Attitudes towards science: a review of the literature and its implications

This article offers a review of the major literature about attitudes to science and its implications over the past 20 years. It argues that the continuing decline in numbers choosing to study science at the point of choice requires a research focus on students? attitudes to science if the nature of the problem is to be understood and remediated. Starting from a consideration of what is meant by attitudes to science, it considers the problems inherent to their measurement and what is known about students' attitudes towards science and the many factors of influence such as gender, teachers, curricula, cultural and other variables. The literature itself points to the crucial importance of gender and the quality of teaching. Given the importance of the latter we argue that there is a greater need for research to identify those aspects of science teaching that make school science engaging for pupils. In particular, a growing body of research on motivation offers important pointers to the kind of classroom environment and activities that might raise pupils' interest in studying school science and a focus for future research

The scattering of baby Skyrmions off potential obstructions, in a Landau-Lifshitz model

The dynamics of baby skyrmions of the (2+1) new baby Skyrme model, in a Landau - Lifshitz model, was studied in the presence of various potential obstructions of varying geometries. The potential obstructions were created by introducing a localised inhomogeneity in the new baby Skyrme model's potential coefficient. The size and shape of the potential obstruction was varied and two systems were investigated, namely the symmetric and asymmetric systems. In the symmetric system the trajectory of the baby skyrmions, as they traverse the barrier, was deformed from the normal circular trajectory, during which time the skyrmions sped up. For critical values of the barrier height, the baby skyrmions no longer formed a bound state and were free to separate. In the case of a potential hole, the baby skyrmions no longer formed a bound state and moved asymptotically along the edge of the hole. In the asymmetric barrier system the baby skyrmions behaved the same as the skyrmions of the symmetric obstructions. Away from the obstruction the baby skyrmions orbited the boundary of the system. In the potential hole system the bound skyrmions moved along the edge of the hole. For critical values of the hole depth, the bound state between the skyrmions was broken, resulting in one of the skyrmions remaining stationary and the other traversing the edge of the hole. During our investigations into this system it was found that the definition of the angular momentum must be modified to ensure overall conservation. It was shown how these modifications arise and how they are calculated

The Effect of Direct Instruction Reading Remediation for Fourth Graders

This study was to determine if below average readers in a reading remediation class receiving Direct Instruction reading would make larger gains in reading than average to above average readers who received whole language based reading instruction. These were 69 students in the study. Students were assigned to cohorts based on test performance on the Development Reading Assessment (DRA) and administrative recommendations. Instruction was provided for 5 months for the experimental group (n=36) using Scientific Research Associates Corrective Reading (a Direct Instruction reading program). The control group (n=11) received 5 months of reading instruction in a locally designed whole language reading and grammar program. The data were analyzed using a one way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The significance level used to test the hypothesis was .05. The F value was found to be 4.53 (df 1,92). Thus the null hypothesis was rejected. There is a significant difference in the reading achievement between groups. Limitations for this study concern the use of the DRA. Recommendations for this study would be using a more sensitive pre and post assessment tool to determine reading gains

Shakespeare 400 Pilot : Addressing the Attainment Gap in Scotland Using Textlab and the Classics

The attainment gap is a key concern in current Scottish education policy. It is envisaged that the learning outcomes of an innovative collaborative project between the Department of English and School of Education at the University of Strathclyde may help redress some of the underlying concern associated with this phenomenon. The Shakespeare 400 project was designed to assist in addressing this gap, and through enhancements to pupil engagement in classic literacy, is aimed at contributing to a reversal of the substantial drop in Reading, Listening & Talking figures across transition stages (P7 – S2). Using known best practice regarding interdisciplinary approach and collaborative group work, its transformative and genre-based pedagogical approach in project activity begins with a fictitious ‘crime’ committed by one of Shakespeare’s famous characters. Using their skills in literacy and technologies, pupils then must read, analyse and evaluate an anonymous confession note in order to identify the guilty party from amongst a bank of ‘suspects’. This computer-based activity meets several Curriculum for Excellence learning outcomes in Literacy and Technologies, and can also encourage students to engage with their lessons outside of class. This paper will first locate the Shakespeare 400 project within current education policy and the curriculum, and then discuss the nature of the project itself and the feedback from its pilot study at a primary school in Glasgow

Development of nanobridge based Josephson junction electronics for the readout of superconducting photon sensor arrays

Superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPDs) have been shown to have unrivalled performance for single photon detection. However, scaling up to a large scale detection array which maintains the single pixel performance has proven to be challenging. Several solutions have been demonstrated, but no single readout scheme has to date proven to be capable of meeting all of the required specifications. One promising solution is for a low temperature digital signal processing scheme based on the generation and transmission of voltage pulses with an area corresponding to a single flux quantum (SFQ), V ≈2.07 mV ·ps. Conventional SFQ technology use superconducting tunnel junctions (STJ) as the active element, which require a multistep fabrication process which has so far proven difficult to integrate with SNSPD fabrication. To overcome this we propose the use of bridge-type weak links as the active element, known as nanobridges, to replace the STJ. Such a nanobridge based SFQ scheme could be integrated with an SNSPD detector array on-chip. In this work the feasibility of using nanobridges as active weak link elements is investigated. To do this, a fabrication process was developed which can be used to produce nanobridges with the physical dimensions required to exhibit the Josephson effect, in a scalable and reproducible process. The electrical properties of nanobridges have been measured and show that the switching parameters can be reproduced in a scalable way. Finally, evidence of the Josephson effect in nanobridges is presented and used to derive the current-phase relationship (CPR) in nanobridges. It was found that the CPR of the nanobridge is multivalued, and deviates from the standard sinusoidal relationship. This CPR was then used to simulate SFQ circuitry where nanobridges are used as the active element, showing that nanobridges can be used in SFQ circuitry

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of amaryllidaceae alkaloids and their C-1 analogues : symmetry based approach to total synthesis of thebaine

Described herein is the chemoenzymatic total synthesis of several Amaryllidaceae constituents and their unnatural C-I analogues. A new approach to pancratistatin and related compounds will be discussed along with the completed total synthesis of 7 -deoxypancratistatin and trans-dihydrolycoricidine. Evaluation of all new C-l analogues as cancer cell growth inhibitory agents is described. The enzymatic oxidation of dibromobenzenes by Escherichia coli 1M 109 (pDTG60 1) is presented along with conversion of their metabolites to (-)-conduritol E. Investigation into the steric and functional factors governing the enzymatic dihydroxylation of various benzoates by the same organism is also discussed. The synthetic utility of these metabolites is demonstrated through their conversion to pseudo-sugars, aminocyclitols, and complex bicyclic ring systems. The current work on the total synthesis of some morphine alkaloids is also presented. Highlighted will be the synthesis of several model systems related to the efficient total synthesis of thebaine

Indoor Air Quality Through the Lens of Outdoor Atmospheric Chemistry

Outdoor atmospheric chemistry and air quality have been the topic of research that intensified in earnest around the mid-20th century, while indoor air quality research has only been a key focus of chemical researchers over the last 30 years. Examining practices and approaches employed in the outdoor atmospheric chemistry research enterprise provides an additional viewpoint from which we can chart new paths to increase scientific understanding of indoor chemistry. This chapter explores our understanding of primary chemical sources, homogeneous and multiphase reactivity, gas-surface partitioning, and the coupling between the chemistry and dynamics of indoor air through the lens of outdoor atmospheric chemistry. The means to mitigate degraded air quality outdoors are heavily rooted in public policy actions, while the commercial sector mainly promulgates solutions for indoor air quality, making practical and actionable outcomes to research essential for prompt improvements to indoor environments. Indoor and outdoor environments have many important scientific distinctions, but a shared vision for healthy environments motivates both research communities in the same way

The Weingarten Calculus

This is a short introduction to Weingarten Calculus. Weingarten Calculus is a method to compute the joint moments of matrix variables distributed according to the Haar measure of compact groups.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figure

Maine’s Gubernatorial Candidates Present Their Positions on Health Care Reform

Few issues have dominated the public policy agenda in the last decade as health care reform has in 1994. Although health care reform is stalled in Congress at this writing, it is not an issue that will exit the public stage quickly or quietly. Mainefaces many of the problems that have spurred the national health care debate. The state has made some attempts to address these through public policy. But larger health care issues remain unresolved and the next governor will most certainly play a major role in addressing those issues. Maine Policy Review invited the four major candidates seeking to become the state’s next chief executive to present their views on health care reform for publication in this issue. Three of the four candidates, Jonathan Carter, Susan Collins and Angus King, responded to that invitation. Their statements on health care reform are presented in this articl