Science and Technology Studies Commons^™

Volume 7 (2024) Artificial Intelligence And Responsibility, Arwa Alnajashi, Danielle Derise, Philip L. Frana, David Mcgraw, Amanda Sawyer, Tatjana Titareva, Raafat Zaini, Allie Zombron

International Journal on Responsibility

The seventh volume of the International Journal on Responsibility (IJR) arrives at a crucial moment in the evolution of artificial intelligence and its integration into our academic and social fabric. As we witness the rapid advancement and deployment of AI systems across various domains, this special issue examines the multifaceted dimensions of responsibility surrounding AI technology, with a particular focus on its role in higher education and broader societal implications.

The articles in this volume contribute to our understanding of responsibility through diverse lenses, from classroom implementation to ethical design considerations. Together, they fulfill IJR’s central mission of exploring “Who …

Learning To Teach About Climate Justice And Social Justice In Science Methods, Mindy J. Chappell

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

In November, the Editors of NWJTE sat down for a conversation with Dr. Mindy J. Chappell, a Science Teacher Educator in the College of Education at Portland State University. Dr. Chappell’s passions include developing teachers who are prepared to disrupt normative science ideologies and provide young people with science instruction that encourages and empowers them to be leaders in their communities. She engages in arts-based educational science research through the methodology of Ethnodance (a term she coined). She places young people and their lived experiences at the heart of her work.

Confronting Sexism In Science, Technology, Engineering, And Math (Stem): What Are The Consequences?, Eden J.V. Hennessey

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Disparaging remarks that female scientists are ‘Distractingly Sexy’ (Waxman, 2015) and ‘Too Pretty to Do Math’ t-shirts (Amazon.com) highlight the common belief that women in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) violate perceived gender norms. However, by confronting these beliefs, women may incur a ‘double-dose’ of hostility; once for being present in science, and again because of the confrontation itself (Kaiser & Miller, 2001). Across three studies, this research tested how women confronting sexism in STEM contexts would elicit and anticipate social costs. Study 1 showed that male participants rated a hypothetical female confronter in STEM higher in bossiness and …

Animal Pain And The Social Role Of Science, Leslie Irvine

Animal Sentience

Assuming that all animals are sentient would mean ending their use in most scientific research. This does not necessarily imply an unscientific or anti-scientific stance. Examining the social role of science reveals its considerable investment in preserving the status quo, including the continued use of animal subjects. From this perspective, the use of animal subjects is a custom that science could move beyond, rather than a methodological requirement that it must defend.

An Examination Of Accessible Hands-On Science Learning Experiences, Self-Confidence In One’S Capacity To Function In The Sciences, And Motivation And Interest In Scientific Studies And Careers., Mick D. Isaacson, Cary Supalo, Michelle Michaels, Alan Roth

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

This study examined the potential relationship of accessible hands-on science learning experiences to the development of positive beliefs concerning one’s capacity to function in the sciences and motivation to consider science as a college major and career. Findings from Likert survey items given before and after engaging in accessible hands-on science laboratories show that students who were blind or had low vision (BLV) were more likely to agree with the following items after engaging in accessible science experiences: 1) I plan on enrolling as a science major in college; 2) My educational experiences, so far, have given me the …

Time Of Year Affects Surgical Outcome Of Pediatric Congenital Heart Disease, Krystin Sinclair

Honors Projects in Science and Technology

Approximately 35,000 children are born in the US each year with Congenital Heart Disease (CHD). Surgical timing for many of these conditions is elective, and the distribution of surgical cases, therefore, varies with time of year. The hypothesis of this project is that time of the year for surgery is associated with mortality, length of hospital stay (LOS), and total hospital costs. A retrospective, cohort study was performed, using the Pediatric Health Information Systems (PHIS) Database to investigate these relationships.

The Impact Of Project Lead The Way Gateway To Technology Foundation Unit Completion On Students' Critical-Thinking Skills, Rula Odai Hashem

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Georgetown's Public Policy Institute (2013) reported that the fastest growing occupations and the highest demand for college education and training fields will be in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM), healthcare, and community services. One of the K-12 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) programs' purposes is to promote critical-thinking skills (Johnson, 1992). This study examined the impact of Project Lead The Way Gateway to Technology (PLTW-GTT) units, a middle school STEM program, on the critical-thinking skills of middle school students. Quasi experimental research methods were utilized to test the impact of the completion of two PLTW-GTT foundation units on students' …

Contemporary Quaker Attitudes To Science And Technology, Jackie Leach Scully

Quaker Studies

I discuss some data on contemporary Quaker attitudes to science, particularly gene technology, gathered from member of Britain Yearly Meeting. Quakers are often perceived as having a relatively positive attitude towards innovation, including technology, and some confirmation of this can be found in Quaker history, until 30 years ago. The observations described in this paper suggest that, in line with the general trend in the west towards a greater skepticism about the benefits of science, the current attitude of British Friends towards the practice of science is a more ambivalent or even negative one, although attitudes towards the scientific/experimental method …

Fearless Friday: Kirsten Crear, Kirsten Crear

SURGE

Even in her last semester here at Gettysburg, Kirsten Crear ’14 is fearlessly working to make changes for the future of the campus community. This semester, Kirsten introduced a STEMinists club on campus that will give female students who are STEM (an acronym for Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics) majors the opportunity to come together and create a community, share and discuss the difficulties they face as women in their fields of study, and support and mentor each other as they prepare to enter their fields.

Kirsten is passionate, driven, and determined, taking the initiative to bring this group of women together on campus …

90° To 360°, Holly Paronelli

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

When I hear STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and Art I think of Math and value. Even though there is value in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) the value as a whole cannot be fully calculated. Art is too indefinite, to vast, too infinite to be calculated, but aspects of STEM can be. Yet even then what we think we know comes down to interpretation, fact is fact for only a while.

Scientific Restraint: The Balance Between Progress And Safety, Richard Bell

Senior Honors Projects

Mankind’s collective scientific and technological knowledge has progressed, and is progressing, at such a rate that humanity is now well within its means to bring about widespread devastation by its own devices. The high stakes of many projects in diverse fields of study, including those in nuclear, genetic, and biotechnical sciences, necessitates an analysis of how to decide if risky experiments are worth pursuing. This is not a matter, so much, of what safeguards we put into place in dangerous experimental environments, but rather how to weigh potential loss versus potential gain. Even in the best laboratories, disaster can strike, …

Stem Talent: Moving Beyond Traditional Boundaries, Stephanie Pace Marshall

Publications & Research

The future well-being, prosperity and sustainability of our nation, the global community and our planet resides in igniting and nurturing decidedly different STEM minds that can advance both the new STEM frontier and the human future.

The Use Of Robotics, Gps And Gis Technologies To Encourage Stem-Oriented Learning In Youth, Viacheslav I. Adamchuk, Gwen Nugent, Bradley S. Barker, Neal Grandgenett

Teacher Education Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

In our technology rich world, the educational areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) play an increasingly essential role in developing well-prepared specialists for the 21st century workplace. Unfortunately, interest in theses areas has been declining for a few decades. Various innovative educational initiatives in formal and informal learning environments have been undertaken nationally to attempt to encourage STEM-oriented learning. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the particular program described in this paper focuses on middle school youth in non-formal learning environments. The program integrates educational robotics, Global Positioning System (GPS) and geographic information system (GIS) technologies to provide …

Using Robotics To Equip K-12 Teachers: Silicon Prairie Initiative For Robotics In Information Technology (Spirit), Alisa Gilmore, Bing Chen, Neal Grandgenett

Teacher Education Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

The Silicon Prairie Initiative for Robotics in Information Technology (SPIRIT) is a unique collaborative effort between the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) College of Engineering, the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) College of Education, and the local Omaha Public Schools (OPS) system. With funding from an NSF ITEST grant, from 2006 – 2008 the initiative recruited and trained 97 math and science middle school teachers through summer workshops and follow-up sessions during the school year, with the goal of equipping teachers in hands-on engineering design principles and providing curriculum development support for STEM instruction. The centerpiece of the training was …

A New Model Of 4-H Volunteer Development In Science, Engineering, And Technology Programs, Bradley S. Barker, Neal Grandgenett, Gwen Nugent

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

New initiatives centered on science, engineering, and technology (SET) in 4-H may be moving away from the long-established adult volunteer delivery model. This shift in delivery may be due to a lack of availability of adult volunteers who possess the necessary SET competencies to effectively lead 4-H clubs. One way to offset this trend may be to blend traditional face-to-face training with continuous training efforts that include asynchronous on-line training modules, synchronous Web-based meetings, and self-directed learning. This new 4-H SET Volunteer Competencies Training Model is being tested in the Nebraska 4-H Robotics and GPS/GIS program.

Measuring The Unconscionable, Sarah Stanlick

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The combination of level-headed scientific approaches and passionate activism seems at first glance an incompatible relationship. For the passionate humanitarian, there is a hesitation in fear of "selling out" to the black and white world of science, that science would somehow take the "human" dimension away from human rights. However, the bigger issue-and opportunity-is the multitude of ways that the partnership between scientific method and human rights can yield possibilities and innovations. As described in Sonia Shah's piece in The Nation , scientists are coming together to lend their unique skills and perspective to the ever-changing global status of human …

Scientists Have Been Out For Some Time Now: A Response To Sonia Shah, Clair Apodaca

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Sonia Shah's categorization of the scientific community as having been "by and large. impassively unmoved [by human rights], churning out their papers, applying for grants and debating esoterica at their private professional meetings" is grossly inaccurate on at least two accounts.

Scientists Promoting Human Rights, Edward Friedman

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Scientists have long been involved with work to protect fundamental human rights. The activities of the Federation of American Scientists to expose the health impact of nuclear testing in the atmosphere is typical. In the Soviet Union , many of the leading human rights activists, starting with the great Andrei Sakharov , were scientists. The same is true in China where a major intellectual force inspiring China's 1989 democracy movement was Fang Lizhi , an astrophysicist. Often their contribution to military security even gives them a little bit of protection.

March Roundtable: Introduction

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“Scientists Come Out for Human Rights ” by Sonia Shah. The Nation. January 27, 2009.

Enlightenment: Science And Human Rights, Christien Van Den Anker

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The subject of science and human rights sparks off thoughts of how this link has historically and geographically been severed, which has the effect of finding it newsworthy that scientists speak out in favor of human rights.

The ancient Greek philosophers were not limited in their subject matters in the same way as we take for granted now: science, society and the self were all deliberated about both empirically and normatively. Moreover, there was no division of labor between thinkers about one or other of these subjects.

Pre-Islamic Persian influences also affected debates on science. In the Middle Ages with …

Book Review: Tourists In Space: A Practical Guide, T. D. Oswalt

Publications

This document is Dr. Oswalt’s review of Tourists in Space : a Practical Guide by Erik Seedhouse. Springer/Praxis, 2008 314p, 9780387746432 $34.95

Blessed Unrest: The Power Of Unreasonable People To Change The World, Stephanie Pace Marshall

Publications & Research

In her keynote address at the 2008 NCSSSMST Professional Conference, Dr. Stephanie Pace Marshall addresses what work can be done with the collective resources of its Consortium members which beg to be shared and connected--and also explores what the source of "...our Blessed Unrest that will give us the courage to become unreasonable advocates for our children and for STEM transformation?"

The Family Science Starter Kit: A Manual To Assist You In The Development Of A Family Aeronautical Science Program, Henry R. Leher, Uno Aviation Institute

Faculty Books and Monographs

UNOAI Report 02-6

This book is designed to involve families working together on several different hands-on activities during evening meetings at school. The basis for these activities is the in-school study of related science and mathematical concepts and topics by the students in each family. The program provides an opportunity for families to work together in an interesting and enjoyable manner. The Family Aeronautical Science demonstration project consisted of three parts: (1) the in-school study of aeronautics during select science classes; (2) the extensive after-school use of the school’s computer laboratory; and (3) evening Family Aeronautical Science Nights. Key parts …

The University Of Nebraska At Omaha Center For Space Data Use In Teaching And Learning, Neal Grandgenett, Uno Aviation Institute

Faculty Books and Monographs

UNOAI Report 2000-4

Within the context of innovative coursework and other educational activities, we are proposing the establishment of a University of Nebraska at Omaha Center for the Use of Space Data in Teaching and Learning. This Center will provide an exciting and motivating process for educators at all levels to become involved in professional development and training which engages real life applications of mathematics, science, and technology. The Center will facilitate innovative courses (including online and distance education formats), systematic degree programs, classroom research initiatives, new instructional methods and tools, engaging curriculum materials, and various symposiums. It will involve …

The Islamization Of Science: Four Muslim Positions Developing An Islamic Modernity, Leif Stenberg

Books

No abstract provided.

"Who Is A Scientist?": Effects Of An Intervention To Change Students' Ideas About Science And Scientists, Lauren A. Foley

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

Advocates for improving science literacy have focused much attention on the negative impressions about science and scientists held by many Americans. The image of scientists as 'nerdy' bespectacled men in laboratories has been related by some researchers to people's lack of interest in pursuing science. This thesis analyzes one component of a program aimed at changing that stereotype. The Science-By-Mail (tm) program at the Museum of Science in Boston was designed to give students a more inclusive image of scientists. Central to the program was the creation of pen-pal relationships between students in grades 4-9 with scientists who did not …

Van Riessen Lectures At Dordt, James Koldenhoven

Pro Rege

No abstract provided.

Professor Stoker On Campus, James Koldenhoven

Pro Rege

Stoker's second lecture is discussed in Pro Rege 2:19-20, March 1974. His third lecture is discussed in Pro Rege 2:23-24, June 1974.