Many political scientists maintain that public policies diffuse across states and that proximate states, in particular, influence one another's policy activities. Using state-funded merit aid for college as its case, this article takes a new approach to the study of the diffusion phenomenon, leaving behind conventional techniques used by…

Background: In this paper, we consider music education in a broad sense-not merely pertaining to the development of exceptional levels of artistry in talented performers, but also to notions of musical listening and appreciation enjoyed by the casual listener. Purpose: This review cannot be exhaustive, but aims to illustrate what we already know…

This study examines the underrepresentation of women faculty in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by comparing the intentions of attrition and turnover between genders in Research and Doctoral universities. It is found that the two genders did not differ in their intentions to depart from academia, but women faculty had a…

This article focuses on the development and implementation of the Science Ambassador (SA) Program, which targets adolescents by working directly with science teachers who write and implement lesson plans that feature public health topics. The main goals of the program are to develop science lesson plans on public health topics, expose adolescents…

Stories weave common elements of the nature of science between topics and activities, regardless of whether it's short historical narratives about scientists or current event articles that are read. Stories also can help students realize the important contributions of persons of color, women, and other traditionally underrepresented groups. In…

Recognizing that education is an important condition necessary for the development of public life and the economy, the author examines elite education in the natural sciences, its criterion represented by ability and talent rather than social origin or economic status. Education of such students, advocates the author, can ensure the training of a…

The main purpose of this study was to establish Information Literacy Competence Standards for Elementary and High School Teachers. To establish these standards a set of two expert round-table discussions and three rounds of Delphi Technique surveys were employed. Ten participants including field scholars, information professionals were invited to…

This essay details a public display of four steam engine models assembled in a Leiden orphanage courtyard in 1777. By examining the multiple purposes to which these engines were and could be put, alongside the various interests, goals and interpretations of their inventors, instructors and audience, the notion of a clear division between public…

The New Environmental or Ecological Paradigm (NEP) is widely acknowledged as a reliable multiple-item scale to capture environmental attitudes or beliefs. It has been used in statistical analyses for almost 30 years, primarily by psychologists, but also by political scientists, sociologists and geographers. The scale's theoretical foundation is,…

It is important that students have the opportunity to experience the nature and processes of science for themselves. The sequence of activities presented in this paper--Draw-a-Scientist and the Mystery Box Redux--were designed to help students better understand the nature of science (NOS) and engage them in the process of scientific inquiry. These…

Corporate librarians hold the key to determining new ways to work within their environments. They must drive the process to change the view of the company library as a liability--as overhead, as a cost center, as part of the problem--to the library as a solution center, a necessary investment. For the sixth consecutive year, corporate libraries…

The hydrologic cycle is a very basic scientific principle. In this article, background information is presented on how the hydrologic cycle provides scientists with clues to understanding the history of Earth's climate. Also detailed is a web-based activity that allows students to learn about how scientists are able to piece together a record of…

Describes the evolution of computerized information storage and retrieval from its mid-nineteenth century beginnings in theoretical works on logic by George Boole, to the applications of Boole's logic to switching circuits by Claude Shannon in the 1930s, to the development of coordinate indexing by Mortimer Taube in the 1940s and 1950s. (Contains…

Despite the growing number of collaborations between volunteers and professional scientists, research efforts investigating the impacts of such collaborations, which we have termed Public Participation in Scientific Research (PPSR), have been very limited. Examples of PPSR projects include citizen science, volunteer monitoring, and participatory…

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of questioning "during" a read-aloud and questioning "after" a read-aloud, using science-related informational tradebooks with first-and second-graders. Three thematically-related tradebooks were used, each portraying a scientist involved in authentic investigation. Students in two first/second…