Science Education & Policy

For policy makers and politicians, there is confusion over what peer review is and how it should be used in policy decision making and, really, how improved technology and new science (including any ethics issues) make critical evaluation by the independent peers of those who create advancements more important than ever. A. Alan Moghissi, president of the Institute for Regulatory Science, and Michael S. Swetnam, of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, write in Technology&Innovation that review criteria must be identified, the process must be transparent, and over…

The Fourteenth Amendment of the United States constitution was passed after the civil war to provide equal protection to freed slaves under the law and to protect them from discriminatory behavior by the government. However, since then, the equal protection clause has been extended to prevent discriminatory action by the government against other races, as well as gender discrimination. One principle stated by the modern court regarding this amendment has been "the invidious quality of a law claimed to be racially discriminatory must ultimately be traced to a racially discriminatory purpose...…

the fourteenth amended of the united states constitution was passed after the civil war to provide equal protection to freed slaves under the law and to protect them from discriminatory behavior by the government. However, since then, the equal protection clause has been extended to prevent discriminatory action bay the government against other races, as well as gender discrimination. One principle stated by the modern court regarding this amendment has been "the invidious quality of a law claimed to be racially discriminatory must ultimately be traced to a racially discriminatory purpose...…

An Ohio 8th-grade creationist science teacher with a habit of branding crosses on his students' arms has been fired, after a long and tedious process and a lawsuit that cost the school district some big bucks. The referee who evaluated the case for termination nicely summed up in one sentence (PDF) exactly what you can't do when you're a public school science teacher: ...He persisted in his attempts to make eighth grade science what he thought it should be - an examination of accepted scientific curriculum with the discerning eye of Christian Doctrine. Freshwater demonstrated (yet again) the…

You may recognize the famous Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky, whose best known work is “Pictures at an Exhibition”.  But the pictures that follow are from a totally different exhibition, that of the Association for Science Education Annual Conference 2011, held at the University of Reading from 5th to 8th January.  The Skybolt If one had paid no attention to the marquee on the central lawn, then one’s attention might have been drawn by this rocket parked outside the Quondam Physics Department. This was the chief exhibit of…

That's too bad. Pope Benedict XVI just let go with a very unfortunate judgement, which betrays just how much the catholic church would like to force a control on our society. In a new-year speech he gave in front of diplomats, Benedict touched the subject of the way sexual education is taught in Europe: "Proseguendo la mia riflessione, non posso passare sotto silenzio un'altra minaccia alla libertà religiosa delle famiglie in alcuni Paesi europei, là dove è imposta la partecipazione a corsi di educazione sessuale o civile che trasmettono concezioni della persona e della vita presunte neutre…

A number of scientific organizations these days are creating Meet the Scientist programs and sending scientists and engineers out into public schools, science cafes, and other venues with the hope that they can drum up interest in pursuing careers in these fields. The idea is students will come to an assembly or a festival or some other place and be inspired by the excitement of learning how scientists work. Some of these groups are training the scientists on how to talk to the general public, while others are just pushing them out the door. AAAS and NSF have a program where they train…

“Anyone who knows history, particularly the history of Europe, will, I think, recognize that the domination of education or of government by any one particular religious faith is never a happy arrangement for the people.” “Will people ever be wise enough to refuse to follow bad leaders or to take away the freedom of other people?” --Eleanor Roosevelt  While government may lead the way, it can never provide solutions without alienating broad groups of people when practiced as a zero sum, top-down discipline.  This has been demonstrated time and again in foreign…

Western thought, from the sciences to the arts, have been based upon the rich mythology and history of the Ancient Greeks and Romans.  One which seems to guide the subconscious thought of many of our political and financial leaders is the myth of Saturn (Chronos).  Saturn, the Roman name for the Greek God Chronos, became the ruler of the deities after overthrowing his own father.  However, Saturn, like most power hungry individuals, quickly aged and forgot the crimes perpetrated by his own father --  crimes and misdemeanors which first brought him to fight the good fight.…

Here are a few questions I would like to see answered in Science 2.0 during 2011. First I would like to see a major scientist explain why the laws of nature are almost the same nearly everywhere. Especially interesting would be an explanation of why distant galaxies seem to obey the same laws we have on Earth. What connects the distant places together across the vacuum of space? How do we know? Next I would like to see a well established scientist explain why the vacuum of space that appears to be empty has physical properties that can be measured. Especially how does space produce constants…