Interactions and mergers of galaxies

When two galaxies approach each other, we can witness the effects of the tidal forces on a gigantic scale. Peculiar features like galactic bridges and galactic tails may form, or the two galaxies may even merge into each other and form a single system. Merger of two spiral galaxies leads to the formation of an elliptical galaxy. The interaction of gas during such galaxy encounters triggers star formation and activity of the nucleus. It is generally being accepted that galaxy interactions and mergers play a vital role in galactic evolution. S M Alladin is a retired Professor of Astronomy, Osmania University, Hyderabad. He specialized in dynamical astronomy and did research on dynamics of colliding and merging galaxies. He is also interested in interaction between religion and science. S N Hasan is an Assistant Professor of Astronomy, Osmania University, Hyderabad. His field of specialization is celestial mechanics. His research interests include the three body problem, stellar and galactic dynamics.     

The science,technologies and society (STS) movement and the teaching of science

Ph.D. in theoretical physics from the University of Maryland (United States), graduate in philosophy from the Collège St Albert in Louvain and in mathematics from the Catholic University in Louvain. At present, he is a professor in the Department of Science, Philosophy and Society at the University of Namur. He has published several books, includingLa construction des sciences: introduction à la philosophie et à l'éthique des sciences (1988 and 1992), andAlphabétisation scientifique et technique: essai sur les finalités de l'enseignement scientifique (1994). His research interests are concerned with the relationship between ‘science and society’ and particularly between ‘science teaching and society’.     

Does Educational Preparation Match Professional Practice: The Case of Higher Education Policy Analysts

This study compares the extent to which higher education policy analysts and master’s and doctoral faculty of higher education and public affairs programs match on a set of competencies thought to be important to higher education policy analysis. Analysts matched master’s faculty in three competencies while analysts and doctoral faculty matched in five competencies. The findings suggest possible reasons why analysts and graduate faculty agree or differ on various competencies. Also, the findings raise important questions regarding the preparation of higher education policy analysts and the graduate programs that educate them. This study is an addition to the body of competency literature. Eduardo C. Arellano  obtained a B.A. in Political Science and an M.P.A from the University of Texas at El Paso, and he holds the Ph.D. in Educational Administration from New Mexico State University. He is an assistant professor at New Mexico State University in the Department of Educational Management and Development. His special interests are interactional diversity, competency, and US–Mexico border studies. Mario C. Martinez  has a B.A. in Electrical Engineering from New Mexico State University, an M.B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Ph.D. in Educational Policy and Leadership from Arizona State University. He is an associate professor at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas in the department of Educational Leadership. His special interests are higher education policy, governance, finance, competency modeling, and strategy.     

Hans bethe, quantum mechanics, and the lamb shift

An elementary derivation of the Lamb Shift, as originally given by Hans Bethe, is attempted, with a short historical background on the evolution of QED since the beginning of the last century. The treatment is for a non-relativistic electron, in keeping with Bethe’s proverbial insight into the problem, which renders irrelevant the effect of the electron spin on the problem. The Kramer idea of renormalization is implemented through a simple subtraction of the self-energy of a free electron from that of the electron bound in a hydrogen atom. A N Mitra has had a long teaching service from 1955 to 1994 when he retired from Delhi University as INSA Einstein Professor of physics. He spent a year (1995) as visiting professor at NIAS (Bangalore). Since then he has been working as a free-lance writer-cum-researcher in physics, with periodic publications on scientific matters of current interests. Concern for man and his fate must always form the chief interest of all technical endeavors. Never forget this in the midst of your diagrams and equations.     

Natural nano-machines

In the first part of this article, we read about Alice’s guided tour through the cellular microfactory. In the second part, I introduce the methods of studying the materials and mechanisms of the molecular machines through dialogues. The three participants in this discussion are Alice, her elder brother Alex and her father Albert. The style of presentation here is adapted from Galileo’s Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems. Albert, a professor of biophysics, emphasizes the crucial differences between the mechanisms of the natural nano-machines and those of their macroscopic counterparts. He also points out some practical applications of this interdisciplinary research in biomedical science and nano-technology. Debashish Chowdhury is a professor of Physics at IIT Kanpur. He is a theoretical physicist and the areas of his research interest are statistical and biological physics. He plays with toy models using mathematical formulae and simulates nature with computers.     

George Andrews’ game

This is an expository article showing how Zeck-endorf’s Theorem (every positive integer can be represented in one and only one way as the sum of non-consecutive Fibonacci numbers) can be used to construct a number-guessing game invented by Professor George Andrews. Jerold Mathews is professor (emeritus) of mathematics at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA, where he served on the faculty from 1961–1995. His interests include research in point set topology, history of mathematics and writing textbooks. He enjoys reading, photography and helping international students learn English.     

Changes in Preservice Teacher Attitudes Toward Astronomy Within a Semester-Long Astronomy Instruction and Four-Year-Long Teacher Training Programme

Teachers’ attitudes toward science, especially toward astronomy, are considered to be an important aspect of teaching and learning astronomy in school. Research findings to date remain inconclusive as to whether attitudes toward science change with the science courses taken or with increasing achievement. Therefore, preservice teacher attitudes were investigated in two contexts: the first examined how a semester-long moon phase instruction course changed preservice teacher attitudes toward astronomy, and the second considered how preservice teacher attitudes toward astronomy may change over the course of a four-year science teacher training programme. A total of 638 preservice elementary teachers participated in the study. The results indicated that a semester-long training course does not change attitudes, but the four-year programme does significantly change participant attitudes toward astronomy. Astronomy courses should be spread over the four-year programme using modules with few credit hours instead of one course with a large number of credit hours.     

Brownian motion problem: Random walk and beyond

A brief account of developments in the experimental and theoretical investigations of Brownian motion is presented. Interestingly, Einstein who did not like God’s game of playing dice for electrons in an atom himself put forward a theory of Brownian movement allowing God to play the dice. The vital role played by his random walk model in the evolution of non-equilibrium statistical mechanics and multitude of its applications is highlighted. Also included are the basics of Langevin’s theory for Brownian motion. Shama Sharma is currently working as lecturer at DAV College, Punjab. She is working on some problems in nonequilibrium statistical mechanics. Vishwamittar is professor in physics at Panjab University, Chandigarh and his present research activities are in nonequilibrium statistical mechanics. He has written articles on teaching of physics, history and philosophy of physics.     

College MOON Project Australia: Preservice Teachers Learning about the Moon’s Phases

This paper is a report of the Australian segment of an international multi-campus project centred on improving understanding of the Moon’s phases for preservice teachers. Instructional strategies adopted for a science education subject enabled Australian participants to make extended observations of the Moon’s phases and keep observational data records which were shared in asynchronous on-line discussion with fellow preservice teachers in the USA. An adaptation of an online inventory of lunar phases was completed by participants before and after the observation cycle. The analysis of inventory data showed that although there was statistically significant overall improvement in mean scores for the inventory this could be accounted for by statistically significant increases in only some conceptual domains related to the lunar phases. In addition, the findings indicate that some concepts involved in having a deep understanding of lunar phases can be improved by instruction however, misunderstandings of other concepts involved in lunar phases are difficult to change and may require increased attention to developing students’ visual-spatial capabilities.     

Teaching-for-Learning (TFL): A Model for Faculty to Advance Student Learning

In light of the widespread recognition of the enduring challenge of enhancing the learning of all students—including a growing number of students representing diverse racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds—there has been an explosion of literature on teaching, learning, and assessment in higher education. Notwithstanding scores of promising new ideas, individual faculty in higher education need a dynamic and inclusive model to help them engage in a systematic and continuous process of exploring and testing various teaching and assessment practices to ensure the learning of their students. This paper introduces a model—Teaching-for-Learning (TFL)—developed to meet this need. Clifton F. Conrad received his bachelor’s degree in History and his master’s degree in Political Science from the University of Kansas and his Ph.D. in Higher Education from the University of Michigan. He is Professor of Higher Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; and his research focus is on college and university curricula with particular emphases on program quality, liberal education, and teaching and learning. Jason Johnson received his bachelor’s degree in Comparative History of Ideas and his master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Washington. He is nearing completion of his Ph.D. and working as a Teaching Assistant in Higher Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and his research focuses on rhetoric in higher education. Divya Malik Gupta received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Human Development and Family Studies from Maharaja Sayajirao University in Gujarat, India. She is currently a Ph.D. student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.     

How might Native science inform “informal science learning”?

This article examines the literature on Native science in order to address the presumed binaries between formal and informal science learning and between Western and Native science. We situate this discussion within a larger discussion of culturally responsive schooling for Indigenous youth and the importance of Indigenous epistemologies and contextualized knowledges within Indigenous communities.

Tough transitions? Mediating beginning urban teachers’ practices through coteaching

The coteaching model for teacher preparation has emerged in recent years as an alternative to the traditional student teaching or practicum experience. Several studies have investigated the process of coteaching and its impact on participants during the actual experience; however, few depict participants’ experiences once they obtain positions and begin to teach independently. This collective case study explored two urban high school teachers’ (Jen and Ian) practices during the induction period after taking part in the coteaching model for student teaching. Using a sociocultural analytic framework, we found that the participants’ agency as beginning teachers was not constrained by their coteaching experiences. Rather, they were able to continue to draw on some of the successful practices they had in coteaching, such as shared reflection, shared responsibility, cogenerative dialogues, and building relationships with students. In addition to describing the coherence and contradictions between Ian’s and Jen’s practices during coteaching and in their beginning years of inservice teaching, we also discuss the ways that they became collaborators in our ethnographic research.

Community and inquiry: journey of a science teacher

In this case study, we examine a teacher’s journey, including reflections on teaching science, everyday classroom interaction, and their intertwined relationship. The teacher’s reflections include an awareness of being “a White middle-class born and raised teacher teaching other peoples’ children.” This awareness was enacted in the science classroom and emerges through approaches to inquiry. Our interest in Ms. Cook’s journey grew out of discussions, including both informal and semi-structured interviews, in two research projects over a three-year period. Our interest was further piqued as we analyzed videotaped classroom interaction during science lessons and discovered connections between Ms. Cook’s reflections and classroom interaction. In this article, we illustrate ways that her journey emerges as a conscientization. This, at least in part, shapes classroom interaction, which then again shapes her conscientization in a recursive, dynamic relationship. We examine her reflections on her “hegemonic (cultural and socio–economic) practices” and consider how these reflections help her reconsider such practices through analysis of classroom interaction. Analyses lead us to considering the importance of inquiry within this classroom community.

Learner-centered Leadership: An Agenda for Action

Institutions are attempting to revitalize undergraduate education through the shift of the dominant pedagogy to a learner-centered focus. While this is encouraging, it is crucial to acknowledge that most of the efforts and literature on the learner-centered paradigm have necessarily focused on strategies for faculty. It is, however, equally important for administrators to consider the impact of the paradigm shift on their roles. Professional development and leadership training that takes into account the need for both a technical shift and shift in perception is key to the success of the transition to a new paradigm. Roxanne Cullen holds a Ph.D in English from Bowling Green State University with a specialization in Rhetoric, and she is a professor of English at Ferris State University. She has held various leadership positions at the University, including serving as the first director of the University Writing Center, the Academic Head of the Department of Languages and Literature, Interim Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs and most recently Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs. Dr. Michael Harris received his Ph.D. in public policy from Indiana University, his master’s degree from Tel-Aviv University, and his undergraduate degree in economics and business administration from Bar-Ilan University. He is a graduate of the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Institute For Educational Management (IEM) and the Management Development Program (MDP). Dr. Harris serves as the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Kettering University. Dr. Harris specializes in public policy and political economy, and he serves as a political commentator to a variety of broadcast and print media in the United States and Israel.     

Techniques in X-ray astronomy

X-ray astronomy has benefited enormously with the deployment of imaging X-ray telescopes in space, leading to a veritable revolution. Such telescopes require distortion free focusing of X-rays and the use of position sensitive X-ray detectors. In this article I shall describe the importance of X-ray imaging, the optical principles behind the creation of images and the instruments based on these principles. The various techniques used to fabricate such X-ray telescopes are described briefly. The many types of detectors used in X-ray astronomy will be described in the second part of this article in a subsequent issue ofResonance. Kulinder Pal Singh is in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai. His primary fields of research are X-ray studies of hot plasmas in stars, supernova remnants, galaxies, intergalactic medium in clusters of galaxies, active galactic nuclei, cataclysmic variables and X-ray binaries. He is leading the development of a soft X-ray imaging telescope for the ASTROSAT mission to be launched by India in 2007–2008.     

Engaging Undergraduate Students in Research Activities: Are Research Universities Doing a Better Job?

Engaging undergraduate students in research activities has been advocated as an innovative strategy to improve American higher education (Boyer Commission, Reinventing undergraduate education: A blueprint for America’s research universities. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Stony Brook, NY, 1998). This study compared the frequency of undergraduate student research experiences at different types of colleges and universities from the early 1990s through 2004. The results indicate that the frequency of student research experiences increased since 1998 at all types of institutions and that students at research universities were not more likely than their counterparts elsewhere to have such experiences. The findings were consistent across major fields. To live up to their claims, research universities must find additional ways to involve undergraduates in research with faculty members. Shouping Hu is Associate Professor of Higher Education at Florida State University. He received his M.S. degree in Economics and Ph.D. in Higher Education from Indiana University. His research and scholarship focuses on postsecondary access and persistence, college student experience, and higher education finance. George D. Kuh is Chancellor’s Professor of Higher Education and Director of the Center for Postsecondary Research at Indiana University Bloomington. He received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Iowa. His research focuses on the quality of undergraduate education. Joy Gaston Gayles is Associate Professor in Adult and Higher Education at North Carolina State University. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Shaw University, Master’s degree from Auburn University, and Ph.D. in Higher Education from The Ohio State University. Her research focuses on college student learning and development.     

Reconsidering conceptual change from a socio-cultural perspective: analyzing students’ meaning making in genetics in collaborative learning activities

In the learning sciences, students’ understanding of scientific concepts has often been approached in terms of conceptual change. These studies are grounded in a cognitive or a socio-cognitive approach to students’ understanding and imply a focus on the individuals’ mental representations of scientific concepts and ideas. We approach students’ conceptual change from a socio-cultural perspective as they make new meaning in genetics. Adhering to a socio-cultural perspective, we emphasize the discursive and interactional aspects of human learning and understanding. This perspective implies that the focus is on students’ meaning making processes in collaborative learning activities. In the study, we conduct an analysis of a group of students’ who interact while working to solve problems in genetics. In our analyses we emphasize four analytical aspects of the students’ meaning making: (a) the students’ use of resources in problematizing, (b) teacher interventions, (c) changes in interactional accomplishments, and (d) the institutional aspect of meaning making. Our findings suggest that students’ meaning making surrounding genetics concepts relates not only to an epistemic concern but also to an interactional and an institutional concern.