This paper elaborates on the life and publications of Joseph Priestley, the eighteenth-century polymath. The paper outlines his particular place in the European Enlightenment; it stresses the importance of philosophy and worldview in his scientific work on pneumatic chemistry, the composition of air, and his discovery of the process of…

Feminist standpoint theory has important implications for science education. The paper focuses on difficulties in standpoint theory, mostly regarding the assumptions that different social positions produce different types of knowledge, and that epistemic advantages that women might enjoy are always effective and significant. I conclude that the…

Discusses various aspects of contructivism, focusing on the work of Karin Knorr-Cetina. Indicates that an internal critique of Knorr's arguments for the relativist program in the sociology highlights the role of shared knowledge in science and that Knorr's analysis produces new insights concerning the necessity and nature of scientific consensus.…

Discusses the limitations of science, the social responsibility of scientists, the need for more and better science popularization, and the education and characteristics of scientists. (EB)

Argues that many of the detrimental effects of science and technology on society are the result of fragmentation of pure and applied science, between specialities, and within specialities. (EB)

The findings reported in this paper report on an investigation of Chinese people's understanding of the nature of science in relation to their conceptualisations of Nature. As an exploratory and interpretive study, it uses semi-structured interviews with 25 Chinese secondary school science teachers. The paper first presents these teachers'…

The physical and social image of the scientist among school children, student teachers, and teachers over the last 50 years was investigated. Interest has also been shown in the perception of the personality behind the physical stereotype. Nevertheless, the value judgments of science and scientists and the positive and negative mind-sets attaching…

The Answers in Genesis Creation Museum opened in May of 2007. During the opening day, a loosely affiliated group of scientists joined in a Rally for Reason as they termed it to protest the museum's potential effect on science in the United States. This paper discusses ethnographic data collected before and during the rally. Scientist narratives…

Lipidomics is an emerging discipline in life sciences related to the lipid metabolism of living organisms. In the last decade chemical and biological research has attributed very important roles to membrane phospholipids in relationship to free radical stress and metabolic situations. An entrepreneurial initiative for diagnostic tools and health…

Presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, Chicago, Illinois, February, 1968.

Fifteen National Science Foundation executives and managers met with Arnold Thackray to discuss the historian and the progress of science. Presented are comments by participants of this roundtable discussion (part of a series of roundtables which examined theoretical/practical aspects of how the nature of scientific progress is defined and…

Considers the role that science and technology have played, and should play, in human affairs. (RK)

The recipient of Scientific Apparatus Makers Association Award in Chemical Education advocates designing instruction after contemplation of Lavoisier, who was able to transfer information across subject areas; Socrates, who taught by encouraging student's questions; Democritus, whose contribution to science was a matter of luck. (AL)

In view of the complex problems of this age, the question of the socio-ethical dimension of science acquires particular importance. We approach this matter from a philosophical and sociological standpoint, looking at such focal concerns as the motivation, purposes and methods of scientific activity, the ambivalence of scientific research and the…