Distribution of knowledge production in the chemical sciences in the US

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2011.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 43-44).A citation analysis was carried out to gain an understanding of the geographical and institutional distribution of highly cited articles in the chemical sciences in the US over the last thirty years. The contribution of US chemistry departments was determined by quantifying the number of highly cited articles published by individual authors or groups of authors from the same department. Articles stemming from collaborative research across schools were not considered. The results show that a dilution in intradepartmental knowledge production has occurred both on a geographical and institutional level. Three chemistry departments have emerged as strong producers of high impact articles over the last thirty years: the University of North Carolina, Texas A&M University and the University of Utah. In terms of aggregate numbers of highly cited articles these three schools are in the top ten of over seventy schools which were evaluated; their chemistry departments are en par in terms of scientific impact with those from Ivy League schools like Stanford University, Harvard University and the California Institute of Technology. While the literature reports increasing concentration for the US research base, the present analysis shows a dilution in chemical knowledge production when collaborative efforts across departments and schools are excluded. This finding suggests that the increase in concentration in the US science base is not a uniform trend when studied on a more granular level.by Peter A. Lohse.M.B.A

News from Hope College, Volume 30.6: June, 1999

https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/news_from_hope_college/1144/thumbnail.jp

2017 Annual Research Symposium Abstract Book

2017 annual volume of abstracts for science research projects conducted by students at Trinity College

Chemical Information Bulletin

Created as a supplement for "the regular journals of the American Chemical Society," this publication contains annotated bibliographies of chemical documentation literature as well as information about meetings, conferences, awards, scholarships, and other news from the American Chemical Society (ACS) Division of Chemical Information (CINF)

The design, implementation and evaluation of an on-line, internet-based, distance education information system: a case study (the creation of a virtual classroom at ML Sultan Technikon)

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.Abstract available in the PDF.Page 48 in this thesis is not numbered

Kokonaisvaltainen ja tutkimuksellinen kestävän kehityksen opetus kemiassa

Chemistry plays an important role in making the future more sustainable and solving the related global issues. Curricula, national and international educational strategies, research literature and chemical industry are all focusing on sustainable development. We need more environmentally literate chemists, chemistry teachers and students future citizens, who are to solve the numerous environmental challenges that face the whole world. The main aim of this design research study was to find out what are the features of holistic and inquiry-based education for sustainable development in chemistry. At the same time, the aim was to foster students environmental literacy, argumentation skills and positive attitudes towards chemistry. Education for sustainable development in chemistry is related to socio-scientific issues, e.g., life-cycle thinking and green chemistry. Theoretical problem-analysis of the study was used to investigate the approaches that are of key importance to the study presented in this dissertation: sustainable development, green chemistry, the life-cycles of different products, environmental literacy, socio-scientific education, and the pedagogical methods of inquiry-based learning and argumentation. The empirical design phase sought an answer to the main research question: What are the main features of holistic and inquiry-based education for sustainable development in chemistry? The main focus of the research was in teaching life-cycle analysis, which is one of the key elements in the Finnish national curriculum. The design research project constituted of three phases, which were conducted during the years 2010 2014. The first empirical phase was conducted in four chemistry teachers in-service training courses. During these courses, a total of 20 chemistry teachers created new inquiry-based methods for teaching life-cycle analysis in chemistry. This development process was based on theoretical problem analysis. The second empirical phase focused on creating a collaboratively-developed design solution based on the teachers concepts and the effects of this solution. The participants in this second phase were 105 9th grade students, whose environmental literacy, argumentation skills and attitudes towards chemistry learning were evaluated. The third phase was theoretical. It consisted of comparing the gained empirical knowledge to theoretical literature in order to answer the main research question. The methods of data analysis included content analysis of texts, semi-structured interviews and quantitative surveys. The validity of the results of the conducted cyclic design research project is enhanced by theoretical literature analysis, methodological triangulation, researcher triangulation, the testing of the developed teaching concept in authentic environments and the systematic, visualised documentation of the design phases. The design phases resulted in three types of knowledge: 1) new chemistry teaching concepts for sustainability education that use life-cycle thinking and inquiry-based learning methods, and a collaboratively-developed design solution (Article I), 2) knowledge about how inquiry-based learning of life-cycle analysis affects students environmental literacy, argumentation skills and attitudes towards chemistry (Articles II and III) and 3) domain knowledge about holistic and inquiry-based education for sustainable development in chemistry (Article IV). Holistic and inquiry-based education for sustainable development in chemistry includes interdisciplinary and socio-scientific issues. Socio-constructivist and contextual chemistry education is bound to societal actors and co-operational, real-life activities. Learning occurs in social interaction, through argumentation and self-reflection, for example. The students themselves may choose the focus of inquiry, and it may relate to raw materials, consumer products, food substances or water, for example. As the knowledge of chemistry is combined with possibilities for societal action, the importance of chemistry becomes apparent to the students. They gain competence to act towards building a more sustainable future. The improved scientific and ecological argumentation skills reflect their environmental literacy and competence in societal thinking. The holistic and inquiry-based chemistry education presented in this dissertation supports versatile studying and citizenship skills in a new way. It motivates students to study chemistry and guides them to take sustainable development into account. Education for sustainable development is needed at all school levels. The approaches presented in this study may be applied on all levels of education. The results may be used to promote sustainable development in the planning of chemistry education and the education of chemistry teachers. Keywords: chemistry education, sustainable development, green chemistry, teaching concepts, design researchKemia tieteenalana on suuressa roolissa kestävämmän tulevaisuuden tekijänä ja globaalien ongelmien ratkaisijana. Kestävää kehitystä ja kokonaisvaltaiseen eettiseen vastuullisuuteen kasvattamista painotetaan opetussuunnitelmien perusteissa, kansallisissa ja kansainvälisissä opetusalan strategioissa, kemian opetuksen tutkimuskirjallisuudessa ja kemianteollisuudessa. Tarvitaan lisää ympäristötietoisia kemistejä, kemian opettajia ja oppilaita tulevia kansalaisia lukuisten koko maapalloa koskettavien ympäristöhaasteiden ennaltaehkäisemiseen ja ratkaisemiseen. Tutkimuksen päätavoitteena oli selvittää, mitä on kokonaisvaltainen ja tutkimuksellinen kestävä kehitys kemian opetuksessa. Tavoitteena oli samalla vahvistaa oppilaiden ympäristötietoisuutta, argumentointitaitoja sekä positiivista kemiakuvaa. Kestävä kehitys kemian opetuksessa liittyy yhteiskuntaperustaisiin kemian aiheisiin, esimerkiksi elinkaariajatteluun ja vihreään kemiaan. Kehittämistutkimuksen teoreettisessa ongelma-analyysissä tarkasteltiin tutkimuksen näkökulmasta keskeisiä lähestymistapoja: kestävää kehitystä ja kemiaa, vihreää kemiaa, elinkaarianalyysiä ja -ajattelua, ympäristötietoisuutta, yhteiskuntaperustaisuutta, sekä opetusmenetelminä tutkimuksellista opiskelua ja argumentaatiota. Empiirisessä kehittämisosassa etsittiin vastausta päätutkimuskysymykseen: Millaista on kestävää kehitystä edistävä kokonaisvaltainen ja tutkimuksellinen kemian opetus? Päätutkimuskohteena oli valtakunnallisten opetussuunnitelmien perusteiden keskeinen sisältö tuotteen elinkaari ja sen opettaminen. Kehittämistutkimus koostuu kolmesta vaiheesta vuosina 2010 2014. Tutkimuksen ensimmäinen empiirinen vaihe toteutettiin neljän kemian aineenopettajien täydennyskoulutuksen yhteydessä. Niissä yhteensä 20 kemian opettajaa loi uudenlaisia tutkimuksellisia tuotteiden elinkaaren opetusmalleja. Opetusmallien kehittäminen pohjautui teoreettiseen ongelma-analyysiin. Tutkimuksen toisessa empiirisessä vaiheessa opetusmalleista yhteisöllisesti kehitetyn kehittämistuotoksen vaikuttavuustarkasteluun osallistui 105 peruskoulun yhdeksäsluokkalaista. Kehittämistuotoksen vaikuttavuutta tutkittiin oppilaiden ympäristötietoisuuteen, kemiakuvaan ja argumentaatiotaitoihin liittyen. Kolmas tutkimusvaihe oli teoreettinen. Siinä kerättyä empiiristä tutkimustietoa verrattiin teoreettiseen aineistoon, jotta voitiin vastata päätutkimuskysymykseen. Aineiston analysoinnissa käytettiin tekstien ja puolistrukturoitujen haastattelujen sisällönanalyysiä sekä kvantitatiivisia kyselyitä. Syklisen kehittämistutkimuksen tulosten luotettavuutta lisäävät laaja teoreettinen kirjallisuusanalyysi, metodologia- ja tutkijatriangulaatio, sekä kehitettyjen opetusmallien testaaminen autenttisessa ympäristössä ja tutkimuksen kulun systemaattinen visualisoitu dokumentointi. Tutkimuksen kehittämisvaiheiden tuloksena saatiin: 1) kestävän kehityksen opetukseen uusia elinkaariaiheisia tutkimuksellisia kemian opetusmalleja ja niistä yhteisöllisesti kehitetty kehittämistuotos (Artikkeli I), 2) tietoa elinkaariaiheisen tutkimuksellisen kemian opetuksen vaikutuksista oppilaiden ympäristötietoisuuteen, kemiakuvaan ja argumentaatiotaitoihin (Artikkeli II ja III), ja 3) syvempää tietoa kehittämiskohteesta liittyen holistiseen ja tutkimukselliseen kestävän kehityksen opetukseen kemiassa (Artikkeli IV). Holistinen ja tutkimuksellinen kestävän kehityksen kemian opetus sisältää poikkitieteellisiä ja yhteiskuntaperustaisia aiheita. Sosio-konstruktivistinen ja kontekstuaalinen kemian opetus liitetään yhteiskunnallisiin toimijoihin ja yhteistoiminnallisiin, aitoihin aktiviteetteihin. Oppiminen tapahtuu sosiaalisessa vuorovaikutuksessa, esimerkiksi argumentaation ja itsereflektion kautta. Tutkimustehtävien kohteet voivat olla oppilaiden itse valitsemia, ja voivat liittyä esimerkiksi raaka-aineisiin, kulutustavaroihin, ruoka-aineisiin tai veteen. Kun kemian tieto yhdistetään yhteiskunnallisiin toimintamahdollisuuksiin, kokee oppilas kemian merkityksellisempänä. Samalla hänen kompetenssinsa toimia kestävämmän tulevaisuuden rakentamiseksi kasvaa. Kompetenssi näkyy oppilaiden luonnontieteellisinä ja ekologisina argumentointitaitoina liittyen yhteiskunnalliseen ja ympäristötietoiseen pohdintaan. Väitöstutkielmassa esitetty holistinen ja tutkimuksellinen kemian opetus sisältää uudenlaisia opiskelu- ja kansalaistaitoja monipuolisesti tukevia lähestymistapoja. Ne motivoivat oppilasta kemian opiskeluun sekä ohjaavat pohtimaan kestävää kehitystä. Kestävää kehitystä tukevaa kemian opetusta tarvitaan kaikilla kouluasteilla. Tässä väitöstutkimuksessa esitetyt lähestymistavat sopivat kaikenikäisille. Väitöstutkielman tuloksia voidaan käyttää kemian opetuksen suunnittelussa ja kemian opettajien koulutuksessa kestävän kehityksen aiheisiin liittyen. Avainsanat: kemian opetus, kestävä kehitys, vihreä kemia, opetusmallit, kehittämistutkimu

Mediation in new media production: representation and involvement of audiences/users at NESTA Futurelab

This thesis addresses the interface between producers of new media and their audiences/users as it manifests itself in production. It is based on a case study of NESTA Futurelab (a production-research laboratory in educational new media) conducted in its first year of existence, as its staff sought to define the endeavour —'what it is for' and, more importantly, 'whom it is for'. Drawing on science and technology studies (STS) and media theory, this study challenges models of the producer-user interface which endorse 'technical mediation' in proposing alternatives to its three components — the use bias, overstated co-design and the ontological divide between producers and users. In response to the use bias, the study of Futurelab demonstrates that the producers' perceptions of their audiences (both users and partners) determine from the outset decisions as to the organization's purpose, structure, methodology and outputs. Overstated co-design is countered by uncovering the producers' downplaying of direct user involvement and any pretension to scientific methodology through which they engage the users. This study stresses the more pervasive practice of mediation whereby they represent the absent users. This is further conceptualized through their portrayal as 'experience-based experts' — the producers claim the ability to contribute substantively to production by virtue of their social experience, while minimizing their technical competence. Lastly, the presumed ontological divide between producers and users is contested by illustrating that the spheres of production and reception overlap in the producers' experience, which is reactivated on an ad hoc basis in production. Through notions such as 'reflexivity', 'prior feedback', 'producer-user overlap', `mediated quasi-interaction' and 'experience-based expertise', the producer-user interface is thus inscribed in the continuity of producers' social experience rather than being seen as an interaction purposely and strategically instated at a discrete moment. The most notable instances of continuity are captured by the producers' playing of the synthetic role of producer-user, which rests on the claimed proximity between production and other relevant social situations

Well-to-Wheel Energy, Emissions, and Cost Analysis of Electricity and Fuel Used in Conventional and Electrified Vehicles, and Their Connection to a Sustainable Energy Infrastructure

Recent legislation by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires record low vehicle tailpipe emissions, necessitating research and development in the areas of lowering conventional (i.e., internal combustion engine) vehicle emissions rates while facilitating the widespread introduction of electrified vehicles. Currently, the EPA views Battery Electric Vehicles as having zero emissions. However, a number of studies illustrate this is not the case when considering the emissions produced in creating the electricity through a full Life Cycle Analysis. As a result, proper comparison of electrified and conventional vehicles must include a complete Well-to-Wheel (WtW) study including the emissions generated through production and use of liquid petroleum and biofuels. As a result, this work provides a full WtW investigation into fuel, electricity, and production analysis of conventional and electrified vehicles. This is supported by a thorough literature review of current and projected future technology, extrapolating to a fleet analysis, as well as applying the technology to an advanced electricity infrastructure. In the following effort, the first chapter simply provides a background into these different areas in order to help set the stage. Chapter 2 explores conventional vehicle emissions profiles predicting future requirements of engine and catalytic exhaust aftertreatment technologies. Findings illustrate that low temperature climates and aging both adversely affect a vehicle's ability to perform proper emissions reductions. This chapter additionally demonstrates an improvement in the fuel use emissions profiles of Argonne National Laboratories' Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation (GREET) model through the update of embedded time-sheet emissions lookup tables using EPA's Motor Vehicle Emissions Simulator (MOVES). This simulation package utilizes a statistical database of over 3000 counties in the continental United States in calculating the emissions profile of various vehicle and fuel type combinations, updating the current tables utilized in GREET. Chapter 3 utilizes these efforts in performing a life cycle analysis of a 1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle converted to a plug-in series hybrid. This work utilizes GREET in exploring the WtW fuel use emissions profile, as well as estimating the energy and emissions savings through reusing a number of stock vehicle components in the conversion. A vehicle dynamics model supports this analysis, calculating the average fuel use in a typical city/highway drive cycle. The fourth chapter expands upon this work, analyzing an 800+ vehicle fleet in a comparative analysis between electrified vehicles and their conventional counterparts. This work utilizes four simplified vehicle dynamics models, focusing on ten vehicles with various powertrains and fuel use algorithms. These models calculate the average fuel consumption of these vehicles, employing the GREET model in calculating the emissions profiles on a per-mile and yearly total basis. Furthermore, a full cost analysis of fuel and vehicle combinations demonstrates the economic impacts of electrifying the vehicle fleet. Finally, Chapter 5 seeks to support future research into electrified vehicles for vehicle-to-grid technology, energy storage, and infrastructure control through the design and construction of a small-scale smart grid in collaboration with a previous University of Kansas EcoHawks senior design team. This design consists of a renewable and conventional energy source, a grid load, bulk and dynamic grid storage, and a full sensory and control system. The final design meets the two requirements of a smart grid set forth by the Department of Energy: decentralization of energy production and storage, and providing two-way communication from end users or appliances and the energy network

Strange Compositions: Chemistry and its Occult History in Victorian Speculative Fiction

This dissertation examines how depictions of chemistry in Victorian literature are influenced by concerns regarding the history of chemistry and its relationship to the occult. Among these depictions, I consider non-fiction writings of the period, such as histories of science and articles from periodicals, but I focus on novels that prominently feature chemistry, including Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s A Strange Story (1862), Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886), George Griffith’s Olga Romanoff (1894), T. Mullet Ellis’s Zalma (1895), and Richard Marsh’s The Beetle (1897). These texts link chemistry with its origins in alchemy, the occult, and the East in order to question chemistry’s legitimacy as a professional, materialist science and to critique the rapid progress of chemistry by foregrounding the threat that experimental substances posed to society. The frequency of negative depictions of chemistry during the Victorian period indicates how, despite discoveries that revolutionised industry and medicine, the British public regarded the science and its practitioners with suspicion. During a period as fascinated with origins as with progress, these texts expand upon the uncertainties of a society struggling with the tumultuous relationship between chemistry’s past, present, and future. Popular fiction responded to societal concerns about the origins of chemistry with speculative narratives that depict a collision between chemical innovations and elements of chemistry’s occult or Eastern past. In A Strange Story and Jekyll and Hyde, this clash results in nineteenth-century reinterpretations of the traditional alchemical quest for the Elixir of Life and prompts re-evaluations of the nineteenth-century vitalist debates and discourses on the existence of the soul. Meanwhile, Olga Romanoff, Zalma, and The Beetle depict the monstrous return of chemistry’s marginalised histories—namely, of female and Eastern practitioners—to reclaim authority over chemical knowledge and new technologies, including chemical weapons and mind-altering potions. These five novels explore how the “nightmare” of chemistry’s origins—as early science historian Thomas Thomson dubbed them—not only influence contemporaneous chemical practice, but also impact future progress. Ultimately, these texts do not critique chemistry itself, but rather how scientists and governing bodies employed chemistry prior to both the popularisation of science fiction and the first recorded instance of atomic transmutation—when chemistry’s future, not its past, became the new nightmare

Decentralized or centralized production : impacts to the environment, industry, and the economy

Since product take-back is mandated in Europe, and has effects for producers worldwide including the U.S., designing efficient forward and reverse supply chain networks is becoming essential for business viability. Centralizing production facilities may reduce costs but perhaps not environmental impacts. Decentralizing a supply chain may reduce transportation environmental impacts but increase capital costs. Facility location strategies of centralization or decentralization are tested for companies with supply chains that both take back and manufacture products. Decentralized and centralized production systems have different effects on the environment, industry and the economy. Decentralized production systems cluster suppliers within the geographical market region that the system serves. Centralized production systems have many suppliers spread out that meet all market demand. The point of this research is to help further the understanding of company decision-makers about impacts to the environment and costs when choosing a decentralized or centralized supply chain organizational strategy. This research explores; what degree of centralization for a supply chain makes the most financial and environmental sense for siting facilities; and which factories are in the best location to handle the financial and environmental impacts of particular processing steps needed for product manufacture. This research considered two examples of facility location for supply chains when products are taken back; the theoretical case involved shoe resoling and a real world case study considered the location of operations for a company that reclaims multiple products for use as material inputs. For the theoretical example a centralized strategy to facility location was optimal: whereas for the case study a decentralized strategy to facility location was best. In conclusion, it is not possible to say that a centralized or decentralized strategy to facility location is in general best for a company that takes back products. Each company’s specific concerns, needs, and supply chain details will determine which degree of centralization creates the optimal strategy for siting their facilities