Search

The aim of this study is to investigate the critical thinking skills of 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade middle school students in science classes and their self-efficacy regarding science education across various variables, as well as to reveal the relationships between these factors. The study group comprises 787 students enrolled in five public middle schools in Ankara during the 2023-2024 academic year. A descriptive survey method, which is one of the qualitative research approaches, was utilized for this study. Data were collected using the Critical Thinking Skills Scale for Science Education and the Self-Efficacy Scale for Science Courses. The findings indicate that students' critical thinking levels in science classes do not significantly differ based on variables such as maternal education, the region of the school, the location where science experiments and activities are conducted (classroom/laboratory), the gender of the science teacher, and engagement with scientific journals. However, a notable difference is observed in favor of students who enjoy science classes concerning the variable of liking science. Another result indicates that students' self-efficacy toward science classes does not significantly vary according to the gender of the science teacher. Nonetheless, significant differences were found regarding maternal education, the region of the school, enjoyment of science classes, the location of science experiments and activities (classroom/laboratory), and engagement with scientific journals. A negative relationship between middle school students' critical thinking skills in science education and their self-efficacy perceptions related to science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Systems Engineering & Electronics is the property of Journal of Systems Engineering & Electronics Editorial Department and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper summarizes the current safety status of chemical science popularization activities and recommends that chemists prioritize safety from the outset of experiment design. It suggests conducting thorough safety assessments and minimizing the use of flammable, toxic, corrosive, and irritant chemicals. By fundamentally ensuring the safety of science popularization experiments, this paper serves as a reference for colleagues involved in science popularization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this popular science experiment, the non-toxic ZnGa2O4:Bi3+ fluorescent material was prepared which has three mode luminescence properties including tunable multicolor emission, dynamic photochromic and thermochromic fluorescence properties. By utilizing the "chameleon-like" fluorescence characteristics of the material, we designed three kinds of display schemes for information security application. The experiment is not only interactive and interesting, but also has a good effect on popular science practice, which is helpful to stimulate students' enthusiasm for learning chemistry, and help adolescents experience the rich connotation of "beautiful chemistry". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experimental method is designed to secure the reliable attribution of causal relationships by means of controlled comparison across conditions. Doing so, however, depends upon the reduction of uncertainties and inconsistencies in the process of comparison; and this poses particularly significant challenges for the behavioral and social sciences because they work with human subjects, whose malleability and complexity often interact in unexpected ways with experimental manipulations, thus resulting in unpredictable behavior. Drawing on the Science and Technology Studies perspective and one of our authors' experiences in experimental work, this paper examines how experimental social scientists manage to establish objectivity and standardization in the face of vagaries arising from working with human subjects. In identifying experimental researchers' solutions to this challenge, we draw on methodological discussions among applied social scientists as naturally occurring data, through which we show how some seemingly mundane practices play essential roles in extracting patterns out of otherwise unpredictable behaviors in the lab. Closely examining such strategies, we reveal the inherent instabilities in the experimental method when adopted in the social sciences and discuss their methodological implications. In conclusion, we make tentative suggestions for escaping the kinds of methodological impasses which we have identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The High Intensity Muon Beams (HIMB) project at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) will deliver muon beams with unprecedented intensities of up to 10 10 muons / s for next-generation particle physics and material science experiments. This represents a hundredfold increase over the current state-of-the-art muon intensities, also provided by PSI. We performed beam dynamics optimisations and studies for the design of the HIMB beamlines MUH2 and MUH3 using Graphics Transport, Graphics Turtle, and G4beamline, the latter incorporating PSI's own measured π + cross-sections and variance reduction. We initially performed large-scale beamline optimisations using asynchronous Bayesian optimisation with DeepHyper. We are now developing an island-based evolutionary optimisation code glyfada based on the Paradiseo framework, where we implemented Message Passing Interface (MPI) islands with OpenMP parallelisation within each island. Furthermore, we implemented an island model that is also suitable for high-throughput computing (HTC) environments with asynchronous communication via a Redis database. The code interfaces with the codes COSY INFINITY and G4beamline. The code glyfada will provide heterogeneous island model optimisation using evolutionary optimisation and local search methods, as well as part-wise optimisation of the beamline with automatic advancement through stages. We will use the glyfada for a future large-scale optimisation of the HIMB beamlines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to outline the role that serendipity can play in providing a complementary and previously unrepresented vector in deliberate and emergent strategies within organizations. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is conceptual in nature and draws upon the serendipity pattern in sociological theory and serendipitous relations in developmental sciences to provide a framework for executives to consider when examining the process of strategy formation. Two case vignettes are used to illustrate the difference between luck and serendipity and the paper also traces key micro foundations of serendipity by returning to the original serendipity fable and a famed science experiment producing "floppy-eared" rabbits. Findings: The notion of chance favoring the "prepared firm" is espoused where the prepared organizational mind is positioned as an antecedent of serendipitous strategy formation. This is based on Louis Pasteur's famous aphorism, "chance favors the prepared mind." Components of the prepared firm include deep domain knowledge, anticipatory mindset, noticing, abductive reasoning, elaboration and relations development. Research limitations/implications: The paper is a conceptual articulation of a novel concept that now requires deeper empirical case development and ultimately statistical validation. The paper suggests linkages between serendipity and theories of absorptive capacity and the attention-based view of the firm. Practical implications: Several mindsets, capabilities and relations for architecting organizational serendipity are suggested for executives using a stylized framework. Originality/value: From a strategy process perspective, the Mintzberg and Waters seminal article "Of strategies deliberate and emergent" is complemented by considering "floppy-eared" strategy characterized by unexpected, anomalous and strategic datum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Millions of users on the Internet have fallen into phishing website traps. Detection tools are designed to warn users against such attacks, but often fail to achieve this purpose. One crucial reason behind this is that users rarely have a chance to interact and build a relationship with a detection tool that stealthily runs at the backend. A warning message on a rarely seen interface from such a tool hardly inspires users' trust in its authenticity and accuracy. In this study, we propose an ontology-based intelligent interface personalization (OBIIP) design for the warning interfaces of phishing website detection tools. We first constructed an ontology of warning interface elements (OWIE), which is a comprehensive knowledgebase for warning interface design. We then used OWIE in the design and creation of an OBIIP prototype and assessed it in a laboratory experiment and an online experiment. The results show the significant value of OBIIP in improving users' performance in terms of self-protection against website phishing attacks and building a stronger relationship with the detection tool in terms of trust in and use of the tool. Millions of users on the Internet have fallen into phishing website traps. Detection tools are designed to warn users against such attacks but often fail to achieve this purpose due to usability issues. To address these issues and increase user self-protection against such attacks, we propose an ontology-based intelligent interface personalization (OBIIP) design for the warning interfaces of phishing website detection tools. Our design involves two phases: proof-of-concept and proof-of-value. The proof-of-concept phase consists of developing an ontology of warning interface elements (OWIE) based on the ontology approach in design science, expert feedback, and inputs from multiple populations through three rounds of surveys with 1,297 participants. OWIE is then used in the design and creation of an OBIIP prototype. The proof-of-value phase involves a controlled laboratory experiment (with 596 participants) to assess OBIIP's value in terms of users' self-protection performance as well as a posthoc online data collection (with 191 participants) and analysis to reveal the role of the design element categories in users' trust and perceived personalization in OBIIP. The assessment results show the significant value of OBIIP in improving self-protection performance as well as the pervasive impact of OBIIP in improving users' relationship with the security tool in terms of trust in and use of the tool. This work also identifies categories of design elements that matter in the OBIIP process. History: Suprateek Sarker, Senior Editor; David (Jingjun) Xu, Associate Editor. Funding: This work was partially supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation [Grant CNS-1049497]. Supplemental Material: The online appendices are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.2021.0065. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Contemporary Accounting Research is the property of Canadian Academic Accounting Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

An experimental group and control group pretest and posttest design was used to conduct qualitative coding and quantitative analysis on two classes in grade 5. The aim was to investigate whether science education videos can be used in place of simulation experiments. The results showed that (1) in terms of scientific knowledge, the difference between science videos and hands-on experiments was not significant; (2) in terms of modeling capability, the hands-on class had better results regarding the perception and application of materials; and (3) more precise experiments had better effects on health behavior, but there was no significant difference between imprecise experiments and science videos. In the absence of laboratory equipment, science videos could therefore be an alternative solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Experimental learning is indispensable for the understanding of (natural) scientific concepts. In order to counteract the didactic, methodological and structural challenges of experimentation in everyday school life, a concept for experiments from the "Experimentierkiste" is presented. Thematically, biotechnological approaches with relevance to everyday life are focused on for inquiry‐based STEM teaching. The growth and conditions of microorganisms are examined in detail and demonstrated in experiments with yeast and microalgae. The relevance of this topic is based on the socially relevant scientific significance of microbial processes, especially in the medical and biotechnological fields. The core concept of the experimental kit is an essential component for the implementation of such inquiry‐based topics with experiments in science lessons. On the topic of yeast, there is a free hands‐on experiment website www.kniffelix.de for individuals and school classes from 3rd–13th grade which enhances the learning experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A compact and portable gamma-ray spectrometer has been designed to diagnose different components of the inertial confinement fusion-relevant γ-ray spectrum with energies between ∼3.7–17.9 MeV. The system is designed to be as compact as possible for convenient transportation and fielding in diagnostic ports on the OMEGA laser, the National Ignition Facility, and other photon-source facilities. The system consists of a conversion foil for Compton scattering in front of four magnetic spectrometer "arms," each covering a different energy range and constructed out of cylindrical permanent magnet Halbach arrays. Monte Carlo simulations have been used to optimize and assess the performance of the conversion foil, and COSY INFINITY ion-optical simulations have been used to optimize the spectrometer magnets. The performance of the design is assessed for a simulated direct-drive γ-ray spectrum. Spanning its total γ-ray energy bandwidth and using a 1.7 mm thick boron conversion foil, the system's total energy resolution and efficiency are ∼ 15.8 % –4.5% and 5.4 × 10−7–3.7 × 10−7e−/γ, respectively, with room for improvement. Spectral γ-ray measurements will provide guidance to the inertial confinement fusion program toward achieving high-energy gain relevant to inertial fusion energy and enable new measurement capabilities for basic discovery science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the Nasserist state built a large hydroelectric dam in the south of Egypt in the early 1960s, Egyptian botanists undertook salvage surveys of the area to be flooded behind the dam, known as historic Nubia. Scientists in these surveys searched for a type of palm tree (Medemia argun) well documented in ancient Egyptian tombs but unrecorded "in living condition" since the late eighteenth century. Gathering written and photographic accounts in memoirs, archives, and botanical tracts, this essay charts the documentary traces of the search for Medemia argun and the affective responses that surface along the margins of texts to show how debate over the potential absence or extinction of a "flagship" endogenous plant coincided with two important shifts in botanical knowledge production: transitions in botany as a discipline that employed new research methodologies and located Egypt "geobotanically" as the temporal and spatial origin for world flora; and transitions in botany as an arena of scientific expertise during postcolonial nationalism's reordering of the Egyptian academy. Building on extinction and destroyed landscape studies, this article explores ecological lexicons of absence and practices of "following" in botany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Accounting for the sensory abilities of animals is critical in experimental design.' No researcher would disagree with this statement, yet it is often the case that we inadvertently fall for anthropocentric biases and use ourselves as the reference point. This paper discusses the risks of adopting an anthropocentric view when working with non-human animals, and the unintended consequences this has on our experimental designs and results. To this aim, we provide general examples of anthropocentric bias from different fields of animal research, with a particular focus on animal cognition and behaviour, and lay out the potential consequences of adopting a human-based perspective. Knowledge of the sensory abilities, both in terms of similarities to humans and peculiarities of the investigated species, is crucial to ensure solid conclusions. A more careful consideration of the diverse sensory systems of animals would improve many scientific fields and enhance animal welfare in the laboratory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Repeated measurement designs (RMDs) are economical and commonly utilized in pharmacology, psychology, and animal science experiments. However, RMDs might have carryover effects, which become the main source of bias in estimation of treatment effects. Carry over effects can economically be controlled with the use of minimal balanced RMDs, strongly balanced RMDs or their generalized classes. No general procedure is available in literature to obtain these important classes of RMDs. An R-Package has been developed in this article to check the given values v and p for the possible existence of minimal circular balanced and strongly balanced RMDs (along with their generalized classes), generate the sets of shifts for possible designs, and to calculate the efficiency of separability and carry over effects for the generated design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Augmented reality (AR) improves science education by facilitating teaching and experiments in schools and universities. Studies show positive effects, like increased motivation and improved concept connections, but there is a lack of consistency in the implementation and investigation of AR in science experiments. This review examines AR usage, criteria, design parameters for the development of AR applications and the validation methods, taking into account the PRISMA guidelines. A Web of Science database search using "Publish or Perish" software (version 23.4.0) identified 247 potentially relevant articles from 2000 to March 2024 in international, peer-reviewed journals. After removing duplicates, inaccessible abstracts, and applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 40 studies were selected for in-depth analysis. Physics had the most AR applications, primarily for visualizing invisible properties. Most studies used quantitative or qualitative methods, only a few used both or did not conduct empirical research. Research questions varied, but common drawbacks included small sample sizes and low use of AR design parameters such as interactivity, adaptivity, realistic representation and use of game elements. This review identifies opportunities for improvement in the implementation and investigation of AR in science education experiments and emphasizes consistent and rigorous approaches to fully exploit the benefits of AR in science education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Overview: Innovation has become increasingly urgent for companies to maintain competitive advantage, yet deep uncertainty persists regarding the end results of their innovation efforts. Early-stage experimentation offers a risk management approach that can dramatically accelerate cost-effective innovation. Experimentation relies on the scientific method to craft and test hypotheses. Insufficient guidance exists regarding how to help managers harness experimentation in early-stage innovation projects. Based on our observations of experienced experimenters engaged in early-stage innovation projects in four distinct settings, we developed a process model that offers practitioners a structured and scalable approach to foster early-stage experimentation. Managers in all parts of the organization can apply the process model and operationalize experimentation. The article's contribution is twofold: we articulate specific practices associated with choices around what is being tested, how it is being tested, and what is learned, and we offer a model designed to help build managerial literacy in early-stage experimentation. Conducting fast, simple experiments at the early stages of the innovation process offers a valuable way to better manage innovation costs and risks. Experimentation can be codified into a simplified and scalable process, using a 5-step process model proposed here, that can be practiced across organizational levels and functions. An organizational strategic capability for experimentation, developed in a systematic and scalable way, can enhance a firm's ability to adapt to change and exploit opportunities in an uncertain world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In September 2021 I made a collection of interview transcripts available for public use under a CreativeCommons license through the Princeton DataSpace. The interviews include 39 conversations I had with gig workers at AmazonFlex, Uber, and Lyft in 2019 as part of a study on automation efforts within these organizations. I made this decision because (1) I was required to contribute to a publicly available data set as a requirement of my funding and (2) I saw it as an opportunity to engage in the collaborative qualitative science experiments emerging in Science and Technology studies. This article documents my thought process and step-by-step design decisions for designing a study, gathering data, masking it, and publishing it in a public archive. Importantly, once I decided to publish these data, I determined that each choice about how the study would be designed and implemented had to be assessed for risk to the interviewee in a very deliberate way. It is not meant to be comprehensive and cover every possible condition a researcher may face while producing qualitative data. I aimed to be transparent both in my interview data and the process it took to gather and publish these data. I use this article to illustrate my thought process as I made each design decision for this study in hopes that it could be useful to a future researcher considering their own data publishing process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Michael Faraday's laboratory experiments have dominated traditional histories of the electrical sciences in 1820s and 1830s Britain. However, as this article demonstrates, in the mining region of Cornwall, Robert Were Fox fashioned a very different approach to the study of electromagnetic phenomena. Here, it was the mine that provided the foremost site of scientific experimentation, with Fox employing these underground locations to measure the Earth's heat and make claims over the existence of subterranean electrical currents. Yet securing philosophical claims cultivated in mines proved challenging for Fox, with metropolitan audiences, including Faraday, loath to give credit to the results of these underground experiments. This article explores how Fox developed a way of modeling his mine experiments, using clay samples, to communicate knowledge from industrial Cornwall to urban centers of elite science. It argues that the mine was an epistemologically complex venue of scientific activity, at once seeming to provide a way of examining nature directly, without recourse to laboratory contrivance, while simultaneously being a place where knowledge claims were hard to verify without access to these physically challenging locations. In exploring Fox's work, this study contributes to a growing literature of spatial investigation that takes the vertical as its unit of analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite admonitions to address attrition in experiments – missingness on Y – alongside best practices designed to encourage transparency, most political science researchers all but ignore it. A quantitative literature search of this journal – where we would expect to find the most conscientious reporting of attrition – shows low rates of discussion of the issue. We suspect that there is confusion on the link between when attrition occurs and the type of validity it threatens when present, and limited connection to and guidance on which estimands are threatened by different attrition patterns. This is all exacerbated by limited tools to identify, investigate, and report patterns attrition. We offer the R package – attritevis – to visualize attrition over time, by intervention, and include a step-by-step guide to identifying and addressing attrition that balances post hoc analytical tools with guidance for revising designs to ameliorate problematic attrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new era of lunar exploration has begun with participation of all major space agencies. This activity brings opportunities for revolutionary science experiments and observatories on the Moon. The idea of a lunar gravitational-wave detector was already proposed during the Apollo programme. The key characteristic of the Moon is that it is seismically extremely quiet. It was also pointed out that the permanently shadowed regions at the lunar poles provide ideal conditions for gravitational-wave detection. In recent years, three different detector concepts were proposed with varying levels of technological complexity and science potential. In this paper, we confront the three concepts in terms of their observational capabilities based on a first more detailed modelling of instrumental noise. We identify important technological challenges and potential show-stoppers. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Astronomy from the Moon: the next decades (part 2)'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultrafast laser sources in the far ultraviolet (100–300 nm) have been the subject of intense experimental efforts for several decades, driven primarily by the requirements of advanced experiments in ultrafast science. Resonant dispersive wave emission from high-energy laser pulses undergoing soliton self-compression in a gas-filled hollow capillary fiber promises to meet several of these requirements for the first time, most importantly by combining wide-ranging wavelength tuneability with the generation of extremely short pulses. In this Perspective, we give an overview of this approach to ultrafast far-ultraviolet sources, including its historical origin and underlying physical mechanism, the state of the art and current challenges, and our view of potential applications both within and beyond ultrafast science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Space optical clock is an important device for future space science experiments. Inevitably, the micro-vibration level in the order of micro-g (μg) is required for ultra-stable optical reference cavity of space optical clock. However, the existing research on active vibration isolators of space optical clock is still in the laboratory development stage, and their vibration isolation control algorithms still rely on high-performance commercial real-time controllers, making it difficult to meet the application requirements for isolators of space optical clock. On the basis of the previous work, this paper describes the development an active vibration isolator that meets the experimental requirements of the space optical clock. Based on the DSP embedded vibration isolation controller, an anti-saturation control algorithm is designed, which solves the problems of high order of robust controllers, large computing resources and difficult parameter debugging. The active vibration isolation experimental system is further developed, and the experimental results validate the effectiveness of the developed active vibration isolator and anti-saturation control algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exploration of Uranus, a key archetype for ice giant planets and a gateway to understanding distant exoplanets, is acquiring increasing interest in recent years, especially after the Uranus Orbiter and Probe (UOP) mission has been prioritized in the Planetary Science Decadal Survey 2023–2032. This paper presents the results of numerical simulations aimed at providing experimental constraints on the parameterized post-Newtonian (PPN) parameter γ , a measure of space–time curvature in general relativity (GR), during the cruise phase of a spacecraft travelling to Uranus. Leveraging advanced radio tracking systems akin to those aboard the JUICE and BepiColombo missions, we explore the potential of solar conjunction experiments (SCEs) to refine current measurements of γ by exploiting the spacecraft's long journey in the outer Solar System. We discuss the anticipated enhancements over previous estimates, underscoring the prospect of detecting violations of GR. Our simulations predict that by using an advanced radio tracking system, it is possible to obtain an improvement in the estimation of γ up to more than an order of magnitude with respect to the latest measurement performed by the Cassini–Huygens mission in 2002, contingent on the calibration capabilities against solar plasma noise. The results reveal that a number of SCEs during the mission can substantially strengthen the validation of GR. In tandem with fundamental physics tests, the use of radio links during SCEs presents a valuable opportunity to dissect the solar corona's plasma dynamics, contributing to solar physics and space weather forecasting. This paper also enumerates methodologies to analyze electron density, localize plasma features, and deduce solar wind velocity, enriching the scientific yield of the experiments beyond the primary objective of testing GR during the cruise phase of a mission to Uranus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estimating individual treatment effect (ITE) from observational data has attracted great interest in recent years, which plays a crucial role in decision-making across many high-impact domains such as economics, medicine, and e-commerce. Most existing studies of ITE estimation assume that different units at play are independent and do not influence each other. However, many social science experiments have shown that there often exist different levels of interactions between units in observational data, especially in a networked environment. As a result, the treatment assignment of one unit can affect the outcome of other units connected to it in the network, which is referred to as the interference or spillover effect. In this article, we study an important problem of ITE estimation from networked observational data by modeling the interference between different units and provide a principled framework to support such study. Methodologically, we propose a novel framework, SPNet, that first captures the influence of hidden confounders with the aid of graph convolutional network and then models the interference by introducing an environment summary variable and developing a masked attention mechanism. Experimental evaluations on several semi-synthetic datasets based on real-world networks corroborate the superiority of our proposed framework over state-of-the-art individual treatment effect estimation methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study addresses the measurement of high school students' epistemic knowledge associated with scientific experimentation (EKSE) which concerns how scientific experimentation generates knowledge and why that knowledge is justified. Based on philosophical, educational standards, and literature analyses, an EKSE construct is characterized as (1) underlying students' decisions and reasoning elicited during experiment design, data collection/measurement, and data analysis/interpretation and (2) progressing in five levels of sophistication: no information, nascent, dogmatic, contextualized, and reflective. This study psychometrically examined the structure of the EKSE construct using the construct modeling approach. An instrument was designed to ask students decisions and reasoning encountered while carrying out the activities embedded in experimental inquiry. High school students took the instrument as a pretest and a posttest to a physics curriculum where they learned to carry out independent scientific experiments. Results indicate that (1) all decisions and reasoning taking place during experiment design, data collection/measurement, and data analysis/interpretation contribute to the EKSE construct, (2) epistemic knowledge develops in the hypothesized order, (3) scientifically aligned decisions are likely to occur when students' epistemic knowledge is at or higher than the dogmatic level, and (4) students' EKSE can improve after engaging in a curriculum that encourages independent scientific experimentation with materials. Implications of these results and further research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aimed to investigate preschool children's learning needs related to science and their teachers' science activity practices. A basic qualitative research design was applied. Interviews were conducted with 15 preschool teachers and 48 children living in Ankara and subjected to content analysis. It was found that teachers mostly carried out activities and science experiments to support sense development and observation skills, used science and sensory centres and mostly preferred natural objects and living things. However, it was found that about half of the teachers considered themselves inadequate in science activities. Teachers stated that children need science activities that they can experience on their own, that take place outdoors and that are appropriate for their age, development and interests. They also stated that children need learning experiences that will improve their sensory development, observation and questioning skills. It was found that children mostly wanted to get to know scientists, learn how tools and equipment work, and conduct experiments. As a result of the research, it was revealed that teachers were aware of the importance of developing children's skills and reflected this in practice, but they could not identify the topics that children were interested in very well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New detectors in photon science experiments produce rapidly-growing volumes of data. For detector developers, this poses two challenges; firstly, raw data streams from detectors must be converted to meaningful images at ever-higher rates, and secondly, there is an increasing need for data reduction relatively early in the data processing chain. An overview of data correction and reduction is presented, with an emphasis on how different data reduction methods apply to different experiments in photon science. These methods can be implemented in different hardware (e.g., CPU, GPU or FPGA) and in different stages of a detector's data acquisition chain; the strengths and weaknesses of these different approaches are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

French beans are tender, immature, edible pods that are harvested early in the plant's growth cycle and are usually eaten cooked. The growth habits of French beans were studied for the first time in a Citizen Science experiment, and 19 pod samples were collected for further nutritional analysis. Various macronutrients (e.g., protein, ash, fat, carbohydrates, amino acids) and multi-element profiles were determined. A survey of their growing habits revealed that beans are usually planted once or twice a year in May and June at a length of 5–10 m, with a predominance of dwarf beans cultivation over climbing varieties, and pest resistance and stringless pods are the most important characteristics when deciding on a bean. Homogenised freeze-dried pod samples contained 16.1–23.1% protein, 4.5–8.2% ash, 0.1–1.1% fat, and 62.0–70.6% carbohydrates and had a caloric value of 337–363 kcal/100 g. Of the 17 free amino acids identified, 8 were essential (histidine, threonine, methionine, valine, lysine, isoleucine, leucine, phenylalanine) and 9 were non-essential (cysteine, aspartic acid, serine, glutamic acid, glycine, arginine, alanine, proline, tyrosine); meanwhile, of the 12 elements, 5 were macroelements and 7 were microelements. The predominant free amino acids were aspartic acid, glutamic acid, and serine. In the multiple comparisons (Box and Whisker plot), the parameters caloric value and iron showed the strongest response. A very strong positive significant Pearson correlation (≥0.95) was found for five pairs of variables within the free amino acids. Comparison of the nutrient data obtained in the pods showed near-perfect or high complementarity (85.2–103.4%) with the food composition databases for half of the parameters, suggesting that the home-grown French beans from the Citizen Science experiment are a highly nutritious vegetable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cholera is a leading cause of mortality in Nigeria. The two most significant predictors of cholera are a lack of access to clean water and poor sanitary conditions. Other factors such as natural disasters, illiteracy, and internal conflicts that drive people to seek sanctuary in refugee camps may contribute to the spread of cholera in Nigeria. The aim of this research is to develop a cholera outbreak risk prediction (CORP) model using machine learning tools and data science. In this study, we developed a CORP model using design science perspectives and machine learning to detect cholera outbreaks in Nigeria. Nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) was used for dimensionality reduction, and synthetic minority oversampling technique (SMOTE) was used for data balancing. Outliers were detected using density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (DBSCAN) were removed improving the overall performance of the model, and the extreme-gradient boost algorithm was used for prediction. The findings revealed that the CORP model outcomes resulted in the best accuracy of 99.62%, Matthews's correlation coefficient of 0.976, and area under the curve of 99.2%, which were improved compared with the previous findings. The developed model can be helpful to healthcare providers in predicting possible cholera outbreaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Popular culture can be given representation in the form of attractions and institutions. This paper explores the impact of such popular culture institutions within the context of place branding research. The aim is to contribute to developing a framework for assessing and harnessing indirect value of tourist attractions in place branding. Tom Tits Experiment Science Center serves as the focal point in this abductive qualitative case study. The literature review is focused on exploring the concept of value within place branding and associated fields, particularly, zooming in on the concept of indirect value and a bottom-up approach. Drawing from this cross-disciplinary literature review and interviews with key stakeholders within Tom Tits' network, a framework that encompasses nine indirect value categories is presented. The case of Tom Tits is used to illustrate a single stakeholder's potential value contributions across the identified categories. The study emphasizes the complex collaborative nature of places and encourages further exploration of the evolving topic of popular culture institutions and their influence in place branding. Additionally, it supports a shift in perspective regarding the assessment, development, and branding of places, highlighting the role of key stakeholders as value drivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aerosol jet printing is a compelling technology for hybrid electronics, combining digital and noncontact patterning with broad materials compatibility, resolution as fine as ≈10 microns, and a high standoff distance of 1–5 mm. Despite its growing popularity in research environments, a robust process understanding and improved manufacturing control are essential for achieving the reliability and predictability required for broader adoption in advanced applications. Herein, recent developments in process monitoring using in‐line light scattering measurements are discussed, including their mechanistic foundations, experimental validation, relevance for process control and reliability, and value as a diagnostic tool for fundamental studies. Experimental measurements confirm the correlation between measured light scattering and deposition rate. Building on this platform, feedback from the real‐time measurement is coupled with printer software to support automated closed‐loop control via a simple proportional‐integral‐derivative software control loop. Combined with the utility of these measurements as a diagnostic to accelerate ink formulation and support fundamental process science experiments, this in‐line measurement provides a useful tool to improve print reliability with the potential to advance the adoption and capabilities of this method in conformal, flexible, and hybrid electronics applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students often perceive school science as purely theoretical, overloaded with facts, and mostly disconnected from their school, home, and community life. One way to bridge the disconnection between school science and lived experiences, and support students in realizing the relevance of science to their everyday life, is by enabling them to integrate their funds of knowledge (FoK), the knowledge and expertise people have because of their roles in their families, communities, and culture, within science. To support students in this task, we developed Together with Science, a series of Vlogs (video blogs) designed to guide families and students through home‐based experiments and support the emergence of a third space, where science and everyday life intersect. The Vlogs provided the necessary scientific background for the experiments and encouraged participants to share aspects of their lived experiences and reflect upon the realization of scientific phenomena in their lives. Using videotaped discussions of students and family members, we examined the interactions between them, as well as the FoK addressed in the conversation. The results indicate that multiple types of interactions emerged between students and family members, as they jointly conducted the science experiments and discussed their findings. Shifts in these interactions were associated with the development of a shared third space, in which both students and family members were able to concurrently relate everyday life to the scientific phenomenon. Most FoK were associated with participants' homes and culture. Our results suggest that family members can serve as brokers to support their children in realizing the relationship between science and their everyday life, by bringing in their unique FoK into the scientific discussion, and highlighting the importance of thoughtfully designed learning environments to support them in the process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the goodness‐of‐fit test of semiparametric copula models when one faces bivariate interval‐censored failure time data, which often occur in many areas including epidemiological and medical studies as well as social science experiments. For the problem, three test statistics or procedures are proposed: two based on the pseudo in‐and‐out‐sample approach and one based on the information ratio criterion. The asymptotic properties of the proposed test procedures are established, and in particular, the three methods are shown to be asymptotically equivalent. To assess the empirical performance of the proposed methods, an extensive simulation study is conducted and indicates that they work well in practical situations. An application to a Signal–Tandmobiel study is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the use of Arduino coding and interfacing for physical computation with electrical and nonelectrical physical entities. It emphasizes the importance of independent thinking and demonstrates how the same microcontroller system can be used for various applications, such as low- and high-voltage switching, light and temperature sensing, sound generation, and voltage waveform generation. The article provides examples and exercises for undergraduate physics majors to develop their skills in designing experiments and applying microcontroller coding to meaningful science experiments. It also highlights the potential for collaboration between physics and engineering students. [Extracted from the article]

This editorial discusses the structure and function of trans-membrane proteins, which play crucial roles in various cellular processes. Trans-membrane proteins are embedded in lipid membranes and are involved in functions such as solute passage and signaling. Despite their importance, trans-membrane proteins remain mysterious due to the challenges in obtaining experimental data. The article highlights the use of computational approaches and combined experimental studies to gain insights into the complexity of trans-membrane proteins. Several specific studies are mentioned, including the analysis of transmembrane helices, the characterization of virulence genes in Staphylococcus aureus, the study of blood group antigens, and the analysis of the ZIP family of proteins. The contributions in this Research Topic demonstrate the importance of advanced computational simulations and experimental studies in understanding trans-membrane proteins. [Extracted from the article]

We demonstrate the capabilities of a published MADNet monocular height estimation network in producing a refined digital terrain model (DTM) mosaic at 50 cm/pixel resolution for the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover landing site in Jezero crater on Mars. Our approach utilizes the publicly available Mars 2020 Terrain Relative Navigation (TRN) High‐Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) Digital Terrain Model (DTM) mosaic, which was originally created by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Science Centre. Our resultant HiRISE MADNet DTM mosaic is strictly matched with the original HiRISE TRN DTM and orthoimage mosaics. These mosaics are themselves co‐aligned with the USGS TRN Context Camera (CTX) based DTM and orthoimage mosaics, as well as the ESA/DLR/FUB (European Space Agency/German Aerospace Center/Free University Berlin) High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) level 5 DTM and orthoimage mosaics. In this paper, we provide a brief description of the technical details, and present both visual and quantitative assessments of the refined MADNet HiRISE Jezero DTM mosaic product. This DTM product is now publicly available at http://dx.doi.org/10.17169/refubium-38359. Key Points: We demonstrate the capabilities of a published MADNet monocular height estimation network in producing a refined digital terrain model mosaic at 50 cm/pixel resolution for the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover landing site in Jezero crater on MarsThe resultant 50 cm/pixel digital terrain model mosaic demonstrates significant improvements in effective resolution and artifact elimination compared to the publicly available Mars 2020 Terrain Relative Navigation TRN High‐Resolution Imaging Science Experiment digital terrain modelThe resultant digital terrain model mosaic has been made publicly available at http://dx.doi.org/10.17169/refubium-38359 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Necatibey Faculty of Education Electronic Journal of Science & Mathematics Education is the property of Balikesir University, Necatibey Faculty of Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Some experiments from the history of physics became so famous that they not only made it into the textbook canon but were transformed into lecture demonstration performances and student laboratory activities in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. While, at first glance, some of these demonstrations as well as the related instruments do resemble their historical ancestors, a closer examination reveals significant differences both in the instruments themselves and in the practices and meanings associated with them. In this paper, I analyse the relation between the research instruments and the respective teaching demonstrations. In doing so, I particularly distinguish between demonstrations that address the process of the actual experimental procedures, and those that focus on the outcome or results (the product) of the experiment. This distinction will be illustrated in some exemplary case studies from the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth in which both the historical experiment and the related educational devices are analysed. The tension between the historical experiment on the one hand, and the different variants of the teaching version on the other, result in the educational as well as epistemological problems that are discussed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal for Technology in Theory & Practice / Zeitschrift für Technikfolgenabschätzung in Theorie und Praxis (TATuP) is the property of Oekom Verlag GmbH and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Over the last two decades, researchers in operations management have increasingly leveraged laboratory experiments to identify key behavioral insights. These experiments inform behavioral theories of operations management, impacting domains including inventory, supply chain management, queuing, forecasting, and sourcing. Yet, until now, the replicability of most behavioral insights from these laboratory experiments has been untested. We remedy this with the first large-scale replication study in operations management. With the input of the wider operations management community, we identify 10 prominent experimental operations management papers published in Management Science, which span a variety of domains, to be the focus of our replication effort. For each paper, we conduct a high-powered replication study of the main results across multiple locations using original materials (when available and suitable). In addition, our study tests replicability in multiple modalities (in-person and online) due to laboratory closures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our replication study contributes new knowledge about the robustness of several key behavioral theories in operations management and contributes more broadly to efforts in the operations management field to improve research transparency and reliability. This paper was accepted by David Simchi-Levi, operations management. Funding: The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from Cornell University, the University of South Carolina, the University of Texas at Dallas, the University of Michigan, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Supplemental Material: The data files and online appendices are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.4866. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article, titled "Changes in the Leaves," by David L. Harrison, discusses the process of leaves changing color in the autumn. The author explains that during the spring and summer, leaves are green due to the presence of chlorophyll, which masks other colors. However, as the weather cools in the autumn, leaves stop producing chlorophyll, allowing the other colors to become visible. The article also provides suggestions for further exploration of this topic, including reading books about autumn changes, conducting experiments with colored leaves, and taking nature walks to observe seasonal changes. [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of Didáctica Geográfica is the property of Grupo de Didactica de la Geografia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

To address the aggressive reform of the Department of Education focused on improving the quality of science education at the basic levels, this mixed-method research explores how high school students exemplified the predict-observe-explain (POE) strategy as a skill or strategy in performing science experiments. A survey questionnaire was administered to determine their practice of POE strategy during the performance of the experiment. Based on the result, a mental model of the predict-observeexplain (POE) strategy was generated, which will serve as a reference for the students when they use POE as a strategy in performing science experiments as well as the teacher's reference when using POE as a teaching strategy. Previous studies on POE have primarily focused on its effectiveness as a strategy, not as a thought process; thus, this present study proposed a mental model. A mental model is an explanation of how students process the way science experiments are performed. This mental model can help students to understand science concepts and to make better decisions to develop the scientific literacy of the students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]