Science Meets Research Articles

When Nature of Science Meets Quantum Physics: Insights from NOS Representation in Chinese Physics Textbooks

When Nature of Science Meets Quantum Physics: Insights from NOS Representation in Chinese Physics Textbooks

Data Science Meets Mineral Analysis: An Innovative Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Experiment for Undergraduate Chemistry Students

Data Science Meets Mineral Analysis: An Innovative Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Experiment for Undergraduate Chemistry Students

Book review: Geoff Mulgan, When Science Meets Power

Book review: Geoff Mulgan, When Science Meets Power

The Science-Politics Power Struggle

Review of "When Science Meets Power" by Geoff Mulgan.

Colloids and Interfaces: Where Science Meets Engineering, a Hands-on Learning Approach

Colloids and Interfaces: Where Science Meets Engineering, a Hands-on Learning Approach

When Science Meets Art on Instagram: Examining the Effects of Visual Art on Emotions, Interest, and Social Media Engagement

While artistic representations of scientific subjects, phenomena, and data have gained traction on social media, their effects on audience engagement remain understudied. Using an experiment with Instagram users in the United States ( N = 655), this study found that exposure to artistic representations of COVID-19 information on Instagram significantly increased individuals’ interest and positive emotions compared with exposure to informationally equivalent data graphs. Positive emotions also mediated the relationship of art exposure on one’s liking and sharing of Instagram posts. We discuss the potential roles of visual art and social media in shaping public engagement with science.

The Future of Food in the Caribbean: Climate Change and Food Security

1.5 Stay Alive is a nature film, music video-like documentary that emphasizes the consequences of a 1.5 degree increase in temperature that would negatively impact the Caribbean region (“1.5 Stay Alive: Science Meets Music in the Caribbean”). The film demonstrated the role that developed countries play in advancing and maintaining the climate crisis in the Caribbean. Disaster capitalism describes the exploitation by developed countries when responding to crises, intentionally creating a more unequal and undemocratic society. Using the example of Hurricane Maria, Klein states that Puerto Rico became broken because of deliberate, systematic interferences to power, water, health, communication, and food systems (2018). Alternatively, developed countries may supply the Caribbean with funds to produce and distribute locally grown produce. An example of what may be done with these funds can be seen in Cuba which created a self-sufficient urban agricultural economy. This would strengthen food security and increase the ability and knowledge to build back food systems following the effects of climate change (Quirk 2012). Information omitted includes details on how developed countries contributed to climate change vulnerabilities in the Caribbean. Environmental changes shape Caribbean agricultural trends which are already historically vulnerable owing to the by-products of colonial and plantation economies (Barker 2012, 42). The film advances the understanding of the effects of global warming in the Caribbean by not only showing the scientific perspective, but also the human side. Climate change affects more than just infrastructure, coral reefs, and economies, but it also affects people’s lives.

Lee Constable: Founding “Science Meets Street Art” Co-Labs

In this article Australian science communicator Lee Constable discusses her work at the intersection between street art and science. Lee is the founder and lead of four science-street art collaborations: the Co-Lab: Science Meets Street Art (Canberra 2015, 2016, 2017) and Visualising AI – Science Meets Street Art (Brisbane 2022). The article explores her thoughts on the power of street art for communicating science, its societal role and relevance, and the (artistic) outcomes the Co-Labs have led to.

Family Science and Psychology Meets Design: Exploring Self-Awareness through an Interdisciplinary Lens

Family Science and Psychology Meets Design: Exploring Self-Awareness through an Interdisciplinary Lens

On the Fringe: Where Science Meets Pseudoscience by Michael D. Gordin

In contemporary society, “science” signifies authoritative understanding of the natural world; therefore “pseudo”-science means claimed but inauthentic, false knowledge about nature; and “fringe” science, between those two, means doubtfully trustworthy knowledge. In any case, whether or not it is a conscious decision and whether or not it is admitted, attributing authoritative understanding to science entails accepting the religion of scientism, the belief that scientific knowledge is superior to any other claims of knowledge. But the content of “science” is created by human beings. Once it is conceded that science is fallible, as all human activities are bound to be, it becomes clear that anymainstream “scientific consensus” is also fallible; and therefore heterodox claims of knowledge should be greeted, initially at least, with a degree of tolerance and a willingness to consider evidence, to seek objective facts before judging something to be false knowledge, or, in contemporary jargon, “fake news.” The subtitle of this essay was inspired by the life (and work) of Oscar Wilde, who was only one among an uncountable host of human beings who have suffered seriously from the intolerance of their fellow human beings, the intolerance of the societies in whichthey lived. The intolerance Wilde faced may have had nothing directly to do with science, but it did indirectly: Declaring and believing his sexual preferences to be “unnatural” and therefore abhorrent presumed, with great dogmatic earnestness, that we command authentic knowledge about what is natural.

Where Science Meets Humanity: The Three Good Reasons to Add Religion in Academy

Where Science Meets Humanity: The Three Good Reasons to Add Religion in Academy

Science Meets Metaphor: Teaching and Communicating about Abstract Concepts in Romanian Science Textbooks

Metaphors and analogies are efficient and attractive tools used in science teaching to explain abstract ideas in simpler, familiar terms. Science textbook authors and teachers rely on metaphors and analogies to explain abstract scientific concepts and convey them to young learners. In this paper, we discuss a corpus of metaphorical expressions found in Romanian physics and chemistry textbooks for secondary education (grades 6-8), and classified based on target domains (i.e., the core scientific concepts presented in the unit lessons of the analyzed textbooks) and source domains (i.e., the more concrete, more familiar concepts used to explain scientific concepts from the analyzed textbooks). Furthermore, we explore the way in which the identified and annotated metaphors may provide the basis for understanding core concepts from physics (e.g., electricity in terms of ‘water flowing’) and chemistry (e.g., electron shells as ‘field track lanes’). This study is part of a larger research project which aims is to examine how metaphors and analogies used in Romanian science textbooks are understood and misunderstood by young learners and what (mis-) understanding complex scientific ideas might mean for pupils’ preparedness to make sense of the world we live in and, ultimately, for their future engagement with and interest in science.

Editorial: Data Science Meets Social Sciences

Publisher: School of Statistics, Renmin University of China, Journal: Journal of Data Science, Title: Editorial - Data Science Meets Social Sciences, Authors: Elena A. Erosheva, Shahryar Minhas, Gongjun Xu

Ice Core Science Meets Computer Vision: Challenges and Perspectives

Polar ice cores play a central role in studies of the earth’s climate system through natural archives. A pressing issue is the analysis of the oldest, highly thinned ice core sections, where the identification of paleoclimate signals is particularly challenging. For this, state-of-the-art imaging by laser-ablation inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) has the potential to be revolutionary due to its combination of micron-scale 2D chemical information with visual features. However, the quantitative study of record preservation in chemical images raises new questions that call for the expertise of the computer vision community. To illustrate this new inter-disciplinary frontier, we describe a selected set of key questions. One critical task is to assess the paleoclimate significance of single line profiles along the main core axis, which we show is a scale-dependent problem for which advanced image analysis methods are critical. Another important issue is the evaluation of post-depositional layer changes, for which the chemical images provide rich information. Accordingly, the time is ripe to begin an intensified exchange between the two scientific communities of computer vision and ice core science. The collaborative building of a new framework for investigating high-resolution chemical images with automated image analysis techniques will also benefit the already wide-spread application of laser-ablation inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry chemical imaging in the geosciences.

Canadian Science Meets Parliament: Building relationships between scientists and policymakers

Abstract The first Science Meets Parliament event in Canada was held in November 2018 in Ottawa, where twenty-eight Tier II Canada Research Chairs (a specific class of Canadian university professor acknowledged by their peers as having the potential to lead in their field) from diverse disciplines met with forty-three Members of Canadian Parliament and Senators. The main goal of this event was to facilitate communication between these two key pillars of the society, to promote mutual understanding of the nature of their respective work, roles, and responsibilities, and to build long-term relationships. Here, we, representatives of the first cohort of scientists to participate in the program, summarize our experiences and lessons learned from this event, as well as our assessment of the benefits of attending this event for scientists, policy decision-makers, and institutions. Furthermore, we provide suggestions for similar future events in Canada and elsewhere.

Implementation Science Meets Software Development to Create eHealth Components for an Integrated Care Model for Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation Facilitated by eHealth: The SMILe Study as an Example.

To describe a process of creating eHealth components for an integrated care model using an agile software development approach, user-centered design and, via the Behavior Change Wheel, behavior theory-guided content development. Following the principles of implementation science and using the SMILe project (integrated care model for allogeneic stem cell transplantation facilitated by eHealth) as an example, this study demonstrates how to narrow the research-to-practice gap often encountered in eHealth projects. We followed a four-step process: (a) formation of an interdisciplinary team; (b) a contextual analysis to drive the development process via behavioral theory; (c) transfer of content to software following agile software development principles; and (d) frequent stakeholder and end user involvement following user-centered design principles. Our newly developed comprehensive development approach allowed us to create a running eHealth component and embed it in an integrated care model. An interdisciplinary team's collaboration at specified interaction points supported clear, timely communication and interactions between the specialists. Because behavioral theory drove the content development process, we formulated user stories to define the software features, which were prioritized and iteratively developed using agile software development principles. A prototype intervention module has now been developed and received high ratings on the System Usability Scale after two rounds of usability testing. Following an agile software development process, structured collaboration between nursing scientists and software specialists allowed our interdisciplinary team to develop meaningful, theory-based eHealth components adapted to context-specific needs. The creation of high-quality, accurately fitting eHealth components specifically to be embedded in integrated care models should increase the chances of uptake, adoption, and sustainable implementation in clinical practice.

Editorial: Sostenibilidad, ingeniería y sociedad

En la actualidad las nuevas tecnologías definen la forma de gestionar la energía, los materiales y la información, en fin, los recursos del territorio que se han de optimizar. No obstante, un evento aleatorio que surge en un mercado de China cambió rápidamente las perspectivas mundiales, con lo cual, se replanteó el sistema industrial y su complejidad.
 A nivel mundial las industrias se han visto afectadas por la pandemia generándose pérdidas económicas que implican desafíos operativos, puesto que, fue necesario bloquear parcialmente las actividades productivas y de movilidad para evitar la propagación del virus. En este sentido, la Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica con la participación del Centro de diseño de Equipos Industriales de la Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña presentó el IV ENCUENTRO INTERNACIONAL DE CIENCIA, TECNOLOGÍA E INNOVACIÓN – RETOS Y OPORTUNIDADES INDUSTRIALES POST COVID-19, con la finalidad de identificar retos y oportunidades de corto y mediano plazo para mitigar los efectos de la COVID-19 en las industrias.

Where Science Meets Story: Notes from an Extended Field Trip

Where Science Meets Story: Notes from an Extended Field Trip

Computer Science Meets Education: Natural Language Processing for Automatic Grading of Open-Ended Questions in eBooks

We investigated how Natural Language Processing (NLP) algorithms could automatically grade answers to open-ended inference questions in web-based eBooks. This is a component of research on making reading more motivating to children and to increasing their comprehension. We obtained and graded a set of answers to open-ended questions embedded in a fiction novel written in English. Computer science students used a subset of the graded answers to develop algorithms designed to grade new answers to the questions. The algorithms utilized the story text, existing graded answers for a given question and publicly accessible databases in grading new responses. A computer science professor used another subset of the graded answers to evaluate the students’ NLP algorithms and to select the best algorithm. The results showed that the best algorithm correctly graded approximately 85% of the real-world answers as correct, partly correct, or wrong. The best NLP algorithm was trained with questions and graded answers from a series of new text narratives in another language, Slovenian. The resulting NLP algorithm model was successfully used in fourth-grade language arts classes for providing feedback to student answers on open-ended questions in eBooks.

Canadian Science Meets Parliament: Building relationships between scientists and policymakers

Canadian Science Meets Parliament: Building relationships between scientists and policymakers