, however, experimentation began to take hold as a legitimate component of scientific investigation. In 1628, the English physician William Harvey announced a revolutionary theory stating that blood circulates repeatedly throughout the body. He relied on experimentation, comparative anatomy and calculation to arrive at his conclusions. His theory contrasted sharply with the accepted beliefs of the time, which were based on the 1400-year-old teachings of Galen and denied the presence of circulation. As with many new ideas, Harvey's circulation theory was received with a great deal of controversy among his colleagues. An examination of their motives reveals that many proponents agreed with his theory largely because of the logic of his argument and his use of experimentation and quantitative methods. However, some proponents agreed for religious, mystical and philosophical reasons, while some were convinced only because of the change in public opinion with time. Many opposed the circulation theory because of their rigid commitment to ancient doctrines, the questionable utility of experimentation, the lack of proof that capillaries exist, and a failure to recognize the clinical applications of his theory. Other opponents were motivated by personal resentments and professional "territorialism." Beyond the immediate issues and arguments, however, the controversy is important because it helped establish use of the scientific method.

  11. A Complexity Approach to Evaluating National Scientific Systems through International Scientific Collaborations

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zelnio, Ryan J.

    2013-01-01

    This dissertation seeks to contribute to a fuller understanding of how international scientific collaboration has affected national scientific systems. It does this by developing three methodological approaches grounded in social complexity theory and applying them to the evaluation of national scientific systems. The first methodology identifies…

  12. Zombie science: a sinister consequence of evaluating scientific theories purely on the basis of enlightened self-interest.

    PubMed

    Charlton, Bruce G

    2008-09-01

    Although the classical ideal is that scientific theories are evaluated by a careful teasing-out of their internal logic and external implications, and checking whether these deductions and predictions are in-line-with old and new observations; the fact that so many vague, dumb or incoherent scientific theories are apparently believed by so many scientists for so many years is suggestive that this ideal does not necessarily reflect real world practice. In the real world it looks more like most scientists are quite willing to pursue wrong ideas for so long as they are rewarded with a better chance of achieving more grants, publications and status. The classic account has it that bogus theories should readily be demolished by sceptical (or jealous) competitor scientists. However, in practice even the most conclusive 'hatchet jobs' may fail to kill, or even weaken, phoney hypotheses when they are backed-up with sufficient economic muscle in the form of lavish and sustained funding. And when a branch of science based on phoney theories serves a useful but non-scientific purpose, it may be kept-going indefinitely by continuous transfusions of cash from those whose interests it serves. If this happens, real science expires and a 'zombie science' evolves. Zombie science is science that is dead but will not lie down. It keeps twitching and lumbering around so that (from a distance, and with your eyes half-closed) zombie science looks much like the real thing. But in fact the zombie has no life of its own; it is animated and moved only by the incessant pumping of funds. If zombie science is not scientifically-useable--what is its function? In a nutshell, zombie science is supported because it is useful propaganda to be deployed in arenas such as political rhetoric, public administration, management, public relations, marketing and the mass media generally. It persuades, it constructs taboos, it buttresses some kind of rhetorical attempt to shape mass opinion. Indeed, zombie

  13. Replicative nature of Indian research, essence of scientific temper, and future of scientific progress.

    PubMed

    Singh, Ajai R; Singh, Shakuntala A

    2004-01-01

    A lot of Indian research is replicative in nature. This is because originality is at a premium here and mediocrity is in great demand. But replication has its merit as well because it helps in corroboration. And that is the bedrock on which many a fancied scientific hypothesis or theory stands, or falls. However, to go from replicative to original research will involve a massive effort to restructure the Indian psyche and an all round effort from numerous quarters.The second part of this paper deals with the essence of scientific temper,which need not have any basic friendship, or animosity, with religion, faith, superstition and other such entities. A true scientist follows two cardinal rules. He is never unwilling to accept the worth of evidence, howsoever damning to the most favourite of his theories. Second, and perhaps more important, for want of evidence, he withholds comment. He says neither yes nor no.Where will Science ultimately lead Man is the third part of this essay. One argument is that the conflict between Man and Science will continue tilleither of them is exhausted or wiped out. The other believes that it is Science which has to be harnessed for Man and not Man used for Science. And with the numerous checks and balances in place, Science will remain an effective tool for man's progress. The essential value-neutrality of Science will have to be supplemented by the values that man has upheld for centuries as fundamental, and which religious thought and moral philosophy have continuously professed.

  14. Replicative Nature of Indian Research, Essence of Scientific Temper, and Future of Scientific Progress*

    PubMed Central

    Singh, Ajai R.; Singh, Shakuntala A.

    2004-01-01

    A lot of Indian research is replicative in nature. This is because originality is at a premium here and mediocrity is in great demand. But replication has its merit as well because it helps in corroboration. And that is the bedrock on which many a fancied scientific hypothesis or theory stands, or falls. However, to go from replicative to original research will involve a massive effort to restructure the Indian psyche and an all round effort from numerous quarters. The second part of this paper deals with the essence of scientific temper,which need not have any basic friendship, or animosity, with religion, faith, superstition and other such entities. A true scientist follows two cardinal rules. He is never unwilling to accept the worth of evidence, howsoever damning to the most favourite of his theories. Second, and perhaps more important, for want of evidence, he withholds comment. He says neither yes nor no. Where will Science ultimately lead Man is the third part of this essay. One argument is that the conflict between Man and Science will continue tilleither of them is exhausted or wiped out. The other believes that it is Science which has to be harnessed for Man and not Man used for Science. And with the numerous checks and balances in place, Science will remain an effective tool for man's progress. The essential value-neutrality of Science will have to be supplemented by the values that man has upheld for centuries as fundamental, and which religious thought and moral philosophy have continuously professed. PMID:22815607

  15. Exploring the Factors Related to Acceptance of Evolutionary Theory among Turkish Preservice Biology Teachers: Toward a More Informative Conceptual Ecology for Biological Evolution

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Deniz, Hasan; Donnelly, Lisa A.; Yilmaz, Irfan

    2008-01-01

    In this study, using multiple regression analysis, we aimed to explore the factors related to acceptance of evolutionary theory among preservice Turkish biology teachers using conceptual ecology for biological evolution as a theoretical lens. We aimed to determine the extent to which we can account for the variance in acceptance of evolutionary…

  16. Origin and evolution of the free radical theory of aging: a brief personal history, 1954–2009.

    PubMed

    Harman, Denham

    2009-12-01

    Aging is the progressive accumulation in an organism of diverse, deleterious changes with time that increase the chance of disease and death. The basic chemical process underlying aging was first advanced by the free radical theory of aging (FRTA) in 1954: the reaction of active free radicals, normally produced in the organisms, with cellular constituents initiates the changes associated with aging. The involvement of free radicals in aging is related to their key role in the origin and evolution of life. The initial low acceptance of the FRTA by the scientific community, its slow growth, manifested by meetings and occasional papers based on the theory, prompted this account of the intermittent growth of acceptance of the theory over the past nearly 55 years.

  17. Historical and cultural aspects of the pineal gland: comparison between the theories provided by Spiritism in the 1940s and the current scientific evidence.

    PubMed

    Lucchetti, Giancarlo; Daher, Jorge C; Iandoli, Decio; Gonçalves, Juliane P B; Lucchetti, Alessandra L G

    2013-01-01

    Significance has been attached to the pineal gland in numerous different cultures and beliefs. One religion that has advanced the role of the pineal gland is Spiritism. The objective of the present study was to compile information on the pineal gland drawing on the books of Francisco Cândido Xavier written through psychography and to carry out a critical analysis of their scientific bases by comparing against evidence in the current scientific literature. A systematic search using the terms "pineal gland" and "epiphysis" was conducted of 12 works allegedly dictated by the spirit "André Luiz". All information on the pineal having potential correlation with the field of medicine and current studies was included. Specialists in the area were recruited to compile the information and draw parallels with the scientific literature. The themes related to the pineal gland were: mental health, reproductive function, endocrinology, relationship with physical activity, spiritual connection, criticism of the theory that the organ exerts no function, and description of a hormone secreted by the gland (reference alluding to melatonin, isolated 13 years later). The historical background for each theme was outlined, together with the theories present in the Spiritist books and in the relevant scientific literature. The present article provides an analysis of the knowledge the scientific community can acquire from the history of humanity and from science itself. The process of formulating hypotheses and scientific theories can benefit by drawing on the cultural aspects of civilization, taking into account so-called non-traditional reports and theories.

  18. AN EDUCATIONAL THEORY MODEL--(SIGGS), AN INTEGRATION OF SET THEORY, INFORMATION THEORY, AND GRAPH THEORY WITH GENERAL SYSTEMS THEORY.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    MACCIA, ELIZABETH S.; AND OTHERS

    AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF 20 ITEMS AND A DISCUSSION OF ITS SIGNIFICANCE WAS PRESENTED TO DESCRIBE CURRENT UTILIZATION OF SUBJECT THEORIES IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF AN EDUCATIONAL THEORY. ALSO, A THEORY MODEL WAS USED TO DEMONSTRATE CONSTRUCTION OF A SCIENTIFIC EDUCATIONAL THEORY. THE THEORY MODEL INCORPORATED SET THEORY (S), INFORMATION THEORY…

  19. The (Surplus) Value of Scientific Communication.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Frohlich, Gerhard

    1996-01-01

    Discusses research on scientific communication. Topics include theory-less and formal technical/natural scientific models of scientific communication; social-scientific, power-sensitive models; the sociology of scientific communication; sciences as fields of competition; fraud and deception; potential surplus value across subject information…

  20. Factors of Online Learning Adoption: A Comparative Juxtaposition of the Theory of Planned Behaviour and the Technology Acceptance Model

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ndubisi, Nelson

    2006-01-01

    Organisational investments in information technologies have increased significantly in the past few decades. All around the globe and in Malaysia particularly, a number of educational institutions are experimenting with e-learning. Adopting the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and the technology acceptance model (TAM) this article tries to…

  1. The biopsychosocial model and its potential for a new theory of homeopathy.

    PubMed

    Schmidt, Josef M

    2012-04-01

    Since the nineteenth century the theory of conventional medicine has been developed in close alignment with the mechanistic paradigm of natural sciences. Only in the twentieth century occasional attempts were made to (re)introduce the 'subject' into medical theory, as by Thure von Uexküll (1908-2004) who elaborated the so-called biopsychosocial model of the human being, trying to understand the patient as a unit of organic, mental, and social dimensions of life. Although widely neglected by conventional medicine, it is one of the most coherent, significant, and up-to-date models of medicine at present. Being torn between strict adherence to Hahnemann's original conceptualization and alienation caused by contemporary scientific criticism, homeopathy today still lacks a generally accepted, consistent, and definitive theory which would explain in scientific terms its strength, peculiarity, and principles without relapsing into biomedical reductionism. The biopsychosocial model of the human being implies great potential for a new theory of homeopathy, as may be demonstrated with some typical examples. Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  2. LGBT Youth and Family Acceptance

    PubMed Central

    Katz-Wise, Sabra L.; Rosario, Margaret; Tsappis, Michael

    2016-01-01

    Summary In this article, we address theories of attachment and parental acceptance and rejection, and their implications for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youths’ identity and health. We also provide two clinical cases to illustrate the process of family acceptance of a transgender youth and a gender nonconforming youth who was neither a sexual minority nor transgender. Clinical implications of family acceptance and rejection of LGBT youth are discussed. PMID:27865331

  3. The Relationship between Popper's Philosophy and the Acceptance of the Vitamin Theory: A Case Study of the Methodology of Scientific Research.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Akeroyd, F. Michael

    1985-01-01

    Analyzes the relationship between Karl Popper's philosophy and a 1912 paper by F. G. Hopkins which was instrumental in convincing scientists about merits of the vitamin theory. Concludes that Hopkins' work was convincing because it subjected a theory (which was the center of attention) to the severest possible tests, supporting Popper's position.…

  4. What if Indigenous Knowledge Contradicts Accepted Scientific Findings?--The Hidden Agenda: Respect, Caring and Passion towards Aboriginal Research in the Context of Applying Western Academic Rules

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Witt, Norbert

    2007-01-01

    The statement in the title, what if Indigenous Knowledge contradicts accepted scientific findings (Fowler, 2000), is an expression of the dilemma people who research Indigenous Knowledge think they find themselves in when they are confronted with different interpretations of what it means to be human, or, as I may summarize it, with different…

  5. Addressing the Lack of Measurement Invariance for the Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wagler, Amy; Wagler, Ron

    2013-09-01

    The Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) was constructed to be a single-factor instrument that assesses an individual's overall acceptance of evolutionary theory. The MATE was validated and the scores resulting from the MATE were found to be reliable for the population of inservice high school biology teachers. However, many studies have utilized the MATE for different populations, such as university students enrolled in a biology or genetics course, high school students, and preservice teachers. This is problematic because the dimensionality and reliability of the MATE may not be consistent across populations. It is not uncommon in science education research to find examples where scales are applied to novel populations without proper assessment of the validity and reliability. In order to illustrate this issue, a case study is presented where the dimensionality of the MATE is evaluated for a population of non-science major preservice elementary teachers. With this objective in mind, factor analytic and item response models are fit to the observed data to provide evidence for or against a one-dimensional latent structure and to detect which items do not conform to the theoretical construct for this population. The results of this study call into question any findings and conclusions made using the MATE for a Hispanic population of preservice teachers and point out the error of assuming invariance across substantively different populations.

  6. Getting to Darwin: Obstacles to Accepting Evolution by Natural Selection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thagard, Paul; Findlay, Scott

    2010-06-01

    Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection is central to modern biology, but is resisted by many people. This paper discusses the major psychological obstacles to accepting Darwin’s theory. Cognitive obstacles to adopting evolution by natural selection include conceptual difficulties, methodological issues, and coherence problems that derive from the intuitiveness of alternative theories. The main emotional obstacles to accepting evolution are its apparent conflict with valued beliefs about God, souls, and morality. We draw on the philosophy of science and on a psychological theory of cognitive and emotional belief revision to make suggestions about what can be done to improve acceptance of Darwinian ideas.

  7. SCCR Digital Learning System for Scientific Conceptual Change and Scientific Reasoning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    She, H. C.; Lee, C. Q.

    2008-01-01

    This study reports an adaptive digital learning project, scientific concept construction and reconstruction (SCCR), that was developed based on the theories of Dual Situated Learning Model (DSLM) and scientific reasoning. In addition, the authors investigated the effects of an SCCR related to a "combustion" topic for sixth grade students…

  8. Integrated Model for E-Learning Acceptance

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ramadiani; Rodziah, A.; Hasan, S. M.; Rusli, A.; Noraini, C.

    2016-01-01

    E-learning is not going to work if the system is not used in accordance with user needs. User Interface is very important to encourage using the application. Many theories had discuss about user interface usability evaluation and technology acceptance separately, actually why we do not make it correlation between interface usability evaluation and user acceptance to enhance e-learning process. Therefore, the evaluation model for e-learning interface acceptance is considered important to investigate. The aim of this study is to propose the integrated e-learning user interface acceptance evaluation model. This model was combined some theories of e-learning interface measurement such as, user learning style, usability evaluation, and the user benefit. We formulated in constructive questionnaires which were shared at 125 English Language School (ELS) students. This research statistics used Structural Equation Model using LISREL v8.80 and MANOVA analysis.

  9. Determinants of Mobile Learning Acceptance: An Empirical Investigation in Higher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Akour, Hassan

    2010-01-01

    Scope and method of study: The purpose of this study was to investigate the determinants of mobile learning acceptance in higher education. Mobile learning is a rapidly growing method of learning that utilizes mobile devices to deliver content. Acceptance of mobile learning theory was derived from technology acceptance theories. The study…

  10. The development of scientific identification theory to conduct operation research in education management

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hardhienata, S.

    2017-01-01

    Operations research is a general method used in the study and optimization of a system through modeling of the system. In the field of education, especially in education management, operations research has not been widely used. This paper gives an exposition of ideas about how operations research can be used to conduct research and optimization in the field of education management by developing SITOREM (Scientific Identification Theory for Operation Research in Education Management). To clarify the intent of the idea, an example of applying SITOREM to enhance the professional commitment of lecturers associated with achieving the vision of university will be described.

  11. Social behavioural epistemology and the scientific community.

    PubMed

    Watve, Milind

    2017-07-01

    The progress of science is influenced substantially by social behaviour of and social interactions within the scientific community. Similar to innovations in primate groups, the social acceptance of an innovation depends not only upon the relevance of the innovation but also on the social dominance and connectedness of the innovator. There are a number of parallels between many well-known phenomena in behavioural evolution and various behavioural traits observed in the scientific community. It would be useful, therefore, to use principles of behavioural evolution as hypotheses to study the social behaviour of the scientific community. I argue in this paper that a systematic study of social behavioural epistemology is likely to boost the progress of science by addressing several prevalent biases and other problems in scientific communication and by facilitating appropriate acceptance/rejection of novel concepts.

  12. Maintaining continuity through a scientific revolution: a rereading of E. B. Wilson and T. H. Morgan on sex determination and Mendelism.

    PubMed

    Kingsland, Sharon E

    2007-09-01

    A rereading of the American scientific literature on sex determination from 1902 to 1926 leads to a different understanding of the construction of the Mendelian-chromosome theory after 1910. There was significant intellectual continuity, which has not been properly appreciated, underlying this scientific "revolution." After reexamining the relationship between the ideas of key scientists, in particular Edmund B. Wilson and Thomas Hunt Morgan, I argue that, contrary to the historical literature, Wilson and Morgan did not adopt opposing views on Mendelism and sex determination. Rather, each preferred a non-Mendelian explanation of the determination of sex. Around 1910, both integrated the Mendelian and non-Mendelian theories to create a synthetic theory. One problem was the need to avoid an overly deterministic view of sex while also accepting the validity of Mendelism. Morgan's discovery of mutations on the X chromosome takes on different significance when set in the context of the debate about sex determination, and Calvin Bridges's work on sex determination is better seen as a development of Morgan's ideas, rather than a departure from them. Conclusions point to the role of synthesis within fields as a way to advance scientific theories and reflect on the relationship between synthesis and explanatory "pluralism" in biology.

  13. Using a Historical Controversy to Teach Critical Thinking, the Meaning of "Theory", and the Status of Scientific Knowledge

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Montgomery, Keith

    2009-01-01

    It is important that students understand the "open-ended" nature of scientific knowledge and the correct relationship between facts and theory. One way this can be taught is to examine a past controversy in which the interpretation of facts was contested. The controversy discussed here, with suggestions for teaching, is "Expanding…

  14. Flint and the British Tradition of Relativity Theory

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Beichler, James

    2009-03-01

    Most scientists and scholars are familiar with Sir Arthur Eddington's role in verifying General Relativity in 1919. A few less are aware of his work introducing the theory to the English scientific community. Still less know of Eddington's extensions of relativity theory, especially his attempts to develop a unified field theory. But very few scholars, historians or even physicists are aware of the important role played by other English scientists in the acceptance and development of relativity. In fact, H.T. Flint and his colleagues published more than thirty-five articles in peer reviewed journals in Britain over a period of four decades in an attempt to extend relativity to include electromagnetism and the quantum. Yet his work and that of his close associates is almost completely unknown today, in spite of the fact that he published a book describing his complete unified field theory in the 1960s, well before most quantum theorists even began thinking along the lines of unification. In a world filled with speculations about gravitons, superstrings, quantum loops and other unification models, Flint did it first, but his work has all but disappeared from the scientific consciousness. From Eddington to Flint, the English school of relativists has produced ardent supporters of relativity and numerous advances beyond the standard interpretations of general relativity.

  15. The Australian Racism, Acceptance, and Cultural-Ethnocentrism Scale (RACES): item response theory findings.

    PubMed

    Grigg, Kaine; Manderson, Lenore

    2016-03-17

    Racism and associated discrimination are pervasive and persistent challenges with multiple cumulative deleterious effects contributing to inequities in various health outcomes. Globally, research over the past decade has shown consistent associations between racism and negative health concerns. Such research confirms that race endures as one of the strongest predictors of poor health. Due to the lack of validated Australian measures of racist attitudes, RACES (Racism, Acceptance, and Cultural-Ethnocentrism Scale) was developed. Here, we examine RACES' psychometric properties, including the latent structure, utilising Item Response Theory (IRT). Unidimensional and Multidimensional Rating Scale Model (RSM) Rasch analyses were utilised with 296 Victorian primary school students and 182 adolescents and 220 adults from the Australian community. RACES was demonstrated to be a robust 24-item three-dimensional scale of Accepting Attitudes (12 items), Racist Attitudes (8 items), and Ethnocentric Attitudes (4 items). RSM Rasch analyses provide strong support for the instrument as a robust measure of racist attitudes in the Australian context, and for the overall factorial and construct validity of RACES across primary school children, adolescents, and adults. RACES provides a reliable and valid measure that can be utilised across the lifespan to evaluate attitudes towards all racial, ethnic, cultural, and religious groups. A core function of RACES is to assess the effectiveness of interventions to reduce community levels of racism and in turn inequities in health outcomes within Australia.

  16. Engineers' Non-Scientific Models in Technology Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Norstrom, Per

    2013-01-01

    Engineers commonly use rules, theories and models that lack scientific justification. Examples include rules of thumb based on experience, but also models based on obsolete science or folk theories. Centrifugal forces, heat and cold as substances, and sucking vacuum all belong to the latter group. These models contradict scientific knowledge, but…

  17. Application of construal level and value-belief norm theories to undergraduate decision-making on a wildlife socio-scientific issue

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sutter, A. McKinzie; Dauer, Jenny M.; Forbes, Cory T.

    2018-06-01

    One aim of science education is to develop scientific literacy for decision-making in daily life. Socio-scientific issues (SSI) and structured decision-making frameworks can help students reach these objectives. This research uses value belief norm (VBN) theory and construal level theory (CLT) to explore students' use of personal values in their decision-making processes and the relationship between abstract and concrete problematization and their decision-making. Using mixed methods, we conclude that the level of abstraction with which students problematise a prairie dog agricultural production and ecosystem preservation issue has a significant relationship to the values students used in the decision-making process. However, neither abstraction of the problem statement nor students' surveyed value orientations were significantly related to students' final decisions. These results may help inform teachers' understanding of students and their use of a structured-decision making tool in a classroom, and aid researchers in understanding if these tools help students remain objective in their analyses of complex SSIs.

  18. Tendencies of Comprehension and Acceptance of Theory of Evolution: A Study Involving Students from the Faculties of Education and Theology

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bilen, Kadir; Ercan, Orhan

    2016-01-01

    The current study aimed to identify the views of students from the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Theology from the University of Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam regarding their comprehension and acceptance of the theory of evolution. A survey model was used involving a quantitative research design. The working group of the study was composed of…

  19. [Demonstrating patient safety requires acceptance of a broader scientific palette].

    PubMed

    Leistikow, I

    2017-01-01

    It is high time the medical community recognised that patient-safety research can be assessed using other scientific methods than the traditional medical ones. There is often a fundamental mismatch between the methodology of patient-safety research and the methodology used to assess the quality of this research. One example is research into the reliability and validity of record review as a method for detecting adverse events. This type of research is based on logical positivism, while record review itself is based on social constructivism. Record review does not lead to "one truth": adverse events are not measured on the basis of the records themselves, but by weighing the probability of certain situations being classifiable as adverse events. Healthcare should welcome behavioural and social sciences to its scientific palette. Restricting ourselves to the randomised control trial paradigm is short-sighted and dangerous; it deprives patients of much-needed improvements in safety.

  20. The Interplay of Scientific Activity, Worldviews and Value Outlooks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lacey, Hugh

    2009-01-01

    Scientific activity tends to reflect particular worldviews and their associated value outlooks; and scientific results sometimes have implications for worldviews and the presuppositions of value outlooks. Even so, scientific activity per se neither presupposes nor provides sound rational grounds to accept any worldview or value outlook. Moreover,…

  1. The re-emergence of hyphenated history-and-philosophy-of-science and the testing of theories of scientific change.

    PubMed

    Laudan, Larry; Laudan, Rachel

    2016-10-01

    A basic premise of hyphenated history-and-philosophy-of-science is that theories of scientific change have to be based on empirical evidence derived from carefully constructed historical case studies. This paper analyses one such systematic attempt to test philosophical claims, describing its historical context, rationale, execution, and limited impact. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Blended Training on Scientific Software: A Study on How Scientific Data Are Generated

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Skordaki, Efrosyni-Maria; Bainbridge, Susan

    2018-01-01

    This paper presents the results of a research study on scientific software training in blended learning environments. The investigation focused on training approaches followed by scientific software users whose goal is the reliable application of such software. A key issue in current literature is the requirement for a theory-substantiated…

  3. EPA scientific integrity policy draft

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Showstack, Randy

    2011-08-01

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its draft scientific integrity policy on 5 August. The draft policy addresses scientific ethical standards, communications with the public, the use of advisory committees and peer review, and professional development. The draft policy was developed by an ad hoc group of EPA senior staff and scientists in response to a December 2010 memorandum on scientific integrity from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The agency is accepting public comments on the draft through 6 September; comments should be sent to osa.staff@epa.gov. For more information, see http://www.epa.gov/stpc/pdfs/draft-scientific-integrity-policy-aug2011.pdf.

  4. The use and acceptance of Other Scientifically Relevant Information (OSRI) in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program.

    PubMed

    Bishop, Patricia L; Willett, Catherine E

    2014-02-01

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP) currently relies on an initial screening battery (Tier 1) consisting of five in vitro and six in vivo assays to evaluate a chemical's potential to interact with the endocrine system. Chemical companies may request test waivers based on Other Scientifically Relevant Information (OSRI) that is functionally equivalent to data gathered in the screening battery or that provides information on a potential endocrine effect. Respondents for 47 of the first 67 chemicals evaluated in the EDSP submitted OSRI in lieu of some or all Tier 1 tests, seeking 412 waivers, of which EPA granted only 93. For 20 of the 47 chemicals, EPA denied all OSRI and required the entire Tier 1 battery. Often, the OSRI accepted was either identical to data generated by the Tier 1 assay or indicated a positive result. Although identified as potential sources of OSRI in EPA guidance, Part 158 guideline studies for pesticide registration were seldom accepted by EPA. The 93 waivers reduced animal use by at least 3325 animals. We estimate 27,731 animals were used in the actual Tier 1 tests, with additional animals being used in preparation for testing. Even with EPA's shift toward applying 21st-century toxicology tools to screening of endocrine disruptors in the future, acceptance of OSRI will remain a primary means for avoiding duplicative testing and reducing use of animals in the EDSP. Therefore, it is essential that EPA develop a consistent and transparent basis for accepting OSRI. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. Factors Potentially Influencing Student Acceptance of Biological Evolution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wiles, Jason R.

    This investigation explored scientific, religious, and otherwise nonscientific factors that may influence student acceptance of biological evolution and related concepts, how students perceived these factors to have influenced their levels of acceptance of evolution and changes therein, and what patterns arose among students' articulations of how their levels of acceptance of evolution may have changed. This exploration also measured the extent to which students' levels of acceptance changed following a treatment designed to address factors identified as potentially affecting student acceptance of evolution. Acceptance of evolution was measured using the MATE instrument (Rutledge and Warden, 1999; Rutledge and Sadler, 2007) among participants enrolled in a secondary-level academic program during the summer prior to their final year of high school and as they transitioned to the post-secondary level. Student acceptance of evolution was measured to be significantly higher than pre-treatment levels both immediately following and slightly over one year after treatment. Qualitative data from informal questionnaires, from formal course evaluations, and from semi-structured interviews of students engaged in secondary level education and former students at various stages of post-secondary education confirmed that the suspected factors were perceived by participants to have influenced their levels of acceptance of evolution. Furthermore, participant reports provided insight regarding the relative effects they perceived these factors to have had on their evolution acceptance levels. Additionally, many participants reported that their science teachers in public schools had avoided, omitted, or denigrated evolution during instruction, and several of these students expressed frustration regarding what they perceived to have been a lack of education of an important scientific principle. Finally, no students expressed feelings of being offended by having been taught about

  6. An Empirical Analysis of Citizens' Acceptance Decisions of Electronic-Government Services: A Modification of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) Model to Include Trust as a Basis for Investigation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Awuah, Lawrence J.

    2012-01-01

    Understanding citizens' adoption of electronic-government (e-government) is an important topic, as the use of e-government has become an integral part of governance. Success of such initiatives depends largely on the efficient use of e-government services. The unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model has provided a…

  7. The Effect of Contextual Material on Evolution in the Jordanian Secondary-School Curriculum on Students' Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    De Baz, Theodora; El-Weher, Mahmoud

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to detect the extent to which contextual material of a unit on "The origin and evolution of living organisms" included in the high-school biology curriculum in Jordan affected students' acceptance of the theory of evolution. The participants of this study consisted of 107 tenth-grade students randomly drawn…

  8. What factors determine therapists' acceptance of new technologies for rehabilitation – a study using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT).

    PubMed

    Liu, Lili; Miguel Cruz, Antonio; Rios Rincon, Adriana; Buttar, Vickie; Ranson, Quentin; Goertzen, Darrell

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this study was to examine what factors affect the acceptance behavior and use of new technologies for rehabilitation by therapists at a large rehabilitation hospital in Canada. A self-administrated paper-based survey was created by adapting scales with high levels of internal consistency in prior research using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). Items were scored on a 7-point Likert scale, ranging from "strongly disagree (1)" to "strongly agree (7)". The target population was all occupational therapists (OT) and physical therapists (PT) involved with the provision of therapeutic interventions at the hospital. Our research model was tested using partial least squares (PLS) technique. Performance expectancy was the strongest salient construct for behavioral intention to use new technologies in rehabilitation, whereas neither effort expectancy nor social influence were salient constructs for behavioral intention to use new technologies; (4) facilitating condition and behavioral intention to use new technologies were salient constructs for current use of new technologies in rehabilitation, with facilitating condition the strongest salient for current use of new technologies in rehabilitation. In a large rehabilitation hospital where use of new technologies in rehabilitation is not mandatory, performance expectancy, or how the technology can help in therapists' work, was the most important factor in determining therapists' acceptance and use of technologies. However, effort expectancy and social influence constructs were not important, i.e. therapists were not influenced by the degree of difficulty or social pressures to use technologies. Behavioral intention and facilitating condition, or institutional support, are related to current use of new technologies in rehabilitation.

  9. The public's trust in scientific claims regarding offshore oil drilling.

    PubMed

    Carlisle, Juliet E; Feezell, Jessica T; Michaud, Kristy E H; Smith, Eric R A N; Smith, Leeanna

    2010-09-01

    Our study examines how individuals decide which scientific claims and experts to believe when faced with competing claims regarding a policy issue. Using an experiment in a public opinion survey, we test the source content and credibility hypotheses to assess how much confidence people have in reports about scientific studies of the safety of offshore oil drilling along the California coast. The results show that message content has a substantial impact. People tend to accept reports of scientific studies that support their values and prior beliefs, but not studies that contradict them. Previous studies have shown that core values influence message acceptance. We find that core values and prior beliefs have independent effects on message acceptance. We also find that the sources of the claims make little difference. Finally, the public leans toward believing reports that oil drilling is riskier than previously believed.

  10. Scientific Creationism: A Case Study.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pipho, Chris

    1981-01-01

    Describes the current movement to elevate biblical creationism to a scientific theory to be taught alongside evolution in the public schools. Focuses on the strategies and influence of pro "scientific creationism" groups and reviews pending legislation that would mandate equal teaching time for creationism. (GC)

  11. The Scientific Work We Love: A Duplex Theory of Scientific Impact and Its Application to the Top-Cited Articles in the First 30 Years of APS Journals.

    PubMed

    Sternberg, Robert J

    2018-03-01

    This article proposes a duplex theory for understanding the scientific impact of contributions to psychological science. I argue that articles that we "love" can be understood in terms of (a) triangular elements of intimacy, passion, and commitment and (b) types of stories that characterize high-impact articles. Certain kinds of stories (e.g., review articles) are more likely to have lasting impact, on average, than other kinds of stories (e.g., data-driven empirical articles).

  12. Psychoacoustic entropy theory and its implications for performance practice

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Strohman, Gregory J.

    This dissertation attempts to motivate, derive and imply potential uses for a generalized perceptual theory of musical harmony called psychoacoustic entropy theory. This theory treats the human auditory system as a physical system which takes acoustic measurements. As a result, the human auditory system is subject to all the appropriate uncertainties and limitations of other physical measurement systems. This is the theoretic basis for defining psychoacoustic entropy. Psychoacoustic entropy is a numerical quantity which indexes the degree to which the human auditory system perceives instantaneous disorder within a sound pressure wave. Chapter one explains the importance of harmonic analysis as a tool for performance practice. It also outlines the critical limitations for many of the most influential historical approaches to modeling harmonic stability, particularly when compared to available scientific research in psychoacoustics. Rather than analyze a musical excerpt, psychoacoustic entropy is calculated directly from sound pressure waves themselves. This frames psychoacoustic entropy theory in the most general possible terms as a theory of musical harmony, enabling it to be invoked for any perceivable sound. Chapter two provides and examines many widely accepted mathematical models of the acoustics and psychoacoustics of these sound pressure waves. Chapter three introduces entropy as a precise way of measuring perceived uncertainty in sound pressure waves. Entropy is used, in combination with the acoustic and psychoacoustic models introduced in chapter two, to motivate the mathematical formulation of psychoacoustic entropy theory. Chapter four shows how to use psychoacoustic entropy theory to analyze the certain types of musical harmonies, while chapter five applies the analytical tools developed in chapter four to two short musical excerpts to influence their interpretation. Almost every form of harmonic analysis invokes some degree of mathematical reasoning

  13. Examining the Intention to Use Technology among Pre-Service Teachers: An Integration of the Technology Acceptance Model and Theory of Planned Behavior

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Teo, Timothy

    2012-01-01

    This study examined pre-service teachers' self-reported intention to use technology. One hundred fifty-seven participants completed a survey questionnaire measuring their responses to six constructs from a research model that integrated the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Structural equation modeling was…

  14. Similarities and Dissimilarities in Coauthorship Networks: Gestalt Theory as Explanation for Well-Ordered Collaboration Structures and Production of Scientific Literature.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kretschmer, Hildrun

    2002-01-01

    Based on Gestalt theory, the author assumes the existence of a field-force equilibrium to explain how, according to the conciseness principle, mathematically precise gestalts could exist in coauthorship networks. Develops a mathematical function to describe these gestalts in scientific literature and discusses structural characteristics of…

  15. [Nurses' Innovation Acceptance of Barcode Technology].

    PubMed

    Cheng, Hui-Ping; Lee, Ting-Ting; Liu, Chieh-Yu; Hou, I-Ching

    2016-04-01

    Healthcare organizations have increasingly adopted barcode technology to improve care quality and work efficiency. Barcode technology is simple to use, so it is frequently used in patient identification, medication administration, and specimen collection processes. This study used a technology acceptance model and innovation diffusion theory to explore the innovation acceptance of barcode technology by nurses. The data were collected using a structured questionnaire with open-ended questions that was based on the technology acceptance model and innovation diffusion theory. The questionnaire was distributed to and collected from 200 nurses from March to May 2014. Data on laboratory reporting times and specimen rejection rates were collected as well. Variables that were found to have a significant relationship (p<.001) with innovation acceptance included (in order of importance): perceived usefulness (r=.722), perceived ease of use (r=.720), observability (r=.579), compatibility (r=.364), and trialability (r=.344). N-level nurses demonstrated higher acceptance than their N1 and N2 level peers (F=3.95, p<.05). Further, the mean laboratory reporting time decreased 109 minutes (t=10.03, p<.05) and the mean specimen rejection rate decreased from 2.18% to 0.28%. The results revealed that barcode technology has been accepted by nurses and that this technology effectively decreases both laboratory reporting times and specimen rejection rates. However, network speed and workflow should be further improved in order to benefit clinical practice.

  16. Gerontechnology acceptance by elderly Hong Kong Chinese: a senior technology acceptance model (STAM).

    PubMed

    Chen, Ke; Chan, Alan Hoi Shou

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to develop and test a senior technology acceptance model (STAM) aimed at understanding the acceptance of gerontechnology by older Hong Kong Chinese people. The proposed STAM extended previous technology acceptance models and theories by adding age-related health and ability characteristics of older people. The proposed STAM was empirically tested using a cross-sectional questionnaire survey with a sample of 1012 seniors aged 55 and over in Hong Kong. The result showed that STAM was strongly supported and could explain 68% of the variance in the use of gerontechnology. For older Hong Kong Chinese, individual attributes, which include age, gender, education, gerontechnology self-efficacy and anxiety, and health and ability characteristics, as well as facilitating conditions explicitly and directly affected technology acceptance. These were better predictors of gerontechnology usage behaviour (UB) than the conventionally used attitudinal factors (usefulness and ease of use).

  17. Digital Manipulation in Scientific Images: Some Ethical Considerations.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hayden, James E.

    2000-01-01

    Discusses the importance of images in the publishing and presentation of scientific research. Explains the use of photographs as scientific data in research. Lists some reasons for the manipulation of images, and clarifies the acceptable and unacceptable limits of manipulation and image manipulation policy. (Author/YDS)

  18. Conceptual Ecology of Evolution Acceptance among Greek Education Students: The Contribution of Knowledge Increase

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Athanasiou, Kyriacos; Katakos, Efstratios; Papadopoulou, Penelope

    2012-01-01

    In this study, we explored the factors related to acceptance of evolutionary theory among students/preservice preschool education teachers using conceptual ecology for biological evolution as a theoretical frame. We aimed to examine the acceptance and understanding of evolutionary theory and also the relationship of acceptance and understanding of…

  19. Deans in German Universities: Goal Acceptance and Task Characteristics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Scholkmann, Antonia

    2011-01-01

    This paper presents an empirical study which explored how deans at German universities accept their new role as manager, and which factors influence the acceptance of this role. Within a framework referring to Locke and Latham's goal setting theory, the acceptance of operative goals implemented in the faculties served as an indicator of how well…

  20. The Scientific Status of Learning Styles Theories

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Willingham, Daniel T.; Hughes, Elizabeth M.; Dobolyi, David G.

    2015-01-01

    Theories of learning styles suggest that individuals think and learn best in different ways. These are not differences of ability but rather preferences for processing certain types of information or for processing information in certain types of way. If accurate, learning styles theories could have important implications for instruction because…

  1. A proposed model of factors influencing hydrogen fuel cell vehicle acceptance

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Imanina, N. H. Noor; Kwe Lu, Tan; Fadhilah, A. R.

    2016-03-01

    Issues such as environmental problem and energy insecurity keep worsening as a result of energy use from household to huge industries including automotive industry. Recently, a new type of zero emission vehicle, hydrogen fuel cell vehicle (HFCV) has received attention. Although there are argues on the feasibility of hydrogen as the future fuel, there is another important issue, which is the acceptance of HFCV. The study of technology acceptance in the early stage is a vital key for a successful introduction and penetration of a technology. This paper proposes a model of factors influencing green vehicle acceptance, specifically HFCV. This model is built base on two technology acceptance theories and other empirical studies of vehicle acceptance. It aims to provide a base for finding the key factors influencing new sustainable energy fuelled vehicle, HFCV acceptance which is achieved by explaining intention to accept HFCV. Intention is influenced by attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control from Theory of Planned Behaviour and personal norm from Norm Activation Theory. In the framework, attitude is influenced by perceptions of benefits and risks, and social trust. Perceived behavioural control is influenced by government interventions. Personal norm is influenced by outcome efficacy and problem awareness.

  2. Effects of an Educational Experience Incorporating an Inventory of Factors Potentially Influencing Student Acceptance of Biological Evolution

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wiles, Jason R.; Alters, Brian

    2011-01-01

    This investigation provides an extensive review of scientific, religious, and otherwise non-scientific factors that may influence student acceptance of biological evolution. We also measure the extent to which students' levels of acceptance changed following an educational experience designed to address an inclusive inventory of factors identified…

  3. Nuclear energy acceptance and potential role to meet future energy demand. Which technical/scientific achievements are needed?

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Schenkel, Roland

    25 years after Chernobyl, the Fukushima disaster has changed the perspectives of nuclear power. The disaster has shed a negative light on the independence, reliability and rigor of the national nuclear regulator and plant operator and the usefulness of the international IAEA guidelines on nuclear safety. It has become clear that, in the light of the most severe earthquake in the history of Japan, the plants at Fukushima Daiichi were not adequately protected against tsunamis. Nuclear acceptance has suffered enormously and has changed the perspectives of nuclear energy dramatically in countries that have a very risk-sensitive population, Germany is anmore » example. The paper analyses the reactions in major countries and the expected impact on future deployment of reactors and on R and D activities. On the positive side, the disaster has demonstrated a remarkable robustness of most of the 14 reactors closest to the epicentre of the Tohoku Seaquake although not designed to an event of level 9.0. Public acceptance can only be regained with a rigorous and worldwide approach towards inherent reactor safety and design objectives that limit the impact of severe accidents to the plant itself (like many of the new Gen III reactors). A widespread release of radioactivity and the evacuation (temporary or permanent) of the population up to 30 km around a facility are simply not acceptable. Several countries have announced to request more stringent international standards for reactor safety. The IAEA should take this move forward and intensify and strengthen the different peer review mission schemes. The safety guidelines and peer reviews should in fact become legally binding for IAEA members. The paper gives examples of the new safety features developed over the last 20 years and which yield much safer reactors with lesser burden to the environment under severe accident conditions. The compatibility of these safety systems with the current concepts for fusion-fission hybrids

  4. Nuclear energy acceptance and potential role to meet future energy demand. Which technical/scientific achievements are needed?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schenkel, Roland

    2012-06-01

    25 years after Chernobyl, the Fukushima disaster has changed the perspectives of nuclear power. The disaster has shed a negative light on the independence, reliability and rigor of the national nuclear regulator and plant operator and the usefulness of the international IAEA guidelines on nuclear safety. It has become clear that, in the light of the most severe earthquake in the history of Japan, the plants at Fukushima Daiichi were not adequately protected against tsunamis. Nuclear acceptance has suffered enormously and has changed the perspectives of nuclear energy dramatically in countries that have a very risk-sensitive population, Germany is an example. The paper analyses the reactions in major countries and the expected impact on future deployment of reactors and on R&D activities. On the positive side, the disaster has demonstrated a remarkable robustness of most of the 14 reactors closest to the epicentre of the Tohoku Seaquake although not designed to an event of level 9.0. Public acceptance can only be regained with a rigorous and worldwide approach towards inherent reactor safety and design objectives that limit the impact of severe accidents to the plant itself (like many of the new Gen III reactors). A widespread release of radioactivity and the evacuation (temporary or permanent) of the population up to 30 km around a facility are simply not acceptable. Several countries have announced to request more stringent international standards for reactor safety. The IAEA should take this move forward and intensify and strengthen the different peer review mission schemes. The safety guidelines and peer reviews should in fact become legally binding for IAEA members. The paper gives examples of the new safety features developed over the last 20 years and which yield much safer reactors with lesser burden to the environment under severe accident conditions. The compatibility of these safety systems with the current concepts for fusion-fission hybrids, which have

  5. Scientific knowledge and modern prospecting

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Neuerburg, G.J.

    1985-01-01

    Modern prospecting is the systematic search for specified and generally ill-exposed components of the Earth's crust known as ore. This prospecting depends entirely on reliable, or scientific knowledge for guidance and for recognition of the search objects. Improvement in prospecting results from additions and refinements to scientific knowledge. Scientific knowledge is an ordered distillation of observations too numerous and too complex in themselves for easy understanding and for effective management. The ordering of these observations is accomplished by an evolutionary hierarchy of abstractions. These abstractions employ simplified descriptions consisting of characterization by selected properties, sampling to represent much larger parts of a phenomenon, generalized mappings of patterns of geometrical and numerical relations among properties, and explanation (theory) of these patterns as functional relations among the selected properties. Each abstraction is predicated on the mode of abstraction anticipated for the next higher level, so that research is a deductive process in which the highest level, theory, is indispensible for the growth and refinement of scientific knowledge, and therefore of prospecting methodology. ?? 1985 Springer-Verlag.

  6. Explaining the Intention to Use Technology among Pre-Service Teachers: A Multi-Group Analysis of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Teo, Timothy; Noyes, Jan

    2014-01-01

    Pre-service teachers' self-reported intentions to use information technology were studied. Two hundred and sixty-four participants completed a survey questionnaire measuring their responses to four constructs (performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions) derived from the Unified Theory of Acceptance and…

  7. The Relationship between Biology Teachers' Understanding of the Nature of Science and the Understanding and Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cofré, Hernán; Cuevas, Emilia; Becerra, Beatriz

    2017-01-01

    Despite the importance of the theory of evolution (TE) to scientific knowledge, a number of misconceptions continue to be found among biology teachers. In this context, the first objective of this study was to identify the impact of professional development programme (PDP) on teachers' understanding of nature of science (NOS) and evolution and on…

  8. Spreading Chaos: The Role of Popularizations in the Diffusion of Scientific Ideas

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Paul, Danette

    2004-01-01

    Scientific popularizations are generally considered translations (often dubious ones) of scientific research for a lay audience. This study explores the role popularizations play within scientific discourse, specifically in the development of chaos theory. The methods included a review of the popular and the semipopular books on chaos theory from…

  9. Scientism and Scientific Thinking: A Note on Science Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gasparatou, Renia

    2017-01-01

    The move from respecting science to "scientism," i.e., the idealization of science and scientific method, is simple: We go from acknowledging the sciences as fruitful human activities to oversimplifying the ways they work, and accepting a fuzzy belief that "Science" and "Scientific Method," will give us a direct…

  10. Conceptual Ecology of the Evolution Acceptance among Greek Education Students: Knowledge, religious practices and social influences

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Athanasiou, Kyriacos; Papadopoulou, Penelope

    2012-04-01

    In this study, we explored some of the factors related to the acceptance of evolution theory among Greek university students training to be teachers in early childhood education, using conceptual ecology for biological evolution as a theoretical framework. We examined the acceptance of evolution theory and we also looked into the relationship between the acceptance and parents' education level, thinking dispositions and frequency of religious practice as independent variables. Students' moderate acceptance of evolution theory is positively correlated with the frequency of religious practices and thinking dispositions. Our findings indicate that studying a controversial issue such as the acceptance of evolution theory in a multivariate fashion, using conceptual ecology as a theoretical lens to interpret the findings, is informative. They also indicate the differences that exist between societies and how socio-cultural factors such as the nature of religion, as part of the conceptual ecology, influence acceptance of evolution and have an influence on evolution education.

  11. Making sense scientific claims in advertising. A study of scientifically aware consumers.

    PubMed

    Dodds, Rachel E; Tseëlon, Efrat; Weitkamp, Emma L C

    2008-04-01

    Evidence that science is becoming increasingly embedded in culture comes from the proliferation of discourses of ethical consumption, sustainability, and environmental awareness. Al Gore's recent award, along with UN's Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of the Nobel peace prize-- provided a recent high profile linking of consumption and science. It is not clear to what extent the public at large engages in evaluating the scientific merits of the arguments about the link between human consumption and global environmental catastrophes. But on a local scale, we are routinely required to evaluate, scientific and pseudoscientific claims in advertising. Since advertising is used to sell products, the discourse of scientifically framed claims is being used to persuade consumers of the benefits of these products. In the case of functional foods and cosmetics, such statements are deployed to promote the health benefits and effectiveness of their products. This exploratory study examines the views of British consumers about the scientific and pseudoscientific claims made in advertisements for foods, with particular reference to functional foods, and cosmetics. The participants in the study all worked in scientific environments, though they were not all scientists. The study found that scientific arguments that were congruent with existing health knowledge tended to be accepted while pseudoscientific knowledge was regarded skeptically and concerns were raised over the accuracy and believability of the pseudoscientific claims. It appears that scientific awareness may play a part in consumers' ability to critically examine scientifically and pseudoscientifically based advertising claims.

  12. Communicating Scientific Research to Non-Specialists

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Holman, Megan

    Public outreach to effectively communicate current scientific advances is an essential component of the scientific process. The challenge in making this information accessible is forming a clear, accurate, and concise version of the information from a variety of different sources, so that the information is understandable and compelling to non-specialists in the general public. We are preparing a magazine article about planetary system formation. This article will include background information about star formation and different theories and observations of planet formation to provide context. We will then discuss the latest research and theories describing how planetary systems may be forming in different areas of the universe. We demonstrate here the original professional-level scientific work alongside our public-level explanations and original graphics to demonstrate our editorial process.

  13. The Myth of Scientific Sufficiency in Librarianship.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wright, H. Curtis

    Postwar librarians have sacrificed the humanistic basis of librarianship and regard the use of science in librarianship as a settled issue. American librarianship is currently dominated by the physical thinking of scientific systems theory, which includes Bertalanffy's general system theory, Wiener's cybernetics, and the Hartley-Shannon theory of…

  14. What Goes Up... Gravity and Scientific Method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kosso, Peter

    2017-02-01

    Preface; 1. Introduction; 2. Forces and fields; 3. Basic Newtonian theory; 4. Gravity before Newton; 5. Early modern astronomy; 6. Connecting physics and astronomy; 7. Connecting kinematics and dynamics; 8. Testing the Newtonian theory; 9. Challenging the Newtonian theory; 10. Geometry and equivalence; 11. The general theory of relativity; 12. Testing the general theory of relativity; 13. Using the theory to explore the universe; 14. Dark matter; 15. The structure of scientific knowledge; Glossary; Bibliography.

  15. Critical appraisal of scientific articles: part 1 of a series on evaluation of scientific publications.

    PubMed

    du Prel, Jean-Baptist; Röhrig, Bernd; Blettner, Maria

    2009-02-01

    In the era of evidence-based medicine, one of the most important skills a physician needs is the ability to analyze scientific literature critically. This is necessary to keep medical knowledge up to date and to ensure optimal patient care. The aim of this paper is to present an accessible introduction into critical appraisal of scientific articles. Using a selection of international literature, the reader is introduced to the principles of critical reading of scientific articles in medicine. For the sake of conciseness, detailed description of statistical methods is omitted. Widely accepted principles for critically appraising scientific articles are outlined. Basic knowledge of study design, structuring of an article, the role of different sections, of statistical presentations as well as sources of error and limitation are presented. The reader does not require extensive methodological knowledge. As far as necessary for critical appraisal of scientific articles, differences in research areas like epidemiology, clinical, and basic research are outlined. Further useful references are presented. Basic methodological knowledge is required to select and interpret scientific articles correctly.

  16. Theory-driven, web-based, computer-tailored advice to reduce and interrupt sitting at work: development, feasibility and acceptability testing among employees.

    PubMed

    De Cocker, Katrien; De Bourdeaudhuij, Ilse; Cardon, Greet; Vandelanotte, Corneel

    2015-09-24

    Because of the adverse health effects in adults, interventions to influence workplace sitting, a large contributor to overall daily sedentary time, are needed. Computer-tailored interventions have demonstrated good outcomes in other health behaviours, though few have targeted sitting time at work. Therefore, the present aims were to (1) describe the development of a theory-driven, web-based, computer-tailored advice to influence sitting at work, (2) report on the feasibility of reaching employees, and (3) report on the acceptability of the advice. Employees from a public city service (n = 179) were invited by e-mail to participate. Employees interested to request the advice (n = 112) were sent the website link, a personal login and password. The online advice was based on different aspects of the Theory of Planned Behaviour, Self-Determination Theory and Self-Regulation Theory. Logistic regressions were conducted to compare characteristics (gender, age, education, employment status, amount of sitting and psychosocial correlates of workplace sitting) of employees requesting the advice (n = 90, 80.4%) with those who did not. Two weeks after visiting the website, 47 employees (52.2%) completed an online acceptability questionnaire. Those with a high education were more likely to request the advice than those with a low education (OR = 2.4, CI = 1.0-5.8), and those with a part-time job were more likely to request the advice compared to full-time employees (OR = 2.9, CI = 1.2-7.1). The majority found the advice interesting (n = 36/47, 76.6%), relevant (n = 33/47, 70.2%) and motivating (n = 29/47, 61.7%). Fewer employees believed the advice was practicable (n = 15/47, 31.9%). After completing the advice, 58.0% (n = 25/43) reported to have started interrupting their sitting and 32.6% (n = 17/43) additionally intended to do so; 14.0 % (n = 6/43) reported to have reduced their sitting and another 51.2% (n = 22/43) intended to do so. More efforts are needed to reach lower

  17. Facilitators and Barriers to Adopting Robotic-Assisted Surgery: Contextualizing the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology

    PubMed Central

    BenMessaoud, Christine; Kharrazi, Hadi; MacDorman, Karl F.

    2011-01-01

    Robotic-assisted surgical techniques are not yet well established among surgeon practice groups beyond a few surgical subspecialties. To help identify the facilitators and barriers to their adoption, this belief-elicitation study contextualized and supplemented constructs of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) in robotic-assisted surgery. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with 21 surgeons comprising two groups: users and nonusers. The main facilitators to adoption were Perceived Usefulness and Facilitating Conditions among both users and nonusers, followed by Attitude Toward Using Technology among users and Extrinsic Motivation among nonusers. The three main barriers to adoption for both users and nonusers were Perceived Ease of Use and Complexity, Perceived Usefulness, and Perceived Behavioral Control. This study's findings can assist surgeons, hospital and medical school administrators, and other policy makers on the proper adoption of robotic-assisted surgery and can guide future research on the development of theories and framing of hypotheses. PMID:21283719

  18. USGS to accept private funds

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the federal government's largest earth science research agency, is now authorized to accept contributions from private sources and to collaborate with such sources in projects that support the agency's scientific research and its development of technology and data systems.Before the USGS can accept outside contributions, however, the proposed project must be deemed to be in the public interest and must be deemed compatible with the basic USGS mission. Among the responsibilities of the USGS, are assessing the nation's land, water, energy, and mineral resources and developing methods to define and mitigate hazards associated with earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and landslides. Details on criteria and procedures for making contributions and entering into collaborative projects are outlined in the June 2 Federal Register.

  19. Similarity of wh-Phrases and Acceptability Variation in wh-Islands

    PubMed Central

    Atkinson, Emily; Apple, Aaron; Rawlins, Kyle; Omaki, Akira

    2016-01-01

    In wh-questions that form a syntactic dependency between the fronted wh-phrase and its thematic position, acceptability is severely degraded when the dependency crosses another wh-phrase. It is well known that the acceptability degradation in wh-island violation ameliorates in certain contexts, but the source of this variation remains poorly understood. In the syntax literature, an influential theory – Featural Relativized Minimality – has argued that the wh-island effect is modulated exclusively by the distinctness of morpho-syntactic features in the two wh-phrases, but psycholinguistic theories of memory encoding and retrieval mechanisms predict that semantic properties of wh-phrases should also contribute to wh-island amelioration. We report four acceptability judgment experiments that systematically investigate the role of morpho-syntactic and semantic features in wh-island violations. The results indicate that the distribution of wh-island amelioration is best explained by an account that incorporates the distinctness of morpho-syntactic features as well as the semantic denotation of the wh-phrases. We argue that an integration of syntactic theories and perspectives from psycholinguistics can enrich our understanding of acceptability variation in wh-dependencies. PMID:26793156

  20. Decision-making when data and inferences are not conclusive: risk-benefit and acceptable regret approach.

    PubMed

    Hozo, Iztok; Schell, Michael J; Djulbegovic, Benjamin

    2008-07-01

    The absolute truth in research is unobtainable, as no evidence or research hypothesis is ever 100% conclusive. Therefore, all data and inferences can in principle be considered as "inconclusive." Scientific inference and decision-making need to take into account errors, which are unavoidable in the research enterprise. The errors can occur at the level of conclusions that aim to discern the truthfulness of research hypothesis based on the accuracy of research evidence and hypothesis, and decisions, the goal of which is to enable optimal decision-making under present and specific circumstances. To optimize the chance of both correct conclusions and correct decisions, the synthesis of all major statistical approaches to clinical research is needed. The integration of these approaches (frequentist, Bayesian, and decision-analytic) can be accomplished through formal risk:benefit (R:B) analysis. This chapter illustrates the rational choice of a research hypothesis using R:B analysis based on decision-theoretic expected utility theory framework and the concept of "acceptable regret" to calculate the threshold probability of the "truth" above which the benefit of accepting a research hypothesis outweighs its risks.

  1. Scientific dishonesty—a nationwide survey of doctoral students in Norway

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background The knowledge of scientific dishonesty is scarce and heterogeneous. Therefore this study investigates the experiences with and the attitudes towards various forms of scientific dishonesty among PhD-students at the medical faculties of all Norwegian universities. Method Anonymous questionnaire distributed to all post graduate students attending introductory PhD-courses at all medical faculties in Norway in 2010/2011. Descriptive statistics. Results 189 of 262 questionnaires were returned (72.1%). 65% of the respondents had not, during the last year, heard or read about researchers who committed scientific dishonesty. One respondent had experienced pressure to fabricate and to falsify data, and one had experienced pressure to plagiarize data. On average 60% of the respondents were uncertain whether their department had a written policy concerning scientific conduct. About 11% of the respondents had experienced unethical pressure concerning the order of authors during the last 12 months. 10% did not find it inappropriate to report experimental data without having conducted the experiment and 38% did not find it inappropriate to try a variety of different methods of analysis to find a statistically significant result. 13% agreed that it is acceptable to selectively omit contradictory results to expedite publication and 10% found it acceptable to falsify or fabricate data to expedite publication, if they were confident of their findings. 79% agreed that they would be willing to report misconduct to a responsible official. Conclusion Although there is less scientific dishonesty reported in Norway than in other countries, dishonesty is not unknown to doctoral students. Some forms of scientific misconduct are considered to be acceptable by a significant minority. There was little awareness of relevant policies for scientific conduct, but a high level of willingness to report misconduct. PMID:23289954

  2. A Response to Block's (1996) Paper, "Not So Fast: Some Thoughts on Theory Culling, Relativism, Accepted Findings, and the Heart and Soul of SLA."

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sheen, Ron

    1999-01-01

    Responds to Block's 1996 paper "Not So Fast: Some Thoughts on Theory Culling, Relativism, Accepted Findings, and the Heart and Soul of SLA," which deals in part with blackboxing, the practice of citing references in support of some given position. Maintains that Block raises an important issue but fails to demonstrate important…

  3. Scientific Misconduct

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moore, John W.

    2002-12-01

    These cases provide a good basis for discussions of scientific ethics, particularly with respect to the responsibilities of colleagues in collaborative projects. With increasing numbers of students working in cooperative or collaborative groups, there may be opportunities for more than just discussion—similar issues of responsibility apply to the members of such groups. Further, this is an area where, “no clear, widely accepted standards of behavior exist” (1). Thus there is an opportunity to point out to students that scientific ethics, like science itself, is incomplete and needs constant attention to issues that result from new paradigms such as collaborative research. Finally, each of us can resolve to pay more attention to the contributions we and our colleagues make to collaborative projects, applying to our own work no less critical an eye than we would cast on the work of those we don’t know at all.

  4. How theories became knowledge: Morgan's chromosome theory of heredity in America and Britain.

    PubMed

    Brush, Stephen G

    2002-01-01

    T. H. Morgan, A. H. Sturtevant, H. J. Muller and C. B. Bridges published their comprehensive treatise The Mechanism of Mendelian Heredity in 1915. By 1920 Morgan's "Chromosome Theory of Heredity" was generally accepted by geneticists in the United States, and by British geneticists by 1925. By 1930 it had been incorporated into most general biology, botany, and zoology textbooks as established knowledge. In this paper, I examine the reasons why it was accepted as part of a series of comparative studies of theory-acceptance in the sciences. In this context it is of interest to look at the persuasiveness of confirmed novel predictions, a factor often regarded by philosophers of science as the most important way to justify a theory. Here it turns out to play a role in the decision of some geneticists to accept the theory, but is generally less important than the CTH's ability to explain Mendelian inheritance, sex-linked inheritance, non-disjunction, and the connection between linkage groups and the number of chromosome pairs; in other words, to establish a firm connection between genetics and cytology. It is remarkable that geneticists were willing to accept the CTH as applicable to all organisms at a time when it had been confirmed only for Drosophila. The construction of maps showing the location on the chromosomes of genes for specific characters was especially convincing for non-geneticists.

  5. Extinction of the Dinosuars: Scientific Theory

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Moreno, M. A.

    1993-01-01

    Professor Luis Alvarez, a doctor in physics, of the University of California, Berkeley, proposed in 1980 the theory that an asteroid of 10 kilometers in diameter traveling at more than 100,000 kilometers per hour collided with the earth 65 million years ago causing the extenction of the dinosaurs.

  6. How the World Gains Understanding of a Planet: Analysis of Scientific Understanding in Earth Sciences and of the Communication of Earth-Scientific Explanation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Voute, S.; Kleinhans, M. G.; de Regt, H.

    2010-12-01

    A scientific explanation for a phenomenon is based on relevant theory and initial and background conditions. Scientific understanding, on the other hand, requires intelligibility, which means that a scientist can recognise qualitative characteristic consequences of the theory without doing the actual calculations, and apply it to develop further explanations and predictions. If explanation and understanding are indeed fundamentally different, then it may be possible to convey understanding of earth-scientific phenomena to laymen without the full theoretical background. The aim of this thesis is to analyze how scientists and laymen gain scientific understanding in Earth Sciences, based on the newest insights in the philosophy of science, pedagogy, and science communication. All three disciplines have something to say about how humans learn and understand, even if at very different levels of scientists, students, children or the general public. If different disciplines with different approaches identify and quantify the same theory in the same manner, then there is likely to be something “real” behind the theory. Comparing methodology and learning styles of the different disciplines within the Earth Sciences and by critically analyze earth-scientific exhibitions in different museums may provide insight in the different approaches for earth-scientific explanation and communication. In order to gain earth-scientific understanding, a broad suite of tools is used, such as maps and images, symbols and diagrams, cross-sections and sketches, categorization and classification, modelling, laboratory experiments, (computer) simulations and analogies, remote sensing, and fieldwork. All these tools have a dual nature, containing both theoretical and embodied components. Embodied knowledge is created by doing the actual modelling, intervening in experiments and doing fieldwork. Scientific practice includes discovery and exploration, data collection and analyses, verification

  7. Fleck and the social constitution of scientific objectivity.

    PubMed

    Fagan, Melinda B

    2009-12-01

    Ludwik Fleck's theory of thought-styles has been hailed as a pioneer of constructivist science studies and sociology of scientific knowledge. But this consensus ignores an important feature of Fleck's epistemology. At the core of his account is the ideal of 'objective truth, clarity, and accuracy'. I begin with Fleck's account of modern natural science, locating the ideal of scientific objectivity within his general social epistemology. I then draw on Fleck's view of scientific objectivity to improve upon reflexive accounts of the origin and development of the theory of thought-styles, and reply to objections that Fleck's epistemological stance is self-undermining or inconsistent. Explicating the role of scientific objectivity in Fleck's epistemology reveals his view to be an internally consistent alternative to recent social accounts of scientific objectivity by Harding, Daston and Galison. I use these contrasts to indicate the strengths and weaknesses of Fleck's innovative social epistemology, and propose modifications to address the latter. The result is a renewed version of Fleck's social epistemology, which reconciles commitment to scientific objectivity with integrated sociology, history and philosophy of science.

  8. Applying the Technology Acceptance Model and flow theory to Cyworld user behavior: implication of the Web2.0 user acceptance.

    PubMed

    Shin, Dong-Hee; Kim, Won-Yong; Kim, Won-Young

    2008-06-01

    This study explores attitudinal and behavioral patterns when using Cyworld by adopting an expanded Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). A model for Cyworld acceptance is used to examine how various factors modified from the TAM influence acceptance and its antecedents. This model is examined through an empirical study involving Cyworld users using structural equation modeling techniques. The model shows reasonably good measurement properties and the constructs are validated. The results not only confirm the model but also reveal general factors applicable to Web2.0. A set of constructs in the model can be the Web2.0-specific factors, playing as enhancing factor to attitudes and intention.

  9. Theories about the propagation of yellow fever: the scientific debate in the São Paulo press between 1895 and 1903.

    PubMed

    Lódola, Soraya; Góis Junior, Edivaldo

    2015-01-01

    This article describes the debate over theories about the propagation of yellow fever in the São Paulo press. Our time span was defined as the period between 1895 and 1903, a time that saw high indices of the disease in Brazil. Documentary research involved mass circulation newspapers in São Paulo and medical journals of the period. The empirical data was collected from the Public Archives of the State of São Paulo and from the library of the Faculdade de Saúde Pública at Universidade de São Paulo. It was observed a clash between theories as to the propagation of yellow fever that revealed a symbolic dispute for influence in the formation of the scientific field.

  10. How Could Lay Perspectives on Successful Aging Complement Scientific Theory? Findings From a U.S. and a German Life-Span Sample

    PubMed Central

    Jopp, Daniela S.; Wozniak, Dagmara; Damarin, Amanda K.; De Feo, Melissa; Jung, Seojung; Jeswani, Sheena

    2015-01-01

    Purpose of the Study: This article investigates lay perspectives of the concept of successful aging in young, middle-aged, and older adults from 2 cultures, the United States and Germany, to potentially guide the development of scientific theories of successful aging. The empirical findings are embedded in a comprehensive overview of theories of successful aging and life-span development and offer implications for theory development. Design and Methods: Two samples of young, middle-aged, and older adults from the United States (N = 151) and Germany (N = 155) were asked about definitions and determinants of successful aging. Codes were developed to capture common themes among the answers, resulting in 16 categories. Results: Themes mentioned included resources (health, social), behaviors (activities), and psychological factors (strategies, attitudes/beliefs, well-being, meaning). There were striking similarities across countries, age, and gender. Health and Social Resources were mentioned most frequently, followed by Activities/Interests, Virtues/Attitudes/Beliefs, Well-being, and Life management/Coping. Age differences were limited to Growth/Maturation and Respect/Success, and gender differences were limited to Social Resources and Well-being. Educational and cultural effects were limited to psychological factors and Education/Knowledge, which were more often mentioned by U.S. participants and individuals with more education. Implications: Young, middle-aged, and older lay persons from the United States and Germany have quite similar concepts of successful aging, which they view in far more multidimensional terms than do established scientific theories (Rowe & Kahn, 1998). Given evidence that factors mentioned by laypeople do promote successful aging, considering them in more comprehensive theoretical models may enhance our understanding. PMID:24958719

  11. [Shedding light on chaos theory].

    PubMed

    Chou, Shieu-Ming

    2004-06-01

    Gleick (1987) said that only three twentieth century scientific theories would be important enough to continue be of use in the twenty-first century: The Theory of Relativity, Quantum Theory, and Chaos Theory. Chaos Theory has become a craze which is being used to forge a new scientific system. It has also been extensively applied in a variety of professions. The purpose of this article is to introduce chaos theory and its nursing applications. Chaos is a sign of regular order. This is to say that chaos theory emphasizes the intrinsic potential for regular order within disordered phenomena. It is to be hoped that this article will inspire more nursing scientists to apply this concept to clinical, research, or administrative fields in our profession.

  12. Assessment of Burmese Refugee Students' Meaning Making of Scientific Informational Texts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Croce, Keri-Anne

    2014-01-01

    This two and a half year study examines how non-native English-speaking Burmese refugee students from first to third grades made meaning of scientific informational texts. The study is framed by sociocultural theory and transactional theory. Primary data were drawn from 160 student retellings of scientific informational texts. Secondary data…

  13. Gender-Blind Sexism and Rape Myth Acceptance.

    PubMed

    Stoll, Laurie Cooper; Lilley, Terry Glenn; Pinter, Kelly

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to explore whether gender-blind sexism, as an extension of Bonilla-Silva's racialized social system theory, is an appropriate theoretical framework for understanding the creation and continued prevalence of rape myth acceptance. Specifically, we hypothesize that individuals who hold attitudes consistent with the frames of gender-blind sexism are more likely to accept common rape myths. Data for this article come from an online survey administered to the entire undergraduate student body at a large Midwestern institution (N = 1,401). Regression analysis showed strong support for the effects of gender-blind sexism on rape myth acceptance. © The Author(s) 2016.

  14. iPad Acceptance by English Learners in Saudi Arabia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lawrence, Barry A. M.

    2016-01-01

    This study used the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT; Venkatesh, Morris, Davis, & Davis, 2003) model to investigate factors predicting the acceptance of iPad tablets by learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) at a technical vocational college in Saudi Arabia. An online survey was conducted on 199 male learners,…

  15. Individual and Sex Differences in the Zone of Acceptable Alternatives.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Leung, S. Alvin; Harmon, Lenore W.

    1990-01-01

    Examined zone of acceptable alternatives construct from Gottfredson's theory of career aspiration. College students' (N=246) responses to Occupations List were coded with measurements of sex type and prestige, and indicators of zone of acceptable alternatives for subjects' were computed. Found changes over time and differences related to gender…

  16. Training Packages: The Scientific Management of Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hunter, John

    The theory of scientific management was established as a way to increase workers' productivity. The following are among the key principles underpinning scientific management: task simplification and division of labor boost productivity; management must control the planning of work down to its minutiae; and remuneration should be based on output.…

  17. Epistemological pluralism and scientific development: an argument against authoritative nosologies.

    PubMed

    Markon, Kristian E

    2013-10-01

    The author examines the influence of authoritative nosological systems--those developed by an authoritative body or organization (e.g., the DSM, ICD, RDoC)--on the development of scientific theory and research. Although there has been extensive discussion of how such systems should be organized, and of the historical role of such systems, little focus has been placed on whether these systems impede or facilitate scientific progress. The author reviews the nature and role of constructs in scientific theory and the role of authoritative taxonomy in science. He presents an argument that, although authoritative classification systems clearly have value for nonscientific purposes, or for specific scientific purposes, the systems themselves, at least as they have been constructed thus far, likely impede scientific development by constraining competitive discourse. Implications and recommendations are discussed.

  18. The Impact of Lamarck's Theory of Evolution Before Darwin's Theory.

    PubMed

    Galera, Andrés

    2017-02-01

    This paper analyzes the impact that Lamarckian evolutionary theory had in the scientific community during the period between the advent of Zoological Philosophy and the publication Origin of Species. During these 50 years Lamarck's model was a well known theory and it was discussed by the scientific community as a hypothesis to explain the changing nature of the fossil record throughout the history of Earth. Lamarck's transmutation theory established the foundation of an evolutionary model introducing a new way to research in nature. Darwin's selectionist theory was proposed in 1859 to explain the origin of species within this epistemological process. In this context, Charles Lyell's Principles of Geology and Auguste Comte's Cours de Philosophie Positive appear as two major works for the dissemination of Lamarck's evolutionary ideology after the death of the French naturalist in 1829.

  19. Bias neglect: a blind spot in the evaluation of scientific results.

    PubMed

    Strickland, Brent; Mercier, Hugo

    2014-01-01

    Experimenter bias occurs when scientists' hypotheses influence their results, even if involuntarily. Meta-analyses have suggested that in some domains, such as psychology, up to a third of the studies could be unreliable due to such biases. A series of experiments demonstrates that while people are aware of the possibility that scientists can be more biased when the conclusions of their experiments fit their initial hypotheses, they robustly fail to appreciate that they should also be more sceptical of such results. This is true even when participants read descriptions of studies that have been shown to be biased. Moreover, participants take other sources of bias-such as financial incentives-into account, showing that this bias neglect may be specific to theory-driven hypothesis testing. In combination with a common style of scientific reporting, bias neglect could lead the public to accept premature conclusions.

  20. English Secondary Students' Thinking about the Status of Scientific Theories: Consistent, Comprehensive, Coherent and Extensively Evidenced Explanations of Aspects of the Natural World--Or Just "An Idea Someone Has"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Taber, Keith S.; Billingsley, Berry; Riga, Fran; Newdick, Helen

    2015-01-01

    Teaching about the nature of science (NOS) is seen as a priority for science education in many national contexts. The present paper focuses on one central issue in learning about NOS: understanding the nature and status of scientific theories. A key challenge in teaching about NOS is to persuade students that scientific knowledge is generally…

  1. Analysis of the acceptance of autonomous planetary science data collection by field of inquiry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Straub, Jeremy

    2015-06-01

    The acceptance of autonomous control technologies in planetary science has met significant resistance. Many within this scientific community question the efficacy of autonomous technologies for making decisions regarding what data to collect, how to process it and its processing. These technologies, however, can be used to significantly increase the scientific return on mission investment by removing limitations imposed by communications bandwidth constraints and communications and human decision making delays. A fully autonomous mission, in an ideal case, could be deployed, perform most of the substantive work itself (possibly relying on human assistance for dealing with any unexpected or unexplained occurrences) and return an answer to a scientific question along with data selected to allow scientists to validate software performance. This paper presents the results of a survey of planetary scientists which attempts to identify the root causes of the impediments to the use of this type of technology and identify pathways to its acceptance. Previous work considered planetary science as a single large community. This paper contrasts the differences in acceptance between component fields of planetary science.

  2. Improving Scientific Voice in the Science Communication Center at UT Knoxville

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hirst, Russel

    2013-01-01

    Many science students believe that scientific writing is most impressive (and most professionally acceptable) when impersonal, dense, complex, and packed with jargon. In particular, they have the idea that legitimate scientific writing must suppress the subjectivity of the human voice. But science students can mature into excellent writers whose…

  3. Consumer acceptance of irradiated food: theory and reality

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bruhn, Christine M.

    1998-06-01

    For years most consumers have expressed less concern about food irradiation than other food processing technologies. Attitude studies have demonstrated that when given science-based information, from 60% to 90% of consumers prefer the advantages irradiation processing provides. When information is accompanied by samples, acceptance may increase to 99%. Information on irradiation should include product benefits, safety and wholesomeness, address environmental safety issues, and include endorsements by recognized health authorities. Educational and marketing programs should now be directed toward retailers and processors. Given the opportunity, consumers will buy high quality, safety-enhanced irradiated food.

  4. The Humanbecoming theory as a reinterpretation of the symbolic interactionism: a critique of its specific nature and scientific underpinnings.

    PubMed

    Tapp, Diane; Lavoie, Mireille

    2017-04-01

    Discussions about real knowledge contained in grand theories and models seem to remain an active quest in the academic sphere. The most fervent of these defendants is Rosemarie Parse with her Humanbecoming School of Thought (1981, 1998). This article first highlights the similarities between Parse's theory and Blumer's symbolic interactionism (1969). This comparison will act as a counterargument to Parse's assertions that her theory is original 'nursing' material. Standing on the contemporary philosophy of science, the very possibility for discovering specific nursing knowledge will be questioned. Second, Parse's scientific assumptions will be thoroughly addressed and contrasted with Blumer's more moderate view of knowledge. It will lead to recognize that the valorization of the social nature of existence and reality does not necessarily induce requirements and methods such as those proposed by Parse. According to Blumer's point of view, her perspective may not even be desirable. Recommendations will be raised about the necessity for a distanced relationship to knowledge, being the key to the pursuit of its improvement, not its circular contemplation. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  5. Problems with Feminist Standpoint Theory in Science Education

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Landau, Iddo

    2008-11-01

    Feminist standpoint theory has important implications for science education. The paper focuses on difficulties in standpoint theory, mostly regarding the assumptions that different social positions produce different types of knowledge, and that epistemic advantages that women might enjoy are always effective and significant. I conclude that the difficulties in standpoint theory render it too problematic to accept. Various implications for science education are indicated: we should return to the kind of science education that instructs students to examine whether arguments, experiments, etc. are successful, rather than ask who presented them; when considering researchers and students for science education programs we should examine their scholarly achievements, rather than the group to which they belong; women should not be discouraged from engaging in “mainstream” science research and education (or other spheres of knowledge considered as “men’s topics”) and men should not be discouraged from engaging in what are considered “women’s topics” in science (or outside it); we should not assume that there are different types of science for women and for men, nor different ways for women and men to study science or conduct scientific research.

  6. Studying Scientific Discovery by Computer Simulation.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1983-03-30

    Mendel’s laws of inheritance, the law of Gay- Lussac for gaseous reactions, tile law of Dulong and Petit, the derivation of atomic weights by Avogadro...neceseary mid identify by block number) scientific discovery -ittri sic properties physical laws extensive terms data-driven heuristics intensive...terms theory-driven heuristics conservation laws 20. ABSTRACT (Continue on revere. side It necessary and identify by block number) Scientific discovery

  7. Measuring the effectiveness of scientific gatekeeping.

    PubMed

    Siler, Kyle; Lee, Kirby; Bero, Lisa

    2015-01-13

    Peer review is the main institution responsible for the evaluation and gestation of scientific research. Although peer review is widely seen as vital to scientific evaluation, anecdotal evidence abounds of gatekeeping mistakes in leading journals, such as rejecting seminal contributions or accepting mediocre submissions. Systematic evidence regarding the effectiveness--or lack thereof--of scientific gatekeeping is scant, largely because access to rejected manuscripts from journals is rarely available. Using a dataset of 1,008 manuscripts submitted to three elite medical journals, we show differences in citation outcomes for articles that received different appraisals from editors and peer reviewers. Among rejected articles, desk-rejected manuscripts, deemed as unworthy of peer review by editors, received fewer citations than those sent for peer review. Among both rejected and accepted articles, manuscripts with lower scores from peer reviewers received relatively fewer citations when they were eventually published. However, hindsight reveals numerous questionable gatekeeping decisions. Of the 808 eventually published articles in our dataset, our three focal journals rejected many highly cited manuscripts, including the 14 most popular; roughly the top 2 percent. Of those 14 articles, 12 were desk-rejected. This finding raises concerns regarding whether peer review is ill--suited to recognize and gestate the most impactful ideas and research. Despite this finding, results show that in our case studies, on the whole, there was value added in peer review. Editors and peer reviewers generally--but not always-made good decisions regarding the identification and promotion of quality in scientific manuscripts.

  8. Harz/Vesper: Acceptance Research with Logical Relations and Pragma-Dialectics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Harz, M.

    2012-04-01

    We use two different theories for our research on the acceptance of carbon capture and storage (CCS), geothermal energy and shale gas: logical relations and pragma-dialectics. With the theory of logical relations we can describe the structure of the terminus "acceptance" as a three-place or more relationship. We use the Newtonian binominal coefficients order to reflect on the complexity of the concept of acceptance. We are exploring relations between citizens, politicians, scientists, businesses and technologies. The technological-philosophical reflection on the topic "Determinants for acceptance of new technologies" concerns the issues of "Trust", "Security" as well as "Interest and Use" as the essential constituents of acceptance. Trust: Politicians, scientists and entrepreneurs need to understand themselves as advocates of acceptance. Acceptance is not automatic but requires a great effort and continuous personal commitment, as you want to secure acceptance not only for the short-term but for the long-term. The confidence curve follows a hysteresis loop as known from the magnetization of materials: It requires a significant effort. If the existing trust is lost due to erroneous communication or incorrect political action, the restoration effort is significantly greater. Citizens need to understand themselves as being asked for acceptance and as actively influencing the shapes of their life. They may not feel as victims or sufferers from technological developments but should have a realistic feeling of being able to influence - in fact - anything. "Openness creates openness." (H.-J. Bullinger) Security: The advocate promoting acceptance must take into account the security needs of the citizens with regard to the technologies which are supposed to be accepted. Even irrational fears are actual fears that can prevent acceptance. Interests and Goals of Usage: The advocate promoting acceptance must - sincerely and publicly - express his interest in the use and goals

  9. Toward Theory-Based Instruction in Scientific Problem Solving.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Heller, Joan I.; And Others

    Several empirical and theoretical analyses related to scientific problem-solving are reviewed, including: detailed studies of individuals at different levels of expertise, and computer models simulating some aspects of human information processing during problem solving. Analysis of these studies has revealed many facets about the nature of the…

  10. Getting to Darwin: Obstacles to Accepting Evolution by Natural Selection

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thagard, Paul; Findlay, Scott

    2010-01-01

    Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection is central to modern biology, but is resisted by many people. This paper discusses the major psychological obstacles to accepting Darwin's theory. Cognitive obstacles to adopting evolution by natural selection include conceptual difficulties, methodological issues, and coherence problems that…

  11. Technological Diffusion within Educational Institutions: Applying the Technology Acceptance Model.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wolski, Stacy; Jackson, Sally

    Expectancy models of behavior such as the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) offer guidelines that aid efforts to facilitate use of new technology. These models remind us that both acceptance of and resistance to technology use are grounded in beliefs and norms regarding the technology. Although TAM is widely…

  12. Contextually Aided Recovery (CARe): a scientific theory for innate healing.

    PubMed

    Newell, Dave; Lothe, Lise R; Raven, Timothy J L

    2017-01-01

    The chiropractic profession emerged when scientific explanations for causes of health and disease were still in infancy and the co-existence of notions such as innate healing and vitalism were perhaps admissible within such a historical context. Notwithstanding, within the scientific culture of the 21 st Century all healthcare paradigms require evidential support which in regard these early concepts are in large part, absent. Nevertheless, a large body of emerging scientific evidence supports the existence of innate healing phenomena that may explain a plethora of clinical outcomes observed during chiropractic care. However, in contrast to the notion that removing the putative subluxation constitutes the mechanism by which this healing is initiated, the evidentially supported explanation is one that invokes the impact of contextual factors inherent in the skilful care and authority of the healthcare provider. This perspective is presented here as the scientific model of Contextually Aided Recovery (CARe). This paper contends that;Contextual effects are powerful and desirable and are triggered by contextual factors present in all therapeutic encounters including those encountered in chiropractic practice.These factors can elicit large clinical effects with substantive evidence supporting pain, immune and motor modulation.The compartmentalisation of specific and non-specific effects is a biologically and scientifically false dichotomy, erroneously invoked to de-legitimise treatment approaches that expertly construct contextual healing scenarios.The use of factors to construct contextual healing scenarios that maximise positive (placebo) and minimize negative (nocebo) effects is a skilful clinical art within the multimodal approach that describes modern chiropractic care and should be presented and defended as a legitimate component of orthodox healthcare Clinical improvement during chiropractic care, beyond any biologically specific treatment effects of manipulation

  13. Acceptable regret in medical decision making.

    PubMed

    Djulbegovic, B; Hozo, I; Schwartz, A; McMasters, K M

    1999-09-01

    When faced with medical decisions involving uncertain outcomes, the principles of decision theory hold that we should select the option with the highest expected utility to maximize health over time. Whether a decision proves right or wrong can be learned only in retrospect, when it may become apparent that another course of action would have been preferable. This realization may bring a sense of loss, or regret. When anticipated regret is compelling, a decision maker may choose to violate expected utility theory to avoid regret. We formulate a concept of acceptable regret in medical decision making that explicitly introduces the patient's attitude toward loss of health due to a mistaken decision into decision making. In most cases, minimizing expected regret results in the same decision as maximizing expected utility. However, when acceptable regret is taken into consideration, the threshold probability below which we can comfortably withhold treatment is a function only of the net benefit of the treatment, and the threshold probability above which we can comfortably administer the treatment depends only on the magnitude of the risks associated with the therapy. By considering acceptable regret, we develop new conceptual relations that can help decide whether treatment should be withheld or administered, especially when the diagnosis is uncertain. This may be particularly beneficial in deciding what constitutes futile medical care.

  14. [Upon scientific accuracy scheme at clinical specialties].

    PubMed

    Ortega Calvo, M

    2006-11-01

    Will be medical specialties like sciences in the future? Yes, progressively they will. Accuracy in clinical specialties will be dissimilar in the future because formal-logic mathematics, quantum physics advances and relativity theory utilities. Evidence based medicine is now helping to clinical specialties on scientific accuracy by the way of decision theory.

  15. The technology acceptance model: its past and its future in health care.

    PubMed

    Holden, Richard J; Karsh, Ben-Tzion

    2010-02-01

    Increasing interest in end users' reactions to health information technology (IT) has elevated the importance of theories that predict and explain health IT acceptance and use. This paper reviews the application of one such theory, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), to health care. We reviewed 16 data sets analyzed in over 20 studies of clinicians using health IT for patient care. Studies differed greatly in samples and settings, health ITs studied, research models, relationships tested, and construct operationalization. Certain TAM relationships were consistently found to be significant, whereas others were inconsistent. Several key relationships were infrequently assessed. Findings show that TAM predicts a substantial portion of the use or acceptance of health IT, but that the theory may benefit from several additions and modifications. Aside from improved study quality, standardization, and theoretically motivated additions to the model, an important future direction for TAM is to adapt the model specifically to the health care context, using beliefs elicitation methods.

  16. THE TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE MODEL: ITS PAST AND ITS FUTURE IN HEALTH CARE

    PubMed Central

    HOLDEN, RICHARD J.; KARSH, BEN-TZION

    2009-01-01

    Increasing interest in end users’ reactions to health information technology (IT) has elevated the importance of theories that predict and explain health IT acceptance and use. This paper reviews the application of one such theory, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), to health care. We reviewed 16 data sets analyzed in over 20 studies of clinicians using health IT for patient care. Studies differed greatly in samples and settings, health ITs studied, research models, relationships tested, and construct operationalization. Certain TAM relationships were consistently found to be significant, whereas others were inconsistent. Several key relationships were infrequently assessed. Findings show that TAM predicts a substantial portion of the use or acceptance of health IT, but that the theory may benefit from several additions and modifications. Aside from improved study quality, standardization, and theoretically motivated additions to the model, an important future direction for TAM is to adapt the model specifically to the health care context, using beliefs elicitation methods. PMID:19615467

  17. Scientific Knowledge Suppresses but Does Not Supplant Earlier Intuitions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shtulman, Andrew; Valcarcel, Joshua

    2012-01-01

    When students learn scientific theories that conflict with their earlier, naive theories, what happens to the earlier theories? Are they overwritten or merely suppressed? We investigated this question by devising and implementing a novel speeded-reasoning task. Adults with many years of science education verified two types of statements as quickly…

  18. Fostering Model-Based School Scientific Argumentation Among Prospective Science Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Aduriz-Bravo, Agustin

    2011-01-01

    The paper aims both to foster and to assess "school scientific argumentation" among secondary science teachers during their pre-service education. For these purposes, the paper uses the meta-scientific construct of "theoretical model" (proposed by the so-called semantic view of scientific theories from contemporary philosophy of science) in three…

  19. Pedagogical Affordances of Multiple External Representations in Scientific Processes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Hsin-Kai; Puntambekar, Sadhana

    2012-12-01

    Multiple external representations (MERs) have been widely used in science teaching and learning. Theories such as dual coding theory and cognitive flexibility theory have been developed to explain why the use of MERs is beneficial to learning, but they do not provide much information on pedagogical issues such as how and in what conditions MERs could be introduced and used to support students' engagement in scientific processes and develop competent scientific practices (e.g., asking questions, planning investigations, and analyzing data). Additionally, little is understood about complex interactions among scientific processes and affordances of MERs. Therefore, this article focuses on pedagogical affordances of MERs in learning environments that engage students in various scientific processes. By reviewing literature in science education and cognitive psychology and integrating multiple perspectives, this article aims at exploring (1) how MERs can be integrated with science processes due to their different affordances, and (2) how student learning with MERs can be scaffolded, especially in a classroom situation. We argue that pairing representations and scientific processes in a principled way based on the affordances of the representations and the goals of the activities is a powerful way to use MERs in science education. Finally, we outline types of scaffolding that could help effective use of MERs including dynamic linking, model progression, support in instructional materials, teacher support, and active engagement.

  20. Qualitative Differences between Naive and Scientific Theories of Evolution

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shtulman, Andrew

    2006-01-01

    Philosophers of biology have long argued that Darwin's theory of evolution was qualitatively different from all earlier theories of evolution. Whereas Darwin's predecessors and contemporaries explained adaptation as the transformation of a species' ''essence,'' Darwin explained adaptation as the selective propagation of randomly occurring…

  1. Factors Affecting the Adoption of E-Learning Systems in Qatar and USA: Extending the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    El-Masri, Mazen; Tarhini, Ali

    2017-01-01

    This study examines the major factors that may hinder or enable the adoption of e-learning systems by university students in developing (Qatar) as well as developed (USA) countries. To this end, we used extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2) with Trust as an external variable. By means of an online survey, data were…

  2. How to respond to referee comments for scientific articles?

    PubMed

    Kalemci, Mustafa Serdar; Turna, Burak

    2013-09-01

    Currently, the increasing number of article submissions to scientific journals forces editors to be more selective in their acceptance of papers. Consequently, editors have increased the frequency of their use of scientific referee mechanisms. For many researchers, the publication of a scientific article in a high impact factor journal is a gradual and difficult process. After preparation and submission of a manuscript, one of the most important issue is responding to the comments of referees. However, there is a paucity of published reports in the literature describing how to respond to these comments. The aim of this review is to assist researchers/authors in responding to referee comments as part of the publication process for scientific articles.

  3. Do scientific theories affect men's evaluations of sex crimes?

    PubMed

    Dar-Nimrod, Ilan; Heine, Steven J; Cheung, Benjamin Y; Schaller, Mark

    2011-01-01

    Evolutionary psychology accounts of gender differences in sexual behaviors in general and men's sexual aggression, in particular, has been criticized for legitimizing males' sexual misconduct. To empirically assess such critiques, two studies examined how men's judgments of male sex crimes (solicitation of sex from a prostitute; rape) are influenced by exposure to (a) evolutionary psychological theories and (b) social-constructivist theories. Across two studies, a consistent pattern emerged compared with a control condition (a) exposure to evolutionary psychology theories had no observable impact on male judgments of men's criminal sexual behavior, whereas (b) exposure to social-constructivist theories did affect judgments, leading men to evaluate sex crimes more harshly. Additional results (from Study 2) indicate that this effect is mediated by perceptions of male control over sexual urges. These results have implications for journalists, educators, and scientists. Aggr. Behav. 37:440-449, 2011. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  4. Scientific impact: opportunity and necessity.

    PubMed

    Cohen, Marlene Z; Alexander, Gregory L; Wyman, Jean F; Fahrenwald, Nancy L; Porock, Davina; Wurzbach, Mary E; Rawl, Susan M; Conn, Vicki S

    2010-08-01

    Recent National Institutes of Health changes have focused attention on the potential scientific impact of research projects. Research with the excellent potential to change subsequent science or health care practice may have high scientific impact. Only rigorous studies that address highly significant problems can generate change. Studies with high impact may stimulate new research approaches by changing understanding of a phenomenon, informing theory development, or creating new research methods that allow a field of science to move forward. Research with high impact can transition health care to more effective and efficient approaches. Studies with high impact may propel new policy developments. Research with high scientific impact typically has both immediate and sustained influence on the field of study. The article includes ideas to articulate potential scientific impact in grant applications as well as possible dissemination strategies to enlarge the impact of completed projects.

  5. Scientific Controversies in Teaching Science: The Case of Volta.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kipnis, Nahum

    2001-01-01

    Discusses a way of introducing a scientific controversy that emphasizes objective aspects of such issues as multiple theoretical interpretation of phenomena, choosing a theory, and insistence on the chosen theory. The goal is to give students a better insight into the workings of science and provide guidelines for building theories in their own…

  6. Scientific progress without increasing verisimilitude: In response to Niiniluoto.

    PubMed

    Rowbottom, Darrell P

    2015-06-01

    First, I argue that scientific progress is possible in the absence of increasing verisimilitude in science's theories. Second, I argue that increasing theoretical verisimilitude is not the central, or primary, dimension of scientific progress. Third, I defend my previous argument that unjustified changes in scientific belief may be progressive. Fourth, I illustrate how false beliefs can promote scientific progress in ways that cannot be explicated by appeal to verisimilitude. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Scientific Visualization and Computational Science: Natural Partners

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Uselton, Samuel P.; Lasinski, T. A. (Technical Monitor)

    1995-01-01

    Scientific visualization is developing rapidly, stimulated by computational science, which is gaining acceptance as a third alternative to theory and experiment. Computational science is based on numerical simulations of mathematical models derived from theory. But each individual simulation is like a hypothetical experiment; initial conditions are specified, and the result is a record of the observed conditions. Experiments can be simulated for situations that can not really be created or controlled. Results impossible to measure can be computed.. Even for observable values, computed samples are typically much denser. Numerical simulations also extend scientific exploration where the mathematics is analytically intractable. Numerical simulations are used to study phenomena from subatomic to intergalactic scales and from abstract mathematical structures to pragmatic engineering of everyday objects. But computational science methods would be almost useless without visualization. The obvious reason is that the huge amounts of data produced require the high bandwidth of the human visual system, and interactivity adds to the power. Visualization systems also provide a single context for all the activities involved from debugging the simulations, to exploring the data, to communicating the results. Most of the presentations today have their roots in image processing, where the fundamental task is: Given an image, extract information about the scene. Visualization has developed from computer graphics, and the inverse task: Given a scene description, make an image. Visualization extends the graphics paradigm by expanding the possible input. The goal is still to produce images; the difficulty is that the input is not a scene description displayable by standard graphics methods. Visualization techniques must either transform the data into a scene description or extend graphics techniques to display this odd input. Computational science is a fertile field for visualization

  8. Educational Technology Acceptance across National and Professional Cultures: A European Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nistor, Nicolae; Gögüs, Aytaç; Lerche, Thomas

    2013-01-01

    The continuous development of new platforms and environments for technology-enhanced learning emphasizes the increasing importance of research in educational technology acceptance (ETA). Responding to this need, the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) proposes a major ETA model. However, the UTAUT has been so far validated…

  9. Understanding Early Childhood Student Teachers' Acceptance and Use of Interactive Whiteboard

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wong, Kung-Teck; Russo, Sharon; McDowall, Janet

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to understand early childhood student teachers' self-reported acceptance and use of interactive whiteboard (IWB), by employing the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) as the research framework. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 112 student teachers enrolled in science-related…

  10. There is grandeur in this view of Newton: Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton and Victorian conceptions of scientific virtue.

    PubMed

    Bellon, Richard

    2014-01-01

    For Victorian men of science, the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century represented a moral awakening. Great theoretical triumphs of inductive science flowed directly from a philosophical spirit that embraced the virtues of self-discipline, courage, patience and humility. Isaac Newton exemplified this union of moral and intellectual excellence. This, at least, was the story crafted by scientific leaders like David Brewster, Thomas Chalmers, John Herschel, Adam Sedgwick and William Whewell. Not everyone accepted this reading of history. Evangelicals who decried the 'materialism' of mainstream science assigned a different meaning to Newton's legacy on behalf of their 'scriptural' alternative. High-church critics of science like John Henry Newman, on the other hand, denied that Newton's secular achievements carried any moral significance at all. These debates over Newtonian standards of philosophical behavior had a decisive influence on Charles Darwin as he developed his theory of evolution by natural selection. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Pre-Service Science Teachers' Acceptance of Biological Evolution in Turkey

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Taskin, Özgür

    2013-01-01

    The present research aims to determine whether or not pre-service science teachers in Turkey are resistant to learning about the theory of evolution (TOE), and to understand the reasons for their acceptance or rejection of this theory. Following an intervention process, essay documents were collected from each participant ("N" = 113) and…

  12. Conceptual Ecology of the Evolution Acceptance among Greek Education Students: Knowledge, Religious Practices and Social Influences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Athanasiou, Kyriacos; Papadopoulou, Penelope

    2012-01-01

    In this study, we explored some of the factors related to the acceptance of evolution theory among Greek university students training to be teachers in early childhood education, using conceptual ecology for biological evolution as a theoretical framework. We examined the acceptance of evolution theory and we also looked into the relationship…

  13. Steps, Stages, and Structure: Finding Compensatory Order in Scientific Theories

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rutjens, Bastiaan T.; van Harreveld, Frenk; van der Pligt, Joop; Kreemers, Loes M.; Noordewier, Marret K.

    2013-01-01

    Stage theories are prominent and controversial in science. One possible reason for their appeal is that they provide order and predictability. Participants in Experiment 1 rated stage theories as more orderly and predictable (but less credible) than continuum theories. In Experiments 2-5, we showed that order threats increase the appeal of stage…

  14. Adverse Outcome Pathways: Moving from a scientific concept to a globally accepted framework

    EPA Science Inventory

    In 2016, an international multi-sector steering committee focusing on the development of a Society of Environmental Toxicology (SETAC) Pellston Workshop reached out to the membership of the Society of Toxicology as well as other national and international scientific and regulator...

  15. Using community participation to assess acceptability of "Contra Caries", a theory-based, promotora-led oral health education program for rural Latino parents: a mixed methods study.

    PubMed

    Hoeft, Kristin S; Rios, Sarah M; Pantoja Guzman, Estela; Barker, Judith C

    2015-09-03

    Latino children experience more prevalent and severe tooth decay than non-Hispanic white and non-Hispanic black children. Few theory-based, evaluated and culturally appropriate interventions target parents of this vulnerable population. To fill this gap, the Contra Caries Oral Health Education Program, a theory-based, promotora-led education program for low-income, Spanish-speaking parents of children aged 1-5 years, was developed. This article describes qualitative findings of the acceptability of curriculum content and activities, presents the process of refinement of the curriculum through engaging the target population and promotoras, and presents results from the evaluation assessing the acceptability of the curriculum once implemented. Focus groups were conducted with low-income Spanish-speaking parents of children 1-5 years living in a city in an agricultural area of California. Interviews were digitally recorded, translated and transcribed, checked for accuracy and the resulting data was thematically coded and analyzed using a social constructionist approach. The Contra Caries Oral Health Education Program was then implemented with a separate but similar sample, and after completing the program, participants were administered surveys asking about acceptability and favorite activities of the education program. Data were entered into a database, checked for accuracy, open-ended questions were categorized, and responses to close-ended questions counted. Twelve focus groups were conducted (N = 51), 105 parents attended the Contra Caries Oral Health Education Program, and 83 parents filled out surveys. Complete attendance and retention was high (89% and 90%, respectively). This study found that their children's oral health is a high priority. Parents were not only interested in, but actually attended classes focused on increasing their knowledge and skills with respect to early childhood oral health. The Contra Caries content and format was perceived as

  16. Mathematical and Scientific Foundations for an Integrative Engineering Curriculum.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carr, Robin; And Others

    1995-01-01

    Describes the Mathematical and Scientific Foundations of Engineering curriculum which emphasizes the mathematical and scientific concepts common to all engineering fields. Scientists and engineers together devised topics and experiments that emphasize the relevance of theory to real-world applications. Presents material efficiently while building…

  17. [Ghostwriters and commerce of scientific papers on the internet: science at risk].

    PubMed

    Grieger, Maria Christina Anna

    2007-01-01

    Frauds in scientific production are not a rare phenomenon, even in the medical field. Among these frauds are some types of authorship misconduct, such as plagiarism and ghostwriting sponsored by pharmaceutical industries. Another type of misconduct, which is particularly detrimental to science, is the e-commerce of scientific works, which has been growing and frequently shown in the press. To analyze the e-commerce of scientific papers and the means by which these services are offered. Eighteen Brazilian web sites that offer elaboration of scientific papers were selected. A request for the elaboration of a final essay for a forged post-graduate course was sent to each of them. The research requested had already been completed, consequently technical, ethical and bibliographical characteristics were already known to the author. Ten enterprises accepted the order and, except for one, they have not objected to the conditions imposed: Field research, approval by an ethics committee on research and use of the Vancouver norms. Six have not replied and two have not accepted the order alleging that they had no co-workers available for the task. E-commerce of scientific papers is a fact which can negatively interfere in the ethical, scientific and professional development of graduate and post-graduate students, as well as in scientific production by adulterating data and information found in literature. A new approach is recommended, especially when evaluating final essays.

  18. Mario Bunge's Scientific Realism

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cordero, Alberto

    2012-01-01

    This paper presents and comments on Mario Bunge's scientific realism. After a brief introduction in Sects. 1 and 2 outlines Bunge's conception of realism. Focusing on the case of quantum mechanics, Sect. 3 explores how his approach plays out for problematic theories. Section 4 comments on Bunge's project against the background of the current…

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

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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

    2014-01-01

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

  20. The climate visualizer: Sense-making through scientific visualization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gordin, Douglas N.; Polman, Joseph L.; Pea, Roy D.

    1994-12-01

    This paper describes the design of a learning environment, called the Climate Visualizer, intended to facilitate scientific sense-making in high school classrooms by providing students the ability to craft, inspect, and annotate scientific visualizations. The theoretical back-ground for our design presents a view of learning as acquiring and critiquing cultural practices and stresses the need for students to appropriate the social and material aspects of practice when learning an area. This is followed by a description of the design of the Climate Visualizer, including detailed accounts of its provision of spatial and temporal context and the quantitative and visual representations it employs. A broader context is then explored by describing its integration into the high school science classroom. This discussion explores how visualizations can promote the creation of scientific theories, especially in conjunction with the Collaboratory Notebook, an embedded environment for creating and critiquing scientific theories and visualizations. Finally, we discuss the design trade-offs we have made in light of our theoretical orientation, and our hopes for further progress.

  1. How do I write a scientific article?-A personal perspective.

    PubMed

    Lippi, Giuseppe

    2017-10-01

    Scientific writing is not an easy task. Although there is no single and universally agreed strategy for assembling a successful scientific article, it is undeniable that some basic notions, gathered after decades of experience, may help increasing the chance of acceptance of a scientific manuscript. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to present a personal and arbitrary perspective on how to write a scientific article, entailing a tentative flowchart and a checklist describing the most important aspects characterizing each section of the manuscript. The final suggestion, which can be summarized in one simple and straightforward concept, is that you should always remember that a scientific article is meant to be read by others (i.e., referees and readers) and not by yourself.

  2. The Nature of Scientific Revolutions from the Vantage Point of Chaos Theory: Toward a Formal Model of Scientific Change

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Perla, Rocco J.; Carifio, James

    2005-01-01

    In sharp contrast to the early positivist view of the nature of science and scientific knowledge, Kuhn argues that the scientific enterprise involves states of continuous, gradual development punctuated by comparatively rare instances of turmoil and change, which ultimately brings about a new stability and a qualitatively changed knowledge base.…

  3. Research Prototype: Automated Analysis of Scientific and Engineering Semantics

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stewart, Mark E. M.; Follen, Greg (Technical Monitor)

    2001-01-01

    Physical and mathematical formulae and concepts are fundamental elements of scientific and engineering software. These classical equations and methods are time tested, universally accepted, and relatively unambiguous. The existence of this classical ontology suggests an ideal problem for automated comprehension. This problem is further motivated by the pervasive use of scientific code and high code development costs. To investigate code comprehension in this classical knowledge domain, a research prototype has been developed. The prototype incorporates scientific domain knowledge to recognize code properties (including units, physical, and mathematical quantity). Also, the procedure implements programming language semantics to propagate these properties through the code. This prototype's ability to elucidate code and detect errors will be demonstrated with state of the art scientific codes.

  4. Scientific triumphalism and learning from facts: bacteriology and the "Spanish flu" challenge of 1918.

    PubMed

    Tognotti, Eugenia

    2003-04-01

    The devastating influenza pandemic known as 'Spanish flu', which killed at least 20 million people all over the world in 1918, was responsible for the first bitter blow inflicted on triumphant bacteriology, fortified by the series of resounding successes achieved in identifying the pathogenic agents of terrible diseases such as anthrax, cholera, tuberculosis, plague, and syphilis. Over-confidence and the idea, born of the Pasteur revolution, that every infectious disease was caused by a bacterium, had led the scientific community to accept the theory put forward by the German bacteriologist, Richard Pfeiffer, who, in 1892, believed he had identified the pathogenic influenza agent in a bacterium, Haemophilus influenzae. But, while the most appalling epidemic ever to sweep through the world since the 'Black Death' of the 1300s was still raging, the scientific community had to admit that influenza originated not from a microbe, but from a virus. This article aims to reconstruct the enlightening and little-known cultured/scientific events and issues of the dramatic crisis that bacteriology experienced in the autumn of 1918, with the consequent simultaneous collapse of both the 'Pfeiffer doctrine' on the microbial origin of influenza and the illusion of a world free of infectious diseases. This was an illusion destined to surface again at the end of the century and collapse with the advent of AIDS.

  5. The Role of Pavlov's Theory in North Korea in the Late 1950s: Ideological Struggle in Medicine and Scientification of Traditional Medicine.

    PubMed

    Han, Sun-Hee; Kim, Ock-Joo

    2013-12-01

    This paper deals with Pavlov theory in North Korea in the late 1950s, focusing on its role in ideological struggle in medicine and in reinterpretation of traditional medicine. In North Korean Ministry of Health found Pavlov theory to have rich resources which could be used in the construction of the North Korea's socialist medicine. First of all, Pavlov theory provided the North Korean Communist Party with a powerful ideological weapon against capitalist medical thoughts, representing superior socialist medicine based upon Marx-Leninism and dialectical materialism. This paper examines the contents of Pavlov theory introduced in the North Korea from the Soviet Union in the late 1950s. Pavlov theory in the North Korea was not merely a political slogan but a unified medical system of thought, ranging from biological theory on the organism and pathogenesis to clinical theory. Nonetheless, Pavlov theory became Pavlov doctrine in the ideological struggle in healthcare field initiated by Kim Il Sung and the Communist Party. In the process of the ideological struggle, the abducted surgeon Kim Si-Chang was accused and purged of counter-revolutionary and refusal to conform to Pavlov doctrines by the Communist Party in 1959. Interestingly, Pavlov theory was used in reinterpretation of Traditional Medicine in North Korea from unscientific practice to a rich and scientific complementary medicine by connecting the two with common theoretical components such as Pavlov's typology. By the enthusiastic Communist Party members, Pavlov doctrine was introduced, transformed and exploited to build monolithic ideology system in medicine in North Korea in the late 1950s.

  6. Acceptance and Utilization of Technology (UTAUT) as a Method of Technology Acceptance Model of Mitigation Disaster Website

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Siswanto, T.; Shofiati, R.; Hartini, H.

    2018-01-01

    www.mitigasi-bencana.com as a knowledge management website created based on survey results in April-July 2014 in East Java and Central Java provinces, indicates a gap between the expectations and reality that exist in the services provided by the regional disaster management agency. Based on condition analysis, the gaps that occur can be reduced if the community has the understanding and knowledge of adequate disaster mitigation. The problem that arises later is whether the chosen technology solution is appropriate and acceptable to the public? The methodology used in this study using the Technology Acceptance Model development is the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Utilization of Technology (UTAUT). Feedback obtained from respondents KarangTaruna youth SelogedongBantul, www.mitigasi-bencana.com can be accepted by the respondents, but from processed data is obtained only UTAUT hypotheses on the relationship dimension eligible for Social Expectancy on the Attitude toward technology, which means the higher the perception of the Social Expectancy, the higher the perception of the Attitude toward technology. Because www.mitigasi-bencana.com is new socialized so that society still need time to explore content information and knowledge contained therein. To be accepted by user, a knowledge management application must prepare various aspects of Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy, Social Factors, Facilitating Conditions and Attitude.

  7. Biology, Philosophy, and Scientific Method.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hill, L.

    1985-01-01

    The limits of falsification are discussed and the historically based models of science described by Lakatos and Kuhn are shown to offer greater insights into the practice of science. The theory of natural selection is used to relate biology to philosophy and scientific method. (Author/JN)

  8. Prevention Programs and Scientific Nonsense.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gorman, D. M.

    2003-01-01

    Discusses attempts to examine the scientific base of widely advocated prevention programs, describing how one professor experienced hostility when examining program evaluation data. It focuses on science and the learned theory; science, anti-science, and pseudo-science; anti-science and health promotion; pseudoscience and health promotion; and…

  9. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Contextual Behavioral Science: Examining the Progress of a Distinctive Model of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy

    PubMed Central

    Hayes, Steven C.; Levin, Michael E.; Plumb-Vilardaga, Jennifer; Villatte, Jennifer L.; Pistorello, Jacqueline

    2012-01-01

    A number of recent authors have compared acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and traditional cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). The present article describes ACT as a distinct and unified model of behavior change, linked to a specific strategy of scientific development, which we term “contextual behavioral science.” We outline the empirical progress of ACT and describe its distinctive development strategy. A contextual behavioral science approach is an inductive attempt to build more adequate psychological systems based on philosophical clarity; the development of basic principles and theories; the development of applied theories linked to basic ones; techniques and components linked to these processes and principles; measurement of theoretically key processes; an emphasis on mediation and moderation in the analysis of applied impact; an interest in effectiveness, dissemination, and training; empirical testing of the research program across a broad range of areas and levels of analysis; and the creation of a more effective scientific and clinical community. We argue that this is a reasonable approach, focused on long-term progress, and that in broad terms it seems to be working. ACT is not hostile to traditional CBT, and is not directly buoyed by whatever weaknesses traditional CBT may have. ACT should be measured at least in part against its own goals as specified by its own developmental strategy. PMID:23611068

  10. Acceptance and commitment therapy and contextual behavioral science: examining the progress of a distinctive model of behavioral and cognitive therapy.

    PubMed

    Hayes, Steven C; Levin, Michael E; Plumb-Vilardaga, Jennifer; Villatte, Jennifer L; Pistorello, Jacqueline

    2013-06-01

    A number of recent authors have compared acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and traditional cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). The present article describes ACT as a distinct and unified model of behavior change, linked to a specific strategy of scientific development, which we term "contextual behavioral science." We outline the empirical progress of ACT and describe its distinctive development strategy. A contextual behavioral science approach is an inductive attempt to build more adequate psychological systems based on philosophical clarity; the development of basic principles and theories; the development of applied theories linked to basic ones; techniques and components linked to these processes and principles; measurement of theoretically key processes; an emphasis on mediation and moderation in the analysis of applied impact; an interest in effectiveness, dissemination, and training; empirical testing of the research program across a broad range of areas and levels of analysis; and the creation of a more effective scientific and clinical community. We argue that this is a reasonable approach, focused on long-term progress, and that in broad terms it seems to be working. ACT is not hostile to traditional CBT, and is not directly buoyed by whatever weaknesses traditional CBT may have. ACT should be measured at least in part against its own goals as specified by its own developmental strategy. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  11. Exploring the limits of classical physics: Planck, Einstein, and the structure of a scientific revolution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Büttner, Jochen; Renn, Jürgen; Schemmel, Matthias

    The emergence of the quantum theory in the beginning of the last century is generally seen as a scientific revolution par excellence. Although numerous studies have been dedicated to its historical analysis, there is so far only one major work available with an explicit historical theory of scientific revolutions in the background, Thomas Kuhn's Black-Body Theory and the Quantum Discontinuity of 1978.

  12. A quiz on "the ethics of accepting gifts from industry".

    PubMed

    Holm, Richard P

    2007-03-01

    (1) Cash payments should not be accepted from any health-related industry, which might create a conflict of interest, unless it is payment for legitimate research purposes, and the cash is not for purposes of marketing. (2) Marketing gifts, which benefit the patient, are acceptable as long as they are not of substantial value...like equal or less than $100. (3) Conferences (including a "mo dest" meal) sponsored by industry are acceptable when they serve a genuine educational function, and promote objective and scientific activity. (4) Professional people should understand and appreciate the marketing forces, which are endeavoring to influence our behavior. To interact with marketing people is appropriate, not unethical. However we must not be influenced in any way that would disadvantage our patients.

  13. Herbal medicine development: a plea for a rigorous scientific foundation.

    PubMed

    Lietman, Paul S

    2012-09-01

    Science, including rigorous basic scientific research and rigorous clinical research, must underlie both the development and the clinical use of herbal medicines. Yet almost none of the hundreds or thousands of articles that are published each year on some aspect of herbal medicines, adheres to 3 simple but profound scientific principles must underlie all of herbal drug development or clinical use. Three fundamental principles that should underlie everyone's thinking about the development and/or clinical use of any herbal medicine. (1) There must be standardization and regulation (rigorously enforced) of the product being studied or being used clinically. (2) There must be scientific proof of a beneficial clinical effect for something of value to the patient and established by rigorous clinical research. (3) There must be scientific proof of safety (acceptable toxicity) for the patient and established by rigorous clinical research. These fundamental principles of science have ramifications for both the scientist and the clinician. It is critically important that both the investigator and the prescriber know exactly what is in the studied or recommended product and how effective and toxic it is. We will find new and useful drugs from natural sources. However, we will have to learn how to study herbal medicines rigorously, and we will have to try to convince the believers in herbal medicines of the wisdom and even the necessity of a rigorous scientific approach to herbal medicine development. Both biomedical science and practicing physicians must enthusiastically accept the responsibility for searching for truth in the discovery and development of new herbal medicines, in the truthful teaching about herbal medicines from a scientific perspective, and in the scientifically proven clinical use of herbal medicines.

  14. Aesthetic emotions goals. Comment on "The quartet theory of human emotions: An integrative and neurofunctional model" by S. Koelsch et al.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Perlovsky, Leonid

    2015-06-01

    Review by Koelsch et al. [10] presents an interdisciplinary theory of emotions, including a neurobiological emotion theory originating in four core emotional systems. The Quartet Theory (QT) includes specifically human emotions and considers the role of language for emotions. This comment considers questions about how the QT can address aesthetic emotions, what class of emotions they are, and what their function in cognition is. Can QT help defining aesthetic emotions neurally and functionally? Such a definition of aesthetic emotions would be necessary for their scientific exploration, because as widely used today there is no definition, aesthetics is defined through art, and art through aesthetics. Since contents of many art museums are not accepted as art by many artists and admirers of art, it is not clear what should be the subject of aesthetic emotions research.

  15. Enhancing endorsement of scientific inquiry increases support for pro-environment policies.

    PubMed

    Drummond, Aaron; Palmer, Matthew A; Sauer, James D

    2016-09-01

    Pro-environment policies require public support and engagement, but in countries such as the USA, public support for pro-environment policies remains low. Increasing public scientific literacy is unlikely to solve this, because increased scientific literacy does not guarantee increased acceptance of critical environmental issues (e.g. that climate change is occurring). We distinguish between scientific literacy (basic scientific knowledge) and endorsement of scientific inquiry (perceiving science as a valuable way of accumulating knowledge), and examine the relationship between people's endorsement of scientific inquiry and their support for pro-environment policy. Analysis of a large, publicly available dataset shows that support for pro-environment policies is more strongly related to endorsement of scientific inquiry than to scientific literacy among adolescents. An experiment demonstrates that a brief intervention can increase support for pro-environment policies via increased endorsement of scientific inquiry among adults. Public education about the merits of scientific inquiry may facilitate increased support for pro-environment policies.

  16. Enhancing endorsement of scientific inquiry increases support for pro-environment policies

    PubMed Central

    Palmer, Matthew A.; Sauer, James D.

    2016-01-01

    Pro-environment policies require public support and engagement, but in countries such as the USA, public support for pro-environment policies remains low. Increasing public scientific literacy is unlikely to solve this, because increased scientific literacy does not guarantee increased acceptance of critical environmental issues (e.g. that climate change is occurring). We distinguish between scientific literacy (basic scientific knowledge) and endorsement of scientific inquiry (perceiving science as a valuable way of accumulating knowledge), and examine the relationship between people's endorsement of scientific inquiry and their support for pro-environment policy. Analysis of a large, publicly available dataset shows that support for pro-environment policies is more strongly related to endorsement of scientific inquiry than to scientific literacy among adolescents. An experiment demonstrates that a brief intervention can increase support for pro-environment policies via increased endorsement of scientific inquiry among adults. Public education about the merits of scientific inquiry may facilitate increased support for pro-environment policies. PMID:27703700

  17. A "Semantic" View of Scientific Models for Science Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Adúriz-Bravo, Agustín

    2013-01-01

    In this paper I inspect a "semantic" view of scientific models taken from contemporary philosophy of science-I draw upon the so-called "semanticist family", which frontally challenges the received, syntactic conception of scientific theories. I argue that a semantic view may be of use both for science education in the…

  18. Acceptance of Evolution Increases with Student Academic Level: A Comparison Between a Secular and a Religious College

    PubMed Central

    Paz-y-Miño C., Guillermo

    2012-01-01

    Acceptance of evolution among the general public, high schools, teachers, and scientists has been documented in the USA; little is known about college students’ views on evolution; this population is relevant since it transits from a high-school/parent-protective environment to an independent role in societal decisions. Here we compare perspectives about evolution, creationism, and intelligent design (ID) between a secular (S) and a religious (R) college in the Northeastern USA. Interinstitutional comparisons showed that 64% (mean S + R) biology majors vs. 42/62% (S/R) nonmajors supported the exclusive teaching of evolution in science classes; 24/29% (S/R) biology majors vs. 26/38% (S/R) nonmajors perceived ID as both alternative to evolution and/or scientific theory about the origin of life; 76% (mean S + R) biology majors and nonmajors accepted evolutionary explanations about the origin of life; 86% (mean S + R) biology majors vs. 79% (mean S + R) nonmajors preferred science courses where human evolution is discussed; 76% (mean S+R) biology majors vs. 79% (mean S + R) nonmajors welcomed questions about evolution in exams and/or thought that such questions should always be in exams; and 66% (mean S + R) biology majors vs. 46% (mean S + R) nonmajors admitted they accept evolution openly and/or privately. Intrainstitutional comparisons showed that overall acceptance of evolution among biologists (S or R) increased gradually from the freshman to the senior year, due to exposure to upper-division courses with evolutionary content. College curricular/pedagogical reform should fortify evolution literacy at all education levels, particularly among nonbiologists. PMID:22957109

  19. Applying Lakatos' Theory to the Theory of Mathematical Problem Solving.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nunokawa, Kazuhiko

    1996-01-01

    The relation between Lakatos' theory and issues in mathematics education, especially mathematical problem solving, is investigated by examining Lakatos' methodology of a scientific research program. (AIM)

  20. Factors Affecting Students' Acceptance of Tablet PCs: A Study in Italian High Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cacciamani, Stefano; Villani, Daniela; Bonanomi, Andrea; Carissoli, Claudia; Olivari, Maria Giulia; Morganti, Laura; Riva, Giuseppe; Confalonieri, Emanuela

    2018-01-01

    To maximize the advantages of the tablet personal computer (TPC) at school, this technology needs to be accepted by students as new tool for learning. With reference to the Technology Acceptance Model and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, the aims of this study were (a) to analyze factors influencing high school students'…

  1. Increasing the number of feminist scientists: why feminist aims are not served by the Underdetermination Thesis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Intemann, Kristen

    2008-11-01

    Recent feminist philosophers of science have argued that feminist values can contribute to rational decisions about which scientific theories to accept. On this view, increasing the number of feminist scientists is important for ensuring rational and objective theory acceptance. The Underdetermination Thesis has played a key role in arguments for this view [Anderson (1995) Hypatia 10(3), 50 84; Hankinson Nelson (1990) Who knows? From Quine to a feminist empiricism. Temple University Press, Philadelphia; Longino (1990) Science as social knowledge. Princeton University Press, Princeton; Longino (2002) The fate of knowledge. Princeton University Press, Princeton; Kourany (2003) Philosophy of Science 70, 1 14]. This thesis is alleged to open an argumentative “gap” between evidence and theory acceptance and provide a rationale for filling the gap with feminist values. While I agree with the conclusion that feminist values can contribute to rational decisions about which theories to accept, I argue that the Underdetermination Thesis cannot support this claim. First, using earlier arguments [Laudan (1990) in: R. Giere (ed) Minnesota studies in the philosophy of science, vol 14, pp 267 297; Slezak (1991) International Studies in Philosophy of Science 5, 241 256; Pinnick (1994) Philosophy of Science 61, 664 657] I show that Underdetermination cannot, by itself, establish that feminist values should fill the gap in theory acceptance. Secondly, I argue that the very use of the Underdetermination Thesis concedes that feminist values are extra-scientific, a-rational, factors in theory acceptance. This concession denies feminists grounds to explain why their values contribute to rational scientific reasoning. Finally, I propose two alternative ways to explain how feminist values can contribute to rational theory acceptance that do not rely on Underdetermination.

  2. Piaget's Theory: A Psychological Critique.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brown, Geoffrey; Desforges, Charles

    The authors offer a detailed and systematic critique of Piaget's theory of cognitive development, examining it in relation to other theories of development. Chapter 1 points out some of the problems in building and evaluating scientific theories and considers contrasting approaches to cognitive development (including those which focus on…

  3. Developing Scientific Thinking Methods and Applications in Islamic Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Al-Sharaf, Adel

    2013-01-01

    This article traces the early and medieval Islamic scholarship to the development of critical and scientific thinking and how they contributed to the development of an Islamic theory of epistemology and scientific thinking education. The article elucidates how the Qur'an and the Sunna of Prophet Muhammad have also contributed to the…

  4. [Social institutions and tempering of affects as "contraints" of social change. Norbert Elias' theory on the civilization theory in light of the biologic system theory of evolution].

    PubMed

    Weinich, Detlef

    2005-01-01

    This study is to be regarded as a contribution to interdisciplinary research and represents an attempt to clarify the question of whether and to what extent concepts that have been developed in the field of theoretical biology and which have a high degree of importance here can also be applied to sociological phenomena. In particular it is intended to examine the question of whether the civilizing process can be adequately treated using the evolutionary concept of "Constraints". This term, which has only recently been introduced into the discussion by PERE ALBERCH as an evolutionary factor, comprises all of the internal factors which influence the further course of the evolution of a system by ruling out certain possibilities, thus showing a limiting effect. Although "Constraints" go beyond the scope of Darwinian teachings about selection by the environment, they are increasingly accepted today as evolution factors by well-known exponents of Darwinian theory (cf. MAYNARD-SMITH 1985). The increase in popularity of "constraints" is also an expression of the rediscovery of a phenomenon which was originally expressed by RUPERT RIEDL and was introduced by him into German literature in the seventies. In the clarification of this question, special reference is made to the "theory of the civilizing process" by NORBERT ELIAS, since here a highly respected scholar has presented an important sociological theory. Moreover, there is such good scientific access to ELIAS because this author exemplifies his theses in historical terms and thus to a certain extent makes his explanations verifiable in scientific terms. In the treatment of this topic, the central terms and theses of ELIAS will be presented from the considerable scope of his work, and then illustrated with the help of several selected historical case studies. Furthermore, reference will be made at the relevant points to parallels and analogies which the works of ELIAS have to other, predominantly system

  5. Science and Society: The Case of Acceptance of Newtonian Optics in the Eighteenth Century

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Silva, Cibelle Celestino; Moura, Breno Arsioli

    2012-09-01

    The present paper presents a historical study on the acceptance of Newton's corpuscular theory of light in the early eighteenth century. Isaac Newton first published his famous book Opticks in 1704. After its publication, it became quite popular and was an almost mandatory presence in cultural life of Enlightenment societies. However, Newton's optics did not become popular only via his own words and hands, but also via public lectures and short books with scientific contents devoted to general public (including women) that emerged in the period as a sort of entertainment business. Lectures and writers stressed the inductivist approach to the study of nature and presented Newton's ideas about optics as they were consensual among natural philosophers in the period. The historical case study presented in this paper illustrates relevant aspects of nature of science, which can be explored by students of physics on undergraduate level or in physics teacher training programs.

  6. Shared scientific thinking in everyday parent-child activity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Crowley, Kevin; Callanan, Maureen A.; Jipson, Jennifer L.; Galco, Jodi; Topping, Karen; Shrager, Jeff

    2001-11-01

    Current accounts of the development of scientific reasoning focus on individual children's ability to coordinate the collection and evaluation of evidence with the creation of theories to explain the evidence. This observational study of parent-child interactions in a children's museum demonstrated that parents shape and support children's scientific thinking in everyday, nonobligatory activity. When children engaged an exhibit with parents, their exploration of evidence was observed to be longer, broader, and more focused on relevant comparisons than children who engaged the exhibit without their parents. Parents were observed to talk to children about how to select and encode appropriate evidence and how to make direct comparisons between the most informative kinds of evidence. Parents also sometimes assumed the role of explainer by casting children's experience in causal terms, connecting the experience to prior knowledge, or introducing abstract principles. We discuss these findings with respect to two dimensions of children's scientific thinking: developments in evidence collection and developments in theory construction.

  7. Do scientific theories affect men’s evaluations of sex crimes?

    PubMed Central

    DAR-NIMROD, ILAN; HEINE, STEVEN J.; CHEUNG, BENJAMIN Y.; SCHALLER, MARK

    2012-01-01

    Evolutionary Psychology accounts of gender differences in sexual behaviors in general and men’s sexual aggression in particular, have been criticized for legitimizing males’ sexual misconduct. To empirically assess such critiques, two studies examined how men’s judgments of male sex crimes (solicitation of sex from a prostitute; rape) are influenced by exposure to (a) evolutionary psychological theories, and (b) social-constructivist theories. Across two studies a consistent pattern emerged: compared to a control condition, (a) exposure to evolutionary psychology theories had no observable impact on male judgments of men’s criminal sexual behavior, whereas (b) exposure to social-constructivist theories did affect judgments, leading men to evaluate sex crimes more harshly. Additional results (from Study 2) indicate that this effect is mediated by perceptions of male control over sexual urges. These results have implications, for journalists, educators, and scientists. PMID:21678431

  8. Scientific and non-scientific challenges for Operational Earthquake Forecasting

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Marzocchi, W.

    2015-12-01

    Tracking the time evolution of seismic hazard in time windows shorter than the usual 50-years of long-term hazard models may offer additional opportunities to reduce the seismic risk. This is the target of operational earthquake forecasting (OEF). During the OEF development in Italy we identify several challenges that range from pure science to the more practical interface of science with society. From a scientific point of view, although earthquake clustering is the clearest empirical evidence about earthquake occurrence, and OEF clustering models are the most (successfully) tested hazard models in seismology, we note that some seismologists are still reluctant to accept their scientific reliability. After exploring the motivations of these scientific doubts, we also look into an issue that is often overlooked in this discussion, i.e., in any kind of hazard analysis, we do not use a model because it is the true one, but because it is the better than anything else we can think of. The non-scientific aspects are mostly related to the fact that OEF usually provides weekly probabilities of large eartquakes smaller than 1%. These probabilities are considered by some seismologists too small to be of interest or useful. However, in a recent collaboration with engineers we show that such earthquake probabilities may lead to intolerable individual risk of death. Interestingly, this debate calls for a better definition of the still fuzzy boundaries among the different expertise required for the whole risk mitigation process. The last and probably more pressing challenge is related to the communication to the public. In fact, a wrong message could be useless or even counterproductive. Here we show some progresses that we have made in this field working with communication experts in Italy.

  9. How do I write a scientific article?—A personal perspective

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    Scientific writing is not an easy task. Although there is no single and universally agreed strategy for assembling a successful scientific article, it is undeniable that some basic notions, gathered after decades of experience, may help increasing the chance of acceptance of a scientific manuscript. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to present a personal and arbitrary perspective on how to write a scientific article, entailing a tentative flowchart and a checklist describing the most important aspects characterizing each section of the manuscript. The final suggestion, which can be summarized in one simple and straightforward concept, is that you should always remember that a scientific article is meant to be read by others (i.e., referees and readers) and not by yourself. PMID:29152516

  10. "Fathers" and "sons" of theories in cell physiology: the membrane theory.

    PubMed

    Matveev, V V; Wheatley, D N

    2005-12-16

    The last 50 years in the history of life sciences are remarkable for a new important feature that looks as a great threat for their future. A profound specialization dominating in quickly developing fields of science causes a crisis of the scientific method. The essence of the method is a unity of two elements, the experimental data and the theory that explains them. To us, "fathers" of science, classically, were the creators of new ideas and theories. They were the true experts of their own theories. It is only they who have the right to say: "I am the theory". In other words, they were carriers of theories, of the theoretical knowledge. The fathers provided the necessary logical integrity to their theories, since theories in biology have still to be based on strict mathematical proofs. It is not true for sons. As a result of massive specialization, modern experts operate in very confined close spaces. They formulate particular rules far from the level of theory. The main theories of science are known to them only at the textbook level. Nowadays, nobody can say: "I am the theory". With whom, then is it possible to discuss today on a broader theoretical level? How can a classical theory--for example, the membrane one--be changed or even disproved under these conditions? How can the "sons" with their narrow education catch sight of membrane theory defects? As a result, "global" theories have few critics and control. Due to specialization, we have lost the ability to work at the experimental level of biology within the correct or appropriate theoretical context. The scientific method in its classic form is now being rapidly eroded. A good case can be made for "Membrane Theory", to which we will largely refer throughout this article.

  11. Public debates driven by incomplete scientific data: The cases of evolution theory, global warming and H1N1 pandemic influenza

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Galam, Serge

    2010-09-01

    Public debates driven by incomplete scientific data where nobody can claim absolute certainty, due to the current state of scientific knowledge, are studied. The cases of evolution theory, global warming and H1N1 pandemic influenza are investigated. The first two are of controversial impact while the third is more neutral and resolved. To adopt a cautious balanced attitude based on clear but inconclusive data appears to be a lose-out strategy. In contrast overstating arguments with incorrect claims which cannot be scientifically refuted appears to be necessary but not sufficient to eventually win a public debate. The underlying key mechanisms of these puzzling and unfortunate conclusions are identified using the Galam sequential probabilistic model of opinion dynamics (Galam, 2002 [4], Galam, 2005 [18], Galam and Jacobs, 2007 [19]). It reveals that the existence of inflexible agents and their respective proportions are the instrumental parameters to determine the faith of incomplete scientific data in public debates. Acting on one’s own inflexible proportion modifies the topology of the flow diagram, which in turn can make irrelevant initial supports. On the contrary focusing on open-minded agents may be useless given some topologies. When the evidence is not as strong as claimed, the inflexibles rather than the data are found to drive the opinion of the population. The results shed a new but disturbing light on designing adequate strategies to win a public debate.

  12. Public perception and communication of scientific uncertainty.

    PubMed

    Broomell, Stephen B; Kane, Patrick Bodilly

    2017-02-01

    Understanding how the public perceives uncertainty in scientific research is fundamental for effective communication about research and its inevitable uncertainty. Previous work found that scientific evidence differentially influenced beliefs from individuals with different political ideologies. Evidence that threatens an individual's political ideology is perceived as more uncertain than nonthreatening evidence. The authors present 3 studies examining perceptions of scientific uncertainty more broadly by including sciences that are not politically polarizing. Study 1 develops scales measuring perceptions of scientific uncertainty. It finds (a) 3 perceptual dimensions of scientific uncertainty, with the primary dimension representing a perception of precision; (b) the precision dimension of uncertainty is strongly associated with the perceived value of a research field; and (c) differences in perceived uncertainty across political affiliations. Study 2 manipulated these dimensions, finding that Republicans were more sensitive than Democrats to descriptions of uncertainty associated with a research field (e.g., psychology). Study 3 found that these views of a research field did not extend to the evaluation of individual results produced by the field. Together, these studies show that perceptions of scientific uncertainty associated with entire research fields are valid predictors of abstract perceptions of scientific quality, benefit, and allocation of funding. Yet, they do not inform judgments about individual results. Therefore, polarization in the acceptance of specific results is not likely due to individual differences in perceived scientific uncertainty. Further, the direction of influence potentially could be reversed, such that perceived quality of scientific results could be used to influence perceptions about scientific research fields. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  13. Impact of Media Richness and Flow on E-Learning Technology Acceptance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liu, Su-Houn; Liao, Hsiu-Li; Pratt, Jean A.

    2009-01-01

    Advances in e-learning technologies parallels a general increase in sophistication by computer users. The use of just one theory or model, such as the technology acceptance model, is no longer sufficient to study the intended use of e-learning systems. Rather, a combination of theories must be integrated in order to fully capture the complexity of…

  14. Is risk analysis scientific?

    PubMed

    Hansson, Sven Ove; Aven, Terje

    2014-07-01

    This article discusses to what extent risk analysis is scientific in view of a set of commonly used definitions and criteria. We consider scientific knowledge to be characterized by its subject matter, its success in developing the best available knowledge in its fields of study, and the epistemic norms and values that guide scientific investigations. We proceed to assess the field of risk analysis according to these criteria. For this purpose, we use a model for risk analysis in which science is used as a base for decision making on risks, which covers the five elements evidence, knowledge base, broad risk evaluation, managerial review and judgment, and the decision; and that relates these elements to the domains experts and decisionmakers, and to the domains fact-based or value-based. We conclude that risk analysis is a scientific field of study, when understood as consisting primarily of (i) knowledge about risk-related phenomena, processes, events, etc., and (ii) concepts, theories, frameworks, approaches, principles, methods and models to understand, assess, characterize, communicate, and manage risk, in general and for specific applications (the instrumental part). © 2014 Society for Risk Analysis.

  15. Future HIV Vaccine Acceptability among Young Adults in South Africa

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sayles, Jennifer N.; Macphail, Catherine L.; Newman, Peter A.; Cunningham, William E.

    2010-01-01

    Developing and disseminating a preventive HIV vaccine is a primary scientific and public health objective. However, little is known about HIV vaccine acceptability in the high-prevalence setting of South Africa--where young adults are likely to be targeted in early dissemination efforts. This study reports on six focus groups (n = 42) conducted in…

  16. Tax Exempt Organizations and Commercially Sponsored Scientific Research.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kertz, Consuelo Lauda

    1982-01-01

    Several related tax issues important to both the commercial sponsors and tax-exempt recipients of research funding are addressed: what type of activity qualified as scientific research; how acceptance of commercial funding affects tax-exempt status; and when the receipt of such funding generates a liability for tax on unrelated business income.…

  17. Students' Perceptions of the Nature of Evolutionary Theory

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dagher, Zoubeida R.; Boujaoude, Saouma

    2005-01-01

    This study explored how some college students understand the nature of the theory of evolution and how they evaluate its scientific status. We conducted semistructured interviews with 15 college biology seniors in which we asked them to explain why they think evolution assumes the status of a scientific theory, how it compares to other scientific…

  18. Zoological Nomenclature and Speech Act Theory

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cambefort, Yves

    To know natural objects, it is necessary to give them names. This has always been done, from antiquity up to modern times. Today, the nomenclature system invented by Linnaeus in the eighteenth century is still in use, even if the philosophical principles underlying it have changed. Naming living objects still means giving them a sort of existence, since without a name they cannot be referred to, just as if they did not exist. Therefore, naming a living object is a process close to creating it. Naming is performed by means of a particular kind of text: original description written by specialists, and more often accompanied by other, ancillary texts whose purpose is to gain the acceptance and support of fellow zoologists. It is noteworthy that the actions performed by these texts are called "nomenclatural acts". These texts and acts, together with related scientific and social relationships, are examined here in the frame of speech act theory.

  19. College students' use of science content during socioscientific issues negotiation: Impact of evolution understanding and acceptance

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fowler, Samantha R.

    The purpose of this study was to explore the evolution science content used during college students' negotiation of biology-based socioscientific issues (SSI) and examine how it related to students' conceptual understanding and acceptance of biological evolution. Specific research questions were, (1a) what specific evolutionary science content do college students evoke during SSI negotiation, (1b) what is the depth of the evolutionary science content reflected in college students. SSI negotiation, and (2) what is the nature of the interaction between evolution understanding and evolution acceptance as they relate to depth of use of evolution content during SSI negotiation? The Socioscientific Issues Questionnaire (SSI-Q) was developed using inductive data analysis to examine science content use and to develop a rubric for measuring depth of evolutionary science content use during SSI negotiation. Sixty upper level undergraduate biology and non-biology majors completed the SSI-Q and also the Conceptual Inventory of Natural Selection (CINS: Anderson, Fisher, & Norman, 2002) to measure evolution understanding and the Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE: Rutledge & Warden, 1999) to measure evolution acceptance. A multiple regression analysis tested for interaction effects between the predictor variables, evolution understanding and evolution acceptance. Results indicate that college students primarily use science concepts related to evolution to negotiate biology-based SSI: variation in a population, inheritance of traits, differential success, and change through time. The hypothesis that the extent of one's acceptance of evolution is a mitigating factor in how evolution content is evoked during SSI negotiation was supported by the data. This was seen in that evolution was the predominant science content used by participants for each of the three SSI scenarios used in this study and used consistently throughout the three SSI scenarios. In addition to

  20. 78 FR 6087 - Advanced Scientific Computing Advisory Committee

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-01-29

    ... INFORMATION CONTACT: Melea Baker, Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research; SC-21/Germantown Building... Theory and Experiment (INCITE) Public Comment (10-minute rule) Public Participation: The meeting is open...

  1. Acceptance- and imagery-based strategies can reduce chocolate cravings: A test of the elaborated-intrusion theory of desire.

    PubMed

    Schumacher, Sophie; Kemps, Eva; Tiggemann, Marika

    2017-06-01

    The elaborated-intrusion theory of desire proposes that craving is a two-stage process whereby initial intrusions about a desired target are subsequently elaborated with mental imagery. The present study tested whether the craving reduction strategies of cognitive defusion and guided imagery could differentially target the intrusion and elaboration stages, respectively, and thus differentially impact the craving process. Participants were randomly assigned to a cognitive defusion, a guided imagery or a mind-wandering control condition. Pre- and post-intervention chocolate-related thoughts, intrusiveness of thoughts, vividness of imagery, craving intensity, and chocolate consumption were compared. Experiment 1 recruited a general sample of young women (n = 94), whereas Experiment 2 recruited a sample of chocolate cravers who wanted to reduce their chocolate consumption (n = 97). Across both experiments, cognitive defusion lowered intrusiveness of thoughts, vividness of imagery and craving intensity. Guided imagery reduced chocolate-related thoughts, intrusiveness, vividness and craving intensity for chocolate cravers (Experiment 2), but not for the general sample (Experiment 1). There were no group differences in chocolate consumption in either experiment. Results add to existing evidence supporting the elaborated-intrusion theory of desire in the food domain, and suggest that acceptance- and imagery-based techniques have potential for use in combatting problematic cravings. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Students Perception towards the Implementation of Computer Graphics Technology in Class via Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) Model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Binti Shamsuddin, Norsila

    Technology advancement and development in a higher learning institution is a chance for students to be motivated to learn in depth in the information technology areas. Students should take hold of the opportunity to blend their skills towards these technologies as preparation for them when graduating. The curriculum itself can rise up the students' interest and persuade them to be directly involved in the evolvement of the technology. The aim of this study is to see how deep is the students' involvement as well as their acceptance towards the adoption of the technology used in Computer Graphics and Image Processing subjects. The study will be towards the Bachelor students in Faculty of Industrial Information Technology (FIIT), Universiti Industri Selangor (UNISEL); Bac. In Multimedia Industry, BSc. Computer Science and BSc. Computer Science (Software Engineering). This study utilizes the new Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to further validate the model and enhance our understanding of the adoption of Computer Graphics and Image Processing Technologies. Four (4) out of eight (8) independent factors in UTAUT will be studied towards the dependent factor.

  3. Using a Celestial Sphere to Test Scientific Theories.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carter, Karl C.; Stewart, Bruce R.

    1990-01-01

    Presented is an astronomy activity in which students use an apparatus to illustrate the various positions and movements of the sun, earth, planets, stars, and constellations. A test of the heliocentric theory of the solar system is included. (CW)

  4. Preservice Teachers' Acceptance of ICT Integration in the Classroom: Applying the UTAUT Model

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Birch, A.; Irvine, V.

    2009-01-01

    In this study, the researchers explore the factors that influence preservice teachers' acceptance of information and communication technology (ICT) integration in the classroom. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) was developed by Venkatesh et al. ["MIS Quarterly, 27"(3), 425-478] in 2003 and shown to…

  5. The History of UTAUT Model and Its Impact on ICT Acceptance and Usage by Academicians

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Oye, N. D.; Iahad, N. A.; Rahim, N. Ab.

    2014-01-01

    This paper started with the review of the history of technology acceptance model from TRA to UTAUT. The expected contribution is to bring to lime light the current development stage of the technology acceptance model. Based on this, the paper examined the impact of UTAUT model on ICT acceptance and usage in HEIs. The UTAUT model theory was…

  6. Evolution: Theory or Dogma?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mayer, William V.

    In this paper the author examines the question of whether evolution is a theory or a dogma. He refutes the contention that there is a monolithic scientific conspiracy to present evolution as dogma and suggests that his own presentation might be more appropriately entitled "Creationism: Theory or Dogma." (PEB)

  7. The scaling issue: scientific opportunities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Orbach, Raymond L.

    2009-07-01

    A brief history of the Leadership Computing Facility (LCF) initiative is presented, along with the importance of SciDAC to the initiative. The initiative led to the initiation of the Innovative and Novel Computational Impact on Theory and Experiment program (INCITE), open to all researchers in the US and abroad, and based solely on scientific merit through peer review, awarding sizeable allocations (typically millions of processor-hours per project). The development of the nation's LCFs has enabled available INCITE processor-hours to double roughly every eight months since its inception in 2004. The 'top ten' LCF accomplishments in 2009 illustrate the breadth of the scientific program, while the 75 million processor hours allocated to American business since 2006 highlight INCITE contributions to US competitiveness. The extrapolation of INCITE processor hours into the future brings new possibilities for many 'classic' scaling problems. Complex systems and atomic displacements to cracks are but two examples. However, even with increasing computational speeds, the development of theory, numerical representations, algorithms, and efficient implementation are required for substantial success, exhibiting the crucial role that SciDAC will play.

  8. Profile of student’s understanding in Kinetic Theory of Gases

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Putri, E. E. R.; Sukarmin; Cari

    2018-04-01

    Students in eleven grade had a different style for answering the physics problems. They could do anything to solve the problem. The way they thought and revealed it into the answer in many styles could be used as a data to know their conception. One of the sub-chapter in physics was the effective velocity of gases. It included in Kinetic Theory of Gases. It was one of the most difficult scientific theories to accept. This research aimed to identify student’s understanding in effective velocity of gases problem. The research was qualitative research. It was taken place at MAN Yogyakarta I in semester two on grade eleven. The obtained datas were collected by test sheet that contained of essay form. The respondents were all of the students in XI MIA 3. The data was analyzed by quantitative analysis using rubric of scoring in essay test and it contained of two problems. The results were the students had resolved the test and it was divided into three categories which are high 10,42%, medium 29,17%, and low 50,00%.

  9. Scientific U-Turns: Eight Occasions When Science Changed Its Mind

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sosabowski, Michael Hal; Gard, Paul R.

    2017-01-01

    The Scientific Method is the series of processes by which hypotheses, ideas and theories are shown to be true beyond a reasonable scientific doubt. Most science "fact" is expressed in terms of probabilities rather than certainties. Thus, by means of statistical calculations, researchers aim to determine whether an observed association…

  10. Acceptability of a theory-based sedentary behaviour reduction intervention for older adults ('On Your Feet to Earn Your Seat').

    PubMed

    Matei, Raluca; Thuné-Boyle, Ingela; Hamer, Mark; Iliffe, Steve; Fox, Kenneth R; Jefferis, Barbara J; Gardner, Benjamin

    2015-07-02

    Adults aged 60 years and over spend most time sedentary and are the least physically active of all age groups. This early-phase study explored acceptability of a theory-based intervention to reduce sitting time and increase activity in older adults, as part of the intervention development process. An 8-week uncontrolled trial was run among two independent samples of UK adults aged 60-75 years. Sample 1, recruited from sheltered housing on the assumption that they were sedentary and insufficiently active, participated between December 2013 and March 2014. Sample 2, recruited through community and faith centres and a newsletter, on the basis of self-reported inactivity (<150 weekly minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity) and sedentary behaviour (≥ 6 h mean daily sitting), participated between March and August 2014. Participants received a booklet offering 16 tips for displacing sitting with light-intensity activity and forming activity habits, and self-monitoring 'tick-sheets'. At baseline, 4-week, and 8-week follow-ups, quantitative measures were taken of physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and habit. At 8 weeks, tick-sheets were collected and a semi-structured interview conducted. Acceptability was assessed for each sample separately, through attrition and adherence to tips, ANOVAs for behaviour and habit changes, and, for both samples combined, thematic analysis of interviews. In Sample 1, 12 of 16 intervention recipients completed the study (25% attrition), mean adherence was 40% (per-tip range: 15-61%), and there were no clear patterns of changes in sedentary or physical activity behaviour or habit. In Sample 2, 23 of 27 intervention recipients completed (15% attrition), and mean adherence was 58% (per-tip range: 39-82%). Sample 2 decreased mean sitting time and sitting habit, and increased walking, moderate activity, and activity habit. Qualitative data indicated that both samples viewed the intervention positively, found the tips easy to follow, and

  11. Scientific publications about DNA structure-function and PCR technique in Costa Rica: a historic view (1953-2003).

    PubMed

    Albertazzi, Federico J

    2004-09-01

    The spreading of knowledge depends on the access to the information and its immediate use. Models are useful to explain specific phenomena. The scientific community accepts some models in Biology after a period of time, once it has evidence to support it. The model of the structure and function of the DNA proposed by Watson & Crick (1953) was not the exception, since a few years later the DNA model was finally accepted. In Costa Rica, DNA function was first mentioned in 1970, in the magazine Biologia Tropical (Tropical Biology Magazine), more than 15 years after its first publication in a scientific journal. An opposite situation occurs with technical innovations. If the efficiency of a new scientific technique is proved in a compelling way, then the acceptance by the community comes swiftly. This was the case of the polymerase chain reaction, or PCR. The first PCR machine in Costa Rica arrived in 1991, only three years after its publication.

  12. Program Theory Evaluation: Logic Analysis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brousselle, Astrid; Champagne, Francois

    2011-01-01

    Program theory evaluation, which has grown in use over the past 10 years, assesses whether a program is designed in such a way that it can achieve its intended outcomes. This article describes a particular type of program theory evaluation--logic analysis--that allows us to test the plausibility of a program's theory using scientific knowledge.…

  13. Theory development in health care informatics: Information and communication technology acceptance model (ICTAM) improves the explanatory and predictive power of technology acceptance models.

    PubMed

    An, Ji-Young

    2006-01-01

    The purpose of this web-based study was to explain and predict consumers' acceptance and usage behavior of Internet health information and services. Toward this goal, the Information and Communication Technology Acceptance Model (ICTAM) was developed and tested. Individuals who received a flyer through the LISTSERV of HealthGuide were eligible to participate. The study population was eighteen years old and older who had used Internet health information and services for a minimum of 6 months. For the analyses, SPSS (version 13.0) and AMOS (version 5.0) were employed. More than half of the respondents were women (n = 110, 55%). The average age of the respondents was 35.16 years (S.D. = 10.07). A majority reported at least some college education (n = 126, 63%). All of the observed factors accounted for 75.53% of the total variance explained. The fit indices of the structural model were within an acceptable range: chi2/df = 2.38 (chi2 = 1786.31, df = 752); GFI = .71; RMSEA = .08; CFI = .86; NFI = .78. The results of this study provide empirical support for the continued development of ICTAM in the area of health consumers' information and communication technology acceptance.

  14. Scientific Ethics in Chemical Education

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kovac, Jeffrey

    1996-10-01

    Scientific ethics is a subset of professional ethics, the special rules of conduct adhered to by people engaged in those pursuits called professions. It is distinct from, but consistent with, both ordinary morality and moral theory. The codes of professional ethics derive from the two bargains that define a profession: the internal code of practice and the external bargain between the profession and society. While the informal code of professional conduct is well understood by working scientists, it is rarely explicitly included in the chemistry curriculum. Instead, we have relied on informal methods to teach students scientific ethics, a strategy that is haphazard at best. In this paper I argue that scientific ethics can and must be taught as part of the chemistry curriculum and that this is the best done through the case-study method. Many decisions made by working scientists have both a technical and an ethical component. Students need to learn how to make good decisions in professional ethics. The alternative is, at best, sloppy science and, at worst, scientific misconduct.

  15. Medical accuracy in sexuality education: ideology and the scientific process.

    PubMed

    Santelli, John S

    2008-10-01

    Recently, many states have implemented requirements for scientific or medical accuracy in sexuality education and HIV prevention programs. Although seemingly uncontroversial, these requirements respond to the increasing injection of ideology into sexuality education, as represented by abstinence-only programs. I describe the process by which health professionals and government advisory groups within the United States reach scientific consensus and review the legal requirements and definitions for medical accuracy. Key elements of this scientific process include the weight of scientific evidence, the importance of scientific theory, peer review, and recognition by mainstream scientific and health organizations. I propose a concise definition of medical accuracy that may be useful to policymakers, health educators, and other health practitioners.

  16. Feedback System Theory

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1978-11-01

    R 2. GOVT A $ SION NO. 3 RIEqLPýIVT’S.;TALOG NUMBER r/ 4. TITLE (and wbiFflT, -L M4 1 , FEEDBACK SYSTEM THEORY ~r Inter in- 6. PERFORMING ORG. REPORT...ANNUAL REPORT FEEDBACK SYSTEM THEORY AFOSR GRANT NO. 76-2946B Air Force Office of Scientific Research for year ending October 31, 1978 79 02 08 L|I...re less stringent than in other synthesis techniques which cannot handle significant parameter uncertainty. _I FEEDBACK SYSTEM THEORY 1. Introduction

  17. Do familiar teammates request and accept more backup? Transactive memory in air traffic control.

    PubMed

    Smith-Jentsch, Kimberly A; Kraiger, Kurt; Cannon-Bowers, Janis A; Salas, Eduardo

    2009-04-01

    The present study investigated factors that explain when and why different groups of teammates are more likely to request and accept backup from one another when needed in an environment characterized by extreme time pressure and severe consequences of error: commercial air traffic control (ATC). Transactive memory theory states that teammates develop consensus regarding the distribution of their relative expertise as well as confidence in that expertise over time and that this facilitates coordination processes. The present study investigated whether this theory could help to explain between-team differences in requesting and accepting backup when needed. The present study used cross-sectional data collected from 51 commercial ATC teams. Hypotheses were tested using multiple regression analysis. Teammates with greater experience working together requested and accepted backup from one another more than those with lesser experience working together. Teammate knowledge consensus and perceived team efficacy appear to have mediated this relationship. Transactive memory theory extends to high-stress environments in which members' expertise is highly overlapping. Teammates' shared mental models about one another increase the likelihood that they will request and accept backup. Teammate familiarity should be considered when choosing among potential replacement team members. Training strategies that accelerate the development of teammate knowledge consensus and team efficacy are warranted.

  18. A Social Control Perspective on Scientific Misconduct.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hackett, Edward J.

    1994-01-01

    Some explanations for scientific misconduct are examined, including those based on theories of individual psychopathology, anomie, and alienation. An alternative explanation, drawing on the concept of social control, is presented, and implications for research and policy are examined. (MSE)

  19. Acceptance Probability (P a) Analysis for Process Validation Lifecycle Stages.

    PubMed

    Alsmeyer, Daniel; Pazhayattil, Ajay; Chen, Shu; Munaretto, Francesco; Hye, Maksuda; Sanghvi, Pradeep

    2016-04-01

    This paper introduces an innovative statistical approach towards understanding how variation impacts the acceptance criteria of quality attributes. Because of more complex stage-wise acceptance criteria, traditional process capability measures are inadequate for general application in the pharmaceutical industry. The probability of acceptance concept provides a clear measure, derived from specific acceptance criteria for each quality attribute. In line with the 2011 FDA Guidance, this approach systematically evaluates data and scientifically establishes evidence that a process is capable of consistently delivering quality product. The probability of acceptance provides a direct and readily understandable indication of product risk. As with traditional capability indices, the acceptance probability approach assumes that underlying data distributions are normal. The computational solutions for dosage uniformity and dissolution acceptance criteria are readily applicable. For dosage uniformity, the expected AV range may be determined using the s lo and s hi values along with the worst case estimates of the mean. This approach permits a risk-based assessment of future batch performance of the critical quality attributes. The concept is also readily applicable to sterile/non sterile liquid dose products. Quality attributes such as deliverable volume and assay per spray have stage-wise acceptance that can be converted into an acceptance probability. Accepted statistical guidelines indicate processes with C pk > 1.33 as performing well within statistical control and those with C pk < 1.0 as "incapable" (1). A C pk > 1.33 is associated with a centered process that will statistically produce less than 63 defective units per million. This is equivalent to an acceptance probability of >99.99%.

  20. An Integrated Approach for Preservice Teachers' Acceptance and Use of Technology: UTAUT-PST Scale

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kabakçi-Yurdakul, Isil; Ursavas, Ömer Faruk; Becit-Isçitürk, Gökçe

    2014-01-01

    Problem Statement: In educational systems, teachers and preservice teachers are the keys to the effective use of technology in the teaching and learning processes. Predicting teachers' technology acceptance and use remains an important issue. Models and theories have been developed to explain and predict technology acceptance. The Unified Theory…

  1. Big Data Ecosystems Enable Scientific Discovery

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Critchlow, Terence J.; Kleese van Dam, Kerstin

    Over the past 5 years, advances in experimental, sensor and computational technologies have driven the exponential growth in the volumes, acquisition rates, variety and complexity of scientific data. As noted by Hey et al in their 2009 e-book The Fourth Paradigm, this availability of large-quantities of scientifically meaningful data has given rise to a new scientific methodology - data intensive science. Data intensive science is the ability to formulate and evaluate hypotheses using data and analysis to extend, complement and, at times, replace experimentation, theory, or simulation. This new approach to science no longer requires scientists to interact directly withmore » the objects of their research; instead they can utilize digitally captured, reduced, calibrated, analyzed, synthesized and visualized results - allowing them carry out 'experiments' in data.« less

  2. Scientific consensus, the law, and same sex parenting outcomes.

    PubMed

    adams, Jimi; Light, Ryan

    2015-09-01

    While the US Supreme Court was considering two related cases involving the constitutionality of same-sex marriage, one major question informing that decision was whether scientific research had achieved consensus regarding how children of same-sex couples fare. Determining the extent of consensus has become a key aspect of how social science evidence and testimony is accepted by the courts. Here, we show how a method of analyzing temporal patterns in citation networks can be used to assess the state of social scientific literature as a means to inform just such a question. Patterns of clustering within these citation networks reveal whether and when consensus arises within a scientific field. We find that the literature on outcomes for children of same-sex parents is marked by scientific consensus that they experience "no differences" compared to children from other parental configurations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Croatian edition of Milankovich's book - Astronomical theory of climate changes and its application in geophysics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pandzic, Kreso; Likso, Tanja

    2010-05-01

    Original of Milankovich's book "Astronomical theory of climate changes and its application in geophysics" was published by Naučna knjiga in Belgrade in 1948. The book was written in Serbian and in Cyrillic alphabet. Although Serbian and Croatian are similar languages the last could be an obstacle for understanding cited book especially for new generations in Croatia. An idea for publication of a new Croatian eddition has been accepted by Prosvjeta, publisher from Croatia. That eddition appeared at the end of 2008. This was also an oportunity for doing a separate analysis of the book in the form of a preface to the new eddition published in Latin alphabet and Croatian terminology. In that preface, beside an analysis of book content, a short Milankovich's biography has been performed as well as an scientific echo of Milankovich's astronomical theory since 1948 until nowadays. In a summary it has been concluded that there is no any disagreement between Milankovich's theory on climate changes and recent greenhouse theory, only, a quite different time scales are under consideration i.e. tenth thousand years and hundred years, respectively. (On the occasion of 130-th anniversary of Milutin Milankovich 's birth.)

  4. The logic of syntactic priming and acceptability judgments.

    PubMed

    Gaston, Phoebe; Huang, Nick; Phillips, Colin

    2017-01-01

    A critical flaw in Branigan & Pickering's (B&P's) advocacy of structural priming is the absence of a theory of priming. This undermines their claims about the value of priming as a methodology. In contrast, acceptability judgments enable clearer inferences about structure. It is important to engage thoroughly with the logic behind different structural diagnostics.

  5. New AGU scientific integrity and professional ethics policy available for review

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Gundersen, Linda C.

    2012-01-01

    The AGU Task Force on Scientific Ethics welcomes your review and comments on AGU's new Scientific Integrity and Professional Ethics Policy. The policy has at its heart a code of conduct adopted from the internationally accepted "Singapore Statement," originally created by the Second World Conference on Research Integrity (http://www.singaporestatement.org/), held in 2010. The new policy also encompasses professional and publishing ethics, providing a single source of guidance to AGU members, officers, authors, and editors

  6. Values, standpoints, and scientific/intellectual movements.

    PubMed

    Rolin, Kristina

    2016-04-01

    Feminist standpoint empiricism contributes to the criticism of the value-free ideal by offering a unique analysis of how non-epistemic values can play not only a legitimate but also an epistemically productive role in science. While the inductive risk argument focuses on the role of non-epistemic values in the acceptance of hypotheses, standpoint empiricism focuses on the role of non-epistemic values in the production of evidence. And while many other analyses of values in science focus on the role of non-epistemic values either in an individual scientist's decision making or in the distribution of research efforts in scientific communities, standpoint empiricism focuses on the role of non-epistemic values in the building of scientific/intellectual movements. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Exploring high school students' use of theory and evidence in an everyday context: the role of scientific thinking in environmental science decision-making

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Fang-Ying

    2004-11-01

    This study examined 10th-grade students' use of theory and evidence in evaluating a socio-scientific issue: the use of underground water, after students had received a Science, Technology and Society-oriented instruction. Forty-five male and 45 female students from two intact, single-sex, classes participated in this study. A flow-map method was used to assess the participants' conceptual knowledge. The reasoning mode was assessed using a questionnaire with open-ended questions. Results showed that, although some weak to moderate associations were found between conceptual organization in memory and reasoning modes, the students' ability to incorporate theory and evidence was in general inadequate. It was also found that students' reasoning modes were consistent with their epistemological perspectives. Moreover, male and female students appear to have different reasoning approaches.

  8. [Attachment theory and baby slings/carriers: technological network formation].

    PubMed

    Lu, Zxy-Yann Jane; Lin, Wan-Shiuan

    2011-12-01

    Healthcare providers recognize the important role played by attachment theory in explaining the close relationship between mental health and social behavior in mothers and their children. This paper uses attachment theory in a socio-cultural context to ascertain the mechanism by which baby slings/carriers, a new technology, produced and reproduced the scientific motherhood. It further applies a social history of technology perspective to understand how baby carriers and attachment theory are socially constructed and historically contingent on three major transformations. These transformations include the use of attachment theory-based baby carriers to further scientific motherhood; the use of baby slings/carriers to further the medicalization of breastfeeding and enhance mother-infant attachment; and the use of baby slings/carriers to transform woman's identities by integrating scientific motherhood, independence and fashion. Implications for nursing clinical policy are suggested.

  9. [From the cell theory to the neuron theory].

    PubMed

    Tixier-Vidal, Andrée

    2010-01-01

    The relationship between the cell theory formulated by Schwann (1839) and by Virchow (1855) on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the neuron theory, as formulated by Waldeyer (1891) and by Cajal (1906), are discussed from a historical point of view. Both of them are the result of technical and conceptuel progress. Both of them had to fight against the dominant dogma before being accepted. The cell theory opposed the school of Bichat, the vitalist philosophy and the positivist philosophy of Auguste Comte. The neuron theory, which is clearly based on the cell theory, was mostly concerned with the mode of interneuronal communication; it opposed the concept of contiguity to Golgi's concept of continuity. At present, the cell theory remains central in every field of Biology. By contrast, the neuron theory, which until the middle of the XXth century opened the study of the nervous system to a necessary reductionnist approach, is no longer central to recent developments of neurosciences. © Société de Biologie, 2011.

  10. Acceptance of Domestic Cat Mitochondrial DNA in a Criminal Proceeding

    PubMed Central

    Lyons, Leslie A.; Grahn, Robert A.; Kun, Teri J.; Netzel, Linda R.; Wictum, Elizabeth E.; Halverson, Joy L.

    2014-01-01

    Shed hair from domestic animals readily adheres to clothing and other contact items, providing a source of transfer evidence for criminal investigations. Mitochondrial DNA is often the only option for DNA analysis of shed hair. Human mitochondrial DNA analysis has been accepted in the US court system since 1996. The murder trial of the State of Missouri versus Henry L. Polk, Jr. represents the first legal proceeding where cat mitochondrial DNA analysis was introduced into evidence. The mitochondrial DNA evidence was initially considered inadmissible due to concerns about the cat dataset and the scientific acceptance of the marker. Those concerns were subsequently addressed, and the evidence was deemed admissible. This report reviews the case in regards to the cat biological evidence and its ultimate admission as generally accepted and reliable. Expansion and saturation analysis of the cat mitochondrial DNA control region dataset supported the initial interpretation of the evidence. PMID:25086413

  11. Mediating objects: scientific and public functions of models in nineteenth-century biology.

    PubMed

    Ludwig, David

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this article is to examine the scientific and public functions of two- and three-dimensional models in the context of three episodes from nineteenth-century biology. I argue that these models incorporate both data and theory by presenting theoretical assumptions in the light of concrete data or organizing data through theoretical assumptions. Despite their diverse roles in scientific practice, they all can be characterized as mediators between data and theory. Furthermore, I argue that these different mediating functions often reflect their different audiences that included specialized scientists, students, and the general public. In this sense, models in nineteenth-century biology can be understood as mediators between theory, data, and their diverse audiences.

  12. Acceptance and Transformation of English Educational Theory in Japan: On Student-Centered Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kuwamura, Teresa

    2014-01-01

    In Japan, various theories and methodologies of English education born in other countries have been practiced, but the result has left a lot to be desired. Still, each theory has its own sociocultural background. When theory goes beyond its culture and locality, it transforms by losing its originality and absorbing new elements from a different…

  13. Concept analysis and the building blocks of theory: misconceptions regarding theory development.

    PubMed

    Bergdahl, Elisabeth; Berterö, Carina M

    2016-10-01

    The purpose of this article is to discuss the attempts to justify concepts analysis as a way to construct theory - a notion often advocated in nursing. The notion that concepts are the building blocks or threads from which theory is constructed is often repeated. It can be found in many articles and well-known textbooks. However, this notion is seldom explained or defended. The notion of concepts as building blocks has also been questioned by several authors. However, most of these authors seem to agree to some degree that concepts are essential components from which theory is built. Discussion paper. Literature was reviewed to synthesize and debate current knowledge. Our point is that theory is not built by concepts analysis or clarification and we will show that this notion has its basis in some serious misunderstandings. We argue that concept analysis is not a part of sound scientific method and should be abandoned. The current methods of concept analysis in nursing have no foundation in philosophy of science or in language philosophy. The type of concept analysis performed in nursing is not a way to 'construct' theory. Rather, theories are formed by creative endeavour to propose a solution to a scientific and/or practical problem. The bottom line is that the current style and form of concept analysis in nursing should be abandoned in favour of methods in line with modern theory of science. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. The effects of video compression on acceptability of images for monitoring life sciences experiments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Haines, Richard F.; Chuang, Sherry L.

    1992-07-01

    Future manned space operations for Space Station Freedom will call for a variety of carefully planned multimedia digital communications, including full-frame-rate color video, to support remote operations of scientific experiments. This paper presents the results of an investigation to determine if video compression is a viable solution to transmission bandwidth constraints. It reports on the impact of different levels of compression and associated calculational parameters on image acceptability to investigators in life-sciences research at ARC. Three nonhuman life-sciences disciplines (plant, rodent, and primate biology) were selected for this study. A total of 33 subjects viewed experimental scenes in their own scientific disciplines. Ten plant scientists viewed still images of wheat stalks at various stages of growth. Each image was compressed to four different compression levels using the Joint Photographic Expert Group (JPEG) standard algorithm, and the images were presented in random order. Twelve and eleven staffmembers viewed 30-sec videotaped segments showing small rodents and a small primate, respectively. Each segment was repeated at four different compression levels in random order using an inverse cosine transform (ICT) algorithm. Each viewer made a series of subjective image-quality ratings. There was a significant difference in image ratings according to the type of scene viewed within disciplines; thus, ratings were scene dependent. Image (still and motion) acceptability does, in fact, vary according to compression level. The JPEG still-image-compression levels, even with the large range of 5:1 to 120:1 in this study, yielded equally high levels of acceptability. In contrast, the ICT algorithm for motion compression yielded a sharp decline in acceptability below 768 kb/sec. Therefore, if video compression is to be used as a solution for overcoming transmission bandwidth constraints, the effective management of the ratio and compression parameters

  15. The effects of video compression on acceptability of images for monitoring life sciences experiments

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Haines, Richard F.; Chuang, Sherry L.

    1992-01-01

    Future manned space operations for Space Station Freedom will call for a variety of carefully planned multimedia digital communications, including full-frame-rate color video, to support remote operations of scientific experiments. This paper presents the results of an investigation to determine if video compression is a viable solution to transmission bandwidth constraints. It reports on the impact of different levels of compression and associated calculational parameters on image acceptability to investigators in life-sciences research at ARC. Three nonhuman life-sciences disciplines (plant, rodent, and primate biology) were selected for this study. A total of 33 subjects viewed experimental scenes in their own scientific disciplines. Ten plant scientists viewed still images of wheat stalks at various stages of growth. Each image was compressed to four different compression levels using the Joint Photographic Expert Group (JPEG) standard algorithm, and the images were presented in random order. Twelve and eleven staffmembers viewed 30-sec videotaped segments showing small rodents and a small primate, respectively. Each segment was repeated at four different compression levels in random order using an inverse cosine transform (ICT) algorithm. Each viewer made a series of subjective image-quality ratings. There was a significant difference in image ratings according to the type of scene viewed within disciplines; thus, ratings were scene dependent. Image (still and motion) acceptability does, in fact, vary according to compression level. The JPEG still-image-compression levels, even with the large range of 5:1 to 120:1 in this study, yielded equally high levels of acceptability. In contrast, the ICT algorithm for motion compression yielded a sharp decline in acceptability below 768 kb/sec. Therefore, if video compression is to be used as a solution for overcoming transmission bandwidth constraints, the effective management of the ratio and compression parameters

  16. Research on pre-scientific concept of light in children's cognitive activity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lan, Zhigao; Yu, Yang; Yan, Dan; Yang, Shulin

    2017-08-01

    Based on the theory of Ausubel's meaningful learning and cognitive characteristic of childens pre-scientific concept, two students of Huang Gang Middle School have been interviewed continuously about cognition of interaction between light and matter. Comprehension degree of childens pre-scientific concept about interaction between light and matter has been deeply understood, formation of strategy of childens pre-scientific concept has been discussed. Several influence factors related to formation of childens pre-scientific concept have been analyzed, such as sex, family environment, and learning experience of kindergarten and primary school.

  17. Specimens as records: scientific practice and recordkeeping in natural history research.

    PubMed

    Ilerbaig, Juan

    2010-01-01

    For the past two decades, scholars in archival science have begun to question traditional assumptions about the nature of the record. Drawing on theories from fields such as sociology, organization theory, and science studies, and on their own ethnographic studies, they propose more inclusive definitions and widening the contexts of analysis of record making and recordkeeping. This paper continues this critical consideration of the concept of record by examining the nature of nonprototypical records in the scientific world. The paper focuses on the system of specimens and field notes established by biologist Joseph Grinnell at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (University of California, Berkeley) as a means of examining several aspects of the nature of the scientific record: materiality, representation, and the triad evidence/memory/accountability. Focusing on the creation and management of these scientific records, the paper argues that further analyses of scientific record making and recordkeeping are bound to benefit both scientific work, which depends more and more on databases and archives, as well as archival science, which is becoming more relevant beyond its traditional realm of the legal/business/administrative world.

  18. Toward a scientifically rigorous basis for developing mapped ecological regions.

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    McMahon, G.; Wiken, E.B.; Gauthier, D.A.

    2004-01-01

    Despite the wide use of ecological regions in conservation and resource-management evaluations and assessments, a commonly accepted theoretical basis for ecological regionalization does not exist. This fact, along with the paucity of focus on ecological regionalization by professional associations, journals, and faculties, has inhibited the advancement of a broadly acceptable scientific basis for the development, use, and verification of ecological regions. The central contention of this article is that ecological regions should improve our understanding of geographic and ecological phenomena associated with biotic and abiotic processes occurring in individual regions and also of processes characteristic of interactions and dependencies among multiple regions. Research associated with any ecoregional framework should facilitate development of hypotheses about ecological phenomena and dominant landscape elements associated with these phenomena, how these phenomena are structured in space, and how they function in a hierarchy. Success in addressing the research recommendations outlined in this article cannot occur within an ad hoc, largely uncoordinated research environment. Successful implementation of this plan will require activities--coordination, funding, and education--that are both scientific and administrative in nature. Perhaps the most important element of an infrastructure to support the scientific work of ecoregionalization would be a national or international authority similar to the Water and Science Technology Board of the National Academy of Sciences.

  19. Toward a Scientifically Rigorous Basis for Developing Mapped Ecological Regions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McMahon, Gerard; Wiken, Ed B.; Gauthier, David A.

    2004-04-01

    Despite the wide use of ecological regions in conservation and resource-management evaluations and assessments, a commonly accepted theoretical basis for ecological regionalization does not exist. This fact, along with the paucity of focus on ecological regionalization by professional associations, journals, and faculties, has inhibited the advancement of a broadly acceptable scientific basis for the development, use, and verification of ecological regions. The central contention of this article is that ecological regions should improve our understanding of geographic and ecological phenomena associated with biotic and abiotic processes occurring in individual regions and also of processes characteristic of interactions and dependencies among multiple regions. Research associated with any ecoregional framework should facilitate development of hypotheses about ecological phenomena and dominant landscape elements associated with these phenomena, how these phenomena are structured in space, and how they function in a hierarchy. Success in addressing the research recommendations outlined in this article cannot occur within an ad hoc, largely uncoordinated research environment. Successful implementation of this plan will require activities—coordination, funding, and education—that are both scientific and administrative in nature. Perhaps the most important element of an infrastructure to support the scientific work of ecoregionalization would be a national or international authority similar to the Water and Science Technology Board of the National Academy of Sciences.

  20. The ranking of scientists based on scientific publications assessment.

    PubMed

    Zerem, Enver

    2017-11-01

    It is generally accepted that the scientific impact factor (Web of Science) and the total number of citations of the articles published in a journal, are the most relevant parameters of the journal's significance. However, the significance of scientists is much more complicated to establish and the value of their scientific production cannot be directly reflected by the importance of the journals in which their articles are published. Evaluating the significance of scientists' accomplishments involves more complicated metrics than just their publication records. Based on a long term of academic experience, the author proposes objective criteria to estimate the scientific merit of an individual's publication record. This metric can serve as a pragmatic tool and the nidus for discussion within the readership of this journal. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Transgenes and transgressions: scientific dissent as heterogeneous practice.

    PubMed

    Delborne, Jason A

    2008-08-01

    Although scholars in science and technology studies have explored many dynamics and consequences of scientific controversy, no coherent theory of scientific dissent has emerged. This paper proposes the elements of such a framework, based on understanding scientific dissent as a set of heterogeneous practices. I use the controversy over the presence of transgenic DNA in Mexican maize in the early 2000s to point to a processual model of scientific dissent. 'Contrarian science' includes knowledge claims that challenge the dominant scientific trajectory, but need not necessarily lead to dissent. 'Impedance' represents efforts to undermine the credibility of contrarian science (or contrarian scientists) and may originate within or outside of the scientific community. In the face of impedance, contrarian scientists may become dissenters. The actions of the scientist at the center of the case study, Professor Ignacio Chapela of the University of California, Berkeley, demonstrate particular practices of scientific dissent, ranging from 'agonistic engagement' to 'dissident science'. These practices speak not only to functional strategies of winning scientific debate, but also to attempts to reconfigure relations among scientists, publics, institutions, and politics that order knowledge production.

  2. Assessment of Scientific Literacy: Development and Validation of the Quantitative Assessment of Socio-Scientific Reasoning (QuASSR)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Romine, William L.; Sadler, Troy D.; Kinslow, Andrew T.

    2017-01-01

    We describe the development and validation of the Quantitative Assessment of Socio-scientific Reasoning (QuASSR) in a college context. The QuASSR contains 10 polytomous, two-tiered items crossed between two scenarios, and is based on theory suggesting a four-pronged structure for SSR (complexity, perspective taking, inquiry, and skepticism). In…

  3. Increasing the Number of Feminist Scientists: Why Feminist Aims Are Not Served by the Underdetermination Thesis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Intemann, Kristen

    2008-01-01

    Recent feminist philosophers of science have argued that feminist values can contribute to rational decisions about which scientific theories to accept. On this view, increasing the number of feminist scientists is important for ensuring rational and objective theory acceptance. The Underdetermination Thesis has played a key role in arguments for…

  4. When is physician assisted suicide or euthanasia acceptable?

    PubMed

    Frileux, S; Lelièvre, C; Muñoz Sastre, M T; Mullet, E; Sorum, P C

    2003-12-01

    To discover what factors affect lay people's judgments of the acceptability of physician assisted suicide and euthanasia and how these factors interact. Participants rated the acceptability of either physician assisted suicide or euthanasia for 72 patient vignettes with a five factor design--that is, all combinations of patient's age (three levels); curability of illness (two levels); degree of suffering (two levels); patient's mental status (two levels), and extent of patient's requests for the procedure (three levels). Convenience sample of 66 young adults, 62 middle aged adults, and 66 older adults living in western France. In accordance with the functional theory of cognition of N H Anderson, main effects, and interactions among patient factors and participants' characteristics were investigated by means of both graphs and ANOVA. Patient requests were the most potent determinant of acceptability. Euthanasia was generally less acceptable than physician assisted suicide, but this difference disappeared when requests were repetitive. As their own age increased, participants placed more weight on patient age as a criterion of acceptability. People's judgments concur with legislation to require a repetition of patients' requests for a life ending act. Younger people, who frequently are decision makers for elderly relatives, place less emphasis on patient's age itself than do older people.

  5. The Development of Creative Thinking in Graduate Students Doing Scientific Research

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Truran, Peter

    2016-01-01

    The teaching of research methodology to graduate science students places an emphasis on scientific reasoning and on the generation and evaluation of evidence in support of research conclusions. Very little attention is paid to the teaching of scientific creativity, the processes for generation of new ideas, hypotheses, and theories. By contrast,…

  6. The last bite was deadly--about responsibility in scientific publishing.

    PubMed

    Pavlovic, Dragan; Usichenko, Taras I; Lehmann, Christian

    2014-01-01

    Some open access journals are believed to have devaluated the highly respected image of the scientific journal. This has been, it is claimed, verified. Yet the project we believe failed and we show why we think that it failed. The study itself was badly conducted and the report, which Science published, was itself a perfect example of "bad science". If the article that was published in Science were to be taken as one of the "test" articles and Science as a victim journal (a perfect control though), the study would show the opposite of what author concluded in his paper: 100% of the controls (normal non-open access journals, in the present study this was Science) accepted the "bait" paper for publication, while in the experimental group only about 60% (open access journals) accepted the bait paper for publication. The conclusion is that, with respect to non-open access and open access, the probability of accepting pseudoscience is well in favor of this being done by a non-open access journal. Since this interpretation is based on some facts that were not included in the project itself, the only warranted result of this study would be that nothing could be concluded from it. It is concluded that the method that Bohannon used was heavily flawed and in addition immoral; that the report that was published by Science was inconclusive and that the act of publishing such report cannot be morally justified either. Various methods to improve the quality of published papers exist but scientific fraud with "good intentions" as a method to promote scientific publishing should be avoided.

  7. Trust, Isolation, and Presence: The Virtual Work Environment and Acceptance of Deep Organizational Change

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rose, Laurence Michael

    2013-01-01

    The primary focus of this research was to explore through the use of a grounded theory methodology if the human perceptions of trust, isolation, and presence affected the virtual workers ability to accept deep organizational change. The study found that the virtual workers in the sample defined their acceptance of deep organizational change by…

  8. Did Ptolemy make novel predictions? Launching Ptolemaic astronomy into the scientific realism debate.

    PubMed

    Carman, Christián; Díez, José

    2015-08-01

    The goal of this paper, both historical and philosophical, is to launch a new case into the scientific realism debate: geocentric astronomy. Scientific realism about unobservables claims that the non-observational content of our successful/justified empirical theories is true, or approximately true. The argument that is currently considered the best in favor of scientific realism is the No Miracles Argument: the predictive success of a theory that makes (novel) observational predictions while making use of non-observational content would be inexplicable unless such non-observational content approximately corresponds to the world "out there". Laudan's pessimistic meta-induction challenged this argument, and realists reacted by moving to a "selective" version of realism: the approximately true part of the theory is not its full non-observational content but only the part of it that is responsible for the novel, successful observational predictions. Selective scientific realism has been tested against some of the theories in Laudan's list, but the first member of this list, geocentric astronomy, has been traditionally ignored. Our goal here is to defend that Ptolemy's Geocentrism deserves attention and poses a prima facie strong case against selective realism, since it made several successful, novel predictions based on theoretical hypotheses that do not seem to be retained, not even approximately, by posterior theories. Here, though, we confine our work just to the detailed reconstruction of what we take to be the main novel, successful Ptolemaic predictions, leaving the full analysis and assessment of their significance for the realist thesis to future works. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  9. PE Metrics: Background, Testing Theory, and Methods

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhu, Weimo; Rink, Judy; Placek, Judith H.; Graber, Kim C.; Fox, Connie; Fisette, Jennifer L.; Dyson, Ben; Park, Youngsik; Avery, Marybell; Franck, Marian; Raynes, De

    2011-01-01

    New testing theories, concepts, and psychometric methods (e.g., item response theory, test equating, and item bank) developed during the past several decades have many advantages over previous theories and methods. In spite of their introduction to the field, they have not been fully accepted by physical educators. Further, the manner in which…

  10. A science confidence gap: Education, trust in scientific methods, and trust in scientific institutions in the United States, 2014.

    PubMed

    Achterberg, Peter; de Koster, Willem; van der Waal, Jeroen

    2017-08-01

    Following up on suggestions that attitudes toward science are multi-dimensional, we analyze nationally representative survey data collected in the United States in 2014 ( N = 2006), and demonstrate the existence of a science confidence gap: some people place great trust in scientific methods and principles, but simultaneously distrust scientific institutions. This science confidence gap is strongly associated with level of education: it is larger among the less educated than among the more educated. We investigate explanations for these educational differences. Whereas hypotheses deduced from reflexive-modernization theory do not pass the test, those derived from theorizing on the role of anomie are corroborated. The less educated are more anomic (they have more modernity-induced cultural discontents), which not only underlies their distrust in scientific institutions, but also fuels their trust in scientific methods and principles. This explains why this science confidence gap is most pronounced among the less educated.

  11. User acceptance of a picture archiving and communication system. Applying the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology in a radiological setting.

    PubMed

    Duyck, P; Pynoo, B; Devolder, P; Voet, T; Adang, L; Vercruysse, J

    2008-01-01

    The aim of this study is to gain insight into the individual user acceptance of PACS by the radiology department staff of the Ghent University Hospital. Hereto a basic--direct effects only--form of UTAUT was assessed. Ninety-four questionnaires were distributed and 56 usable questionnaires were returned (19 radiologists - 37 technologists). The questionnaire consisted of scales of Venkatesh et al. [13] for performance expectancy (PE), effort expectancy (EE), facilitating conditions (FC), social influence (SI), self-efficacy (SE), attitude (ATT), anxiety (ANX) and behavioral intention (BI), and a scale of Moore et al. [22] to assess the perceived voluntariness of PACS-use. The reliability of all scales, except FC and voluntariness, was acceptable to good. The voluntariness scale was divided into a mandatoriness (MAN) and a voluntariness (VOL) measure. Both radiologists and technologists seem to welcome PACS, with radiologists having higher ratings on PE, EE, ATT, VOL and BI. Only PE and FC were salient for predicting BI, while EE and SI were not salient. Variance explained in behavioral intention to use PACS was 48%. Both radiologists and technologists were positive towards PACS and had strong intentions to use PACS. As other healthcare professionals, they appear to make their technology acceptance decision independent from their superiors, hereby focusing on usefulness rather than on ease of use. It is also important that support is supplied. Basic UTAUT is an adequate model to assess technology acceptance in a radiological setting.

  12. Discovering Plate Boundaries in Data-integrated Environments: Preservice Teachers' Conceptualization and Implementation of Scientific Practices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sezen-Barrie, Asli; Moore, Joel; Roig, Cara E.

    2015-08-01

    Drawn from the norms and rules of their fields, scientists use variety of practices, such as asking questions and arguing based on evidence, to engage in research that will contribute to our understanding of Earth and beyond. In this study, we explore how preservice teachers' learn to teach scientific practices while teaching plate tectonic theory. In particular, our aim is to observe which scientific practices preservice teachers use while teaching an earth science unit, how do they integrate these practices into their lessons, and what challenges do they face during their first time teaching of an earth science content area integrated with scientific practices. The study is designed as a qualitative, exploratory case study of seven preservice teachers while they were learning to teach plate tectonic theory to a group of middle school students. The data were driven from the video records and artifacts of the preservice teachers' learning and teaching processes as well as written reflections on the teaching. Intertextual discourse analysis was used to understand what scientific practices preservice teachers choose to integrate into their teaching experience. Our results showed that preservice teachers chose to focus on four aspects of scientific practices: (1) employing historical understanding of how the theory emerged, (2) encouraging the use of evidence to build up a theory, (3) observation and interpretation of data maps, and (4) collaborative practices in making up the theory. For each of these practices, we also looked at the common challenges faced by preservice teachers by using constant comparative analysis. We observed the practices that preservice teachers decided to use and the challenges they faced, which were determined by what might have come as in their personal history as learners. Therefore, in order to strengthen preservice teachers' background, college courses should be arranged to teach important scientific ideas through scientific practices

  13. Lessons from Popper for science, paradigm shifts, scientific revolutions and exercise physiology.

    PubMed

    Robergs, Robert Andrew

    2017-01-01

    A connection has been made to the possible role of the central governor model (CGM) to be a paradigm shift within the exercise sciences. Unfortunately, very little evidence was presented to support this notion, and a narrow view of scientific philosophy was used to reflect on the role of the CGM in understanding exercise physiology and the pursuit of a more ideal scientific method. When contrasting the scientific philosophies of Kuhn to Popper, and applying the tenant of falsification to the research and commentary on the CGM, it is probable that the scholarship pertaining to the CGM adheres more to pseudoscience than science. To improve the scientific contributions of research on the CGM, fellow scientists need to adopt a more critical platform where questions are raised and research designs are employed in efforts to refute the theory. The inability to falsify a theory is the most meaningful way to prove that it is likely to be correct. To support this development, the CGM needs to be more carefully worded to form a theory that clearly reveals key features that can be researched and potentially falsified. In addition, the wording of the CGM needs to allow scientists to make predictions that can then be tested in controlled experimental research studies. Until this happens for the CGM and all other pertinent paradigms within exercise physiology, the discipline will never rise out of the abyss of normal science to extraordinary science involving paradigm shifts and scientific revolutions.

  14. Lessons from Popper for science, paradigm shifts, scientific revolutions and exercise physiology

    PubMed Central

    Robergs, Robert Andrew

    2017-01-01

    A connection has been made to the possible role of the central governor model (CGM) to be a paradigm shift within the exercise sciences. Unfortunately, very little evidence was presented to support this notion, and a narrow view of scientific philosophy was used to reflect on the role of the CGM in understanding exercise physiology and the pursuit of a more ideal scientific method. When contrasting the scientific philosophies of Kuhn to Popper, and applying the tenant of falsification to the research and commentary on the CGM, it is probable that the scholarship pertaining to the CGM adheres more to pseudoscience than science. To improve the scientific contributions of research on the CGM, fellow scientists need to adopt a more critical platform where questions are raised and research designs are employed in efforts to refute the theory. The inability to falsify a theory is the most meaningful way to prove that it is likely to be correct. To support this development, the CGM needs to be more carefully worded to form a theory that clearly reveals key features that can be researched and potentially falsified. In addition, the wording of the CGM needs to allow scientists to make predictions that can then be tested in controlled experimental research studies. Until this happens for the CGM and all other pertinent paradigms within exercise physiology, the discipline will never rise out of the abyss of normal science to extraordinary science involving paradigm shifts and scientific revolutions. PMID:29021907

  15. On the Acceptability of Funding from Fossil Energy Companies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Frumhoff, P. C.; Goldman, G. T.

    2016-12-01

    Vigorous debates within the American Geophysical Union over the acceptability of funding from ExxonMobil sit within a broader societal debate over the climate responsibilities of fossil energy companies in a carbon constrained world. This has been fueled by recent evidence that leading companies have invested heavily in efforts to sow doubt about climate science in order to avoid regulation of their products. This talk examines the nature of this evidence and the ethical stances that AGU and other scientific societies and organizations might take toward acceptability of funding from fossil energy companies in light of it. The results of a climate responsibility scorecard, assessing a sample of leading oil, gas and coal companies against specific criteria for a more responsible fossil energy company, also will be presented.

  16. Salt, time, and metaphor: examining norms in scientific culture

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brady, Anna G.

    2017-06-01

    As has been widely discussed, the National Research Council's (NRC) current policy in United States education advocates supporting students toward acquiring skills to engage in scientific practices. NRC policy also suggests that supporting students in the practices of science may require different approaches than what is required for supporting student engagement with scientific content. Further, acquiring skills in scientific practices is not limited to gaining proficiency in utilizing tools that support scientific inquiry: students must also understand how to interpret information generated from such tools. These tools of scientific practices are embedded within scientific culture, which from Sewell's perspective, is comprised of both practice and semiotic code (symbols and meanings). To become scientifically literate students must learn to utilize this code in practice. Author Germà Garcia-Belmonte identified one example of learning to utilize the semiotic code in scientific practice and considers challenges faced by undergraduate physics and engineering students within that context. Garcia-Belmonte observes students struggle to interpret symbols and meaning (the visual display generated) while engaging in practice (utilizing an oscilloscope) and posits that two, culturally bound, competing, linguistic metaphors of time may be the cause. Ultimately, however, the author does not explore beyond hypotheses. Although his theory may be correct, the paper serves as a reminder of the responsibility we have to students. As educators, it is useful and beneficial to make observations and develop theories surrounding why our students struggle. However, in addition to theorizing on why, for example, a particular scientific norm might present challenges for our students, we must remain mindful that challenges may not be uniform and may vary considerably according to students' culture(s). Engaging with students and soliciting specific information regarding the challenges

  17. Science Classroom Discussion as Scientific Argumentation: A Study of Conceptually Rich (and Poor) Student Talk

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shemwell, Jonathan T.; Furtak, Erin Marie

    2010-01-01

    One way to frame science classroom discussion is to engage students in scientific argumentation, an important discourse format within science aimed at coordinating empirical evidence and scientific theory. Framing discussion as scientific argumentation gives clear priority to contributions that are sustained by evidence. We question whether this…

  18. Paired comparison estimates of willingness to accept versus contingent valuation estimates of willingness to pay

    Treesearch

    John B. Loomis; George Peterson; Patricia A. Champ; Thomas C. Brown; Beatrice Lucero

    1998-01-01

    Estimating empirical measures of an individual's willingness to accept that are consistent with conventional economic theory, has proven difficult. The method of paired comparison offers a promising approach to estimate willingness to accept. This method involves having individuals make binary choices between receiving a particular good or a sum of money....

  19. CONSTRUCTING A GENERAL SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS THEORY

    EPA Science Inventory

    Sustainability atracts enormous interest in the minds of the public and the scientific and engineering community because it holds the promise of a long-term solution to environmental problems. Sustainability, however, is mathematically loosely defined. There is no widely accepted...

  20. CONSTRUCTING A GENERAL SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS THEORY

    EPA Science Inventory

    Sustainability attracts enormous interest in the minds of the public and the scientific and engineering community because it holds the promise of a long-tem solution to environmental problems. Sustainability, however, is mathematically loosely defined. There is no widely accepted...

  1. College Students' Perceptions of the Theory of Evolution

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hokayem, Hayat; BouJaoude, Saouma

    2008-01-01

    Although a well-corroborated scientific theory, the theory of evolution has continued to cause dilemmas for some individuals who have not easily been able to accommodate the concepts of this theory within their cognitive culture. The reason lies in the overlap of some ideas that the theory advocates with other social, epistemological, and…

  2. Social acceptance and self-esteem: tuning the sociometer to interpersonal value.

    PubMed

    Anthony, Danu B; Holmes, John G; Wood, Joanne V

    2007-06-01

    The authors draw on sociometer theory to propose that self-esteem is attuned to traits that garner others' acceptance, and the traits that garner acceptance depend on one's social role. Attunement of self-esteem refers to the linkage, or connection, between self-esteem and specific traits, which may be observed most clearly in the association between self-esteem and specific self-evaluations. In most roles, appearance and popularity determine acceptance, so self-esteem is most attuned to those traits. At the same time, interdependent social roles emphasize the value of communal qualities, so occupants of those roles have self-esteem that is more attuned to communal qualities than is the general norm. To avoid the biases of people's personal theories, the authors assessed attunement of self-esteem to particular traits indirectly via the correlation between self-esteem and self-ratings, cognitive accessibility measures, and an experiment involving social decision making. As hypothesized, self-esteem was generally more attuned to appearances than to communal qualities, but interdependent social roles predicted heightened attunement of self-esteem to qualities like kindness and understanding. (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved.

  3. Developing a Scientific Virtue-Based Approach to Science Ethics Training.

    PubMed

    Pennock, Robert T; O'Rourke, Michael

    2017-02-01

    Responsible conduct of research training typically includes only a subset of the issues that ought to be included in science ethics and sometimes makes ethics appear to be a set of externally imposed rules rather than something intrinsic to scientific practice. A new approach to science ethics training based upon Pennock's notion of the scientific virtues may help avoid such problems. This paper motivates and describes three implementations-theory-centered, exemplar-centered, and concept-centered-that we have developed in courses and workshops to introduce students to this scientific virtue-based approach.

  4. God, the Devil, and Darwin - A Critique of Intelligent Design Theory

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shanks, Niall

    2007-03-01

    In the last fifteen years a controversial new theory of the origins of biological complexity and the nature of the universe has been fomenting bitter debates in education and science policy across North America, Europe, and Australia. Backed by intellectuals at respectable universities, Intelligent Design theory (ID) proposes an alternative to accepted accounts of evolutionary theory: that life is so complex, and that the universe is so fine-tuned for the appearance of life, that the only plausible explanation is the existence of an intelligent designer. For many ID theorists, the designer is taken to be the god of Christianity. Niall Shanks has written the first accessible introduction to, and critique of, this controversial new intellectual movement. Shanks locates the growth of ID in the last two decades of the twentieth century in the growing influence of the American religious right. But as he shows, its roots go back beyond Aquinas to Ancient Greece. After looking at the historical roots of ID, Shanks takes a hard look at its intellectual underpinnings, discussing modern understandings of thermodynamics, and how self-organizing processes lead to complex physical, chemical, and biological systems. He considers cosmological arguments for ID rooted in so-called "anthropic coincidences" and also tackles new biochemical arguments for ID based on "irreducible biological complexity." Throughout he shows how arguments for ID lack cohesion, rest on errors and unfounded suppositions, and generally are grossly inferior to evolutionary explanations. While ID has been proposed as a scientific alternative to evolutionary biology, Shanks argues that ID is in fact "old creationist wine in new designer label bottles" and moreover is a serious threat to the scientific and democratic values that are our cultural and intellectual inheritance from the Enlightenment.

  5. A systematic review of patient acceptance of consumer health information technology.

    PubMed

    Or, Calvin K L; Karsh, Ben-Tzion

    2009-01-01

    A systematic literature review was performed to identify variables promoting consumer health information technology (CHIT) acceptance among patients. The electronic bibliographic databases Web of Science, Business Source Elite, CINAHL, Communication and Mass Media Complete, MEDLINE, PsycArticles, and PsycInfo were searched. A cited reference search of articles meeting the inclusion criteria was also conducted to reduce misses. Fifty-two articles met the selection criteria. Among them, 94 different variables were tested for associations with acceptance. Most of those tested (71%) were patient factors, including sociodemographic characteristics, health- and treatment-related variables, and prior experience or exposure to computer/health technology. Only ten variables were related to human-technology interaction; 16 were organizational factors; and one was related to the environment. In total, 62 (66%) were found to predict acceptance in at least one study. Existing literature focused largely on patient-related factors. No studies examined the impact of social and task factors on acceptance, and few tested the effects of organizational or environmental factors on acceptance. Future research guided by technology acceptance theories should fill those gaps to improve our understanding of patient CHIT acceptance, which in turn could lead to better CHIT design and implementation.

  6. Final Scientific/Technical Report-Quantum Field Theories for Cosmology

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Nicolis, Alberto

    The research funded by this award spanned a wide range of subjects in theoretical cosmology and in field theory. In the first part, the PI and his collaborators applied effective field theory techniques to the study of macroscopic media and of cosmological perturbations. Such an approach—now standard in particle physics—is quite unconventional for theoretical cosmology. They addressed several concrete questions where this formalism proved valuable, both within and outside the cosmological context, concerning for instance macroscopic physical phenomena for fluids, superfluids, and solids, and their relationship to the dynamics of cosmological perturbations. A particularly successful outcome of this line ofmore » research has been the development of “solid inflation”: a cosmological model for primordial inflation where the expansion of the universe is driven by an exotic solid substance. In the second part, the PI and his collaborators investigated more fundamental questions and ideas, for the present universe as well as for the very early one, using quantum field theory as a guide. The questions addressed include: Is the present cosmic acceleration due to a new, ‘dark’ form of energy, or are we instead observing a breakdown of Einstein’s general relativity at cosmological distances? Is the cosmic acceleration accelerating? Is the Big Bang unavoidable? Related to this, is early inflation the only sensible cure for the shortcomings of the standard Big Bang model, and the only possible source for the observed scale-invariant cosmological perturbations?« less

  7. Balancing the books - a statistical theory of prospective budgets in Earth System science

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    O'Kane, J. Philip

    An honest declaration of the error in a mass, momentum or energy balance, ɛ, simply raises the question of its acceptability: "At what value of ɛ is the attempted balance to be rejected?" Answering this question requires a reference quantity against which to compare ɛ. This quantity must be a mathematical function of all the data used in making the balance. To deliver this function, a theory grounded in a workable definition of acceptability is essential. A distinction must be drawn between a retrospective balance and a prospective budget in relation to any natural space-filling body. Balances look to the past; budgets look to the future. The theory is built on the application of classical sampling theory to the measurement and closure of a prospective budget. It satisfies R.A. Fisher's "vital requirement that the actual and physical conduct of experiments should govern the statistical procedure of their interpretation". It provides a test, which rejects, or fails to reject, the hypothesis that the closing error on the budget, when realised, was due to sampling error only. By increasing the number of measurements, the discrimination of the test can be improved, controlling both the precision and accuracy of the budget and its components. The cost-effective design of such measurement campaigns is discussed briefly. This analysis may also show when campaigns to close a budget on a particular space-filling body are not worth the effort for either scientific or economic reasons. Other approaches, such as those based on stochastic processes, lack this finality, because they fail to distinguish between different types of error in the mismatch between a set of realisations of the process and the measured data.

  8. Galileo's tidal theory.

    PubMed

    Naylor, Ron

    2007-03-01

    The aim of Galileo's tidal theory was to show that the tides were produced entirely by the earth's motion and thereby to demonstrate the physical truth of Copernicanism. However, in the Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems Galileo did not explain some of the most significant aspects of the theory completely. As a consequence, the way the theory works has long been disputed. Though there exist a number of interpretations in the literature, the most widely accepted are based on ideas that are not explicitly articulated by Galileo in the Dialogue. This essay attempts to understand the way the theory functions in terms of Galilean physics. It is an interpretation of the theory based solely on Galileo's arguments--and one that reveals it to have had some unrecognized consequences. This interpretation indicates that Galileo's theory would not have worked in the manner he described in the Dialogue.

  9. Investigating Flow Experience and Scientific Practices during a Mobile Serious Educational Game

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bressler, Denise M.; Bodzin, Alec M.

    2016-01-01

    Mobile serious educational games (SEGs) show promise for promoting scientific practices and high engagement. Researchers have quantified this engagement according to flow theory. This study investigated whether a mobile SEG promotes flow experience and scientific practices with eighth-grade urban students. Students playing the game (n = 59) were…

  10. Modern Scientific Metaphors of Warfare: Updating the Doctrinal Paradigm

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1993-05-27

    eventful but not exceptional. In common with thousands of officers in armies across Europe, he served from boyhood on, experienced defeat and captivity as...Scientific Revolutions, 19. 38. Alexander Woodcock and Monte Davis, Catastrophe Theory (New York: E.P. Dutton, 1978) 43-57. 39. Alexander Woodcock ...Application of Catastrophe Theory to the Analysis of Military Behavior (The Hague: SHAPE Technical Center, 1984) 5. 40. Woodcock and Davis, Catastrophe

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

    PubMed

    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.

  12. Key acceptability attributes of orodispersible films.

    PubMed

    Scarpa, Mariagiovanna; Paudel, Amrit; Kloprogge, Frank; Hsiao, Wen Kai; Bresciani, Massimo; Gaisford, Simon; Orlu, Mine

    2018-04-01

    The features rendering orodispersible films (ODFs) patient-centric formulations are widely discussed in the scientific literature. However there is a lack of research studies exploring ODF characteristics with a potential impact on end-user acceptability. The aim of this study was to identify the key ODF characteristics affecting end-user acceptability by developing in vitro test methods for the prediction of ODFs acceptability and correlate these formulation characteristics with the data obtained from a human panel study. Four drug-free single-polymer films were prepared by solvent casting. Solutions of poly(vinyl) alcohol (PVOH) 39 KDa (P1), PVOH 197 KDa (P2), carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) 395 KDa (C1), and CMC 725 KDa (C2) were prepared. Texture analysis and Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) were used to assess film tack. Petri dish and drop methods were used to assess disintegration time. A human panel of 24 healthy young adults was employed to identify end-user acceptability criteria of the four study film samples. Texture analysis data of ODF tack were not found to be in agreement with the in vivo perceived stickiness in the mouth. However, measurement of the area under the adhesive force curve obtained by DMA correlated with in vivo perceived stickiness data for all samples. The disintegration times obtained by drop method were more comparable to human panel data than the petri dish method. Hence DMA and drop methods proved to be promising methodologies for the prediction of the end-user acceptability. The type and molecular weight of the film-forming polymer had a strong influence on stickiness perception, whereas only polymeric molecular weight influenced perceived disintegration time. The human panel study showed that Participant Reported Outcomes (PROs) for the perceived stickiness in the mouth and disintegration time of test films received significantly different scores between samples, and thus were identified as the key attributes with the

  13. The Parental "Acceptance-Rejection Syndrome": Universal Correlates of Perceived Rejection

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rohner, Ronald P.

    2004-01-01

    This article reviews theory, methods, and evidence supporting the concept of a relational diagnosis here called the parental acceptance-rejection syndrome. This syndrome is composed of 2 complementary sets of factors. First, 4 classes of behaviors appear universally to convey the symbolic message that "my parent (or other attachment…

  14. Presenting Global Warming and Evolution as Public Health Issues to Encourage Acceptance of Scientific Evidence

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stover, Shawn K.; McArthur, Laurence B.; Mabry, Michelle L.

    2013-01-01

    Although evidence supporting anthropogenic global warming and evolution by natural selection is considerable, the public does not embrace these concepts. The current study explores the hypothesis that individuals will become more receptive to scientific viewpoints if evidence for evolution and implications of global warming are presented as issues…

  15. The Swedish Research Council's definition of 'scientific misconduct': a critique.

    PubMed

    Salwén, Håkan

    2015-02-01

    There is no consensus over the proper definition of 'scientific misconduct.' There are differences in opinion not only between countries but also between research institutions in the same country. This is unfortunate. Without a widely accepted definition it is difficult for scientists to adjust to new research milieux. This might hamper scientific innovation and make cooperation difficult. Furthermore, due to the potentially damaging consequences it is important to combat misconduct. But how frequent is it and what measures are efficient? Without an appropriate definition there are no interesting answers to these questions. In order to achieve a high degree of consensus and to foster research integrity, the international dialogue over the proper definition of 'scientific misconduct' must be on going. Yet, the scientific community should not end up with the definition suggested by the Swedish Research Council. The definition the council advocates does not satisfy the ordinary language condition. That is, the definition is not consistent with how 'scientific misconduct' is used by scientists. I will show that this is due to the fact that it refers to false results. I generalise this and argue that no adequate definition of 'scientific misconduct' makes such a reference.

  16. Framing Innovation: The Role of Distributed Leadership in Gaining Acceptance of Large-Scale Technology Initiatives

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Turner, Henry J.

    2014-01-01

    This dissertation of practice utilized a multiple case-study approach to examine distributed leadership within five school districts that were attempting to gain acceptance of a large-scale 1:1 technology initiative. Using frame theory and distributed leadership theory as theoretical frameworks, this study interviewed each district's…

  17. Web life: Just A Theory

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    2010-04-01

    After a few months of physics videos, amateur science sites and educational games, the website we are highlighting in this month's column is a straightforward blog. Just A Theory was started in 2008 by freelance science journalist Jacob Aron while he was studying for a Master's degree in science communication at Imperial College London. The blog's title, Aron explains, reflects a popular misconception that scientific theories are "dreamed up by mad scientists in laboratories somewhere" rather than well-crafted explanations based on observations and experiments. To combat this impression, the site aims to highlight good and bad science coverage in the mainstream media, and to provide original commentary on current scientific events.

  18. Management Design Theories

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pries-Heje, Jan; Baskerville, Richard L.

    This paper elaborates a design science approach for management planning anchored to the concept of a management design theory. Unlike the notions of design theories arising from information systems, management design theories can appear as a system of technological rules, much as a system of hypotheses or propositions can embody scientific theories. The paper illus trates this form of management design theories with three grounded cases. These grounded cases include a software process improvement study, a user involvement study, and an organizational change study. Collectively these studies demonstrate how design theories founded on technological rules can not only improve the design of information systems, but that these concepts have great practical value for improving the framing of strategic organi zational design decisions about such systems. Each case is either grounded in an empirical sense, that is to say, actual practice, or it is grounded to practices described extensively in the practical literature. Such design theories will help managers more easily approach complex, strategic decisions.

  19. Science games and the development of scientific possible selves.

    PubMed

    Beier, Margaret; Miller, Leslie; Wang, Shu

    2012-12-01

    Serious scientific games, especially those that include a virtual apprenticeship component, provide players with realistic experiences in science. This article discusses how science games can influence learning about science and the development of science-oriented possible selves through repeated practice in professional play and through social influences (e.g., peer groups). We first review the theory of possible selves (Markus and Nurius 1986) and discuss the potential of serious scientific games for influencing the development of scientific possible selves. As part of our review, we present a forensic game that inspired our work. Next we present a measure of scientific possible selves and assess its reliability and validity with a sample of middle-school students (N=374). We conclude by discussing the promise of science games and the development of scientific possible selves on both the individual and group levels as a means of inspiring STEM careers among adolescents.

  20. Science games and the development of scientific possible selves

    PubMed Central

    Beier, Margaret; Miller, Leslie; Wang, Shu

    2012-01-01

    Serious scientific games, especially those that include a virtual apprenticeship component, provide players with realistic experiences in science. This article discusses how science games can influence learning about science and the development of science-oriented possible selves through repeated practice in professional play and through social influences (e.g., peer groups). We first review the theory of possible selves (Markus and Nurius 1986) and discuss the potential of serious scientific games for influencing the development of scientific possible selves. As part of our review, we present a forensic game that inspired our work. Next we present a measure of scientific possible selves and assess its reliability and validity with a sample of middle-school students (N=374). We conclude by discussing the promise of science games and the development of scientific possible selves on both the individual and group levels as a means of inspiring STEM careers among adolescents. PMID:23483731

  1. Science games and the development of scientific possible selves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Beier, Margaret E.; Miller, Leslie M.; Wang, Shu

    2012-12-01

    Serious scientific games, especially those that include a virtual apprenticeship component, provide players with realistic experiences in science. This article discusses how science games can influence learning about science and the development of science-oriented possible selves through repeated practice in professional play and through social influences (e.g., peer groups). We first review the theory of possible selves (Markus and Nurius 1986) and discuss the potential of serious scientific games for influencing the development of scientific possible selves. As part of our review, we present a forensic game that inspired our work. Next we present a measure of scientific possible selves and assess its reliability and validity with a sample of middle-school students ( N = 374). We conclude by discussing the promise of science games and the development of scientific possible selves on both the individual and group levels as a means of inspiring STEM careers among adolescents.

  2. Scientific Reasoning and Epistemological Commitments: Coordination of Theory and Evidence among College Science Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zeineddin, Ava; Abd-El-Khalick, Fouad

    2010-01-01

    Reasoning skills are major contributors to academic and everyday life success. Epistemological commitments (ECs) are believed to underlie reasoning processes and, when considered, could do much in delineating the complex nature of scientific reasoning. This study examined the relationship between ECs and scientific reasoning among college science…

  3. Ethics and Scientific Integrity in Public Health, Epidemiological and Clinical Research

    PubMed Central

    Coughlin, Steven S.; Barker, Amyre; Dawson, Angus

    2012-01-01

    The ethics and scientific integrity of biomedical and public health research requires that researchers behave in appropriate ways. However, this requires more than following of published research guidelines that seek to prevent scientific misconduct relating to serious deviations from widely accepted scientific norms for proposing, conducting, and reporting research (e.g., fabrication or falsification of research data or failures to report potential conflicts of interest). In this paper we argue for a broader account of scientific integrity, one consistent with that defended by the United States Institute of Medicine, involving a commitment to intellectual honesty and personal responsibility for one’s actions as a researcher and to practices consistent with the responsible conduct of research and protection of the research participants. Maintaining high standards of ethical and scientific integrity helps to maintain public trust in the research enterprise. An increasing number of authors have pointed to the importance of mentoring and education in relation to the responsible conduct of science in preventing transgressions of scientific integrity. Just like in clinical research and biomedicine, epidemiologists and other public health researchers have the responsibility to exhibit and foster the very highest standards of scientific integrity. PMID:24532867

  4. Ethics and Scientific Integrity in Public Health, Epidemiological and Clinical Research.

    PubMed

    Coughlin, Steven S; Barker, Amyre; Dawson, Angus

    2012-01-01

    The ethics and scientific integrity of biomedical and public health research requires that researchers behave in appropriate ways. However, this requires more than following of published research guidelines that seek to prevent scientific misconduct relating to serious deviations from widely accepted scientific norms for proposing, conducting, and reporting research (e.g., fabrication or falsification of research data or failures to report potential conflicts of interest). In this paper we argue for a broader account of scientific integrity, one consistent with that defended by the United States Institute of Medicine, involving a commitment to intellectual honesty and personal responsibility for one's actions as a researcher and to practices consistent with the responsible conduct of research and protection of the research participants. Maintaining high standards of ethical and scientific integrity helps to maintain public trust in the research enterprise. An increasing number of authors have pointed to the importance of mentoring and education in relation to the responsible conduct of science in preventing transgressions of scientific integrity. Just like in clinical research and biomedicine, epidemiologists and other public health researchers have the responsibility to exhibit and foster the very highest standards of scientific integrity.

  5. Ethics in scientific communication: study of a problem case.

    PubMed

    Berger, R L

    1994-12-01

    The hypothermia experiments performed on humans during the Second World War at the German concentration camp in Dachau have been regarded as crimes against humanity, disguised as medical research. For almost 50 years, scientists maintained that the study produced valuable, even if not totally reliable, information. In recent years, the results from the Dachau hypothermia project were glamorized with life-saving potential and a heated ethical dialogue was activated about the use of life-saving but tainted scientific information. In the wake of the debate, an in-depth examination of the scientific rigour of the project was performed and revealed that neither the science nor the scientists from Dachau could be trusted and that the data were worthless. The body of medical opinion accepted the unfavourable determination but a few scientists and ethicists have continued to endorse the validity, of at least parts, of the Dachau hypothermia data. The conduct of the scientific communications about the Dachau hypothermia experiments by the scientific and ethical communities invites serious consideration of a possible ethical misadventure. It appears that for almost 50 years, the results of the study had been endorsed without careful examination of the scientific base of the experiments and that secondary citation of relevant original material may have been commonly employed. These infractions contributed to a myth that good science was practised by the Nazis at Dachau. The more recent emphasis on the life-saving potential of the Dachau data, without citation of credible supporting evidence, has also been misleading. Similarly, acceptance of a determination by an in-depth examination that the 'whole' Dachau project if flawed with simultaneous endorsement of the validity of 'parts' of the results, poses an ethical problem. It is advisable that before seeking ethical consultation about the use of unethically obtained data, scientists should examine the quality of science behind

  6. Ethics in scientific communication: study of a problem case.

    PubMed Central

    Berger, R L

    1994-01-01

    The hypothermia experiments performed on humans during the Second World War at the German concentration camp in Dachau have been regarded as crimes against humanity, disguised as medical research. For almost 50 years, scientists maintained that the study produced valuable, even if not totally reliable, information. In recent years, the results from the Dachau hypothermia project were glamorized with life-saving potential and a heated ethical dialogue was activated about the use of life-saving but tainted scientific information. In the wake of the debate, an in-depth examination of the scientific rigour of the project was performed and revealed that neither the science nor the scientists from Dachau could be trusted and that the data were worthless. The body of medical opinion accepted the unfavourable determination but a few scientists and ethicists have continued to endorse the validity, of at least parts, of the Dachau hypothermia data. The conduct of the scientific communications about the Dachau hypothermia experiments by the scientific and ethical communities invites serious consideration of a possible ethical misadventure. It appears that for almost 50 years, the results of the study had been endorsed without careful examination of the scientific base of the experiments and that secondary citation of relevant original material may have been commonly employed. These infractions contributed to a myth that good science was practised by the Nazis at Dachau. The more recent emphasis on the life-saving potential of the Dachau data, without citation of credible supporting evidence, has also been misleading. Similarly, acceptance of a determination by an in-depth examination that the 'whole' Dachau project if flawed with simultaneous endorsement of the validity of 'parts' of the results, poses an ethical problem. It is advisable that before seeking ethical consultation about the use of unethically obtained data, scientists should examine the quality of science behind

  7. Oppositional Culture Theory and the Delusion of Colorblindness

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Berlowitz, Marvin J.; Hutchins, Brandi N.; Jenkins, Derrick J.; Mussman, Mark P.; Schneider, Carri A.

    2006-01-01

    Oppositional culture theory is a widely accepted explanation for disparities in academic performance between middle class Whites and middle class African Americans. The authors make the case that oppositional culture theory has its roots in cultural deficit theory popularized in the early 1960s and present a significant body of evidence to refute…

  8. Why we need a theory of suffering, and lots of other theories as well: commentary.

    PubMed

    Churchill, Larry R

    1991-01-01

    In the first section of his article, "The Role of Suffering and Community in Clinical Ethics," Erich Loewy sketches a theory of suffering. His conviction is that clinical medical ethics is not clearly rooted in theory and is inadequately grounded because of this. While acknowledging the merits of virtue ethics and casuistry, Loewy quickly dispenses with them, as contenders for this theoretical basis. Kantianism and utilitarianism are likewise rejected as "a universally acceptable grounding for ethics." In their place, Loewy proposes that "a deeper and more universal grounding can be found in the capacity of sentient beings to suffer." It is on this capacity to suffer that he builds his hierarchies of moral value, including primary, secondary, and symbolic worth. This theory of suffering should be welcomed. It promises to expand our awareness of clinical experience, and moral life generally, away from autonomy, utility, or virtue orientations toward attention to suffering and our response to it. Such a theory can give us a revitalized language to probe the issues of medical ethics. This should lead us to a careful reading of Loewy's larger work on which this article is based. Yet my enthusiasm is tempered by Loewy's noncritical acceptance of a peculiar, yet pervasive, understanding of the role and use of theory in ethics....

  9. Anticoagulant factor V: factors affecting the integration of novel scientific discoveries into the broader framework.

    PubMed

    LaBonte, Michelle L

    2014-09-01

    Since its initial discovery in the 1940s, factor V has long been viewed as an important procoagulant protein in the coagulation cascade. However, in the later part of the 20th century, two different scientists proposed novel anticoagulant roles for factor V. Philip Majerus proposed the first anticoagulant function for factor V in 1983, yet ultimately it was not widely accepted by the broader scientific community. In contrast, Björn Dahlbäck proposed a different anticoagulant role for factor V in 1994. While this role was initially contested, it was ultimately accepted and integrated into the scientific framework. In this paper, I present a detailed historical account of these two anticoagulant discoveries and propose three key reasons why Dahlbäck's anticoagulant role for factor V was accepted whereas Majerus' proposed role was largely overlooked. Perhaps most importantly, Dahlbäck's proposed anticoagulant role was of great clinical interest because the discovery involved the study of an important subset of patients with thrombophilia. Soon after Dahlbäck's 1994 work, this patient population was shown to possess the factor V Leiden mutation. Also key in the ultimate acceptance of the second proposed anticoagulant role was the persistence of the scientist who made the discovery and the interest in and ability of others to replicate and reinforce this work. This analysis of two different yet similar discoveries sheds light on factors that play an important role in how new discoveries are incorporated into the existing scientific framework. Copyright © 2014 The Author. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  10. Preservice teachers: Future first responders in the evolution versus intelligent design battle

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Strauss, Jeffrey M.

    The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) states that evolution is the unifying theme from which all biological science is to be organized and it is the basic principle that guides the majority of biology curricula in the American public school systems today. Previous research indicates a widespread lack of acceptance by the American public of the veracity of this theory and even less agreement that it should be taught as the only theory of human origins in the public schools. Many studies have also documented students' difficulties in learning, or accepting, the theory of evolution. From the time of the Scopes trial in the 1920s, to landmark Supreme Court decisions in the seventies and eighties, the manner of how evolution should taught has been an issue of contention. The most recent challenge to evolution's putative privileged place is called the intelligent design movement which seeks recognition as a competing scientific theory in a way that scientific creationism was never able to be recognized. While there has been much research conducted on the issue of student and teacher acceptance of the theory of evolution, until recently there have been few documented studies of the preservice teacher. To help fill this gap a survey based quantitative study of 330 preservice teachers from both a public and private Southern California university credentialing program was conducted. Their positions regarding the teaching of evolution in the public schools as well as their own beliefs about the importance of the issue were assessed. Results revealed that a majority (52%) was against the teaching of the theory of evolution as the only scientific theory of origins and that over 38% believed that intelligent design should be taught as an alternate or competing theory. Factors that identified this latter group were strongly held religious beliefs, a conservative political ideology, a low level of acceptance of the scientific consensus for the validity

  11. Comparing theories' performance in predicting violence.

    PubMed

    Haas, Henriette; Cusson, Maurice

    2015-01-01

    The stakes of choosing the best theory as a basis for violence prevention and offender rehabilitation are high. However, no single theory of violence has ever been universally accepted by a majority of established researchers. Psychiatry, psychology and sociology are each subdivided into different schools relying upon different premises. All theories can produce empirical evidence for their validity, some of them stating the opposite of each other. Calculating different models with multivariate logistic regression on a dataset of N = 21,312 observations and ninety-two influences allowed a direct comparison of the performance of operationalizations of some of the most important schools. The psychopathology model ranked as the best model in terms of predicting violence right after the comprehensive interdisciplinary model. Next came the rational choice and lifestyle model and third the differential association and learning theory model. Other models namely the control theory model, the childhood-trauma model and the social conflict and reaction model turned out to have low sensitivities for predicting violence. Nevertheless, all models produced acceptable results in predictions of a non-violent outcome. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  12. Attitude, Certainty and Allusions to Common Knowledge in Scientific Research Articles

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Koutsantoni, Dimitra

    2004-01-01

    Acceptance of claims made in scientific research articles depends on the "stance" authors take and their resources for "appraisal" (Martin and White, http://www.grammatics.com/appraisal). "Stance" has been defined as "the ways authors project themselves into their texts to communicate their relationship to subject matter and the readers",…

  13. Women scientists' scientific and spiritual ways of knowing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Buffington, Angela Cunningham

    While science education aims for literacy regarding scientific knowledge and the work of scientists, the separation of scientific knowing from other knowing may misrepresent the knowing of scientists. The majority of science educators K-university are women. Many of these women are spiritual and integrate their scientific and spiritual ways of knowing. Understanding spiritual women of science would inform science education and serve to advance the scientific reason and spirituality debate. Using interviews and grounded theory, this study explores scientific and spiritual ways of knowing in six women of science who hold strong spiritual commitments and portray science to non-scientists. From various lived experiences, each woman comes to know through a Passive knowing of exposure and attendance, an Engaged knowing of choice, commitment and action, an Mindful/Inner knowing of prayer and meaning, a Relational knowing with others, and an Integrated lifeworld knowing where scientific knowing, spiritual knowing, and other ways of knowing are integrated. Consequences of separating ways of knowing are discussed, as are connections to current research, implications to science education, and ideas for future research. Understanding women scientists' scientific/ spiritual ways of knowing may aid science educators in linking academic science to the life-worlds of students.

  14. Grammaticality, Acceptability, and Probability: A Probabilistic View of Linguistic Knowledge.

    PubMed

    Lau, Jey Han; Clark, Alexander; Lappin, Shalom

    2017-07-01

    The question of whether humans represent grammatical knowledge as a binary condition on membership in a set of well-formed sentences, or as a probabilistic property has been the subject of debate among linguists, psychologists, and cognitive scientists for many decades. Acceptability judgments present a serious problem for both classical binary and probabilistic theories of grammaticality. These judgements are gradient in nature, and so cannot be directly accommodated in a binary formal grammar. However, it is also not possible to simply reduce acceptability to probability. The acceptability of a sentence is not the same as the likelihood of its occurrence, which is, in part, determined by factors like sentence length and lexical frequency. In this paper, we present the results of a set of large-scale experiments using crowd-sourced acceptability judgments that demonstrate gradience to be a pervasive feature in acceptability judgments. We then show how one can predict acceptability judgments on the basis of probability by augmenting probabilistic language models with an acceptability measure. This is a function that normalizes probability values to eliminate the confounding factors of length and lexical frequency. We describe a sequence of modeling experiments with unsupervised language models drawn from state-of-the-art machine learning methods in natural language processing. Several of these models achieve very encouraging levels of accuracy in the acceptability prediction task, as measured by the correlation between the acceptability measure scores and mean human acceptability values. We consider the relevance of these results to the debate on the nature of grammatical competence, and we argue that they support the view that linguistic knowledge can be intrinsically probabilistic. Copyright © 2016 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

  15. Developing a Stoma Acceptance Questionnaire to improve motivation to adhere to enterostoma self-care.

    PubMed

    Bagnasco, A; Watson, R; Zanini, M; Catania, G; Aleo, G; Sasso, L

    2017-06-01

    In stoma care, patient education is often weak in terms of improving patients' level of acceptance of living with a stoma. Self-care educational interventions in enterostomal patients, which according to Orem's Theory should take into account these patients' specific needs, require instruments that measure patients' stoma acceptance to improve motivation based on the resumption of activities they used to carry out before having a stoma. The aim of the study was to develop an instrument that measures the level of stoma acceptance to improve motivation to adhere to enterostoma self-care. Aspects that improve stoma acceptance and consequently motivation to adhere to enterostoma self-care were identified through 10 focus groups. In the focus groups, the motivation indicators were grouped, categorised and results entered into a Stoma Acceptance Questionnaire (SAQ). The SAQ was then piloted with 104 enterostomal patients from three general hospitals. To assess the construct validity of the SAQ, Mokken Scaling was used to explore the latent structure of the SAQ. Mokken scaling is a non-parametric method that falls under the umbrella of methods described as item response theories (IRT). The theme "Living with a stoma"; "Autonomy"; "Support"; "Ability to deal with stoma", plus a common underlying theme: "Stoma acceptance" were dissussed by the Focus Groups. The experts identified the items of the (SAQ) through these themes. Mokken Scaling identified the "resumption of enterostomal patients' normal activities" as a measure of stoma acceptance, thus confirming the construct validity of the SAQ. The tool proposed affords a pioneering example of how this gap can be bridged. Indeed, the SAQ could enable nurses adopting a standardized approach for the assessment of enterostomal patients' motivation to resume their normal activities and identify needs linked to this. The SAQ could also be used to measure the effectiveness of psychosocial and educational interventions aimed at

  16. Effects of metacognitive exercise on the development of scientific reasoning

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pearsall, Susan Helen

    1999-12-01

    The essence of scientific reasoning is the coordination of theory and evidence. Kuhn (1998) implicates metacognitive skill in reflecting on one's theories, and metastrategic management of inferential strategies involved in their coordination with evidence, as critical to scientific reasoning. The present study investigates how metacognitive exercise may improve children's performance on scientific reasoning tasks. Two groups composed of 50 fifth- and sixth-grade students engaged in a scientific investigation activity over six weekly sessions. Additionally, one group engaged in an activity involving reflection on others' performance on the task, while the comparison group spent equivalent time on an unrelated task. Children in the experimental condition showed significant improvement (relative to those in the comparison condition) in terms of the sequence identified by Kuhn et al. (1995), from entirely theory-based reasoning to the skilled coordination of theory and evidence. This improvement, however, was confined to the beginning levels in the sequence. Specifically, experimental subjects attended to and employed evidence in their reasoning to a greater extent than did comparison subjects, even though their inferences remained largely invalid. Also, experimental subjects showed a marginally significant trend toward greater use of multiple-instance evidence (which, unlike single instance evidence, allowed them to make comparative inferences). On a delayed posttest, children in the experimental condition continued to use evidence to justify their inferences to a significantly greater extent than the comparison group. In contrast, performance increased only slightly on a transfer task and group differences were largely nonsignificant. At the delayed posttest, experimental children's level of performance on the metacognitive activity was compared to their performance on the main task. Results indicated that when children were not consistent on both tasks, performance

  17. Regulatory Acceptance of Alternative Methods in the Development and Approval of Pharmaceuticals.

    PubMed

    Beken, Sonja; Kasper, Peter; van der Laan, Jan-Willem

    Animal studies may be carried out to support first administration of a new medicinal product to either humans or the target animal species, or before performing clinical trials in even larger populations, or before marketing authorisation, or to control quality during production. Ethical and animal welfare considerations require that animal use is limited as much as possible. Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes unambiguously fosters the application of the principle of the 3Rs when considering the choice of methods to be used.As such, today, the 3Rs are embedded in the relevant regulatory guidance both at the European (European Medicines Agency (EMA)) and (Veterinary) International Conference on Harmonization ((V)ICH) levels. With respect to non-clinical testing requirements for human medicinal products, reduction and replacement of animal testing has been achieved by the regulatory acceptance of new in vitro methods, either as pivotal, supportive or exploratory mechanistic studies. Whilst replacement of animal studies remains the ultimate goal, approaches aimed at reducing or refining animal studies have also been routinely implemented in regulatory guidelines, where applicable. The chapter provides an overview of the implementation of 3Rs in the drafting of non-clinical testing guidelines for human medicinal products at the level of the ICH. In addition, the revision of the ICH S2 guideline on genotoxicity testing and data interpretation for pharmaceuticals intended for human use is discussed as a case study.In October 2010, the EMA established a Joint ad hoc Expert Group (JEG 3Rs) with the mandate to improve and foster the application of 3Rs principles to the regulatory testing of medicinal products throughout their lifecycle. As such, a Guideline on regulatory acceptance of 3R testing approaches was drafted that defines regulatory acceptance and provides guidance on the scientific and technical criteria for regulatory

  18. Using Financial Information in Continuing Education. Accepted Methods and New Approaches.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Matkin, Gary W.

    This book, which is intended as a resource/reference guide for experienced financial managers and course planners, examines accepted methods and new approaches for using financial information in continuing education. The introduction reviews theory and practice, traditional and new methods, planning and organizational management, and technology.…

  19. Critical factors influencing physicians' intention to use computerized clinical practice guidelines: an integrative model of activity theory and the technology acceptance model.

    PubMed

    Hsiao, Ju-Ling; Chen, Rai-Fu

    2016-01-16

    With the widespread use of information communication technologies, computerized clinical practice guidelines are developed and considered as effective decision supporting tools in assisting the processes of clinical activities. However, the development of computerized clinical practice guidelines in Taiwan is still at the early stage and acceptance level among major users (physicians) of computerized clinical practice guidelines is not satisfactory. This study aims to investigate critical factors influencing physicians' intention to computerized clinical practice guideline use through an integrative model of activity theory and the technology acceptance model. The survey methodology was employed to collect data from physicians of the investigated hospitals that have implemented computerized clinical practice guidelines. A total of 505 questionnaires were sent out, with 238 completed copies returned, indicating a valid response rate of 47.1 %. The collected data was then analyzed by structural equation modeling technique. The results showed that attitudes toward using computerized clinical practice guidelines (γ = 0.451, p < 0.001), organizational support (γ = 0.285, p < 0.001), perceived usefulness of computerized clinical practice guidelines (γ = 0.219, p < 0.05), and social influence (γ = 0.213, p < 0.05) were critical factors influencing physicians' intention to use computerized clinical practice guidelines, and these factors can explain 68.6 % of the variance in intention to use computerized clinical practice guidelines. This study confirmed that some subject (human) factors, environment (organization) factors, tool (technology) factors mentioned in the activity theory should be carefully considered when introducing computerized clinical practice guidelines. Managers should pay much attention on those identified factors and provide adequate resources and incentives to help the promotion and use of computerized clinical

  20. Acceptance of Spousal Death: The Factor of Time in Bereaved Older Adults' Search for Meaning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chan, Wallace Chi Ho; Chan, Cecilia L. W.

    2011-01-01

    Response to the death of a spouse was examined by focusing on acceptance, which was conceptualized as both a process and an outcome. Grounded theory was applied to analyze the experience of 15 bereaved Hong Kong Chinese older adults. The main theme that emerged was time. Acceptance of spousal death was found to be related to the search for meaning…

  1. Einstein and Rastall theories of gravitation in comparison

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Darabi, F.; Moradpour, H.; Licata, I.; Heydarzade, Y.; Corda, C.

    2018-01-01

    We profit by a recent paper of Visser claiming that Rastall gravity is equivalent to Einstein gravity to compare the two gravitational theories in a general way. Our conclusions are different from Visser's ones. We indeed argue that these two theories are not equivalent. In fact, Rastall theory of gravity is an "open" theory when compared to Einstein general theory of relativity. Thus, it is ready to accept the challenges of observational cosmology and quantum gravity.

  2. Scientific Integrity and Consensus in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Assessment Process

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Barrett, K.

    2017-12-01

    Scientific integrity is the hallmark of any assessment and is a paramount consideration in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment process. Procedures are in place for rigorous scientific review and to quantify confidence levels and uncertainty in the communication of key findings. However, the IPCC is unique in that its reports are formally accepted by governments through consensus agreement. This presentation will present the unique requirements of the IPCC intergovernmental assessment and discuss the advantages and challenges of its approach.

  3. Einstein and Lorentz: The structure of a scientific revolution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brouwer, W.

    1980-06-01

    In a course entitled ''Revolutions in Physics'' a number of episodes in the history of physics are examined, in order to test the theories of Kuhn, Popper, Lakatos, and others, with regard to any common structure exhibited by the various revolutions that physics has undergone. The conflict between Lorentz's Electron Theory and Einstein's Special Relativity becomes a major focal point in the second half of the course for the models of scientific revolutions that are studied.

  4. Tobacco industry consumer research on socially acceptable cigarettes.

    PubMed

    Ling, P M; Glantz, S A

    2005-10-01

    To describe tobacco industry consumer research to inform the development of more "socially acceptable" cigarette products since the 1970s. Analysis of previously secret tobacco industry documents. 28 projects to develop more socially acceptable cigarettes were identified from Philip Morris, RJ Reynolds, British American Tobacco, and Lorillard tobacco companies. Consumer research and concept testing consistently demonstrated that many smokers feel strong social pressure not to smoke, and this pressure increased with exposure to smoking restrictions. Tobacco companies attempted to develop more socially acceptable cigarettes with less visible sidestream smoke or less odour. When presented in theory, these product concepts were very attractive to important segments of the smoking population. However, almost every product developed was unacceptable in actual product tests or test markets. Smokers reported the complete elimination of secondhand smoke was necessary to satisfy non-smokers. Smokers have also been generally unwilling to sacrifice their own smoking satisfaction for the benefit of others. Many smokers prefer smoke-free environments to cigarettes that produce less secondhand smoke. Concerns about secondhand smoke and clean indoor air policies have a powerful effect on the social acceptability of smoking. Historically, the tobacco industry has been unable to counter these effects by developing more socially acceptable cigarettes. These data suggest that educating smokers about the health dangers of secondhand smoke and promoting clean indoor air policies has been difficult for the tobacco industry to counter with new products, and that every effort should be made to pursue these strategies.

  5. Does prompting for revision influence subjects' offers in willingness to accept - willingness to pay lab experiments?

    Treesearch

    David C. Kingsley; Thomas C. Brown

    2012-01-01

    The willingness to accept - willingness to pay disparity raises questions about accepted economic theory. Plott and Zeiler (2005) have suggested that the disparity is the result of subject misconception about experimental procedures and, in an experiment designed to control for subject misconception, they show that the disparity can be turned on and off. This paper...

  6. Myth, Music, and Science: Teaching the Philosophy of Science through the Use of Non-Scientific Examples.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Slowik, Edward

    2003-01-01

    Explores the benefits of utilizing non-scientific examples and analogies in teaching philosophy of science courses. Utilizes a lengthy analogy between musical styles and Kuhn's theory of scientific revolution to demonstrate this strategy. (SOE)

  7. Relating (Un)acceptability to Interpretation. Experimental Investigations on Negation

    PubMed Central

    Etxeberria, Urtzi; Tubau, Susagna; Deprez, Viviane; Borràs-Comes, Joan; Espinal, M. Teresa

    2018-01-01

    Although contemporary linguistic studies routinely use unacceptable sentences to determine the boundary of what falls outside the scope of grammar, investigations far more rarely take into consideration the possible interpretations of such sentences, perhaps because these interpretations are commonly prejudged as irrelevant or unreliable across speakers. In this paper we provide the results of two experiments in which participants had to make parallel acceptability and interpretation judgments of sentences presenting various types of negative dependencies in Basque and in two varieties of Spanish (Castilian Spanish and Basque Country Spanish). Our results show that acceptable sentences are uniformly assigned a single negation reading in the two languages. However, while unacceptable sentences consistently convey single negation in Basque, they are interpreted at chance in both varieties of Spanish. These results confirm that judgment data that distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable negative utterances can inform us not only about an adult’s grammar of his/her particular language but also about interesting cross-linguistic differences. We conclude that the acceptability and interpretation of (un)grammatical negative sentences can serve linguistic theory construction by helping to disentangle basic assumptions about the nature of various negative dependencies. PMID:29456515

  8. Contemporary HIV/AIDS research: Insights from knowledge management theory.

    PubMed

    Callaghan, Chris William

    2017-12-01

    Knowledge management as a field is concerned with the management of knowledge, including the management of knowledge in research processes. Knowledge management theory has the potential to support research into problems such as HIV, antibiotic resistance and others, particularly in terms of aspects of scientific research related to the contribution of social science. To date, however, these challenges remain with us, and theoretical contributions that can complement natural science efforts to eradicate these problems are needed. This paper seeks to offer a theoretical contribution grounded in Kuhn's paradigm theory of innovation, and in the argument by Lakatos that scientific research can be fundamentally non-innovative, which suggests that social science aspects of knowledge creation may hold the key to more effective biomedical innovation. Given the consequences of ongoing and emerging global crises, and the failure of knowledge systems of scientific research to solve such problems outright, this paper provides a review of theory and literature arguing for a new paradigm in scientific research, based on the development of global systems to maximise research collaborations. A global systems approach effectively includes social science theory development as an important complement to the natural sciences research process. Arguably, information technology and social media technology have developed to the point at which solutions to knowledge aggregation challenges can enable solutions to knowledge problems on a scale hitherto unimaginable. Expert and non-expert crowdsourced inputs can enable problem-solving through exponentially increasing problem-solving inputs, using the 'crowd,' thereby increasing collaborations dramatically. It is argued that these developments herald a new era of participatory research, or a democratisation of research, which offers new hope for solving global social problems. This paper seeks to contribute to this end, and to the recognition

  9. Contemporary HIV/AIDS research: Insights from knowledge management theory

    PubMed Central

    Callaghan, Chris William

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Knowledge management as a field is concerned with the management of knowledge, including the management of knowledge in research processes. Knowledge management theory has the potential to support research into problems such as HIV, antibiotic resistance and others, particularly in terms of aspects of scientific research related to the contribution of social science. To date, however, these challenges remain with us, and theoretical contributions that can complement natural science efforts to eradicate these problems are needed. This paper seeks to offer a theoretical contribution grounded in Kuhn’s paradigm theory of innovation, and in the argument by Lakatos that scientific research can be fundamentally non-innovative, which suggests that social science aspects of knowledge creation may hold the key to more effective biomedical innovation. Given the consequences of ongoing and emerging global crises, and the failure of knowledge systems of scientific research to solve such problems outright, this paper provides a review of theory and literature arguing for a new paradigm in scientific research, based on the development of global systems to maximise research collaborations. A global systems approach effectively includes social science theory development as an important complement to the natural sciences research process. Arguably, information technology and social media technology have developed to the point at which solutions to knowledge aggregation challenges can enable solutions to knowledge problems on a scale hitherto unimaginable. Expert and non-expert crowdsourced inputs can enable problem-solving through exponentially increasing problem-solving inputs, using the ‘crowd,’ thereby increasing collaborations dramatically. It is argued that these developments herald a new era of participatory research, or a democratisation of research, which offers new hope for solving global social problems. This paper seeks to contribute to this end, and to

  10. Report of the Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) 2018, Orlando.

    PubMed

    Hashimoto, Takuya; Ako, Junya

    2018-04-28

    The 67 th Annual Scientific Session and Expo of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) were held at the Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, from March 10-12, 2018. This meeting offered 2,700 accepted abstracts presented in oral and poster sessions by 2,100 experts and 37 Late-Breaking Clinical Trials and Featured Clinical Research presentations. This report introduces the key presentations and highlights from the ACC 2018 Scientific Session.

  11. The Tentativeness of Scientific Theories: Conceptions of Pre-Service Science Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jain, Jasmine; Abdullah, Nabilah; Lim, Beh Kian

    2014-01-01

    The recognition of sound understanding of Nature of Science (NOS) in promoting scientific literacy among individuals has heightened the need to probe NOS conceptions among various groups. However, the nature of quantitative studies in gauging NOS understanding has left the understanding on few NOS aspects insufficiently informed. This paper aimed…

  12. Grounded Theory Methodology: Positivism, Hermeneutics, and Pragmatism

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Age, Lars-Johan

    2011-01-01

    Glaserian grounded theory methodology, which has been widely adopted as a scientific methodology in recent decades, has been variously characterised as "hermeneutic" and "positivist." This commentary therefore takes a different approach to characterising grounded theory by undertaking a comprehensive analysis of: (a) the philosophical paradigms of…

  13. Bridging the Gap between Social Acceptance and Ethical Acceptability.

    PubMed

    Taebi, Behnam

    2017-10-01

    New technology brings great benefits, but it can also create new and significant risks. When evaluating those risks in policymaking, there is a tendency to focus on social acceptance. By solely focusing on social acceptance, we could, however, overlook important ethical aspects of technological risk, particularly when we evaluate technologies with transnational and intergenerational risks. I argue that good governance of risky technology requires analyzing both social acceptance and ethical acceptability. Conceptually, these two notions are mostly complementary. Social acceptance studies are not capable of sufficiently capturing all the morally relevant features of risky technologies; ethical analyses do not typically include stakeholders' opinions, and they therefore lack the relevant empirical input for a thorough ethical evaluation. Only when carried out in conjunction are these two types of analysis relevant to national and international governance of risky technology. I discuss the Rawlsian wide reflective equilibrium as a method for marrying social acceptance and ethical acceptability. Although the rationale of my argument is broadly applicable, I will examine the case of multinational nuclear waste repositories in particular. This example will show how ethical issues may be overlooked if we focus only on social acceptance, and will provide a test case for demonstrating how the wide reflective equilibrium can help to bridge the proverbial acceptance-acceptability gap. © 2016 The Authors Risk Analysis published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society for Risk Analysis.

  14. Award for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology: Robert E. Ployhart

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    American Psychologist, 2009

    2009-01-01

    Robert E. Ployhart, recipient of the Award for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology, is cited for innovative work in examining reactions to staffing practices and efforts to enhance the acceptability of recruitment and staffing practices; for exemplary use of applied statistical models in examining multilevel effects…

  15. Transnational relations between perceived parental acceptance and personality dispositions of children and adults: a meta-analytic review.

    PubMed

    Khaleque, Abdul; Rohner, Ronald P

    2012-05-01

    Three questions drawn from parental acceptance-rejection theory were addressed: (a) Are children's perceptions of parental acceptance transnationally associated with specific personality dispositions? (b) Are adults' remembrances of parental acceptance in childhood transnationally associated with these personality dispositions? and (c) Do relations between parental acceptance and offspring's personality dispositions vary by gender of parents? All studies used the child and adult versions of the Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaires (PARQ) for Mothers and for Fathers, as well as the child and adult versions of the Personality Assessment Questionnaire (PAQ). Results showed that both maternal and paternal acceptance in childhood correlated significantly in all countries with all seven personality dispositions of adult offspring. Adults' remembrance of paternal acceptance in childhood correlated significantly with all adult personality dispositions except dependence.

  16. Determinants of Social Networking Software Acceptance: A Multi-Theoretical Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shittu, Ahmed Tajudeen; Madarsha, Kamal Basha; AbduRahman, Nik Suryani Nik; Ahmad, Tunku Badariah Tunku

    2013-01-01

    Understanding reasons why students use social media has become a major preoccupation of researchers in recent time due to the rate of its adoption among the present generation of students. Some of the few study on social media phenomenon employed a single theory as a framework in order to understand the factors that influence the acceptance of it…

  17. Maxwell's electromagnetic theory and special relativity.

    PubMed

    Hall, Graham

    2008-05-28

    This paper presents a brief history of electromagnetic theory from ancient times up to the work of Maxwell and the advent of Einstein's special theory of relativity. It is divided into five convenient periods and the intention is to describe these developments for the benefit of a lay scientific audience and with the minimum of technical detail.

  18. Attachment Theory and Neuroscience for Care Managers.

    PubMed

    Blakely, Thomas J; Dziadosz, Gregory M

    2016-09-01

    This article describes a model for care managers that is based on attachment theory supplemented by knowledge from neuroscience. Together, attachment theory and basic knowledge from neuroscience provide for both an organizing conceptual framework and a scientific, measureable approach to assessment and planning interventions in a care plan.

  19. Not All Skepticism Is Equal: Exploring the Ideological Antecedents of Science Acceptance and Rejection

    PubMed Central

    Rutjens, Bastiaan T.; Sutton, Robbie M.; van der Lee, Romy

    2017-01-01

    Many topics that scientists investigate speak to people’s ideological worldviews. We report three studies—including an analysis of large-scale survey data—in which we systematically investigate the ideological antecedents of general faith in science and willingness to support science, as well as of science skepticism of climate change, vaccination, and genetic modification (GM). The main predictors are religiosity and political orientation, morality, and science understanding. Overall, science understanding is associated with vaccine and GM food acceptance, but not climate change acceptance. Importantly, different ideological predictors are related to the acceptance of different scientific findings. Political conservatism best predicts climate change skepticism. Religiosity, alongside moral purity concerns, best predicts vaccination skepticism. GM food skepticism is not fueled by religious or political ideology. Finally, religious conservatives consistently display a low faith in science and an unwillingness to support science. Thus, science acceptance and rejection have different ideological roots, depending on the topic of investigation. PMID:29191107

  20. Acceptance of standardized ultrasound classification, use of albendazole, and long-term follow-up in clinical management of cystic echinococcosis: a systematic review.

    PubMed

    Tamarozzi, Francesca; Nicoletti, Giovanni J; Neumayr, Andreas; Brunetti, Enrico

    2014-10-01

    Cystic echinococcosis is a chronic, complex, and neglected disease. The need for a simple classification of cyst morphology that would provide an accepted framework for scientific and clinical work on cystic echinococcosis has been addressed by two documents issued by the WHO Informal Working Group on Echinococcosis in 2003 (cyst classification) and in 2010 (Expert consensus for the diagnosis and treatment of echinococcosis). Here we evaluate the use of the WHO Informal Working Group on Echinococcosis classification of hepatic cystic echinococcosis, the acceptance by clinicians of recommendations regarding the use of albendazole, and the implementation of the long-term follow-up of patients with hepatic cystic echinococcosis in the scientific literature since the WHO Informal Working Group on Echinococcosis recommendations were issued. Of the publications included in our review, 71.2% did not indicate any classification, whereas 14% used the WHO Informal Working Group on Echinococcosis classification. Seventy-four percent reported the administration of peri-interventional albendazole, although less than half reported its modality, and 51% the length of patient follow-up. A joint effort is needed from the scientific community to encourage the acceptance and implementation of these three key issues in the clinical management of cystic echinococcosis.

  1. Distribution of authorship in a scientific work.

    PubMed

    Petroianu, Andy

    2012-01-01

    To publish became almost compulsory in Medicine. There is no doubt about the importance of publishing research, but the ordering of its authors is not easy. The lack of internationally accepted criteria led to the establishment of several groups or conventions particularized medical and scientific sectors. To present numerical method to establish rule of value to people who carried out the research, and whether or not incorporated as authors. The proposed score is based on the needs of each step when conducting a scientific work. They were divided into topics in which the main ones were: 1) scientific criteria for authorship; 2) create the idea that originated the work and develop hypotheses; 3) structure the method of work; 4) guiding the work; 5) write the manuscript; 6) coordinate the group that carried out the work; 7) reviewing the literature; 8) suggestions incorporated into the work; 9) to solve fundamental problems of labor; 10) to collect data; 11) presentation at scientific meetings; 12 ) lead the job and raise funds; 13) providing patients or material; 14) to do the routine needs; 15) specific fee to participate; 16) criteria for ranking the authors; 17) honorary author; 18) usurpation of the main authorship, 19) acknowledgments . It is important to emphasize that, to prevent major conflicts, the group that is willing to conduct a scientific work should establish at the outset, as objectively as possible, the criteria to be adopted for distribution of authorship. The subjective criteria here proposed avoid interference and prevent conflicts of interest.

  2. The Development of Scientific Knowledge of the Earth

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nobes, Gavin; Martin, Alan E.; Panagiotaki, Georgia

    2005-01-01

    Investigation of children's knowledge of the Earth can reveal much about the origins, content and structure of scientific knowledge, and the processes of conceptual change and development. Vosniadou and Brewer (1992, claim that children construct coherent mental models of a flat, flattened, or hollow Earth based on a framework theory and intuitive…

  3. Impact origin of the Sudbury structure: Evolution of a theory

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lowman, Paul D., Jr.

    1992-01-01

    This paper reviews the origin, development, and present status of the widely accepted theory, proposed by Robert S. Dietz in 1962, that the Sudbury structure was formed by meteoritic or asteroidal impact. The impact theory for the origin of the Sudbury structure seems supported by a nearly conclusive body of evidence. However, even assuming an impact origin to be correct, at least three major questions require further study: (1) the original size and shape of the crater, before tectonic deformation and erosion; (2) the source of the melt now forming the Sudbury Igneous Complex; and (3) the degree, if any, to which the Ni-Cu-platinum group elements are meteoritic. The history of the impact theory illustrates several under-appreciated aspects of scientific research: (1) the importance of cross-fertilization between space research and terrestrial geology; (2) the role of the outsider in stimulating thinking by insiders; (3) the value of small science, at least in the initial stages of an investigation, Dietz's first field work having been at his own expense; and (4) the value of analogies (here, between the Sudbury Igneous Complex and the maria), which although incorrect in major aspects, may trigger research on totally new lines. Finally, the Sudbury story illustrates the totally unpredictable and, by implication, unplannable nature of basic research, in that insight to the origin of the world's then-greatest Ni deposit came from the study of tektites and the Moon.

  4. Educational Philosophy and the Challenge of Complexity Theory

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Morrison, Keith

    2008-01-01

    Complexity theory challenges educational philosophy to reconsider accepted paradigms of teaching, learning and educational research. However, though attractive, not least because of its critique of positivism, its affinity to Dewey and Habermas, and its arguments for openness, diversity, relationships, agency and creativity, the theory is not…

  5. Computing through Scientific Abstractions in SysBioPS

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Chin, George; Stephan, Eric G.; Gracio, Deborah K.

    2004-10-13

    Today, biologists and bioinformaticists have a tremendous amount of computational power at their disposal. With the availability of supercomputers, burgeoning scientific databases and digital libraries such as GenBank and PubMed, and pervasive computational environments such as the Grid, biologists have access to a wealth of computational capabilities and scientific data at hand. Yet, the rapid development of computational technologies has far exceeded the typical biologist’s ability to effectively apply the technology in their research. Computational sciences research and development efforts such as the Biology Workbench, BioSPICE (Biological Simulation Program for Intra-Cellular Evaluation), and BioCoRE (Biological Collaborative Research Environment) are importantmore » in connecting biologists and their scientific problems to computational infrastructures. On the Computational Cell Environment and Heuristic Entity-Relationship Building Environment projects at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, we are jointly developing a new breed of scientific problem solving environment called SysBioPSE that will allow biologists to access and apply computational resources in the scientific research context. In contrast to other computational science environments, SysBioPSE operates as an abstraction layer above a computational infrastructure. The goal of SysBioPSE is to allow biologists to apply computational resources in the context of the scientific problems they are addressing and the scientific perspectives from which they conduct their research. More specifically, SysBioPSE allows biologists to capture and represent scientific concepts and theories and experimental processes, and to link these views to scientific applications, data repositories, and computer systems.« less

  6. Theories on migration processes of Cd in Jiaozhou Bay

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Dongfang; Li, Haixia; Wang, Qi; Ding, Jun; Zhang, Longlei

    2018-03-01

    Understanding the migration progress is essential to pollution control, while developing theories for the migration progress is the scientific basis. This paper further developed five key theories on migration processes of Cd including homogeneous theory, environmental dynamic theory, horizontal loss theory, migration trend theory and vertical migration theory, respectively. The performance and practical values of these theories were demonstrated in the application of these on analyzing the migration process of Cd in Jiaozhou Bay. Results these theory helpful to better understand the migration progress of pollutants in marine bay.

  7. Theory-driven research in pediatric psychology: a little bit on why and how.

    PubMed

    Wallander, J L

    1992-10-01

    Introduces a Special Issue, covering two published issues (5 and 6) of this journal, on theory-driven research in pediatric psychology. A rationale for conducting research from a conceptual basis is presented. It is emphasized that science is primarily an intellectual activity, demonstrated in the form of theory building, testing, and reformulation. Furthermore, it is argued theory serves as a planning and communication aide for scientific pursuit. The process and components of theory-driven research are then highlighted. Theoretical constructs, theoretical and empirical definitions of constructs, and the use of variables are discussed. A definition of scientific theory is offered. Theory testing is distinguished from post hoc theorizing. Differences in the scope of theories are noted. Connections between theory and hypothesis testing and research design are addressed, especially for nonexperimental or correlational research.

  8. Tobacco industry consumer research on socially acceptable cigarettes

    PubMed Central

    Ling, P; Glantz, S

    2005-01-01

    Objective: To describe tobacco industry consumer research to inform the development of more "socially acceptable" cigarette products since the 1970s. Methods: Analysis of previously secret tobacco industry documents. Results: 28 projects to develop more socially acceptable cigarettes were identified from Philip Morris, RJ Reynolds, British American Tobacco, and Lorillard tobacco companies. Consumer research and concept testing consistently demonstrated that many smokers feel strong social pressure not to smoke, and this pressure increased with exposure to smoking restrictions. Tobacco companies attempted to develop more socially acceptable cigarettes with less visible sidestream smoke or less odour. When presented in theory, these product concepts were very attractive to important segments of the smoking population. However, almost every product developed was unacceptable in actual product tests or test markets. Smokers reported the complete elimination of secondhand smoke was necessary to satisfy non-smokers. Smokers have also been generally unwilling to sacrifice their own smoking satisfaction for the benefit of others. Many smokers prefer smoke-free environments to cigarettes that produce less secondhand smoke. Conclusions: Concerns about secondhand smoke and clean indoor air policies have a powerful effect on the social acceptability of smoking. Historically, the tobacco industry has been unable to counter these effects by developing more socially acceptable cigarettes. These data suggest that educating smokers about the health dangers of secondhand smoke and promoting clean indoor air policies has been difficult for the tobacco industry to counter with new products, and that every effort should be made to pursue these strategies. PMID:16183968

  9. US EPA - A*Star Partnership - Accelerating the Acceptance of ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The path for incorporating new alternative methods and technologies into quantitative chemical risk assessment poses a diverse set of scientific challenges. Some of these challenges include development of relevant and predictive test systems and computational models to integrate and extrapolate experimental data, and rapid characterization and acceptance of these systems and models. The series of presentations will highlight a collaborative effort between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) that is focused on developing and applying experimental and computational models for predicting chemical-induced liver and kidney toxicity, brain angiogenesis, and blood-brain-barrier formation. In addressing some of these challenges, the U.S. EPA and A*STAR collaboration will provide a glimpse of what chemical risk assessments could look like in the 21st century. Presentation on US EPA – A*STAR Partnership at international symposium on Accelerating the acceptance of next-generation sciences and their application to regulatory risk assessment in Singapore.

  10. Asserting scientific authority. Cognitive development and adolescent legal rights.

    PubMed

    Gardner, W; Scherer, D; Tester, M

    1989-06-01

    The APA uses amicus briefs to communicate scientific knowledge to the legal system. There can be tension, however, between promoting the social good through law and the disinterested reporting of scientific data. This article examines this conflict by discussing two APA amicus briefs filed in the United States Supreme Court in cases involving adolescents' abortion rights. The Court has restricted adolescents' rights to make important life decisions in part because adolescents have been presumed to lack competence and maturity. The briefs argued that developmental theory and data confirm that adolescents and adults have equivalent decision-making capacities. The scientific arguments in the briefs, however, do not justify this assertion. Analysis of the briefs illuminates some dimensions describing the role of a scientific statement in a legal brief. These dimensions identify ways to limit scientific claims about the evidence at hand to avoid overstatement. The primary danger of overstatement is that it undermines psychology's claim to expert authority in assisting in the formation of law and the shaping of social institutions.

  11. [Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: Theoretical background and practice].

    PubMed

    Eisenbeck, Nikolett; Schlosser, Károly Kornél; Szondy, Máté; Szabó-Bartha, Anett

    The Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is one of the modern, so-called third-wave behavioural therapies. Among them the most successful is ACT, both in the number of therapists and respective scientific research. ACT's theoretical and philosophical background is described explicitly and its therapeutic interventions were developed according to this philosophy. Its psychopathological model is based on the idea that mainly the person's regulatory efforts of their own thoughts and feelings lead to psychological problems. That is, the source of human suffering and various psychological problems is the so called psychological inflexibility: control attempts of private events instead of living a life based on personal values and long-term goals. Therefore, clinical work in ACT focuses on the acceptance and defusion of the unwanted inner experiences and on the development of a meaningful life. The present article aims to provide a comprehensive description of ACT in Hungarian: its theoretical background, clinical techniques, and efficacy. At the end of the article, the state of ACT in Hungary will also be briefly discussed.

  12. Contributions of treatment theory and enablement theory to rehabilitation research and practice.

    PubMed

    Whyte, John

    2014-01-01

    Scientific theory is crucial to the advancement of clinical research. The breadth of rehabilitation treatment requires that many different theoretical perspectives be incorporated into the design and testing of treatment interventions. In this article, the 2 broad classes of theory relevant to rehabilitation research and practice are defined, and their distinct but complementary contributions to research and clinical practice are explored. These theory classes are referred to as treatment theories (theories about how to effect change in clinical targets) and enablement theories (theories about how changes in a proximal clinical target will influence distal clinical aims). Treatment theories provide the tools for inducing clinical change but do not specify how far reaching the ultimate impact of the change will be. Enablement theories model the impact of changes on other areas of function but provide no insight as to how treatment can create functional change. Treatment theories are more critical in the early stages of treatment development, whereas enablement theories become increasingly relevant in specifying the clinical significance and practical effectiveness of more mature treatments. Understanding the differences in the questions these theory classes address and how to combine their insights is crucial for effective research development and clinical practice. Copyright © 2014 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. An examination of conceptual change in undergraduate biology majors while learning science concepts including biological evolution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McQuaide, Glenn G.

    2006-12-01

    Without adequate understanding of science, we cannot make responsible personal, regional, national, or global decisions about any aspect of life dealing with science. Better understanding how we learn about science can contribute to improving the quality of our educational experiences. Promoting pathways leading to life-long learning and deep understanding in our world should be a goal for all educators. This dissertation project was a phenomenological investigation into undergraduate understanding and acceptance of scientific theories, including biological evolution. Specifically, student descriptions of conceptual change while learning science theory were recorded and analyzed. These qualitative investigations were preceded by a survey that provided a means of selecting students who had a firmer understanding of science theory. Background information and survey data were collected in an undergraduate biology class at a small, Southern Baptist-affiliated liberal arts school located in south central Kentucky. Responses to questions on the MATE (Rutledge and Warden, 1999) instrument were used to screen students for interviews, which investigated the way by which students came to understand and accept scientific theories. This study identifies some ways by which individuals learn complex science theories, including biological evolution. Initial understanding and acceptance often occurs by the conceptual change method described by Posner et al. (1982). Three principle ways by which an individual may reach a level of understanding and acceptance of science theory were documented in this study. They were conceptual change through application of logic and reasoning; conceptual change through modification of religious views; and conceptual change through acceptance of authoritative knowledge. Development of a deeper, richer understanding and acceptance of complex, multi-faceted concepts such as biological evolution occurs in some individuals by means of conceptual

  14. Ordering theories: Typologies and conceptual frameworks for sociotechnical change.

    PubMed

    Sovacool, Benjamin K; Hess, David J

    2017-10-01

    What theories or concepts are most useful at explaining socio technical change? How can - or cannot - these be integrated? To provide an answer, this study presents the results from 35 semi-structured research interviews with social science experts who also shared more than two hundred articles, reports and books on the topic of the acceptance, adoption, use, or diffusion of technology. This material led to the identification of 96 theories and conceptual approaches spanning 22 identified disciplines. The article begins by explaining its research terms and methods before honing in on a combination of fourteen theories deemed most relevant and useful by the material. These are: Sociotechnical Transitions, Social Practice Theory, Discourse Theory, Domestication Theory, Large Technical Systems, Social Construction of Technology, Sociotechnical Imaginaries, Actor-Network Theory, Social Justice Theory, Sociology of Expectations, Sustainable Development, Values Beliefs Norms Theory, Lifestyle Theory, and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology. It then positions these theories in terms of two distinct typologies. Theories can be placed into five general categories of being centered on agency, structure, meaning, relations or norms. They can also be classified based on their assumptions and goals rooted in functionalism, interpretivism, humanism or conflict. The article lays out tips for research methodology before concluding with insights about technology itself, analytical processes associated with technology, and the framing and communication of results. An interdisciplinary theoretical and conceptual inventory has much to offer students, analysts and scholars wanting to study technological change and society.

  15. Authorship in scientific publications: analysis and recommendations.

    PubMed

    Hess, Christian W; Brückner, Christian; Kaiser, Tony; Mauron, Alex; Wahli, Walter; Wenzel, Uwe Justus; Salathé, Michelle

    2015-01-01

    In 2008, a Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences working group chaired by Professor Emilio Bossi issued a "Memorandum on scientific integrity and the handling of misconduct in the scientific context", together with a paper setting out principles and procedures concerning integrity in scientific research. In the Memorandum, unjustified claims of authorship in scientific publications are referred to as a form of scientific misconduct - a view widely shared in other countries. In the Principles and Procedures, the main criteria for legitimate authorship are specified, as well as the associated responsibilities. It is in fact not uncommon for disputes about authorship to arise with regard to publications in fields where research is generally conducted by teams rather than individuals. Such disputes may concern not only the question who is or is not to be listed as an author but also, frequently, the precise sequence of names, if the list is to reflect the various authors' roles and contributions. Subjective assessments of the contributions made by the individual members of a research group may differ substantially. As scientific collaboration - often across national boundaries - is now increasingly common, ensuring appropriate recognition of all parties is a complex matter and, where disagreements arise, it may not be easy to reach a consensus. In addition, customs have changed over the past few decades; for example, the practice of granting "honorary" authorship to an eminent researcher - formerly not unusual - is no longer considered acceptable. It should be borne in mind that the publications list has become by far the most important indicator of a researcher's scientific performance; for this reason, appropriate authorship credit has become a decisive factor in the careers of young researchers, and it needs to be managed and protected accordingly. At the international and national level, certain practices have therefore developed concerning the listing of authors

  16. Constructing Scientific Explanations: a System of Analysis for Students' Explanations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    de Andrade, Vanessa; Freire, Sofia; Baptista, Mónica

    2017-08-01

    This article describes a system of analysis aimed at characterizing students' scientific explanations. Science education literature and reform documents have been highlighting the importance of scientific explanations for students' conceptual understanding and for their understanding of the nature of scientific knowledge. Nevertheless, and despite general agreement regarding the potential of having students construct their own explanations, a consensual notion of scientific explanation has still not been reached. As a result, within science education literature, there are several frameworks defining scientific explanations, with different foci as well as different notions of what accounts as a good explanation. Considering this, and based on a more ample project, we developed a system of analysis to characterize students' explanations. It was conceptualized and developed based on theories and models of scientific explanations, science education literature, and from examples of students' explanations collected by an open-ended questionnaire. With this paper, it is our goal to present the system of analysis, illustrating it with specific examples of students' collected explanations. In addition, we expect to point out its adequacy and utility for analyzing and characterizing students' scientific explanations as well as for tracing their progression.

  17. Empirical Testing of a Theoretical Extension of the Technology Acceptance Model: An Exploratory Study of Educational Wikis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liu, Xun

    2010-01-01

    This study extended the technology acceptance model and empirically tested the new model with wikis, a new type of educational technology. Based on social cognitive theory and the theory of planned behavior, three new variables, wiki self-efficacy, online posting anxiety, and perceived behavioral control, were added to the original technology…

  18. Toward an Understanding of the Use of Academic Theories in Public Relations Practice.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cornelissen, Joep P.

    2000-01-01

    Discusses a focal issue in the public relations field: the way that practitioners use academic theories. Offers an exploration of the possible modes of use of academic or scientific theory in public relations practice. Notes that the premise of this model is that scientific knowledge is seldom used in an unaltered form in practice. Closes by…

  19. Exposing Students to the Idea that Theories Can Change

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hoellwarth, Chance; Moelter, Matthew J.

    2011-01-01

    The scientific method is arguably the most reliable way to understand the physical world, yet this aspect of science is rarely addressed in introductory science courses. Students typically learn about the theory in its final, refined form, and seldom experience the experiment-to-theory cycle that goes into producing the theory. One exception to…

  20. A "Theory Bite" on the Meaning of Scientific Inquiry: A Companion to Kuhn and Pease

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    diSessa, Andrea A.

    2008-01-01

    There are many meanings of "scientific reasoning" or "scientific inquiry" in use, and many corresponding orientations toward its enhancement and tracking. Deciding what these terms mean once and for all is an elusive and likely chimerical goal. However, setting down some core models might help in being clear on where different researchers stand…

  1. [Attempt at scientific theoretical classification of behavior therapy].

    PubMed

    Reinecker, H

    1976-01-01

    Following the discussion about the position of behavior therapy there are mentioned some problems of behaviorism, the connection between behavior therapy and learning theory and problems of etiology and treatment. The usefulness of known criteria (formal as well as non-formal) should be demonstrated. There are discussed three different positions of behavior therapy within the scientific disciplines.

  2. Special Theory of Relativity, Conceptual Change and History of Science.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Villani, Alberto; Arruda, Sergio M.

    1998-01-01

    Analyzes the problem students have in learning the Theory of Relativity. Points out that the results of the study are ambiguous and intriguing. Describes the publication of Lorentz's Transformation Equations, the presentation of two postulates by Einstein, and the rejection of the Electron Theory and the final acceptance of the Theory of…

  3. Barriers to and facilitators of the acceptance process for individuals with serious mental illness.

    PubMed

    Mizock, Lauren; Russinova, Zlatka; Millner, Uma Chandrika

    2014-09-01

    The process of acceptance of mental illness is a central component of recovery and has been linked to functioning, illness management, and quality of life. A number of barriers and facilitators have been theorized as impacting this process. This study was conducted with 30 participants with serious mental illness (a major psychiatric disorder with impairment in multiple areas of functioning) to elicit the barriers to and facilitators of the acceptance of mental illness. Grounded theory methodology was utilized to analyze the 30 semistructured interviews. Results revealed barriers to and facilitators of acceptance of mental illness at the micro level (cognitive, emotional, behavioral, identity-related), meso level (relational), and macro level (cultural, systemic). Clinical and research implications are discussed with regard to facilitating acceptance of mental illness. © The Author(s) 2014.

  4. A framework to build scientific confidence in read across results. (SOT CE course presentation)

    EPA Science Inventory

    Read-across acceptance is remains a major hurdle primarily due to the lack of objectivity and clarity on how to practically address uncertainties. One avenue that can be exploited to build scientific confidence in the development and evaluation of read-across is by taking advant...

  5. When is diagnostic testing inappropriate or irrational? Acceptable regret approach.

    PubMed

    Hozo, Iztok; Djulbegovic, Benjamin

    2008-01-01

    The authors provide a new model within the framework of theories of bounded rationality for the observed physicians' behavior that their ordering of diagnostic tests may not be rational. Contrary to the prevailing thinking, the authors find that physicians do not act irrationally or inappropriately when they order diagnostic tests in usual clinical practice. When acceptable regret (i.e., regret that a decision maker finds tolerable upon making a wrong decision) is taken into account, the authors show that physicians tend to order diagnostic tests at a higher level of pretest probability of disease than predicted by expected utility theory. They also show why physicians tend to overtest when regret about erroneous decisions is extremely small. Finally, they explain variations in the practice of medicine. They demonstrate that in the same clinical situation, different decision makers might have different acceptable regret thresholds for withholding treatment, for ordering a diagnostic test, or for administering treatment. This in turn means that for some decision makers, the most rational strategy is to do nothing, whereas for others, it may be to order a diagnostic test, and still for others, choosing treatment may be the most rational course of action.

  6. Test Driven Development of Scientific Models

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Clune, Thomas L.

    2012-01-01

    Test-Driven Development (TDD) is a software development process that promises many advantages for developer productivity and has become widely accepted among professional software engineers. As the name suggests, TDD practitioners alternate between writing short automated tests and producing code that passes those tests. Although this overly simplified description will undoubtedly sound prohibitively burdensome to many uninitiated developers, the advent of powerful unit-testing frameworks greatly reduces the effort required to produce and routinely execute suites of tests. By testimony, many developers find TDD to be addicting after only a few days of exposure, and find it unthinkable to return to previous practices. Of course, scientific/technical software differs from other software categories in a number of important respects, but I nonetheless believe that TDD is quite applicable to the development of such software and has the potential to significantly improve programmer productivity and code quality within the scientific community. After a detailed introduction to TDD, I will present the experience within the Software Systems Support Office (SSSO) in applying the technique to various scientific applications. This discussion will emphasize the various direct and indirect benefits as well as some of the difficulties and limitations of the methodology. I will conclude with a brief description of pFUnit, a unit testing framework I co-developed to support test-driven development of parallel Fortran applications.

  7. P value and the theory of hypothesis testing: an explanation for new researchers.

    PubMed

    Biau, David Jean; Jolles, Brigitte M; Porcher, Raphaël

    2010-03-01

    In the 1920s, Ronald Fisher developed the theory behind the p value and Jerzy Neyman and Egon Pearson developed the theory of hypothesis testing. These distinct theories have provided researchers important quantitative tools to confirm or refute their hypotheses. The p value is the probability to obtain an effect equal to or more extreme than the one observed presuming the null hypothesis of no effect is true; it gives researchers a measure of the strength of evidence against the null hypothesis. As commonly used, investigators will select a threshold p value below which they will reject the null hypothesis. The theory of hypothesis testing allows researchers to reject a null hypothesis in favor of an alternative hypothesis of some effect. As commonly used, investigators choose Type I error (rejecting the null hypothesis when it is true) and Type II error (accepting the null hypothesis when it is false) levels and determine some critical region. If the test statistic falls into that critical region, the null hypothesis is rejected in favor of the alternative hypothesis. Despite similarities between the two, the p value and the theory of hypothesis testing are different theories that often are misunderstood and confused, leading researchers to improper conclusions. Perhaps the most common misconception is to consider the p value as the probability that the null hypothesis is true rather than the probability of obtaining the difference observed, or one that is more extreme, considering the null is true. Another concern is the risk that an important proportion of statistically significant results are falsely significant. Researchers should have a minimum understanding of these two theories so that they are better able to plan, conduct, interpret, and report scientific experiments.

  8. User Acceptance of Internet Banking Service in Malaysia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yenyuen, Yee; Yeow, P. H. P.

    The study is the first research in Malaysia that investigates user acceptance of Internet banking service (IBS) based on Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology model (Venkatesh, Morris, Davis and Davis, 2003). Two hundred and eighty questionnaires were distributed and collected from two major cities, Kuala Lumpur and Melaka. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse the data. The results show that Malaysians have intentions of using IBS (mean rating of close to 4.00). Moreover, Malaysians recognize the benefits of IBS by giving a high mean rating (close to 4.00) to performance expectancy. However, they give relative low mean ratings (close to 3.00) on other indicators of Behavioural Intention to Use IBS such as effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions and perceived credibility. Recommendations were given to promote a safe, efficient and conducive environment for user adoption of Internet banking.

  9. Applying Chaos Theory to Lesson Planning and Delivery

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cvetek, Slavko

    2008-01-01

    In this article, some of the ways in which thinking about chaos theory can help teachers and student-teachers to accept uncertainty and randomness as natural conditions in the classroom are considered. Building on some key features of complex systems commonly attributed to chaos theory (e.g. complexity, nonlinearity, sensitivity to initial…

  10. Predicting medical staff intention to use an online reporting system with modified unified theory of acceptance and use of technology.

    PubMed

    Chang, I-Chiu; Hsu, Hui-Mei

    2012-01-01

    Barriers to report incident events using an online information system (IS) may be different from those of a paper-based reporting system. The nationwide online Patient-Safety Reporting System (PSRS) contains a value judgment behind use of the system, similar to the Value of Perceived Consequence (VPC), which is seldom discussed in ISs applications of other disciplines. This study developed a more adequate research framework by integrating the VPC construct into the well-known Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model as a theoretical base to explore the predictors of medical staff's intention to use online PSRS. The results showed that management support was an important factor to influence medical staff's intention of using PSRS. The effects of factors such as performance expectancy, perceived positive, and perceived negative consequence on medical staff's intention of using PSRS were moderated by gender, age, experience, and occupation. The results proved that the modified UTAUT model is significant and useful in predicting medical staff's intention of using the nationwide online PSRS.

  11. The Influence of Teachers' Conceptions of Teaching and Learning on Their Technology Acceptance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Teo, Timothy; Zhou, Mingming

    2017-01-01

    Prior research has attempted to incorporate different personal variables within extant theories of technology acceptance models (TAMs). This study further extends TAM by incorporating teachers' conceptions of teaching and learning (CoTL) in two forms: constructivist and traditional conceptions. The moderating effects of teachers' demographic…

  12. Case Studies of Physics Graduates' Personal Theories of Evolution

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chan, Ke-Sheng

    2005-01-01

    This paper reports an interview case study with two physics doctoral students designed to explore their conceptions about the theory of evolution. Analysis of interview transcripts reveals that both students mistakenly constructed a "theory of evolution by environmentally driven adaptation" instead of the commonly accepted "theory…

  13. A perspectivist approach to theory construction.

    PubMed

    McGuire, William J

    2004-01-01

    A perspectivist approach is taken to the theory-construction process in psychological research. This approach assumes that all hypotheses and theories are true, as all are false, depending on the perspective from which they are viewed, and that the purpose of research is to discover which are the crucial perspectives. Perspectivism assumes also that both the a priori conceptual phase of research and the a posteriori empirical phase have both discovery and testing functions. Topics discussed include how the perspectivist approach can improve methodology training and practice (particularly as regards theory construction); what researchers accept as theoretical explanations; the nature of mediational theories; how theories can be formalized, expressed in multiple modalities and for various scaling cases; and how experimental designs can be enriched by theory-guided mediational and interactional variables.

  14. Ethical, Scientific, and Educational Concerns With Unproven Medications

    PubMed Central

    Pray, W. Steven

    2006-01-01

    Quackery (promotion of products that do not work or have not been proven to work) was once a commonly used term within the pharmacy and medical communities. However, an increasingly anti-scientific national climate culminated in passage of the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, which granted unprecedented legitimacy to “dietary supplements” that had not been scientifically proven to be effective and/or safe. In part, this was facilitated when professional pharmacy magazines and journals published advertisements and articles promoting these unproven medications. Gradually, pharmacy codes of ethics eliminated references to quackery, and some pharmacy organizations seemed to accept the unproven medications they once exhorted the pharmacist not to sell. The profession's shift in attitude toward unproven medications occurred as the medical community at large began to realize the value of evidence-based medicine. Academicians must resist pressure to present unproven therapies as realistic alternatives for medications with scientific proof of safety and efficacy. They must stress the value of evidence-based medicine and urge students and pharmacists to recommend only those medications with evidence-based proof of safety and efficacy. PMID:17332867

  15. Accounting for unprotected sex: stories of agency and acceptability.

    PubMed

    Rhodes, Tim; Cusick, Linda

    2002-07-01

    Based on the idea that risks are knowable, calculable and preventable, dominant social scientific and health promotion discourses foster an image of individual risk control and responsibility. The presentation of the self is a moral enterprise. Accounts of unprotected sex by HIV positive people who have the potential to transmit HIV to their sexual partners can be particularly morally charged. Drawing on 73 depth qualitative interviews with HIV positive people and their sexual partners, this paper explores how the interview accounts of unprotected sex can illuminate the way in which the self is presented within the context of situated norms of risk acceptability and moral responsibility. We identify two forms of account: stories of agency; and stories of acceptability. Stories of agency tend to deny agency and abdicate individual responsibility given the circumstances, and were also a key feature of accounts in which the sexual partners of HIV positive people were placed at risk of HIV transmission. Categories of appeal included the denial of agency as a consequence of: risk calculus and condom accidents; alcohol and drug effects; powerlessness and coercion; and forces of nature. By contrast, stories of acceptability tend to justify unprotected sex as acceptable. Categories of appeal included: HIV positive concordance; and commitment in relationships. Other forms of justification included: alter responsibility; and intentional HIV transmission. We conclude that accounts of risk management are risk managed. We call for greater attention by social scientists to the way in which accounts are constructed, and in particular, to 'anti-rational' forms of explanation within accounts.

  16. Ordering theories: Typologies and conceptual frameworks for sociotechnical change

    PubMed Central

    Sovacool, Benjamin K; Hess, David J

    2017-01-01

    What theories or concepts are most useful at explaining socio technical change? How can – or cannot – these be integrated? To provide an answer, this study presents the results from 35 semi-structured research interviews with social science experts who also shared more than two hundred articles, reports and books on the topic of the acceptance, adoption, use, or diffusion of technology. This material led to the identification of 96 theories and conceptual approaches spanning 22 identified disciplines. The article begins by explaining its research terms and methods before honing in on a combination of fourteen theories deemed most relevant and useful by the material. These are: Sociotechnical Transitions, Social Practice Theory, Discourse Theory, Domestication Theory, Large Technical Systems, Social Construction of Technology, Sociotechnical Imaginaries, Actor-Network Theory, Social Justice Theory, Sociology of Expectations, Sustainable Development, Values Beliefs Norms Theory, Lifestyle Theory, and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology. It then positions these theories in terms of two distinct typologies. Theories can be placed into five general categories of being centered on agency, structure, meaning, relations or norms. They can also be classified based on their assumptions and goals rooted in functionalism, interpretivism, humanism or conflict. The article lays out tips for research methodology before concluding with insights about technology itself, analytical processes associated with technology, and the framing and communication of results. An interdisciplinary theoretical and conceptual inventory has much to offer students, analysts and scholars wanting to study technological change and society. PMID:28641502

  17. Evaluating the ethical acceptability of animal research.

    PubMed

    Bout, Henriëtte J; Fentener van Vlissingen, J Martje; Karssing, Edgar D

    2014-11-01

    The ethical acceptability of animal research is typically evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Legislation such as Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes provides guidance for ethical evaluation of animal use proposals but does not dictate the outcome, leaving this determination to the ethical review committees of individual institutions. The authors assess different ethics models and how these are reflected in the guidelines of Directive 2010/63/EU. They also describe a matrix for carrying out harm-benefit analyses of animal use proposals, which they identified by examining the practices of three ethical review committees in the Netherlands. Finally, they discuss how this matrix can be applied by ethical review committees at other institutions.

  18. Attitudes toward rape and victims of rape: a test of the feminist theory in Ghana.

    PubMed

    Boakye, Kofi E

    2009-10-01

    This study explores the usefulness of the feminist theory in explaining attitudes toward rape and victims of rape in Ghana. The feminist theory of rape posits, inter alia, that patriarchy and gender inequality are major factors in the aetiology of rape and attitudes toward rape and that underlying patriarchy and gender inequality are gender stereotypes and false beliefs (myths) about rape, rapists, and victims of rape. Thus, the theory suggests a relationship between rape myths and less favorable attitudes toward rape and victims of rape. Results from a survey conducted in Ghana show some support for the feminist theory of rape: There is evidence of rape myth acceptance in Ghana; gender is significant in predicting levels of rape myth acceptance; and finally, education or profession and age, but not religion, are associated with levels of rape myth acceptance in a predictable way.

  19. Promoting Scientific Thinking and Conceptual Change about Alternative Explanations of Climate Change and Other Controversial Socio-scientific Topics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lombardi, D.; Sinatra, G. M.

    2013-12-01

    Critical evaluation and plausibility reappraisal of scientific explanations have been underemphasized in many science classrooms (NRC, 2012). Deep science learning demands that students increase their ability to critically evaluate the quality of scientific knowledge, weigh alternative explanations, and explicitly reappraise their plausibility judgments. Therefore, this lack of instruction about critical evaluation and plausibility reappraisal has, in part, contributed to diminished understanding about complex and controversial topics, such as global climate change. The Model-Evidence Link (MEL) diagram (originally developed by researchers at Rutgers University under an NSF-supported project; Chinn & Buckland, 2012) is an instructional scaffold that promotes students to critically evaluate alternative explanations. We recently developed a climate change MEL and found that the students who used the MEL experienced a significant shift in their plausibility judgments toward the scientifically accepted model of human-induced climate change. Using the MEL for instruction also resulted in conceptual change about the causes of global warming that reflected greater understanding of fundamental scientific principles. Furthermore, students sustained this conceptual change six months after MEL instruction (Lombardi, Sinatra, & Nussbaum, 2013). This presentation will discuss recent educational research that supports use of the MEL to promote critical evaluation, plausibility reappraisal, and conceptual change, and also, how the MEL may be particularly effective for learning about global climate change and other socio-scientific topics. Such instruction to develop these fundamental thinking skills (e.g., critical evaluation and plausibility reappraisal) is demanded by both the Next Generation Science Standards (Achieve, 2013) and the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Mathematics (CCSS Initiative-ELA, 2010; CCSS Initiative-Math, 2010), as well as a

  20. Is the Study of Happiness a Worthy Scientific Pursuit?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Norrish, Jacolyn M.; Vella-Brodrick, Dianne A.

    2008-01-01

    This paper critiques the view that the study of happiness is not a worthy scientific pursuit. The happiness set point and hedonic treadmill theories denote the complexity of increasing happiness levels due to genetic limitations and adaptation, however, there is mounting evidence to suggest that with the use of appropriate measures and specific…

  1. Sonic boom acceptability studies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Shepherd, Kevin P.; Sullivan, Brenda M.; Leatherwood, Jack D.; Mccurdy, David A.

    1992-01-01

    The determination of the magnitude of sonic boom exposure which would be acceptable to the general population requires, as a starting point, a method to assess and compare individual sonic booms. There is no consensus within the scientific and regulatory communities regarding an appropriate sonic boom assessment metric. Loudness, being a fundamental and well-understood attribute of human hearing was chosen as a means of comparing sonic booms of differing shapes and amplitudes. The figure illustrates the basic steps which yield a calculated value of loudness. Based upon the aircraft configuration and its operating conditions, the sonic boom pressure signature which reaches the ground is calculated. This pressure-time history is transformed to the frequency domain and converted into a one-third octave band spectrum. The essence of the loudness method is to account for the frequency response and integration characteristics of the auditory system. The result of the calculation procedure is a numerical description (perceived level, dB) which represents the loudness of the sonic boom waveform.

  2. Exploring the Theory-Practice Gap in Initial Teacher Education: Moving beyond Questions of Relevance to Issues of Power and Authority

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McGarr, Oliver; O'Grady, Emmanuel; Guilfoyle, Liam

    2017-01-01

    The "theory-practice divide" in teacher education can be viewed not simply as an acceptance of a body of knowledge but instead an acceptance of the teacher educator's authority to determine what is relevant educational theory. This research aimed to explore student teachers' views of "educational theory" and how it was…

  3. Mathematical Techniques for Nonlinear System Theory.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1979-05-01

    7 7 AD—A078 715 FLORIDA UNIV GAINESVILLE CENTER FOR MATHEMATICAL SYS——ETC FIG 12/1 MATHEMATICAL TECHNIQUES FOR NONLINEAR SYSTEM THEORY . (U) MAY 79... System Theory / 61102F ~~~~~ ~ ~~~~~~~~ Gainesville , FL 32601 L ~~~ CONTROLLING OFFI C E NAME A N D ADDRES S . Air Force Office of Scientific... System Theory During the past year, the major effort under this grant was work by the Principal Investigator (R. E. Kalman) and by E. Emre

  4. A Review of Research Instruments Assessing Levels of Student Acceptance of Evolution

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yasri, Pratchayapong

    2014-01-01

    Darwin's theory of evolution by means of natural selection, called evolution for short, is perceived as a unifying theme in biology, forming a major part of all biology syllabuses. It is reported that student acceptance of evolution associates with conceptual understandings of biological contents, nature of science, as well as motivations to…

  5. YouTube Acceptance by University Educators and Students: A Cross-Cultural Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jung, Insung; Lee, Yekyung

    2015-01-01

    Despite the huge popularity of YouTube, there has been little research into the factors affecting educational applications of this social medium. This study attempts to predict and compare factors influencing YouTube acceptance among university students and educators in two very different cultures, Japan and the USA, applying the Unified Theory of…

  6. The Effects of Education Compatibility and Technological Expectancy on E-Learning Acceptance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chen, Jian-Liang

    2011-01-01

    Discerning what influences a student's acceptance of e-learning is still unclear and has not been well investigated. On the basis of the expectancy-value theory, much effort has been put into identifying the effectual factors regarding the technological expectancy of students. However, aside from technological usage, the adoption of an e-learning…

  7. CAM Modalities Can Stimulate Advances in Theoretical Biology

    PubMed Central

    2005-01-01

    Most complementary medicine is distinguished by not being supported by underlying theory accepted by Western science. However, for those who accept their validity, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) modalities offer clues to understanding physiology and medicine more deeply. Ayurveda and vibrational medicine are stimulating new approaches to biological regulation. The new biophysics can be integrated to yield a single consistent theory, which may well underly much of CAM—a true ‘physics of physick’. The resulting theory seems to be a new, fundamental theory of health and etiology. It suggests that many CAM approaches to health care are scientifically in advance of those based on current Western biology. Such theories may well constitute the next steps in our scientific understanding of biology itself. If successfully developed, these ideas could result in a major paradigm shift in both biology and medicine, which will benefit all interested parties—consumers, health professionals, scientists, institutions and governments. PMID:15841271

  8. The Need for a Contemporary Theory of Job Design.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martelli, Joseph T.

    1982-01-01

    Presents a critique of Taylor's scientific management theory and the negative consequences of work simplification. Compares this method with Maslow's, Herzberg's, and Thorsrud's theories of motivation, and contrasts the experiences of General Motors' application of Taylor's model and General Foods' application of Thorsrud's. (SK)

  9. Acceptance as a Normative Aspect of the Process of Coming to Understand Emotionally Charged Concepts: Upper-Secondary School Students Make Meaning of Gender

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Trostek, Jonas R.

    2016-01-01

    Previous research on how students' acceptance of emotionally charged theories relates to their understanding is based on the measurement of acceptance and understanding as two separate variables. As an alternative, the present study takes a qualitative approach with the aim of exploring what 24 upper-secondary school students accept when they come…

  10. Metaphor, Multiplicative Meaning and the Semiotic Construction of Scientific Knowledge

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liu, Yu; Owyong, Yuet See Monica

    2011-01-01

    Scientific discourse is characterized by multi-semiotic construction and the resultant semantic expansions. To date, there remains a lack of analytical methods to explicate the multiplicative nature of meaning. Drawing on the theories of systemic functional linguistics, this article examines the meaning-making processes across language and…

  11. A plant-based diet for type 2 diabetes: scientific support and practical strategies.

    PubMed

    Trapp, Caroline; Barnard, Neal; Katcher, Heather

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this review is to provide educators with the knowledge and tools to utilize plant-based nutrition education as an intervention for type 2 diabetes. Scientific support for the efficacy, acceptability, and nutritional adequacy of a plant-based diet for people with type 2 diabetes is presented, and practical considerations such as medication adjustment and risk of hypoglycemia are reviewed. Plant-based meal planning is an acceptable and effective strategy that educators can use to improve diabetes management and reduce risk of complications. Studies show that dietary changes that are effective for reducing cardiac risk may also be helpful for management of type 2 diabetes. A low-fat, plant-based diet reduces body weight and improves glycemic control, and has been shown to be remarkably well accepted by patients.

  12. Theory-led confirmation bias and experimental persona

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Allen, Michael

    2011-04-01

    Questionnaire and interview findings from a survey of three Year 8 (ages 12-13 years) science practical lessons (n = 52) demonstrate how pupils' data collection and inference making were sometimes biased by desires to confirm a personal theory. A variety of behaviours are described where learners knowingly rejected anomalies, manipulated apparatus, invented results or carried out other improper operations to either collect data which they believed were scientifically correct, or achieve social conformity. It is proposed that confirmation bias was a consequence of the degree to which individuals were laden by theory, and driven by this, experimenters assumed one of three different personas: becoming right answer confirmers; good scientists; or indifferent spectators. These personas have parallels with historical instances of scientific behaviour. Implications of a continued teacher-tolerance of pupil confirmation bias include the promotion of unscientific experimenting, and the persistence of unchallenged science misconceptions. Solutions are offered in the way of practical strategies that might reduce experimenters' theory-ladeness.

  13. On the Theory of Evolution Versus the Concept of Evolution: Three Observations

    PubMed Central

    Paz-y-Miño C., Guillermo

    2016-01-01

    Here we address three misconceptions stated by Rice et al. in their observations of our article Paz-y-Miño and Espinosa (Evo Edu Outreach 2:655-675, 2009), published in this journal. The five authors titled their note “The Theory of Evolution is Not an Explanation for the Origin of Life.” First, we argue that it is fallacious to believe that because the formulation of the theory of evolution, as conceived in the 1800s, did not include an explanation for the origin of life, nor of the universe, the concept of evolution would not allow us to hypothesize the possible beginnings of life and its connections to the cosmos. Not only Stanley Miller's experiments of 1953 led scientists to envision a continuum from the inorganic world to the origin and diversification of life, but also Darwin's own writings of 1871. Second, to dismiss the notion of Rice et al. that evolution does not provide explanations concerning the universe or the cosmos, we identify compelling scientific discussions on the topics: Zaikowski et al. (Evo Edu Outreach 1:65–73, 2008), Krauss (Evo Edu Outreach 3:193–197, 2010), Peretó et al. (Orig Life Evol Biosph 39:395–406, 2009) and Follmann and Brownson (Naturwissenschaften 96:1265-1292, 2009). Third, although we acknowledge that the term Darwinism may not be inclusive of all new discoveries in evolution, and also that creationists and Intelligent Designers hijack the term to portray evolution as ideology, we demonstrate that there is no statistical evidence suggesting that the word Darwinism interferes with public acceptance of evolution, nor does the inclusion of the origin of life or the universe within the concept of evolution. We examine the epistemological and empirical distinction between the theory of evolution and the concept of evolution and conclude that, although the distinction is important, it should not compromise scientific logic. PMID:26949441

  14. The Relationship between College Zoology Students' Beliefs about Evolutionary Theory and Religion.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sinclair, Anne; And Others

    1997-01-01

    Researchers administered surveys to college zoology students prior to, and immediately following a study of evolutionary theory, to assess their understanding and acceptance of evidence supporting the theory. Results showed students had many misconceptions about the theory. Their beliefs interfered with their ability to objectively view scientific…

  15. Narrative and epistemology: Georges Canguilhem's concept of scientific ideology.

    PubMed

    Chimisso, Cristina

    2015-12-01

    In the late 1960s, Georges Canguilhem introduced the concept of 'scientific ideology'. This concept had not played any role in his previous work, so why introduce it at all? This is the central question of my paper. Although it may seem a rather modest question, its answer in fact uncovers hidden tensions in the tradition of historical epistemology, in particular between its normative and descriptive aspects. The term ideology suggests the influence of Althusser's and Foucault's philosophies. However, I show the differences between Canguilhem's concept of scientific ideology and Althusser's and Foucault's respective concepts of ideology. I argue that Canguilhem was in fact attempting to solve long-standing problems in the tradition of historical epistemology, rather than following the lead of his younger colleagues. I argue that Canguilhem's 'refurbishment without rejection' of Bachelard's epistemology, which the concept of scientific ideology was aimed to implement, was necessary to justify the historical narratives that Canguilhem had constructed in his own work as a historian of concepts. A strict acceptance of Bachelard's epistemology would have made it impossible to justify them. Canguilhem's concept of scientific ideology therefore served as a theoretical justification of his practice as a historian. I maintain that the concept of scientific ideology was needed to reconcile Bachelard's normative epistemology with Canguilhem's view of the history of science and its aims, which differed from Bachelard's more than it is generally acknowledged. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Complex systems approach to scientific publication and peer-review system: development of an agent-based model calibrated with empirical journal data.

    PubMed

    Kovanis, Michail; Porcher, Raphaël; Ravaud, Philippe; Trinquart, Ludovic

    Scientific peer-review and publication systems incur a huge burden in terms of costs and time. Innovative alternatives have been proposed to improve the systems, but assessing their impact in experimental studies is not feasible at a systemic level. We developed an agent-based model by adopting a unified view of peer review and publication systems and calibrating it with empirical journal data in the biomedical and life sciences. We modeled researchers, research manuscripts and scientific journals as agents. Researchers were characterized by their scientific level and resources, manuscripts by their scientific value, and journals by their reputation and acceptance or rejection thresholds. These state variables were used in submodels for various processes such as production of articles, submissions to target journals, in-house and external peer review, and resubmissions. We collected data for a sample of biomedical and life sciences journals regarding acceptance rates, resubmission patterns and total number of published articles. We adjusted submodel parameters so that the agent-based model outputs fit these empirical data. We simulated 105 journals, 25,000 researchers and 410,000 manuscripts over 10 years. A mean of 33,600 articles were published per year; 19 % of submitted manuscripts remained unpublished. The mean acceptance rate was 21 % after external peer review and rejection rate 32 % after in-house review; 15 % publications resulted from the first submission, 47 % the second submission and 20 % the third submission. All decisions in the model were mainly driven by the scientific value, whereas journal targeting and persistence in resubmission defined whether a manuscript would be published or abandoned after one or many rejections. This agent-based model may help in better understanding the determinants of the scientific publication and peer-review systems. It may also help in assessing and identifying the most promising alternative systems of peer

  17. Tracking scientific interest in the dissociative disorders: a study of scientific publication output 1984-2003.

    PubMed

    Pope, Harrison G; Barry, Steven; Bodkin, Alexander; Hudson, James I

    2006-01-01

    We attempted to track scientific interest in dissociative amnesia and dissociative identity disorder by estimating the annual output of publications regarding these entities over the last 20 years. Using a standard medical index, PsycINFO, we counted the number of indexed publications involving dissociative amnesia and dissociative identity disorder listed for each year. We then compared these rates with those of well-established diagnoses such as anorexia nervosa, alcohol abuse, and schizophrenia. We also systematically reviewed all publications involving dissociative amnesia that appeared in 2003. Annual publications involving dissociative amnesia and dissociative identity disorder rose from low levels in the 1980's to a sharp peak in the mid 1990's, followed by an equally sharp decline to only about one quarter of their peak levels by 2002 and 2003. In contrast, all of the 25 comparison diagnoses in our survey showed constant or steadily rising publication rates; none showed the 'bubble' pattern of the dissociative disorders. Of the 34 papers involving dissociative amnesia identified by PsycINFO for 2003, 10 (32%) appeared skeptical of the validity of dissociative amnesia and/or recovered-memory therapy. Despite a detailed search using multiple medical indices and search terms, we could find only 13 explicit cases of individuals with dissociative amnesia worldwide in the 2003 literature. Dissociative amnesia and dissociative identity disorder have not generated consistent scientific interest over the years, but instead apparently enjoyed a brief period of fashion that now has waned. Overall, our observations suggest that these diagnostic entities presently do not command widespread scientific acceptance. Copyright 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  18. The Public Acceptance of Biofuels and Bioethanol from Straw- how does this affect Geoscience

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jäger, Alexander; Ortner, Tina; Kahr, Heike

    2015-04-01

    The Public Acceptance of Biofuels and Bioethanol from Straw- how does this affect Geoscience The successful use of bioethanol as a fuel requires its widespread acceptance by consumers. Due to the planned introduction of a 10 per cent proportion of bioethanol in petrol in Austria, the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria carried out a representative opinion poll to collect information on the population's acceptance of biofuels. Based on this survey, interviews with important stakeholders were held to discuss the results and collect recommendations on how to increase the information level and acceptance. The results indicate that there is a lack of interest and information about biofuels, especially among young people and women. First generation bioethanol is strongly associated with the waste of food resources, but the acceptance of the second generation, produced from agricultural remnants like straw from wheat or corn, is considerably higher. The interviewees see more transparent, objective and less technical information about biofuels as an essential way to raise the information level and acceptance rate. As the production of bioethanol from straw is now economically feasible, there is one major scientific question to answer: In which way does the withdrawal of straw from the fields affect the formation of humus and, therefore, the quality of the soil? An interdisciplinary approach of researchers in the fields of bioethanol production, geoscience and agriculture in combination with political decision makers are required to make the technologies of renewable bioenergy acceptable to the population.

  19. Acceptance of mixed scientific and clinical activities in a sub-speciality urology meeting.

    PubMed

    Buchholz, Noor N P; El Howairis, Mohammed El Fatih; Durner, Leopold; Harry, Damiete; Kachrilas, Stefanos; Rodgers, Allen L; Hakenberg, Oliver

    2015-04-01

    Basic urolithiasis research into the causes for stone formation has been stagnating for a long time. Emergence of effective stone treatment modalities has shifted the public and clinicians' focus away from basic research towards symptomatic treatment solutions. This has occurred in spite of urolithiasis being a highly recurrent disease with an enormous socio-economic impact warranting a prophylactic and recurrence-preventing approach. An integrated, multidisciplinary translational platform has been developed in the form of urolithiasis meetings bringing together urologists, radiologists, nephrologists, basic scientists, dieticians and other stake holders interested in stone disease, for an exchange of knowledge, mutual education and understanding, and professional networking. Traditionally, such combined meetings are split into sessions addressing the specific interests of clinicians and scientists. At the recent Experts in Stone Disease Symposium we devised and implemented a program which mixed clinical and basic science activities throughout. We interviewed delegates between sessions regarding their acceptance of this novel concept using a standardized questionnaire. Sessions were well-attended, alleviating our initial anxiety that delegates would not appreciate a "no-choice" program. Of the 74 delegates who were interviewed, 60 (81%) were urologists, and 14 (19%) were non-urologists such as nephrologists, dieticians, and students. This is representative of the overall distribution of delegates at the conference. 71% felt that a closer co-operation and understanding between clinicians and scientists will ultimately benefit both groups, as well as patients; 95% found the mixed session approach beneficial, with half appreciating it as very good and innovative; 94% believed that they had derived useful learnings from the "other side"; 94% found that such mixed sessions are useful for their future work and understanding of the urolithiasis field as a whole; 94

  20. Historical Scientific Models and Theories as Resources for Learning and Teaching: The Case of Friction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Besson, Ugo

    2013-01-01

    This paper presents a history of research and theories on sliding friction between solids. This history is divided into four phases: from Leonardo da Vinci to Coulomb and the establishment of classical laws of friction; the theories of lubrication and the Tomlinson's theory of friction (1850-1930); the theories of wear, the Bowden and Tabor's…

  1. Changes in Acceptance of Evolution in a College-Level General Education Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Grossman, W. Eric; Fleet, Christine M.

    2017-01-01

    Evolutionary theory is central to the biological sciences, and to critical aspects of everyday life, and yet a significant proportion of Americans reject evolution. Our study sets out to examine the role of a second year college general education course in affecting students' acceptance of evolution. We report three years of data using the Measure…

  2. An Exploration of Student Internet Use in India: The Technology Acceptance Model and the Theory of Planned Behaviour

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fusilier, Marcelline; Durlabhji, Subhash

    2005-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore behavioral processes involved in internet technology acceptance and use with a sample in India, a developing country that can potentially benefit from greater participation in the web economy. Design/methodology/approach - User experience was incorporated into the technology acceptance model (TAM)…

  3. Delinquency and Peer Acceptance in Adolescence: A Within-Person Test of Moffitt's Hypotheses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rulison, Kelly L.; Kreager, Derek A.; Osgood, D. Wayne

    2014-01-01

    We tested 2 hypotheses derived from Moffitt's (1993) taxonomic theory of antisocial behavior, both of which are central to her explanation for the rise in delinquency during adolescence. We tested whether persistently delinquent individuals become more accepted by their peers during adolescence and whether individuals who abstain from delinquent…

  4. Hedonic, Instrumental, and Normative Motives: Differentiating Patterns for Popular, Accepted, and Rejected Adolescents

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dijkstra, Jan Kornelis; Kretschmer, Tina; Lindenberg, Siegwart; Veenstra, René

    2015-01-01

    This study examined to what extent motives for behavior differentiated between popular, accepted, and rejected adolescents. Based on goal-framing theory, three types of motives were distinguished: hedonic (aimed at short-term gratification), instrumental (aimed at improvement of one's situation), and normative (aimed at acting in accordance with…

  5. Cultural-historical activity theory: Vygotsky's forgotten and suppressed legacy and its implication for mathematics education

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Roth, Wolff-Michael

    2012-03-01

    Cultural-historical activity theory—with historical roots in dialectical materialism and the social psychology to which it has given rise—has experienced exponential growth in its acceptance by scholars interested in understanding knowing and learning writ large. In education, this theory has constituted something like a well kept secret that is only in the process of gaining larger levels of acceptance. Mathematics educators are only beginning to realise the tremendous advantages that the theory provides over other theories. In this review essay, I articulate the theory as it may relate to the issues that concern mathematics education and educators with a particular focus on the way in which it addresses logical contradictions in existing theories.

  6. Perspective: Innocence and due diligence: managing unfounded allegations of scientific misconduct.

    PubMed

    Goldenring, James R

    2010-03-01

    While the incidence of fraud in science is well documented, issues related to the establishment of innocence in cases of fallacious allegations remain unaddressed. In this article, the author uses his own experience to examine issues that arise when investigators are falsely accused of scientific fraud. Investigators must understand the processes in place to protect themselves against false accusations. The present system takes a position of guilty until proven innocent, a concept that is antithetical to American principles of jurisprudence. Yet this stance is acceptable as a requirement for membership in the scientific community, more reflective of the rules within a guild organization. The necessity for proof of innocence by members of the scientific community carries obligations that transcend normal legal assumptions. Scientists must safeguard their reputations by organizing and maintaining all original image files and data relevant to publications and grant proposals. Investigators must be able to provide clear documentation rapidly whenever concerns are raised during the review process. Moreover, peer-reviewed journals must be diligent not only in the identification of fraud but also in providing rapid due process for adjudication of allegations. The success of the scientific guild rules of conduct lies in the practice of due diligence by both scientists and journal editors in questions of scientific misconduct.

  7. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: Western adoption of Buddhist tenets?

    PubMed

    Fung, Kenneth

    2015-08-01

    Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a psychological intervention that has wide clinical applications with emerging empirical support. It is based on Functional Contextualism and is derived as a clinical application of the Relational Frame Theory, a behavioral account of the development of human thought and cognition. The six core ACT therapeutic processes include: Acceptance, Defusion, Present Moment, Self-as-Context, Values, and Committed Action. In addition to its explicit use of the concept of mindfulness, the therapeutic techniques of ACT implicitly incorporate other aspects of Buddhism. This article describes the basic principles and processes of ACT, explores the similarities and differences between ACT processes and some of the common tenets in Buddhism such as the Four Noble Truths and No-Self, and reports on the experience of running a pilot intervention ACT group for the Cambodian community in Toronto in partnership with the community's Buddhist Holy Monk. Based on this preliminary exploration in theory and the reflections of the group experience, ACT appears to be consistent with some of the core tenets of Buddhism in the approach towards alleviating suffering, with notable differences in scope reflecting their different aims and objectives. Further development of integrative therapies that can incorporate psychological and spiritual as well as diverse cultural perspectives may help the continued advancement and evolution of more effective psychotherapies that can benefit diverse populations. © The Author(s) 2014.

  8. The Hubble Space Telescope Scientific Instruments

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Moore, J. V.

    1986-01-01

    The paper describes the status of the five Scientific Instruments (SI's) to be flown on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) which is planned to be launched by the Space Transportation System in the last half of 1986. Concentration is on the testing experience for each of the instruments both at the instrument level and in conjunction with the other instruments and subsystems of the HST. Since the Acceptance/Flight Qualification Program of the HST is currently underway a description of the test and verification plans to be accomplished prior to shipment to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and pre-launch tests plans prior to launch are provided. The paper concludes with a brief description of anticipated orbital performance.

  9. Twenty-Year Survey of Scientific Literacy and Attitudes Toward Science: Students’ Acceptance of Astrology and Pseudoscience

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sugarman, Hannah R.; Impey, C.; Buxner, S.; Antonellis, J.

    2010-01-01

    Our survey used to collect data during a twenty-year long investigation into the science literacy of undergraduates (see Impey et al., this meeting), contains several questions addressing how students conceptualize astrology, and other pseudoscientific ideas. This poster presents findings from the quantitative analysis of some of these question responses from almost 10,000 undergraduate students enrolled in introductory astronomy courses from 1989 to 2009. The results from our data reveal that a large majority of students (78%) and half of science majors (52%) consider astrology either "very” or "sort of” scientific. Students performed comparatively better on all other pseudoscientific questions, demonstrating that belief in astrology is pervasive and deeply entrenched. We compare our results to those obtained by the NSF Science Indicators series, and suggest possible reasons for the high susceptibility to belief in astrology. These findings call into question whether our education system is adequately preparing students to be scientifically literate adults. You can help! Stop by our poster and fill out a new survey that will give us important parallel information to help us continue to analyze our valuable data set. We acknowledge the NSF for funding under Award No. 0715517, a CCLI Phase III Grant for the Collaboration of Astronomy Teaching Scholars (CATS) Program.

  10. VARIABLES IN PERSONALITY THEORY AND PERSONALITY TESTING, AN INTERPRETATION.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    ALLEN, ROBERT M.

    DESIGNED TO GIVE THE READER SOME OF THE DIFFICULTIES OF INTEGRATING PERSONALITY VARIABLES, THEORY, AND TESTING, THIS BOOK DISCUSSES THE DUAL ORIENTATION OF PSYCHOLOGY AS A SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINE AND AS AN APPLIED SKILL. EXAMPLES OF BOTH NOMOTHETIC AND IDIOGRAPHIC THEORIES OF PERSONALITY ARE CONSIDERED. THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT AND DEBATE…

  11. Pathogenesis of chronic pancreatitis: an evidence-based review of past theories and recent developments.

    PubMed

    Stevens, Tyler; Conwell, Darwin L; Zuccaro, Gregory

    2004-11-01

    In the past several decades, four prominent theories of chronic pancreatitis pathogenesis have emerged: the toxic-metabolic theory, the oxidative stress hypothesis, the stone and duct obstruction theory, and the necrosis-fibrosis hypothesis. Although these traditional theories are formulated based on compelling scientific observations, substantial contradictory data also exist for each. Furthermore, the basic premises of some of these theories are directly contradictory. Because of the recent scientific progress in the underlying genetic, cellular, and molecular pathophysiology, there have been substantial advances in the understanding of chronic pancreatitis pathogenesis. This paper will provide an evidence-based review and critique of the traditional pathogenic theories, followed by a discussion of the new advances in pancreatic fibrogenesis. Moreover, we will discuss plausible pathogenic sequences applied to each of the known etiologies.

  12. Scientific Assessment of Stratospheric Ozone: 1989, volume 2. Appendix: AFEAS Report

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1990-01-01

    The results are presented of the Alternative Fluorocarbon Environmental Acceptability Study (AFEAS), which was organized to evaluate the potential effects on the environment of alternate compounds targeted to replace fully halogenated chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). All relevant current scientific information to determine the environmental acceptability of the alternative fluorocarbons. Special emphasis was placed on: the potential of the compounds to affect stratospheric ozone; their potential to affect tropospheric ozone; their potential to contribute to model calculated global warming; the atmospheric degradation mechanisms of the compounds, in order to identify their products; and the potential environmental effects of the decomposition products. The alternative compounds to be studied were hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) with one or two carbon atoms and one or more each of fluorine and hydrogen.

  13. Social behaviour and illness information interact to influence the peer acceptance of children with chronic illness.

    PubMed

    Alderfer, M A; Wiebe, D J; Hartmann, D P

    2001-09-01

    Social behaviour was investigated as a contributor to the peer acceptance of children with chronic illness. We predicted that children with illness would receive less acceptance than children without illness, and that prosocial behaviour would improve acceptance, while aggressive behaviour would hamper it. Based upon attribution and cognitive bias theories, we also predicted that prosocial behaviour would be more beneficial and aggressive behaviour less damaging to the acceptance of children with illness compared to healthy children. A 3 (social behaviour: prosocial, aggressive, no information) x 2 (physical status: chronically ill, healthy) within-subjects analogue design was used. Preadolescents (N = 149) indicated social acceptance of hypothetical children portrayed in vignettes as either chronically ill or healthy with prosocial, aggressive, or no social behaviour. A 13-item social intentions scale gauged acceptance. The hypotheses were supported. Although children described as ill received lower acceptance ratings than healthy children, prosocial/ill children were more accepted than aggressive/ill children. Social behaviour interacted with physical status to affect acceptance. Social behaviour influences the peer acceptance of hypothetical children with chronic illness. Prosocial behaviour enhances acceptance of children described with illness, while aggressive behaviour hampers it. Additionally, prosocial behaviour is more beneficial, and aggressive behaviour is less damaging for children described as ill versus healthy. The potential processes by which peers judge acceptance of children with illness are discussed.

  14. The development of scientific thinking in elementary school: a comprehensive inventory.

    PubMed

    Koerber, Susanne; Mayer, Daniela; Osterhaus, Christopher; Schwippert, Knut; Sodian, Beate

    2015-01-01

    The development of scientific thinking was assessed in 1,581 second, third, and fourth graders (8-, 9-, 10-year-olds) based on a conceptual model that posits developmental progression from naïve to more advanced conceptions. Using a 66-item scale, five components of scientific thinking were addressed, including experimental design, data interpretation, and understanding the nature of science. Unidimensional and multidimensional item response theory analyses supported the instrument's reliability and validity and suggested that the multiple components of scientific thinking form a unitary construct, independent of verbal or reasoning skills. A partial credit model gave evidence for a hierarchical developmental progression. Across each grade transition, advanced conceptions increased while naïve conceptions decreased. Independent effects of intelligence, schooling, and parental education on scientific thinking are discussed. © 2014 The Authors. Child Development © 2014 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

  15. Steps in Moving Evidence-Based Health Informatics from Theory to Practice.

    PubMed

    Rigby, Michael; Magrabi, Farah; Scott, Philip; Doupi, Persephone; Hypponen, Hannele; Ammenwerth, Elske

    2016-10-01

    To demonstrate and promote the importance of applying a scientific process to health IT design and implementation, and of basing this on research principles and techniques. A review by international experts linked to the IMIA Working Group on Technology Assessment and Quality Development. Four approaches are presented, linking to the creation of national professional expectations, adherence to research-based standards, quality assurance approaches to ensure safety, and scientific measurement of impact. Solely marketing- and aspiration-based approaches to health informatics applications are no longer ethical or acceptable when scientifically grounded evidence-based approaches are available and in use.

  16. Citizens and scientists: toward a gendered history of scientific practice in post-revolutionary France.

    PubMed

    Harrison, C E

    2001-01-01

    Because the French Revolution failed to produce a widely acceptable definition of citizenship, the limits of manhood suffrage in the early nineteenth century were uncertain. Social practices, in particular scientific activity, served as claims to the status of citizen. By engaging in scientific pastimes, bourgeois Frenchmen asserted that they possessed the rationality and autonomy that liberal theorists associated both with manliness and with civic capacity. However, bourgeois science was never a stable signifier of masculinity or of competence. As professional science emerged, the bourgeois amateur increasingly became the feminised object of satire rather than the sober and meritorious citizen-scientist.

  17. Scientific misconduct and science ethics: a case study based approach.

    PubMed

    Consoli, Luca

    2006-07-01

    The Schön misconduct case has been widely publicized in the media and has sparked intense discussions within and outside the scientific community about general issues of science ethics. This paper analyses the Report of the official Committee charged with the investigation in order to show that what at first seems to be a quite uncontroversial case, turns out to be an accumulation of many interesting and non-trivial questions (of both ethical and philosophical interest). In particular, the paper intends to show that daily scientific practices are structurally permeated by chronic problems; this has serious consequences for how practicing scientists assess their work in general, and scientific misconduct in particular. A philosophical approach is proposed that sees scientific method and scientific ethics as inextricably interwoven. Furthermore, the paper intends to show that the definition of co-authorship that the members of the Committee use, although perhaps clear in theory, proves highly problematic in practice and raises more questions that it answers. A final plea is made for a more self-reflecting attitude of scientists as far as the moral and methodological profile of science is concerned as a key element for improving not only their scientific achievements, but also their assessment of problematic cases.

  18. From Passive Acceptance to Active Commitment: A Model of Feminist Identity Development for Women.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Downing, Nancy E.; Roush, Kristin L.

    1985-01-01

    Presents a model of feminist identity development for women, derived, in part, from Cross's (1971) theory of Black identity development. The stages in this process include passive acceptance, revelation, embeddedness-emanation, synthesis, and active commitment. Implications of the model are outlined for women, nonsexist and feminist…

  19. Gender-fair assessment of young gifted students' scientific thinking skills

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dori, Y. J.; Zohar, A.; Fischer-Shachor, D.; Kohan-Mass, J.; Carmi, M.

    2018-04-01

    This paper describes an Israeli national-level research examining the extent to which admissions of elementary school students to the gifted programmes based on standardised tests are gender-fair. In the research, the gifted students consisted of 275 boys, 128 girls, and additional 80 girls who were admitted to the gifted programme through affirmative action (AA). To assess these young students' scientific thinking skills, also referred to as science practices, open-ended questions of case-based questionnaires were developed. The investigated scientific thinking skills were question posing, explanation, graphing, inquiry, and metacognition. Analysis of the students' responses revealed that gifted girls who entered the programmes through AA performed at the same level as the other gifted students. We found significant differences between the three research groups in question posing and graphing skills. We suggest increasing gender-fairness by revising the standard national testing system to include case-based narratives followed by open-ended questions that assess gifted students' scientific thinking skills. This may diminish the gender inequity expressed by the different number of girls and boys accepted to the gifted programmes. We show that open-ended tools for analysing students' scientific thinking might better serve both research and practice by identifying gifted girls and boys equally well.

  20. CALLISTO: scientific projects performed by high school students

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Boer, Michel

    The Callisto project was initiated in 2002 by the "Lyće de l'Arc" (High School in Orange, e France) and the "Observatoire de Haute Provence". Its goal is to give the students motivation for scientific and technical studies: they have the possibility to perform scientific projects together with professional astronomers. The pupils work in groups of 3 to 4, each having a specific theme: geophysics, variable stars, small bodies of the solar system, mechanical and optical instrumentation. They follow a whole scientific approach, from the question to answer, the instrumental setup, acquisition, data reduction, and publication. During a week they are invited to observe using the OHP 1.20m and 0.80m, with the support of a professional astronomer. Some projects have been in fact derived from actual proposal accepted at OHP (e.g. rotation curves of binary asteroids). The best projects are considered for some competitions like ESO "catch a star", "Olympiade de Physique", etc. Since 2005 three high-schools participate to this project. The Callisto initiative has also produced the basis of a teacher training course. Callisto is an example of a succesful collaboration between an interdisciplinary team of teachers (physics, maths, philosophy, English...), a research institution (the OHP), and researchers.

  1. Feeling of Certainty: Uncovering a Missing Link between Knowledge and Acceptance of Evolution

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ha, Minsu; Haury, David L.; Nehm, Ross H.

    2012-01-01

    We propose a new model of the factors influencing acceptance of evolutionary theory that highlights a novel variable unexplored in previous studies: the feeling of certainty (FOC). The model is grounded in an emerging understanding of brain function that acknowledges the contributions of intuitive cognitions in making decisions, such as whether or…

  2. [The current mind-brain theories in analytical philosophy of mind and their epistemic significance for psychiatry].

    PubMed

    Schäfer, M L

    2005-03-01

    This article begins with an orientational survey of the historical evolution of analytical philosophy of mind (APM) which was formulated in the last 40 years as "philosophy of mind" in the Anglo-Saxon scientific-cultural world and which, in the meantime, dominates to a great extent contemporary German philosophy. Then there follows a discussion of the currently most popular mind-brain theories in philosophy. In comparison to the more marginal dualist variants (interactionism, epiphenomenalism, parallelism), it is mainly the monistic positions of non-reductive, reductive and eliminative materialism and the materialist functionalism underlying it, which determines analytical philosophy of mind and its influence on psychopathology and psychiatry. Under the additional influence of modern brain research methods, particularly neuroimaging, it is progressively developing into a subdiscipline of neuroscience, a complex and increasingly more firmly established scientific discipline which comprises the totality of all sciences dealing with neuronal functions, including the close epistemic associations of APM and neuroimaging. This is the effective epistemic central idea determining the theory of the neuronal network which, in the form of a connectionist psychopathology, is intended to make possible a fundamentally new access to the comprehension of psychiatric forms of illness. In this respect it is evident, however, that the perception of the naturality of the mind as the fundamental thesis of APM and thus of connectionism cannot be followed through, since, up to now, neither from the phenomenality of the mind (especially the quality of senses, "Qualia") nor from intentionality of the mind (i. e. the ability to act intentionally, free from the constraint of the causality of nature and thus in self-responsible fashion) has proved it possible to reconstruct a generally accepted naturalist theory. Furthermore, it has not been possible to reformulate it in an exclusively

  3. Latin American scientific contribution to ecology.

    PubMed

    Wojciechowski, Juliana; Ceschin, Fernanda; Pereto, Suelen C A S; Ribas, Luiz G S; Bezerra, Luis A V; Dittrich, Jaqueline; Siqueira, Tadeu; Padial, André A

    2017-01-01

    Latin America embodies countries of special interest for ecological studies, given that areas with great value for biodiversity are located within their territories. This highlights the importance of an evaluation of ecological research in the Latin America region. We assessed the scientific participation of Latin American researchers in ecological journals, patterns of international collaboration, and defined the main characteristics of the articles. Although Latin American publications have increased in fourteen years, they accounted up to 9% of publications in Ecology. Brazil leaded the scientific production in Latin America, followed by Argentina and Mexico. In general, Latin American articles represented a low percentage of most journals total publication, with particularly low expression in high impact-factor journals. A half of the Latin American publications had international collaboration. Articles with more than five authors and with international collaboration were the most cited. Descriptive studies, mainly based in old theories, are still majority, suggesting that Ecology is in a developing stage in Latin America.

  4. Konstantian Tsiolkovsky's Theories of Rocketry

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2004-01-01

    By the end of the 19th century, soldiers, sailors, and practical and not-so practical inventors, had developed a stake in rocketry. Skillful theorists, like Konstantian Tsiolkovsky in Russia, were examining the fundamental scientific theories behind rocketry. They were begirning to consider the possibility of space travel

  5. Using Relational Reasoning to Learn about Scientific Phenomena at Unfamiliar Scales

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Resnick, Ilyse; Davatzes, Alexandra; Newcombe, Nora S.; Shipley, Thomas F.

    2016-01-01

    Many scientific theories and discoveries involve reasoning about extreme scales, removed from human experience, such as time in geology, size in nanoscience. Thus, understanding scale is central to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Unfortunately, novices have trouble understanding and comparing sizes of unfamiliar large and small…

  6. Using Relational Reasoning to Learn about Scientific Phenomena at Unfamiliar Scales

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Resnick, Ilyse; Davatzes, Alexandra; Newcombe, Nora S.; Shipley, Thomas F.

    2017-01-01

    Many scientific theories and discoveries involve reasoning about extreme scales, removed from human experience, such as time in geology and size in nanoscience. Thus, understanding scale is central to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Unfortunately, novices have trouble understanding and comparing sizes of unfamiliar large and…

  7. How Attributional Ambiguity Shapes Physiological and Emotional Responses to Social Rejection and Acceptance

    PubMed Central

    Mendes, Wendy Berry; McCoy, Shannon; Major, Brenda; Blascovich, Jim

    2008-01-01

    The authors examined White and Black participants’ emotional, physiological, and behavioral responses to same-race or different-race evaluators, following rejecting social feedback or accepting social feedback. As expected, in ingroup interactions, the authors observed deleterious responses to social rejection and benign responses to social acceptance. Deleterious responses included cardiovascular (CV) reactivity consistent with threat states and poorer performance, whereas benign responses included CV reactivity consistent with challenge states and better performance. In intergroup interactions, however, a more complex pattern of responses emerged. Social rejection from different-race evaluators engendered more anger and activational responses, regardless of participants’ race. In contrast, social acceptance produced an asymmetrical race pattern—White participants responded more positively than did Black participants. The latter appeared vigilant and exhibited threat responses. Discussion centers on implications for attributional ambiguity theory and potential pathways from discrimination to health outcomes. PMID:18211177

  8. The future of scientific communication in the earth sciences: The impact of the internet

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Carr, Timothy R.; Buchanan, Rex C.; Adkins-Heljeson, Dana; Mettille, Thomas D.; Sorensen, Janice

    1997-06-01

    Publication on paper of research results following peer-review and editing has been the accepted means of scientific communication for several centuries. Today, the continued growth in the volume of scientific literature, the increased unit costs of archiving paper publications, and the rapidly increasing power and availability of electronic technology are creating tremendous pressures on traditional scientific communication. The earth sciences are not immune from these pressures, and the role of the traditional publication as the primary means of communication is rapidly changing. Electronic publications and network technology are radically altering the relationship between interpretative result and the underlying data. Earth science research institutions, including the Kansas Geological Survey, are experimenting with new forms of on-line publication that assure broad access to research and data and improve application of research results to societal problems.

  9. Contributions of Piagetian and Post-Piagetian Theories to Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marchand, Helena

    2012-01-01

    The aim of this article was to reflect on the contributions of Piagetian and neo-Piagetian theories to education. Topics analyzed included the evolution of Piaget's and co-workers' theory, the reaction by the scientific community to the main theoretical and methodological aspects of each period of his work, the educational potentialities of…

  10. Test Driven Development: Lessons from a Simple Scientific Model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Clune, T. L.; Kuo, K.

    2010-12-01

    In the commercial software industry, unit testing frameworks have emerged as a disruptive technology that has permanently altered the process by which software is developed. Unit testing frameworks significantly reduce traditional barriers, both practical and psychological, to creating and executing tests that verify software implementations. A new development paradigm, known as test driven development (TDD), has emerged from unit testing practices, in which low-level tests (i.e. unit tests) are created by developers prior to implementing new pieces of code. Although somewhat counter-intuitive, this approach actually improves developer productivity. In addition to reducing the average time for detecting software defects (bugs), the requirement to provide procedure interfaces that enable testing frequently leads to superior design decisions. Although TDD is widely accepted in many software domains, its applicability to scientific modeling still warrants reasonable skepticism. While the technique is clearly relevant for infrastructure layers of scientific models such as the Earth System Modeling Framework (ESMF), numerical and scientific components pose a number of challenges to TDD that are not often encountered in commercial software. Nonetheless, our experience leads us to believe that the technique has great potential not only for developer productivity, but also as a tool for understanding and documenting the basic scientific assumptions upon which our models are implemented. We will provide a brief introduction to test driven development and then discuss our experience in using TDD to implement a relatively simple numerical model that simulates the growth of snowflakes. Many of the lessons learned are directly applicable to larger scientific models.

  11. Funding food science and nutrition research: financial conflicts and scientific integrity.

    PubMed

    Rowe, Sylvia; Alexander, Nick; Clydesdale, Fergus; Applebaum, Rhona; Atkinson, Stephanie; Black, Richard; Dwyer, Johanna; Hentges, Eric; Higley, Nancy; Lefevre, Michael; Lupton, Joanne; Miller, Sanford; Tancredi, Doris; Weaver, Connie; Woteki, Catherine; Wedral, Elaine

    2009-05-01

    There has been significant public debate about the susceptibility of research to biases of various kinds. The dialogue has extended to the peer-reviewed literature, scientific conferences, the mass media, government advisory bodies, and beyond. While biases can come from myriad sources, the overwhelming focus of the discussion, to date, has been on industry-funded science. Given the critical role that industry has played and will continue to play in the research process, the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) North America Working Group on Guiding Principles has, in this paper, set out proposed conflict-of-interest guidelines, regarding industry funding, for protecting the integrity and credibility of the scientific record, particularly with respect to health, nutrition, and food-safety science. Eight principles are enumerated, specifying ground rules for industry-sponsored research. The paper, which issues a challenge to the broader scientific community to address all bias issues, is only a first step; the document is intended to be dynamic, prompting ongoing discussion and refinement. The Guiding Principles are as follows. In the conduct of public/private research relationships, all relevant parties shall: 1) conduct or sponsor research that is factual, transparent, and designed objectively; according to accepted principles of scientific inquiry, the research design will generate an appropriately phrased hypothesis and the research will answer the appropriate questions, rather than favor a particular outcome; 2) require control of both study design and research itself to remain with scientific investigators; 3) not offer or accept remuneration geared to the outcome of a research project; 4) prior to the commencement of studies, ensure that there is a written agreement that the investigative team has the freedom and obligation to attempt to publish the findings within some specified time-frame; 5) require, in publications and conference presentations

  12. Funding food science and nutrition research: financial conflicts and scientific integrity.

    PubMed

    Rowe, Sylvia; Alexander, Nick; Clydesdale, Fergus M; Applebaum, Rhona S; Atkinson, Stephanie; Black, Richard M; Dwyer, Johanna T; Hentges, Eric; Higley, Nancy A; Lefevre, Michael; Lupton, Joanne R; Miller, Sanford A; Tancredi, Doris L; Weaver, Connie M; Woteki, Catherine E; Wedral, Elaine

    2009-05-01

    There has been significant public debate about the susceptibility of research to biases of various kinds. The dialogue has extended to the peer-reviewed literature, scientific conferences, the mass media, government advisory bodies, and beyond. Whereas biases can come from myriad sources, the overwhelming focus of the discussion to date has been on industry-funded science. Given the critical role that industry has played and will continue to play in the research process, the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) North America Working Group on Guiding Principles has, in this article, proposed conflict-of-interest guidelines regarding industry funding to protect the integrity and credibility of the scientific record, particularly with respect to health, nutrition, and food-safety science. Eight principles are enumerated, which specify the ground rules for industry-sponsored research. This article, which issues a challenge to the broader scientific community to address all bias issues, is only a first step; the document is intended to be dynamic, prompting ongoing discussion and refinement. In the conduct of public/private research relationships, all relevant parties shall 1) conduct or sponsor research that is factual, transparent, and designed objectively, and, according to accepted principles of scientific inquiry, the research design will generate an appropriately phrased hypothesis and the research will answer the appropriate questions, rather than favor a particular outcome; 2) require control of both study design and research itself to remain with scientific investigators; 3) not offer or accept remuneration geared to the outcome of a research project; 4) ensure, before the commencement of studies, that there is a written agreement that the investigative team has the freedom and obligation to attempt to publish the findings within some specified time frame; 5) require, in publications and conference presentations, full signed disclosure of all financial

  13. GY SAMPLING THEORY IN ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES 2: SUBSAMPLING ERROR MEASUREMENTS

    EPA Science Inventory

    Sampling can be a significant source of error in the measurement process. The characterization and cleanup of hazardous waste sites require data that meet site-specific levels of acceptable quality if scientifically supportable decisions are to be made. In support of this effort,...

  14. Theory, Scientific Evidence, and the Communibiological Paradigm: Reflections on Misguided Criticism.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Beatty, Michael J.; McCroskey, James C.

    2000-01-01

    Replies to C. M. Condit's responses to the authors' articles and comments advancing a communibiological paradigm. Argues that a general misidentification of the level of abstraction (paradigm not theory) drives Condit's complaints about communibiology, and outlines several misrepresentations of the authors' position. (SR)

  15. Why the Young Child Has Neither a Theory of Mind nor a Theory of Anything Else.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gellatly, Angus

    1997-01-01

    Critiques the metaphor of child-as-theoretician. Argues that comparisons between the cognitive development of an individual and the historical development of a scientific theory are deeply misleading. Further argues that, although there are similarities between children's cognitive enculturation and adults' continuing education, individual…

  16. Social Integration in Employment Settings: Application of Intergroup Contact Theory

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Novak, Jeanne A.; Rogan, Patricia M.

    2010-01-01

    This study used a survey of 106 employment specialists to test the ability of intergroup contact theory to explain social integration outcomes of employees with disabilities. Contact theory suggests that coworkers are more accepting of employees with disabilities if they have sufficient opportunities to interact with them, equal status and…

  17. Theorie Grammaticale et Enseignement de la Grammaire (Grammatical Theory and Grammar Instruction). Melanges Pedagogiques, 1970.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Heddesheimer, C.

    This article discusses the problem of the relationship between scientific theory and teaching practice, between the linguist and the language teacher. Language instruction attempts more and more to approximate the mother tongue acquisition process, but the two processes remain distinct. However, good second language pedagogy will lead to…

  18. Defining acceptable levels for ecological indicators: an approach for considering social values.

    PubMed

    Smyth, Robyn L; Watzin, Mary C; Manning, Robert E

    2007-03-01

    Ecological indicators can facilitate an adaptive management approach, but only if acceptable levels for those indicators have been defined so that the data collected can be interpreted. Because acceptable levels are an expression of the desired state of the ecosystem, the process of establishing acceptable levels should incorporate not just ecological understanding but also societal values. The goal of this research was to explore an approach for defining acceptable levels of ecological indicators that explicitly considers social perspectives and values. We used a set of eight indicators that were related to issues of concern in the Lake Champlain Basin. Our approach was based on normative theory. Using a stakeholder survey, we measured respondent normative evaluations of varying levels of our indicators. Aggregated social norm curves were used to determine the level at which indicator values shifted from acceptable to unacceptable conditions. For seven of the eight indicators, clear preferences were interpretable from these norm curves. For example, closures of public beaches because of bacterial contamination and days of intense algae bloom went from acceptable to unacceptable at 7-10 days in a summer season. Survey respondents also indicated that the number of fish caught from Lake Champlain that could be safely consumed each month was unacceptably low and the number of streams draining into the lake that were impaired by storm water was unacceptably high. If indicators that translate ecological conditions into social consequences are carefully selected, we believe the normative approach has considerable merit for defining acceptable levels of valued ecological system components.

  19. Defining Acceptable Levels for Ecological Indicators: An Approach for Considering Social Values

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Smyth, Robyn L.; Watzin, Mary C.; Manning, Robert E.

    2007-03-01

    Ecological indicators can facilitate an adaptive management approach, but only if acceptable levels for those indicators have been defined so that the data collected can be interpreted. Because acceptable levels are an expression of the desired state of the ecosystem, the process of establishing acceptable levels should incorporate not just ecological understanding but also societal values. The goal of this research was to explore an approach for defining acceptable levels of ecological indicators that explicitly considers social perspectives and values. We used a set of eight indicators that were related to issues of concern in the Lake Champlain Basin. Our approach was based on normative theory. Using a stakeholder survey, we measured respondent normative evaluations of varying levels of our indicators. Aggregated social norm curves were used to determine the level at which indicator values shifted from acceptable to unacceptable conditions. For seven of the eight indicators, clear preferences were interpretable from these norm curves. For example, closures of public beaches because of bacterial contamination and days of intense algae bloom went from acceptable to unacceptable at 7-10 days in a summer season. Survey respondents also indicated that the number of fish caught from Lake Champlain that could be safely consumed each month was unacceptably low and the number of streams draining into the lake that were impaired by storm water was unacceptably high. If indicators that translate ecological conditions into social consequences are carefully selected, we believe the normative approach has considerable merit for defining acceptable levels of valued ecological system components.

  20. "Martian Boneyards": Sustained Scientific Inquiry in a Social Digital Game

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Asbell-Clarke, Jordis

    Social digital gaming is an explosive phenomenon where youth and adults are engaged in inquiry for the sake of fun. The complexity of learning evidenced in social digital games is attracting the attention of educators. Martian Boneyards is a proof-of-concept game designed to study how a community of voluntary gamers can be enticed to engage in sustained, high-quality scientific inquiry. Science educators and game designers worked together to create an educational game with the polish and intrigue of a professional-level game, striving to attract a new audience to scientific inquiry. Martian Boneyards took place in the high-definition, massively multiplayer online environment, Blue Mars, where players spent an average of 30 hours in the game over the 4-month implementation period, with some exceeding 200 hours. Most of the players' time was spent in scientific inquiry activities and about 30% of the players' in-game interactions were in the analysis and theory-building phases of inquiry. Female players conducted most of the inquiry, in particular analysis and theory building. The quality of scientific inquiry processes, which included extensive information gathering by players, and the resulting content were judged to be very good by a team of independent scientists. This research suggests that a compelling storyline, a highly aesthetic environment, and the emergent social bonds among players and between players and the characters played by designers were all responsible for sustaining high quality inquiry among gamers in this free-choice experience. The gaming environment developed for Martian Boneyards is seen as an evolving ecosystem with interactions among design, players' activity, and players' progress.

  1. Harnessing the power of big data: infusing the scientific method with machine learning to transform ecology

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Most efforts to harness the power of big data for ecology and environmental sciences focus on data and metadata sharing, standardization, and accuracy. However, many scientists have not accepted the data deluge as an integral part of their research because the current scientific method is not scalab...

  2. Self-reported financial conflicts of interest during scientific presentations in emergency medicine.

    PubMed

    Birkhahn, Robert H; Fromm, Christian; Larabee, Todd; Diercks, Deborah B

    2011-09-01

    This study was a review of the scientific abstracts presented at a national conference for the required conflict of interest (COI) disclosure both before the meeting and during presentation. All presenters were given specific instructions regarding COI reporting at the time of abstract acceptance. All poster presentations were required to have a COI statement. Three physicians using standardized data abstraction forms reviewed abstracts accepted for poster presentation at the 2010 annual meeting of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM). Posters were reviewed for the presence of a required COI disclosure statement, and these results were compared to the mandatory continuing medical education (CME) disclosure form that was sent by the presenters to the SAEM central office before the meeting. There were 412 posters accepted for presentation at the 2010 SAEM annual meeting. The reviewers observed 382 (93%) of the total posters for the conference. Sixty-nine abstracts (18%) reported a COI. Only 26 (38%) of these were actually reported to the SAEM office on the CME disclosure form before the meeting; the remaining 62% were found on the poster alone. COI that were reported on the CME disclosure form were found on the poster 46% of the time. The remaining posters without a COI actually displayed the mandatory disclosure statement only 14% of the time. This review of presentations at a national meeting found a lack of compliance with printed guidelines for COI disclosure during scientific presentation. Efforts to increase uniformity and clarity may result in increased compliance. © 2011 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

  3. Model of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Acceptance and Use for Teaching Staff in Sub-Saharan Africa Public Higher Education Institutions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ouedraogo, Boukary

    2017-01-01

    This article uses data survey on 82 teachers from the University of Ouagadougou and the model of unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) to assess the determinants of acceptance and educational use of ICT by teachers. The paper's outcomes show that the construct "performance expectancy" of ICT (expected utility and…

  4. Observation and Theory in Science.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nagel, Ernest; And Others

    The three lectures, presented as the first series of the Alvin and Fanny Blaustein Thalheimer Lectures, concern the logical status of scientific theories in relation to observation. Nagel analyzes some of the attacks on the observational-theoretical distinction, and proposes that the proper way of construing the observational-theoretical contrast…

  5. The dual frontier: Patented inventions and prior scientific advance.

    PubMed

    Ahmadpoor, Mohammad; Jones, Benjamin F

    2017-08-11

    The extent to which scientific advances support marketplace inventions is largely unknown. We study 4.8 million U.S. patents and 32 million research articles to determine the minimum citation distance between patented inventions and prior scientific advances. We find that most cited research articles (80%) link forward to a future patent. Similarly, most patents (61%) link backward to a prior research article. Linked papers and patents typically stand 2 to 4 degrees distant from the other domain. Yet, advances directly along the patent-paper boundary are notably more impactful within their own domains. The distance metric further provides a typology of the fields, institutions, and individuals involved in science-to-technology linkages. Overall, the findings are consistent with theories that emphasize substantial and fruitful connections between patenting and prior scientific inquiry. Copyright © 2017 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

  6. Video Game Acceptance: A Meta-Analysis of the Extended Technology Acceptance Model.

    PubMed

    Wang, Xiaohui; Goh, Dion Hoe-Lian

    2017-11-01

    The current study systematically reviews and summarizes the existing literature of game acceptance, identifies the core determinants, and evaluates the strength of the relationships in the extended technology acceptance model. Moreover, this study segments video games into two categories: hedonic and utilitarian and examines player acceptance of these two types separately. Through a meta-analysis of 50 articles, we find that perceived ease of use (PEOU), perceived usefulness (PU), and perceived enjoyment (PE) significantly associate with attitude and behavioral intention. PE is the dominant predictor of hedonic game acceptance, while PEOU and PU are the main determinants of utilitarian game acceptance. Furthermore, we find that respondent type and game platform are significant moderators. Findings of this study provide critical insights into the phenomenon of game acceptance and suggest directions for future research.

  7. Knowledge-Directed Theory Revision

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ali, Kamal; Leung, Kevin; Konik, Tolga; Choi, Dongkyu; Shapiro, Dan

    Using domain knowledge to speed up learning is widely accepted but theory revision of such knowledge continues to use general syntactic operators. Using such operators for theory revision of teleoreactive logic programs is especially expensive in which proof of a top-level goal involves playing a game. In such contexts, one should have the option to complement general theory revision with domain-specific knowledge. Using American football as an example, we use Icarus' multi-agent teleoreactive logic programming ability to encode a coach agent whose concepts correspond to faults recognized in execution of the play and whose skills correspond to making repairs in the goals of the player agents. Our results show effective learning using as few as twenty examples. We also show that structural changes made by such revision can produce performance gains that cannot be matched by doing only numeric optimization.

  8. Cultural Variations in Mothers' Acceptance of and Intent to Use Behavioral Child Management Techniques

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mah, Janet W. T.; Johnston, Charlotte

    2012-01-01

    We examined cultural differences in mothers' acceptance of and intent to use behavioral parenting techniques for managing disruptive child behavior, and the possible roles of parenting styles and implicit theories in explaining these cultural differences. A community sample of 117 Euro-Canadian and Chinese-immigrant mothers of boys aged 4- to…

  9. Levels of theory and types of theoretical explanation in theoretical physics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Flores, Francisco J.

    In Newtonian physics, there is a clear distinction between a 'framework theory', a collection of general physical principles and definitions of physical terms, and theories that describe specific causal interactions such as gravitation, i.e., 'interaction theories'. I argue that this distinction between levels of theory can also be found in the context of Special Relativity and that recognizing it is essential for a philosophical account of how laws are explained in this theory. As a case study, I consider the history of derivations of mass-energy equivalence which shows, I argue, that there are two distinct types of theoretical explanations (i.e., explanations of laws) in physics. One type is best characterized by the 'top-down' account of scientific explanation, while the other is more accurately described by the 'bottom-up' account. What is significant, I argue, is that the type of explanation a law receives depends on whether it is part of the framework theory or part of an interaction theory. The former only receive 'top-down' explanations while the latter can also receive 'bottom- up' explanations. Thus, I argue that current debates regarding 'top-down' vs 'bottom-up' views of scientific explanation can be clarified by recognizing the distinction between two levels of physical theory.

  10. Box-ticking and Olympic high jumping - Physicians' perceptions and acceptance of national physician validation systems.

    PubMed

    Sehlbach, Carolin; Govaerts, Marjan J B; Mitchell, Sharon; Rohde, Gernot G U; Smeenk, Frank W J M; Driessen, Erik W

    2018-05-24

    National physician validation systems aim to ensure lifelong learning through periodic appraisals of physicians' competence. Their effectiveness is determined by physicians' acceptance of and commitment to the system. This study, therefore, sought to explore physicians' perceptions and self-reported acceptance of validation across three different physician validation systems in Europe. Using a constructivist grounded-theory approach, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 32 respiratory specialists from three countries with markedly different validation systems: Germany, which has a mandatory, credit-based system oriented to continuing professional development; Denmark, with mandatory annual dialogs and ensuing, non-compulsory activities; and the UK, with a mandatory, portfolio-based revalidation system. We analyzed interview data with a view to identifying factors influencing physicians' perceptions and acceptance. Factors that influenced acceptance were the assessment's authenticity and alignment of its requirements with clinical practice, physicians' beliefs about learning, perceived autonomy, and organizational support. Users' acceptance levels determine any system's effectiveness. To support lifelong learning effectively, national physician validation systems must be carefully designed and integrated into daily practice. Involving physicians in their design may render systems more authentic and improve alignment between individual ambitions and the systems' goals, thereby promoting acceptance.

  11. Engaging primary care practitioners in quality improvement: making explicit the program theory of an interprofessional education intervention

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background The scientific literature continues to advocate interprofessional collaboration (IPC) as a key component of primary care. It is recommended that primary care groups be created and configured to meet the healthcare needs of the patient population, as defined by patient demographics and other data analyses related to the health of the population being served. It is further recommended that the improvement of primary care services be supported by the delivery of feedback and performance measurements. This paper describes the theory underlying an interprofessional educational intervention developed in Quebec’s Montérégie region (Canada) for the purpose of improving chronic disease management in primary care. The objectives of this study were to explain explicitly the theory underlying this intervention, to describe its components in detail and to assess the intervention’s feasibility and acceptability. Method A program impact theory-driven evaluation approach was used. Multiple sources of information were examined to make explicit the theory underlying the education intervention: 1) a literature review and a review of documents describing the program’s development; 2) regular attendance at the project’s committee meetings; 3) direct observation of the workshops; 4) interviews of workshop participants; and 5) focus groups with workshop facilitators. Qualitative data collected were analysed using thematic analysis. Results The theoretical basis of the interprofessional education intervention was found to be work motivation theory and reflective learning. Five themes describing the workshop objectives emerged from the qualitative analysis of the interviews conducted with the workshop participants. These five themes were the importance of: 1) adopting a regional perspective, 2) reflecting, 3) recognizing gaps between practice and guidelines, 4) collaborating, and 5) identifying possible practice improvements. The team experienced few challenges

  12. Acceptance sampling for attributes via hypothesis testing and the hypergeometric distribution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Samohyl, Robert Wayne

    2017-10-01

    This paper questions some aspects of attribute acceptance sampling in light of the original concepts of hypothesis testing from Neyman and Pearson (NP). Attribute acceptance sampling in industry, as developed by Dodge and Romig (DR), generally follows the international standards of ISO 2859, and similarly the Brazilian standards NBR 5425 to NBR 5427 and the United States Standards ANSI/ASQC Z1.4. The paper evaluates and extends the area of acceptance sampling in two directions. First, by suggesting the use of the hypergeometric distribution to calculate the parameters of sampling plans avoiding the unnecessary use of approximations such as the binomial or Poisson distributions. We show that, under usual conditions, discrepancies can be large. The conclusion is that the hypergeometric distribution, ubiquitously available in commonly used software, is more appropriate than other distributions for acceptance sampling. Second, and more importantly, we elaborate the theory of acceptance sampling in terms of hypothesis testing rigorously following the original concepts of NP. By offering a common theoretical structure, hypothesis testing from NP can produce a better understanding of applications even beyond the usual areas of industry and commerce such as public health and political polling. With the new procedures, both sample size and sample error can be reduced. What is unclear in traditional acceptance sampling is the necessity of linking the acceptable quality limit (AQL) exclusively to the producer and the lot quality percent defective (LTPD) exclusively to the consumer. In reality, the consumer should also be preoccupied with a value of AQL, as should the producer with LTPD. Furthermore, we can also question why type I error is always uniquely associated with the producer as producer risk, and likewise, the same question arises with consumer risk which is necessarily associated with type II error. The resolution of these questions is new to the literature. The

  13. A Death Awareness Workshop: Theory, Application, and Results.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Whelan, W. Michael; Warren, William M.

    1980-01-01

    Describes an experimental death awareness workshop based on Kubler-Ross' theory. The effects of the workshop reveal cognitive and emotional changes indicating participants in the workshop to be moving towards an acceptance of death. (Author)

  14. General Systems Theory and Counterplan Competition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Madsen, Arnie

    1989-01-01

    Discusses the trend in academic debate on policy questions toward a wide acceptance of counterplans, encouraging combinations of proposals which appear at face value able to coexist but upon deeper analysis are incompatible. Argues in opposition to this trend by applying concepts from general systems theory to competition. (KEH)

  15. EPA Accepting Public Comments on Nominees for the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act Scientific Advisory Panel (FIFRA SAP)

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    FRN professional affiliations of recent nominees by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation for service on the FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel established under section 25(d) of the FIFRA

  16. Predicting human cloning acceptability: a national Greek survey on the beliefs of the public.

    PubMed

    Tzamalouka, Georgia S; Papadakaki, Maria; Soultatou, Pelagia; Chatzifotiou, Sevasti; Tarlatzis, Basil; El Chliaoutakis, Joannes

    2005-10-01

    In the era of human genome research, there is a large theoretical debate among scientists and authorities on the ethical dimension based on the moral liberty of the individuals and the scientific and economic dimension based on the freedom and the independence of the scientific and technological activities. Meanwhile, the understanding of beliefs on human cloning (HC) and its acceptability are important for the development of evidence-based policy making. However, previous research in the field of public beliefs towards human genetics is limited. Therefore, in the present study, we investigated the role of public beliefs as predictors of the acceptability of the respondents to use HC. Personal interviews were conducted with 1020 men and women of urban areas in Greece. Stratified random sampling was performed to select participants. Several scientists, experts in HC, evaluated the content of the instrument initially developed. The final questionnaire was the result of a pilot study. The acceptability of HC for the cure of incurable diseases and transplantation need is very high (70.7 and 58.6%, respectively). Public's intention to have recourse to HC because of "bringing" back to life a loved person or because of reproductive disorders was reported by 35 and 32.5%, respectively. With respect to the role of beliefs: increasing scores of reasons of social benefits, moral/religious reasons and legislative reasons increased the public's intention to have recourse to HC; inversely, decreasing scores of reasons of human commodification/exploitation increased public's intention to have recourse to HC. Additionally, low rates of church attendance appeared to be correlated with high reported acceptability of HC. There is great public concern regarding the application of HC, which probably reflects the existing ambivalence over the relationship between technology and society. Scientists and policymakers should take into account these indicators of public disquiet and should

  17. Turning Crisis into Opportunity: Nature of Science and Scientific Inquiry as Illustrated in the Scientific Research on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wong, Siu Ling; Kwan, Jenny; Hodson, Derek; Yung, Benny Hin Wai

    2009-01-01

    Interviews with key scientists who had conducted research on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), together with analysis of media reports, documentaries and other literature published during and after the SARS epidemic, revealed many interesting aspects of the nature of science (NOS) and scientific inquiry in contemporary scientific research in the rapidly growing field of molecular biology. The story of SARS illustrates vividly some NOS features advocated in the school science curriculum, including the tentative nature of scientific knowledge, theory-laden observation and interpretation, multiplicity of approaches adopted in scientific inquiry, the inter-relationship between science and technology, and the nexus of science, politics, social and cultural practices. The story also provided some insights into a number of NOS features less emphasised in the school curriculum—for example, the need to combine and coordinate expertise in a number of scientific fields, the intense competition between research groups (suspended during the SARS crisis), the significance of affective issues relating to intellectual honesty and the courage to challenge authority, the pressure of funding issues on the conduct of research and the ‘peace of mind’ of researchers, These less emphasised elements provided empirical evidence that NOS knowledge, like scientific knowledge itself, changes over time. They reflected the need for teachers and curriculum planners to revisit and reconsider whether the features of NOS currently included in the school science curriculum are fully reflective of the practice of science in the 21st century. In this paper, we also report on how we made use of extracts from the news reports and documentaries on SARS, together with episodes from the scientists’ interviews, to develop a multimedia instructional package for explicitly teaching the prominent features of NOS and scientific inquiry identified in the SARS research.

  18. SALTON SEA SCIENTIFIC DRILLING PROJECT: SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM.

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Sass, J.H.; Elders, W.A.

    1986-01-01

    The Salton Sea Scientific Drilling Project, was spudded on 24 October 1985, and reached a total depth of 10,564 ft. (3. 2 km) on 17 March 1986. There followed a period of logging, a flow test, and downhole scientific measurements. The scientific goals were integrated smoothly with the engineering and economic objectives of the program and the ideal of 'science driving the drill' in continental scientific drilling projects was achieved in large measure. The principal scientific goals of the project were to study the physical and chemical processes involved in an active, magmatically driven hydrothermal system. To facilitate these studies, high priority was attached to four areas of sample and data collection, namely: (1) core and cuttings, (2) formation fluids, (3) geophysical logging, and (4) downhole physical measurements, particularly temperatures and pressures.

  19. Factors of adoption of mobile information technology by homecare nurses: a technology acceptance model 2 approach.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Huiying; Cocosila, Mihail; Archer, Norm

    2010-01-01

    Pervasive healthcare support through mobile information technology solutions is playing an increasing role in the attempt to improve healthcare and reduce costs. Despite the apparent attractiveness, many mobile applications have failed or have not been implemented as predicted. Among factors possibly leading to such outcomes, technology adoption is a key problem. This must be investigated early in the development process because healthcare is a particularly sensitive area with vital social implications. Moreover, it is important to investigate technology acceptance using the support of scientific tools validated for relevant information systems research. This article presents an empirical study based on the Technology Acceptance Model 2 in mobile homecare nursing. The study elicited the perceptions of 91 Canadian nurses who used personal digital assistants for 1 month in their daily activities. A partial least squares modeling data analysis revealed that nurse's perception of usefulness is the main factor in the adoption of mobile technology, having subjective norm and image within the organization as significant antecedents. Overall, this study was the first attempt at investigating scientifically, through a pertinent information systems research model, user adoption of mobile systems by homecare nursing personnel.

  20. Students' Development in Theory and Practice: The Doubtful Role of Research

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Egan, Kieran

    2005-01-01

    In this article, Kieran Egan contests the scientific foundations of Piaget's developmental theories and the scientific basis of much educational research. In so doing, he pushes researchers and practitioners alike to rethink the centrality of Piaget's tenets to teaching and learning. Egan traces the history of the developmental literature that…