Vaunting the independent amateur: Scientific American and the representation of lay scientists

This paper traces how media representations encouraged enthusiasts, youth and skilled volunteers to participate actively in science and technology during the twentieth century. It assesses how distinctive discourses about scientific amateurs positioned them with respect to professionals in shifting political and cultural environments. In particular, the account assesses the seminal role of a periodical, Scientific American magazine, in shaping and championing an enduring vision of autonomous scientific enthusiasms. Between the 1920s and 1970s, editors Albert G. Ingalls and Clair L. Stong shepherded generations of adult ‘amateur scientists’. Their columns and books popularized a vision of independent nonprofessional research that celebrated the frugal ingenuity and skills of inveterate tinkerers. Some of these attributes have found more recent expression in present-day ‘maker culture’. The topic consequently is relevant to the historiography of scientific practice, science popularization and science education. Its focus on independent nonprofessionals highlights political dimensions of agency and autonomy that have often been implicit for such historical (and contemporary) actors. The paper argues that the Scientific American template of adult scientific amateurism contrasted with other representations: those promoted by earlier periodicals and by a science education organization, Science Service, and by the national demands for recruiting scientific labour during and after the Second World War. The evidence indicates that advocates of the alternative models had distinctive goals and adapted their narrative tactics to reach their intended audiences, which typically were conceived as young persons requiring instruction or mentoring. By contrast, the monthly Scientific American columns established a long-lived and stable image of the independent lay scientist

A Review of High School Level Astronomy Student Research Projects over the last two decades

Since the early 1990s with the arrival of a variety of new technologies, the capacity for authentic astronomical research at the high school level has skyrocketed. This potential, however, has not realized the bright-eyed hopes and dreams of the early pioneers who expected to revolutionise science education through the use of telescopes and other astronomical instrumentation in the classroom. In this paper, a general history and analysis of these attempts is presented. We define what we classify as an Astronomy Research in the Classroom (ARiC) project and note the major dimensions on which these projects differ before describing the 22 major student research projects active since the early 1990s. This is followed by a discussion of the major issues identified that affected the success of these projects and provide suggestions for similar attempts in the future.Comment: Accepted for Publication in PASA. 26 page

Spartan Daily, March 12, 2014

Volume 142, Issue 19https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/1479/thumbnail.jp

Spartan Daily, August 27, 1981

Volume 77, Issue 1https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/6776/thumbnail.jp

Education Unleashed: Participatory Culture, Education, and Innovation in Second Life

Part of the Volume on the Ecology of Games: Connecting Youth, Games, and LearningWhile virtual worlds share common technologies and audiences with games, they possess many unique characteristics. Particularly when compared to massively multiplayer online role-playing games, virtual worlds create very different learning and teaching opportunities through markets, creation, and connections to the real world, and lack of overt game goals. This chapter aims to expose a wide audience to the breadth and depth of learning occurring within Second Life (SL). From in-world classes in the scripting language to mixed-reality conferences about the future of broadcasting, a tremendous variety of both amateurs and experts are leveraging SL as a platform for education. In one sense, this isn't new since every technology is co-opted by communities for communication, but SL is different because every aspect of it was designed to encourage this co-opting, this remixing of the virtual and the real

Newspaper of the university of alaska southeast juneau campus

UAS joins in national assessment movement -- Governor slashes university budget -- Some students at housing just can't say no -- Hokkaido conference planned -- Take a byte of the Apple, or IBM perhaps -- EDITORIAL -- USUAS President's Message -- April gardening in Alaska is simply nuts! -- Student wins Judo contest -- Intramurals hosts bowling tourney -- Rosin up folks for the festival -- Shorts & Briefs -- UNCLASSIFIEDS -- Children's book show on campu

The Completely Hackable Amateur Radio Telescope (CHART) Project

We present the Completely Hackable Amateur Radio Telescope (CHART), a project that provides hands-on radio instrumentation and design experience to undergraduates while bringing accessible radio astronomy experiments to high school students and teachers. Here we describe a system which can detect 21-cm emission from the Milky Way which is optimized for cost and simplicity of construction. Software, documentation, and tutorials are all completely open source to improve the user experience and facilitate community involvement. We demonstrate the design with several observations which we compare with state-of-the-art surveys. The system is shown to detect galactic 21-cm emission in both rural and urban settings

2020 Research Report

For many, 2020 will be marked by COVID-19 and the considerable challenges that come with a global pandemic. For us, 2020 also will be marked by the great accomplishments and the inspiring collaborations that have taken place at the University of Maine, where we are proud of our university community for its dedication, teamwork, and resilience in the face of the pandemic. As Maine’s research university, it is the distinguishing part of our mission. Research impacts all areas — from student success and cutting-edge academic programs, to workforce development, innovation and economic advancement. In recent years, while advancing as a modern 21st Century research university, we have placed considerable emphasis on the growth and development of the research enterprise, and its resulting impact on Maine and beyond. We are pleased to report that significant advances have been made in the realization of the above-mentioned goals, and despite the daunting challenges caused by the pandemic, this has been an outstanding year for research and scholarly achievements at Maine’s land, sea, and space grant university. It has set a new record, by generating $125.2 million in external funding during fiscal year 2020, in support of research and development activities. This corresponds to a 120$165.1 million, corresponding to a 66% increase over the past four years. Moreover, doctoral student enrollment for the first time in the university’s history has exceeded 500, by setting an all-time high record of 517, as compared to the previous record of 463 set in 2012