Subject Matter (subject + matter)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Terms modified by Subject Matter

  • subject matter expert

  • Selected Abstracts


    The Role of Critique in Philosophy of Education: its Subject Matter and its Ambiguities

    JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION, Issue 3 2004
    Frieda Heyting
    The role of critique in the Anglophone analytical tradition of philosophy of education is outlined and some of its shortcomings are noted, particularly its apparent claim to methodological objectivity in arriving at what are clearly contestable positions about the normative basis of education. Many of these issues can be seen to have a long history within European, and especially German, philosophy of education. In the light of this the discussion moves on to a consideration of similarities and contrasts between the Anglophone and German-inspired deployment of the concept of critical rationality in philosophy of education. The claims to objectivity of the Anglophone tradition are contrasted with a more self-conscious concern for social justice and improvement in other European traditions, which has been followed more recently by a greater scepticism concerning the potential of critique for delivering social justice and improvement in education. This has parallels with the growing Anglophone disillusion with ,classical' analytic philosophy of education. This in turn has resulted in a greater awareness of the limitations of critique: its ideological character, its rootedness in specific contexts, its own potential dogmatism and its ambiguities. The various contributions to this volume are briefly described and related to each other. [source]


    A case study of a cooperative learning experiment in artificial intelligence

    COMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION, Issue 4 2007
    Fernando Díez
    Abstract This article describes an innovative teaching experiment (part of a project for Innovation in Teaching at the University Autónoma of Madrid) which was undertaken by the authors during the first semester of the academic year 2004/2005. This teaching experiment has been the object of evaluation by the students as part of their coursework and has consisted of the use of the groupware system KnowCat, by which the students prepare a repository of documents related to topics and themes associated with the subject matter (Artificial Intelligence). During the process of elaboration both the votes for the best documents and the annotation made about them play an essential role. These documents are carried out exclusively by the students and they are who decide, by means of their activity, which of the documents presented are to be chosen as representative of the entire collection. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 15: 308,316, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com); DOI 10.1002/cae.20114 [source]


    Exploring Whiteness and Multicultural Education with Prospective Teachers

    CURRICULUM INQUIRY, Issue 1 2002
    Alice McIntyre
    In this article, I describe how I initiate an examination of whiteness with predominantly white students in teacher preparation programs by the use of group collages,a pedagogical tool that combines visual, textual, and oral representations of subject matter. In doing so, I illustrate one of the ways teacher educators can provide students with opportunities to (1) "see" whiteness as an integral aspect of educational discourse, (2) fix their gaze on themselves as a collective racial group, and (3) engage in processes aimed at changing beliefs, stereotypes, and practices that reproduce social and educational injustice. [source]


    Design in business education, A square peg in a round world?

    DESIGN MANAGEMENT REVIEW, Issue 3 2002
    Thomas Lockwood
    Studying curricula and interviewing selected deans and faculty at some of America's most respected business schools, Tom Lockwood reluctantly concludes that design is simply not on the MBA map. Higher-priority subject matter, accreditation criteria, and theories of education that make it hard to focus on design contribute to this reality. Fortunately, Lockwood identifies trends that suggest things may be better in the years to come. [source]


    A Bridge Too Far?

    ENGLISH IN EDUCATION, Issue 2 2001
    Floppy Fail the Apprentice Reader, How Biff, Kipper
    Abstract This article is the result of a re-examination of reading scheme books. Taking a literary perspective, the implied reader was investigated in the most popular scheme, The Oxford Reading nee, in order to ascertain how the reader is constructed by the text. It is argued that such texts covertly construct a passive, struggling reader. As such, this has important implications for the National Literacy Strategy, particularly in the selection of texts for Guided Reading. Summary Reading scheme books are designed to bridge the gap between the oral language of the child and the literary language of the book. What is considered important is a recognisable primary world. There is little dialogue yet the language is supposed to reflect that of the child. Short simple sentences devoid of cohesive devices are considered easier to read because the apprentice reader is deemed not to have stamina. Key words such as nouns and verbs are emphasised and little attention is paid to rhythm, hence few elisions and much repetition. As such the reading scheme does not reflect the language of the child for there is little colloquial expression and the lack of literary features actually makes the text very difficult to read. Implied is a reader who is going to find the whole process difficult and has little to bring to the text. On the other hand the children's literature analysed enjoys a variety of narratives and subject matter yet all support the apprentice reader. Such literary texts employ cohesive devices, the third person has a sense of telling with echoes of the oral tradition while those in first person offer a sense of a teller close to the reader. Direct speech is used, which acts as a bridge from the oral to the literary world. The reader is being guided and helped and not left to struggle. Ironically, it is the literary text that offers more support than the supposedly carefully constructed reading scheme. Furthermore, it can be seen that the reading scheme examined constructs a passive reader to whom things happen. The construction of childhood itself is without joy, excitement and wonder. There is a dullness in the text and a dullness in the characters and the plot that constructs a negative view of reading and a negative construction of the child. The model in Figure 1 summarises the difference between the two types of text: Clearly this has implications for texts selected for pupils to read in the National Literacy Strategy, particularly for Guided Reading. There is no shortage in the UK of appropriate, well-written and superbly illustrated children's books that challenge, support and create an interest in literature. It remains a mystery why the dull reading scheme still has such a strong place in the primary classroom. [source]


    Protein folding and disulfide bond formation in the eukaryotic cell

    FEBS JOURNAL, Issue 23 2009
    Denmark), Disulfide Bond Formation 2009 (Elsinore, Meeting report based on the presentations at the European Network Meeting on Protein Folding
    The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) plays a critical role as a compartment for protein folding in eukaryotic cells. Defects in protein folding contribute to a growing list of diseases, and advances in our understanding of the molecular details of protein folding are helping to provide more efficient ways of producing recombinant proteins for industrial and medicinal use. Moreover, research performed in recent years has shown the importance of the ER as a signalling compartment that contributes to overall cellular homeostasis. Hamlet's castle provided a stunning backdrop for the latest European network meeting to discuss this subject matter in Elsinore, Denmark, from 3 to 5 June 2009. Organized by researchers at the Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, the meeting featured 20 talks by both established names and younger scientists, focusing on topics such as oxidative protein folding and maturation (in particular in the ER, but also in other compartments), cellular redox regulation, ER-associated degradation, and the unfolded protein response. Exciting new advances were presented, and the intimate setting with about 50 participants provided an excellent opportunity to discuss current key questions in the field. [source]


    DECOLONIZING THE PRODUCTION OF GEOGRAPHICAL KNOWLEDGES?

    GEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES B: HUMAN GEOGRAPHY, Issue 3 2006
    REFLECTIONS ON RESEARCH WITH INDIGENOUS MUSICIANS
    ABSTRACT. This paper contributes to debates on decolonizing geography, by reflecting on the ethical and political considerations involved in research on indigenous music in Australia. The research collaboration involved two non-indigenous researchers,an academic geographer and a music educator,engaging with indigenous music and musicians in a number of ways. The paper reflects on these engagements, and draws attention to a series of key binaries and boundaries that were highlighted and unsettled: ,outsider/insider'; ,traditional/contemporary'; ,authenticity/inauthenticity'. It also discusses the politics of publishing and draws attention to the ways in which the objects of our work,in this case a book,influence decisions about representation, subject matter, and interpretations of speaking positions. Rather than seeking validation for attempts to ,speak for' or ,speak to' indigenous musical perspectives, contemporary Aboriginality was understood as a field of intersubjective relations where multiple voices, representations and interventions are made. I discuss some ways in which the authors sought to situate their own musical, and geographical, knowledges in this problematic, and inherently political, research context. [source]


    The culture of judgement: art and anti-Catholicism in England, c.1660,c.1760*

    HISTORICAL RESEARCH, Issue 202 2005
    Clare Haynes
    Art produced in Italy and France was highly prized in England during the long eighteenth century even though much of it was Catholic in subject matter. A number of strategies of mediation were developed to manage this problem that allowed the prestige of this culture to accrue to the English élite. At the same time, the role of visual culture in the Church of England was being contested between those who were confident that the Reformation had been effected and those who believed it to be still incomplete. Central to both these phenomena was the idea that popish pictures and art in churches could be acceptable if, and only if, the spectator could be trusted to look ,properly'. [source]


    Internet-based information systems use in organizations: an information studies perspective

    INFORMATION SYSTEMS JOURNAL, Issue 2 2003
    Brian Detlor
    Abstract. This case study investigates various ways in which different internet-based information systems (IS) are used by organizational participants. Borrowing theoretical insights on information behaviour accumulated over 50 years of information studies research, a conceptual framework is presented to help understand and assess the social and organizational impacts of internet-based IS. The framework describes the use of internet-based IS as a dynamic cycle of information needs,seeking,use activity situated in the context of a firm's information environment. Research questions pertain to the process of how individuals in organizations seek and use information from internet-based IS to satisfy information needs. In terms of information needs, this involves understanding the problem situations that lead participants to use internet-based IS, as well as the characteristics of those problems beyond subject matter. With respect to information seeking, this involves analysing how information from internet-based systems is displayed and formatted to signal their potential usefulness. In terms of information use, this involves how information obtained from internet-based systems is used in practice to resolve or redefine problems. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods are used. Data collection involves web tracking to identify significant episodes of internet-based IS activity, as well as one-on-one interviews to explore the context behind these episodes. Results suggest that it is possible and valuable to identify scenarios of internet-based IS use dominant in an organizational work setting. Doing so can help to identify ways to improve the situated use of internet-based IS that ameliorate the information needs,seeking,use cycle in firms. [source]


    What is Systematic Theology?

    INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY, Issue 1 2009
    A.N. WILLIAMS
    This article examines the nature of systematic theology, arguing that systematicity is an intrinsic quality of all Christian theology, one stemming from the relationality of its subject matter, the Trinity and other things as they are related to the Trinity. The relationality of the divinely-created order reflects the ratio that is, on the Christian account, God ipse. Systematic theology is simply theology that reflects this ratio and the relations obtaining among creatures, and between creatures and their divine source, as well as the relationality of that source, the Persons of the Trinity. [source]


    Theorizing Diaspora: Perspectives on "Classical" and "Contemporary" Diaspora

    INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION, Issue 2 2004
    Michele Reis
    Cohen (1997) employed the term "classical" diaspora in reference to the Jews. Indeed, a vast corpus of work recognizes the Jewish people as examples of quintessential diasporic groups. However, a broader conceptualization of the term diaspora allows for the inclusion of immigrant communities that would be otherwise sidelined in the conventional literature on diaspora. This study is therefore a departure from the traditional diasporic literature, which tends to use the Jewish Diaspora as the archetype. It favours, rather, the classification of three principal broad historical waves in which the Jewish Diaspora can be interpreted as part of a classical period. The historicizing of diasporization for the purpose of this paper is achieved by an empirical discussion of the three major historical waves that influenced the diasporic process throughout the world: the Classical Period, the Modern Period, and the Contemporary or Late-modern Period. The paper discusses these three critical phases in the following manner: first, reference is made to the Classical Period, which is associated primarily with ancient diaspora and ancient Greece. The second historical phase analyses diaspora in relation to the Modern Period, which can be interpreted as a central historical fact of slavery and colonization. This section can be further subdivided into three large phases: (1) the expansion of European capital (1500,1814), (2) the Industrial Revolution (1815,1914), and (3) the Interwar Period (1914,1945). The final major period of diasporization can be considered a Contemporary or Late-modern phenomenon. It refers to the period immediately after World War II to the present day, specifying the case of the Hispanics in the United States as one key example. The paper outlines some aspects of the impact of the Latin American diaspora on the United States, from a socio-economic and politico-cultural point of view. While the Modern and Late-modern periods are undoubtedly the most critical for an understanding of diaspora in a modern, globalized context, for the purpose of this paper, more emphasis is placed on the latter period, which illustrates the progressive effect of globalization on the phenomenon of diasporization. The second period, the Modern Phase is not examined in this paper, as the focus is on a comparative analysis of the early Classical Period and the Contemporary or Late-modern Period. The incorporation of diaspora as a unit of analysis in the field of international relations has been largely neglected by both recent and critical scholarship on the subject matter. While a growing number of studies focus on the increasing phenomenon of diasporic communities, from the vantage of social sciences, the issue of diaspora appears to be inadequately addressed or ignored altogether. Certain key factors present themselves as limitations to the understanding of the concept, as well as its relevance to the field of international relations and the social sciences as a whole. This paper is meant to clarify some aspects of the definition of diaspora by critiquing the theories in the conventional literature, exposing the lacunae in terms of interpretation of diaspora and in the final analysis, establishing a historiography that may be useful in comparing certain features of "classical" diaspora and "contemporary" diaspora. The latter part of the paper is intended to provide illustrations of a contemporary diasporic community, using the example of Hispanics in the United States. [source]


    Explaining Migration: A Critical View

    INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SCIENCE JOURNAL, Issue 165 2000
    Joaquín Arango
    The article surveys the major contemporary explanations of migration, starting with the neo-classical theory, and then the array of theories and conceptual frameworks that have flourished in the last quarter of the century. The survey highlights the fact that in its relatively short history, theorising about migration has taken the form of a string of separate, generally unconnected theories, models, conceptual frameworks and empirical generalisations, rather than a cumulative sequence of contributions. As awhole, existing theories of migration can be faulted for focusing almost exclusively on the explanation of the causes of migration, to the detriment of other dimensions; for making ,grand claims' out of proportion with effective explanatory power; and for providing explanations ex-post rather than guiding empirical research and providing testable hypotheses. In addition to the difficulties that all the social sciences experience when trying to explainhuman behaviour, migration theories face special ones: its subject matter is hard to define, difficult to measure, extremely multifaceted and multiform, and thus resistant to theory-building. Whilst the reservoir of theories, and especially of conceptual frameworks, available nowadays represents a clear improvement over the situation a few decades ago, their contribution toour knowledge of migration is still limited. [source]


    Experiencing Globalization: Active Teaching and Learning in International Political Economy

    INTERNATIONAL STUDIES PERSPECTIVES, Issue 1 2001
    Louise Amoore
    This article explores the teaching and learning challenges for the discipline of international studies (IS) that arise from the contemporary social, economic, and political changes usually labeled "globalization." The focus is upon the challenge posed to IS by a transformation in the nature of the relationship of teachers and students to the subject matter that they study: that is, teachers and students increasingly experience and contribute to globalization in the course of their daily lives as they simultaneously teach and learn about it. Significantly for the study of globalization in IS, pedagogical debates surrounding active teaching and learning highlight the potential for strategies that actively engage students' interests and everyday experiences with the subject itself. On this basis, the article outlines some potential routes into the active teaching and learning of globalization in the field of international political economy, illustrating these with examples from classroom activities and exercises. [source]


    Sovereignty in the Balance: Claims and Bargains at the UN Conferences on the Environment, Human Rights, and Women

    INTERNATIONAL STUDIES QUARTERLY, Issue 4 2000
    Kathryn Hochstetler
    States vary the content and subject matter of their claims to sovereignty. In an analysis of when states invoked sovereignty at recent UN World Conferences on the environment (1992), human rights (1993), and women (1995), the authors revise and extend Litfin's (1997) notion of bargains among components of sovereignty. At the conferences, states invoked sovereignty in debates over cultural and religious values, economics, and increased international accountability. The authors interpret the debates based on how four elements of sovereignty,autonomy, control, and legitimacy in the eyes of other states and nonstate actors,are traded by states through implicit or explicit bargaining. They identify patterns that vary by issue area. The authors argue that nongovernmental organizations as well as other states may legitimate or delegitimate states' sovereign claims. They find that countries of the global South made more sovereignty claims of all kinds than Northern states. And, sovereignty bargains may be struck more easily over power and economics than social values. [source]


    Becoming Undisciplined: Toward the Supradisciplinary Study of Security

    INTERNATIONAL STUDIES REVIEW, Issue 1 2005
    J. Marshall Beier
    In recent years we have seen increasing reflection among scholars of security studies regarding the boundaries of their field and the range of its appropriate subject matter. At the same time, scholars elsewhere in the academy have been developing their own approaches to issues of security. These various pockets of work have been undertaken in nearly complete isolation from one another and with little apparent awareness of relevant developments in the other fields. In this essay, we advance the claim that security cannot be satisfactorily theorized within the confines of disciplinary boundaries,any disciplinary boundaries. The challenge thus becomes how to develop what might be termed a "supradisciplinary" approach to the study of security that will allow us to think and engage our subject matter across a range of discourses without giving rise to an interdisciplinary hybrid or sui generis discipline. [source]


    A case for case studies: exploring the use of case study design in community nursing research

    JOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING, Issue 4 2000
    Ann Bergen BA MSc RGN DipN DNCert Cert Ed DNT
    A case for case studies: exploring the use of case study design in community nursing research The case study has become an accepted vehicle for conducting research in a variety of disciplines. However, the meaning behind the term is not always made explicit by researchers and this has given rise to a number of assumptions which are open to challenge, and to questions about the robustness of the method. This paper explores some of the issues arising from one particular definition of case study research, used in a study by Yin which examined the practice of case management in community nursing. Four main areas are discussed. First, defining ,case' is seen to pose questions about the relationship of the phenomenon to its context, the degree of researcher control over case definition, the limits to what may constitute a ,case' and what is meant by the term ,unit of analysis'. Second, the relevance of external validity to case study research is supported through the use of a number of tactics, in particular Yin's concept of replication logic, which involves generalizing to theory, rather than to empirical data. Third, the use of method triangulation (multiple methods of data collection) is advanced as a means of enhancing construct validity in research where data converge around a particular theory. Finally, the relationship of the case study to theory construction, through the prior development of ,propositions' is discussed. Each of these issues is applied to the design and conduct of a research study based closely on Yin's multiple case study framework. Thirteen ,cases' were selected of case management practice and data were collected through interviews and examination of literature and documentation, to explore the suitability of community nurses for the role. It is concluded that, given the appropriate subject matter, context and research aims, the case study method may be seen as a credible option in nursing research. [source]


    Collaborative Clinical Quality Improvement for Pressure Ulcers in Nursing Homes

    JOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 10 2007
    (See editorial comments by Dr. George Taler on pp 167, 1675)
    The National Nursing Home Improvement Collaborative aimed to reduce pressure ulcer (PU) incidence and prevalence. Guided by subject matter and process experts, 29 quality improvement organizations and six multistate long-term care corporations recruited 52 nursing homes in 39 states to implement recommended practices using quality improvement methods. Facilities monitored monthly PU incidence and prevalence, healing, and adoption of key care processes. In residents at 35 regularly reporting facilities, the total number of new nosocomial Stage III to IV PUs declined 69%. The facility median incidence of Stage III to IV lesions declined from 0.3 per 100 occupied beds per month to 0.0 (P<.001) and the incidence of Stage II to IV lesions declined from 3.2 to 2.3 per 100 occupied beds per month (P=.03). Prevalence of Stage III to IV lesions trended down (from 1.3 to 1.1 residents affected per 100 occupied beds (P=.12). The incidence and prevalence of Stage II lesions and the healing time of Stage II to IV lesions remained unchanged. Improvement teams reported that Stage II lesions usually healed quickly and that new PUs corresponded with hospital transfer, admission, scars, obesity, and immobility and with noncompliant, younger, or newly declining residents. The publicly reported quality measure, prevalence of Stage I to IV lesions, did not improve. Participants documented disseminating methods and tools to more than 5,359 contacts in other facilities. Results suggest that facilities can reduce incidence of Stage III to IV lesions, that the incidence of Stage II lesions may not correlate with the incidence of Stage III to IV lesions, and that the publicly reported quality measure is insensitive to substantial improvement. The project demonstrated multiple opportunities in collaborative quality improvement, including improving the measurement of quality and identifying research priorities, as well as improving care. [source]


    Interior Design in K-12 Curricula: asking the Experts

    JOURNAL OF INTERIOR DESIGN, Issue 3 2007
    Stephanie A. Clemons Ph.D.
    ABSTRACT The purpose of this qualitative study was to assess how interior design content areas (subject matter) could be introduced and integrated into elementary and secondary (K-12) grade levels in support of national academic education standards. Although the minimum standards have been developed for entry level interior designers (Council for Interior Design Accreditation [CIDA] Standards, adopted 2002) and beyond (National Council for Interior Design Qualification [NCIDQ]), a gap exists in the interior design education continuum from "kindergarten to career." Between June 2001 to April 2002, in order to understand perceptions of experts in interior design and elementary and secondary education, focus group sessions and personal interviews were conducted with interior design educators and practitioners, K-12 teachers (elementary, junior high, and high school levels), national standards curriculum specialists (local and state levels), and school-to-career curriculum specialists. The goal of the study was to develop a framework that could guide the integration of interior design content into K-12 levels. This paper reports the findings from the focus groups and proposes a framework that could guide the national integration of interior design content into grades K-12, support national academic standards, and suggest possible channels of dissemination for developed interior design curriculum materials. [source]


    Implications to ethics education of recent neuroscience research on emotions

    JOURNAL OF LEADERSHIP STUDIES, Issue 3 2007
    Richard H. Mccuen
    As it is currently taught, instruction in engineering ethics centers on cognitive learning even to the extent of suppressing the involvement of emotions in ethical decision making. The common belief is that emotional involvement will increase the likelihood of poor judgment. Recent neuroscience research with positron emission tomography and functional magnetic resonance imaging indicates that emotions actually play a significant role in ethical decision making. It then follows that emotions should be part of ethics education: That is, discussions of ethics should not be limited to cognitive thought. Instruction to improve emotional maturity must be accompanied by teaching of cognitive subject matter if long-term learning is to occur. Emotions influence the solution of ethical problems as they affect the accuracy of the problem assessment and the accuracy, intensity, and duration of an emotive response. Specific emotions that relate to ethical decisions are listed. A theory of emotive learning is presented, and its application to the teaching of engineering ethics is discussed. Strategies for emotive learning are also presented. [source]


    Autoethnographic ethics and rewriting the fragmented self

    JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRIC & MENTAL HEALTH NURSING, Issue 2 2010
    A. GRANT ba (hons) ma phd rmn pgctlhe cert res meth enb 650 cert
    Accessible summary ,,This paper juxtaposes my own mental health problems with autoethnographic ethics relevant to my subject matter. ,,Autoethnographic ethics are treated according to their historical development in the social sciences. ,,It is argued that culture flows through self and vice versa. Abstract The paper begins with a summary of severe mental health difficulties I had in recent years. The narrative then turns to the crisis of representation in the social sciences which gave rise to autoethnographic ethics. Autoethnographic writing is compared and contrasted with realist writing, the former being seen to be accorded with several advantages when ,writing the self'. It is argued that culture flows through self and vice versa, and that this is captured well in autoethnographic work. The various forms of ethics are brought to light in relation to my experiences of state acute mental health care. [source]


    Substantive-level theory of highly regarded secondary biology teachers' science teaching orientations

    JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 2 2005
    Patricia Meis Friedrichsen
    Science teaching orientations, defined as teachers' knowledge and beliefs about the purposes and goals for teaching science, have been identified as a critical component within the proposed pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) model for science teaching. Because of the scarcity of empirical studies in this area, this case study examined the nature and sources of science teaching orientations held by four highly regarded secondary biology teachers. Data sources consisted of transcripts from four interviews, a card-sorting task, and classroom observations. Using a grounded theory framework, inductive data analysis led to the construction of a substantive-level theory for this group of participants. In regard to the nature of science teaching orientations, the use of central and peripheral goals, as well as the means of achieving these goals, was used to represent the complex nature of participants' science teaching orientations. The participants' science teaching orientations included goals related to general schooling, the affective domain, and subject matter, although the latter was not always a central component. In regard to the sources of teaching orientations, participants were strongly influenced by the classroom context and their beliefs about learners and learning; additional influences included prior work experiences, professional development, and time constraints. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 42: 218,244, 2005 [source]


    Building teacher identity with urban youth: Voices of beginning middle school science teachers in an alternative certification program

    JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 10 2004
    Amira Proweller
    Teacher identity development and change is shaped by the interrelationship between personal biography and experience and professional knowledge linked to the teaching environment, students, subject matter, and culture of the school. Working from this framework, this study examines how beginning teacher interns who are part of an alternative route to teacher certification construct a professional identity as science educators in response to the needs and interests of urban youth. From the teacher interns, we learn that crafting a professional identity as a middle-level science teacher involves creating a culture around science instruction driven by imagining "what can be," essentially a vision for a quality and inclusive science curriculum implicating science content, teaching methods, and relationships with their students. The study has important implications for the preparation of a stronger and more diverse teaching force able to provide effective and inclusive science education for all youth. It also suggests the need for greater attention to personal and professional experience and perceptions as critical to the development of a meaningful teacher practice in science. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 41: 1044,1062, 2004 [source]


    Undergraduates' attitudes and beliefs about subject matter and pedagogy measured periodically in a reform-based mathematics and science teacher preparation program

    JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 8 2002
    J. Randy McGinnis
    This study describes the design and use of a valid and reliable instrument to measure teacher candidates' attitudes and beliefs about mathematics and science and the teaching of those subjects. The instrument, Attitudes and Beliefs about the Nature of and the Teaching of Mathematics and Science, was developed for the Maryland Collaborative for Teacher Preparation (MCTP), a statewide, standards-based project in the National Science Foundation's Collaborative in Excellence in Teaching Preparation (CETP) Program. We report on two applications of the instrument: (a) a contrast between MCTP teacher candidates' and non-MCTP teacher candidates' attitudes and beliefs about mathematics and science as they initially encountered reform-based instruction in their undergraduate courses, and (b) a landscaping of how the MCTP teacher candidates' attitudes toward and beliefs about mathematics and science evolved over a 2.5-year period. In support of current reform in science and mathematics teacher education, we determined that over an extended period the MCTP teacher candidates' attitudes and beliefs moved substantively and significantly in the direction intended. However, we also found that the non-MCTP teacher candidates in the same reform-based courses did not mirror this improvement in their attitudes and beliefs about mathematics and science or the teaching of those subjects. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 39: 713,737, 2002 [source]


    Lessons on and from the dihybrid cross: An activity,theoretical study of learning in coteaching

    JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 3 2002
    Wolff-Michael Roth
    During their training, future teachers usually learn the subject matter of science. However, they are largely left on their own when it comes to figuring out how to teach this subject matter, that is, how to find appropriate pedagogical forms. In this article we present a model of collective teaching and learning, which we term coteaching/cogenerative dialoguing, as a way to build deep learning of science concepts while learning about alternative ways to teach the same subject matter. As praxis, coteaching brings about a unity between teaching and learning to teach; cogenerative dialoguing brings about a unity between teaching and researching. Both are potential sites for deep learning. We articulate coteaching/cogenerative dialoguing in terms of activity theory and the associated first-person research methodology that has been developed by critical psychologists as a method of choice for dealing with the theory,praxis gap. Our detailed case study highlights opportunities of learning subject matter and pedagogy by university professors who participate in coteaching/cogenerative dialoguing in an urban high school. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 39: 253,282, 2002 [source]


    A publication power approach for identifying premier information systems journals

    JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 2 2008
    Clyde W. Holsapple
    Stressing that some universities have adopted unrealistic requirements for tenure of information systems (IS) faculty members, a recent editorial in MIS Quarterly contends that the group of premier IS journals needs to be generally recognized as having more than just two members. This article introduces the publication power approach to identifying the premier IS journals, and it does indeed find that there are more than two. A journal's publication power is calculated from the actual publishing behaviors of full-time, tenured IS faculty members at a sizable set of leading research universities. The underlying premise is that these researchers produce excellent work, collectively spanning the IS field's subject matter, and that the greatest concentrations of their collective work appear in highest visibility, most important journals suitable for its subject matter. The new empirically based approach to identifying premier IS journals (and, more broadly, identifying journals that figure most prominently in publishing activity of tenured IS researchers) offers an attractive alternative to promulgations by individuals or cliques (possibly based on outdated tradition or vested interests), to opinion surveys (subjective, possibly ill-informed, vague about rating criteria, and/or biased in various ways), and to citation analyses (which ignore semantics of references and, in the case of ISI impact factors, have additional problems that cast considerable doubt on their meaningfulness within the IS field and its subdisciplines). Results of the publication power approach can be applied and supplemented according to needs of a particular university in setting its evaluation standards for IS tenure, promotion, and merit decisions. [source]


    User perspectives on relevance criteria: A comparison among relevant, partially relevant, and not-relevant judgments

    JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 5 2002
    Kelly L. Maglaughlin
    This study investigates the use of criteria to assess relevant, partially relevant, and not-relevant documents. Study participants identified passages within 20 document representations that they used to make relevance judgments; judged each document representation as a whole to be relevant, partially relevant, or not relevant to their information need; and explained their decisions in an interview. Analysis revealed 29 criteria, discussed positively and negatively, that were used by the participants when selecting passages that contributed or detracted from a document's relevance. These criteria can be grouped into six categories: abstract (e.g., citability, informativeness), author (e.g., novelty, discipline, affiliation, perceived status), content (e.g., accuracy/validity, background, novelty, contrast, depth/scope, domain, citations, links, relevant to other interests, rarity, subject matter, thought catalyst), full text (e.g., audience, novelty, type, possible content, utility), journal/publisher (e.g., novelty, main focus, perceived quality), and personal (e.g., competition, time requirements). Results further indicate that multiple criteria are used when making relevant, partially relevant, and not-relevant judgments, and that most criteria can have either a positive or negative contribution to the relevance of a document. The criteria most frequently mentioned by study participants were content, followed by criteria characterizing the full text document. These findings may have implications for relevance feedback in information retrieval systems, suggesting that systems accept and utilize multiple positive and negative relevance criteria from users. Systems designers may want to focus on supporting content criteria followed by full text criteria as these may provide the greatest cost benefit. [source]


    USE OF THE DELPHI METHOD IN RESOLVING COMPLEX WATER RESOURCES ISSUES,

    JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION, Issue 1 2003
    Jonathan G. Taylor
    ABSTRACT: The tri-state river basins, shared by Georgia, Alabama, and Florida, are being modeled by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to help facilitate agreement in an acrimonious water dispute among these different state governments. Modeling of such basin reservoir operations requires parallel understanding of several river system components: hydropower production, flood control, municipal and industrial water use, navigation, and reservoir fisheries requirements. The Delphi method, using repetitive surveying of experts, was applied to determine fisheries' water and lake-level requirements on 25 reservoirs in these interstate basins. The Delphi technique allowed the needs and requirements of fish populations to be brought into the modeling effort on equal footing with other water supply and demand components. When the subject matter is concisely defined and limited, this technique can rapidly assess expert opinion on any natural resource issue, and even move expert opinion toward greater agreement. [source]


    A Survey of Evidence in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine Oncology Manuscripts from 1999 to 2007

    JOURNAL OF VETERINARY INTERNAL MEDICINE, Issue 1 2010
    A. Sahora
    Objectives: To survey and monitor trends in evidence for oncology manuscripts published in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine (JVIM) between 1999 and 2007 based on an evidence-based medicine (EBM) standard. Methods: All veterinary oncology-related articles published in JVIM and 7 other high-impact journals from 1999 to 2007 were collected by database searches. Relevant manuscripts then were characterized including investigator affiliation, subject matter investigated, retrospective or prospective study design, manuscript type, and classifications of manuscripts using an EBM standard. Results: A total of 172 relevant veterinary oncology manuscripts were identified in JVIM between 1999 and 2007. The proportion of oncology manuscripts published each year rose with the total number of manuscripts published in JVIM (mean, 13%; range, 8,15%). The author affiliations and subject matter were similar during this evaluation period. Case series represented the most common manuscript type (40%). With the exception of a progressive increase in prospective manuscripts and a reduction in case reports, no significant changes in the classification of manuscripts using EBM standards were seen. During this same period, veterinary oncology manuscripts published in 7 high-impact journals were associated with higher standards of evidence including prospective studies and randomized trials. Conclusions: The standards of evidence for veterinary oncology manuscripts published in JVIM have remained static between 1999 and 2007. This survey provides an informative benchmark for the state of evidence in previous JVIM oncology manuscripts and may be useful in identifying specific opportunities that may raise the standards of evidence in future publications in JVIM. [source]


    Verarbeitung hochfester Aluminiumlegierungen durch umformende Verfahren

    MATERIALWISSENSCHAFT UND WERKSTOFFTECHNIK, Issue 7 2009
    R. Neugebauer
    ECAP; rolling; extrusion; incremental forming Abstract Basierend auf experimentell ermittelten Werkstoffkennwerten wird ein Vergleich des Umformverhaltens der beiden Aluminiumlegierungen im Anlieferungszustand (EN AW-7075 T651) sowie im modifizierten Zustand (EN AW-7075 ECAP) bei der Verarbeitung mit herkömmlichen Umformverfahren (Walzen, Fließpressen) angestellt. Zudem werden die Verfahrensgrenzen des Umformgrades durch Variation der Werkzeuggeometrien experimentell lokalisiert. Dabei ist ebenfalls Untersuchungsgegenstand, den Einfluss des Verfahrens auf das Umformvermögen zu ermitteln. Davon ausgehend werden Werkzeugkonzepte entwickelt, die eine Umformung des hochfesten Aluminiums unter Erzeugung von hydrostatischen Druckzuständen in der Umformzone ermöglichen. Sowohl die Simulation als auch die Versuche zeigten Materialversagen der ultrafeinkörnigen Werkstoffe beim Fließpressen. Das Walzen als inkrementelles Umformverfahren ermöglichte hingegen eine schadensfreie Herstellung der Werkstücke. Forming of high-strength aluminium alloys A comparison of the forming behavior of both aluminum alloys in as-received condition (EN AW-7075 T651) as well as modified condition (EN AW-7075 ECAP) when processed with conventional forming processes (rolling, extrusion) is conducted on the base of experimentally determined material characteristics. In the following the process limits of the true strain are located by variegating the tool geometry. The influence of the manufacturing method on the plasticity is also a subject matter to analysis. Based upon the outcome of this analysis special tool conceptions are being developed, which allow the forming of highest-strength aluminum while creating hydrostatical pressure states in the deformed zone. Both simulation and experiments showed material failure of the ultra-fine-grained materials when extruded whereas rolling, being the incremental forming process, allowed damage-free manufacturing of components. [source]


    PHILOSOPHY AND OTHER DISCIPLINES

    METAPHILOSOPHY, Issue 4-5 2008
    SVEN OVE HANSSON
    Abstract: This article offers a perspective on the role of philosophy in relation to other academic disciplines and to society in general. Among the issues treated are the delimitation of philosophy, whether it is a science, its role in the community of knowledge disciplines, its losses of subject matter to other disciplines, how it is influenced by social changes and by progress in other disciplines, and its role in interdisciplinary work. It is concluded that philosophy has an important mission in promoting clarity, precision, and open-mindedness in academic research and in society at large. [source]