Should science educators deal with the science/religion issue?

I begin by examining the natures of science and religion before looking at the ways in which they relate to one another. I then look at a number of case studies that centre on the relationships between science and religion, including attempts to find mechanisms for divine action in quantum theory and chaos theory, creationism, genetic engineering and the writings of Richard Dawkins. Finally, I consider some of the pedagogical issues that would need to be considered if the science/religion issue is to be addressed in the classroom. I conclude that there are increasing arguments in favour of science educators teaching about the science/religion issue. The principal reason for this is to help students better to learn science. However, such teaching makes greater demands on science educators than has generally been the case. Certain of these demands are identified and some specific suggestions are made as to how a science educator might deal with the science/religion issue. © 2008 Taylor & Francis

Hands-on, mind-on

‘Volunteering helps to promote a fairer, more cohesive society in which individuals feel they have a stake.’ HEACF (2009) The paper aims to explore how through volunteering new communities are formed, local communities are enriched and the community of volunteers are empowered by putting into practice their learning. Volunteering is a powerful tool for engaging with groups or individuals whose opportunities to participate in activities outside of their everyday lives are limited. Crafting the Community is a HEACF student volunteer project run by the BA (Hons) Textile Craft course at the University of Huddersfield. The paper will use the findings of this 7 year project as a case study for volunteering practice within fashion and textiles. The project’s aim is to share the course’s own unique philosophy and insight into the importance of practical and creative engagement with materials and process with our wider community Key words (5): volunteering, community, practice, hands-on, engag

SAMPLE: Branding an Education.

SAMPLE is a publishing group and branding exercise established by Nicola Perren Course Leader BA (Hons) Textile Crafts at the University of Huddersfield. SAMPLE, currently includes five academic staff, three support staff and approximately 80 students who design, produce and fund a catalogue on a yearly basis which, promotes graduates and establishes a clear brand identity for Textile Crafts. The catalogue has gained high profile recognition through it’s nomination for the ‘McNorton’ Review publishing award, and is recognized as a show case for new talent in the field of design/crafts. The paper aims to explore two areas of activity: Entrepreneurship: Income generation from public and small business and corporate sponsorship, catalogue sales and the generation of SAMPLE branded craft products sold through a range of outlets. Learning: SAMPLE has allowed staff to extend and innovate business and promotional activities within the curriculum. Students are encouraged to put marketing strategies into practice that promote the context of their practice within a formal publication. The graduates have a supported transition into the workplace and a space to engage with business ‘The importance of forming effective partnerships for entrepreneurship education that will depend not on the collaboration but the nature of the relationship between stakeholders in the collaborative enterprise’1 The paper will conclude by assessing the future for SAMPLE as a sustainable publishing group and explore its potential to extend its remit as a cross school/university activity. 1Clews, D. (2006), Enhancing Curricula, clta

Ideas of Exchange

Whether examples of postmodern elision or the continuation of the English 'popular' style. Our interiors are essentially eclectic. Handmade has always had a cachet within the interior market. Consumers have new desires and aspirations; they want their homes to reflect a different ethos to their workplace. 'Joan Heckermann, a buyer for Nicole Farhi Home, is convinced that people are rejecting big-time consumerism 'They want to find little one-off things,' she says pieces that look handmade, that have discrepancies and drips'. This presents a problem for the high street retailer hand produced textiles such as embroidery and hand painting suggest objects that have inherent difficulties in terms of supply. This problem could partly be alleviated if the objects were manufactured by someone other than the craft maker. The new dilemma: how to translate the quirky idiosyncrasies of the, handmade one off or small batch run into mass production, whilst meeting the specific quality controls imposed by the high street. This paper explores issues around the interpretation and translation of design ideas from a practitioners perspective

Foreword

The foreword for the exhibition catalogue SOW:SEW. The exhibition and catalogue was the culmination of a year long artist in residency scheme, which placed the International Textile artist Jeanette Appleton within the studio/ workshop environment of the textile subject group at The University of Huddersfield. The work utilised the mass production processes of needle punched felt and digital embroidery alongside drawing and the traditional hand crafted process of feltmaking

Sketchbook Tour 2011

10,000 sketchbooks from 94 countries will tour North America, then become part of the permanent collection at the Brooklyn Art Library in New York. I found the collective nature of this project inspiring. My sketchbook title was in 5 minutes, the sketchbook included recent drawings from October 2010 to January 2011, the drawings focused on a desire to describe the imediacy of place, many of the drawings were created in mid winter so dealt with a diminishing light source, others were created in the dark, under street lamps or in gloomy corners

Major Fabric Design Collection for Habitat UK

The Habitat 30th Anniversary Award design collections Provence, Seville and Tuxedo. The collections were designed in the UK using a combination of dye and stitch techniques. Production was overseen by Macbeth in India, using factory and village production. The designs became a best selling collection for Habitat, press coverage included The Sunday Times Style Magazine, The World of Interiors Magazine and the Cabinet Makers Journal

The Digital Print Room – A bespoke approach to print technology

This research presents the cutting-edge use of digital print technology as an experimental tool for the designer, where the printer effectively becomes the paintbrush, palette and dye vessel; the creative medium. This paper will examine a new approach to ink jet printing which enables, rather than hinders, a hands-on creative approach to digital printing, opening up the possibilities for placement of design and the potential for manipulated surfaces to be fed through the printer. As with any paintbrush, the designer has control, but the mix of colour and the fluidity of the paint mark are open to judgement. The real excitement happens when the manipulated surface is unfolded after printing, revealing the artwork created and a possible base for further design and processing. It is an innovative mindset for approaching technology. One that encourages an understanding of both the limitations and the potential, where chance and spontaneity play a role, as the designer is stimulated to make calculated judgements