Mapping Indigenous Knowledge in the Digital Age

This Special Issue, “Mapping Indigenous Knowledge in the Digital Age”, explores Indigenous engagement with geo-information in contemporary cartography. Indigenous mapping, incorporating performance, process, product, and positionality as well as tangible and intangible heritage, is speedily entering the domain of cartography, and digital technology is facilitating the engagement of communities in mapping their own locational stories, histories, cultural heritage, environmental, and political priorities. In this publication, multimodal and multisensory online maps combine the latest multimedia and telecommunications technology to examine data and support qualitative and quantitative research, as well as to present and store a wide range of temporal/spatial information and archival materials in innovative interactive storytelling formats. It will be of particular interest to researchers engaged in studies of global human and environmental connection in the age of evolving information technology

Integration of Scale-themed Instruction Across the General Chemistry Curriculum and Selected In-depth Studies

In 1982, in response to a growing demand for a scientifically literate population, two organizations, the AAAS and NCISE published reports that proposed using themes to bridge scientific disciplines1,2. The NCISE report identified “9 explanatory concepts” which included organization, cause and effect, systems, scale, models, change, structure or function, discontinuous and continuous properties, and diversity. The AAAS report, as part of Project 2061, identified 4 themes that define science literacy which included systems, models, constancy and change, and scale. In 1993, the AAAS released the Benchmarks for Science Literacy3 which outlined what all students should know or be able to do related to each common theme by the end of grades 2, 5, 8, and 12. However, prior to the release of the Framework for K-12 Science Education in 2012, and subsequent release of the Next Generation Science Standards in 2013, scale was not included in any national science education standards4,5. Now incorporated as one of seven crosscutting concepts, “scale, proportion, and quantity”, little is known regarding the degree to which scale is incorporated into instruction. In disciplines like chemistry, undergraduate students are routinely confronted with concepts of scale and consistently demonstrate underdeveloped skills in understanding and applying concepts of scale. Previous research in this field led to the development of two assessments, the Scale Literacy Skills Test and Scale Concept Inventory6, for measuring student scale literacy. Using these assessments, scale literacy was found to better predict student success in general chemistry than other traditional predictors of student success such as ACT and placement test scores. Expanding upon the work of Gerlach and co-workers, the work described here outlines the development and systematic integration of a scale-themed curriculum in both general chemistry I and II courses. Throughout 10 semesters of testing, supplemental instruction, laboratory experiments, and lecture instructional materials were developed and adapted to feature explicit themes of scale and implemented into both courses. When all three instructional methodologies are simultaneously administered, consistent positive conceptual learning gains are observed over repeated semesters of testing in general chemistry I. References 1. National Center for Improving, Science Education; Science and technology education for the elementary years: frameworks for curriculum and instruction; Washington, D.C., 1989. 2. American Association for the Advancement of Science, Project 2061; Science for all Americans: a project 2061 report on literacy goals in science, mathematics, and technology; Washington, D.C., 1989. 3. American Association for the Advancement of Science, Project 2061; Benchmarks for science literacy; New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. 4. National Research Council; A framework for K-12 science education: practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas; Washington, D.C., The National Academies Press: 2012. 5. National Research Council; Next Generation Science Standards: for states, by states; Washington, D.C., National Academies Press: Washington, D.C., 2013. 6. Gerlach, K.; Trate, J.; Blecking, A.; Geissinger, P.; Murphy, K., Valid and Reliable Assessments to Measure Scale Literacy of Students in Introductory College Chemistry Courses. Journal of Chemical Education. 2014, 91, 1538-1545

Developing understanding of triangle

As children develop concepts of shape they move from a visual understanding to a property based approach to classification. In this study two cohorts, one a longitudinal study from grade 1 to 4 and the other a sample across a school from pre-school to grade 8, were asked to identify triangles. The resulting data shows errors of inclusion are greater than errors of exclusion and suggests an order in which particular properties are attended to as children learn

The Proceedings of the 12th International Congress on Mathematical Education: Intellectual and attitudinal challenges

mathematics; education; curriculu

Underground Britain: public perceptions of the geological subsurface

For access to the full interview transcripts and photographs from Appendix 2 please contact the author: [email protected] operates at the boundary between two worlds; the visible and the invisible. Increasingly, new geological technologies such as hydraulic fracturing, carbon capture and storage (CCS) and radioactive waste disposal are drawing the public’s attention to the ‘invisible’ world of the geological subsurface. This presents unique communication challenges because these technologies exist in a realm that can never be physically seen. This thesis addresses this issue by examining the psychological perceptions of residents in three villages in the south west of England. A representative sample from each village was qualitatively interviewed and mental models were constructed from the resultant data using the ‘mental models’ technique (Morgan et al, 2002). The mental models were then quantitatively tested using a questionnaire to assess the perceptions that a broader sample of the residents of these locations hold towards the geological subsurface. The results from the mental models assessment identified the principal perceptions held by the majority of the public surveyed. In particular, the study revealed the connection between the visible surface and the invisible subsurface and how different participants engaged with that boundary; choosing either a geoscience-centric or an anthropocentric approach to penetrating the surface. These approaches utilised by non-experts differed from those employed by the experts, who used a regionally specific geoscience-centric approach to visualising the subsurface. The work provides an important empirical baseline from which to develop a science-led strategy to engage the general public with new technologies and to increase our understanding of the more broadly held conceptions of the invisible subsurface

Multidisciplinary Aspects of Design. Objects, Processes, Experiences and Narratives

The book addresses the contemporary perspectives of design on a multidisciplinary through 4 key words: objects, processes, experiences, narratives. It aims at further investigating the role of the archive for the design culture reflecting on “Memory and Future” and “The Tools of Design and the Language of Representation”, and also themes that are yet at the center of the multidisciplinary debate on design. The tenets of the conference (OPEN: objects, processes, experiences and narratives) will hence also correspond to the book sections: -Objects. Design as focused on the object, on its functional and symbolic dimension, and at the same time on the object as a tool for representing cultures; -Processes. The designer’s self-reflective moment which is focused on the analysis and on the definition of processes in various contexts, spanning innovation, social engagement, reflection on emergencies or forecasting. -Experiences. Design as a theoretical and practical strategy aimed at facilitating experiential interactions among people, people and objects or environments. -Narratives. Making history, representing through different media, archiving, narrating, and exhibiting design

Economic and Trade Related Aspects of Transborder Data Flow: Elements of a Code for Transnational Commerce Perspectives

Transborder Data Flow is international communication. TBDF is the more widely used term. In this Perspective, the terms TBDF and international information transfer will be used interchangeably. Either term can be defined, somewhat elaborately, as the electronic transmission of personal or non-personal information across political boundaries for processing, or storing in computer files. More simply, TBDF is interna- tional movement of information over transnational computer-communi- cation systems. Transfer of information over transnational computer systems is the underlying concept. Proposed or actual restrictions on such transfers are the underlying problem. Interests advanced or re- strained by policies applicable to such transfers are the underlying importance

Endangered Languages and Languages in Danger

This peer-reviewed collection brings together the latest research on language endangerment and language rights. It creates a vibrant, interdisciplinary platform for the discussion of the most pertinent and urgent topics central to vitality and equality of languages in today’s globalised world. The novelty of the volume lies in the multifaceted view on the variety of dangers that languages face today, such as extinction through dwindling speaker populations and lack of adequate preservation policies or inequality in different social contexts (e.g. access to justice, education and research resources). There are examples of both loss and survival, and discussion of multiple factors that condition these two different outcomes. We pose and answer difficult questions such as whether forced interventions in preventing loss are always warranted or indeed viable. The emerging shared perspective is that of hope to inspire action towards improving the position of different languages and their speakers through research of this kind