Enigmas in School Science: students’ conceptions for scientifically associated words

Master's students were involved in the design, and later the administration, of a questionnaire for 500 junior secondary students in Botswana and Lesotho, to buildup a picture of student perceptions of science and technology. Responses to mainly open‐ended questions were categorised according to key phrases mentioned by the students. There was some confusion over the differences between science and technology, but they were overwhelmingly perceived as subjects appropriate to both sexes. Science and technology were seen in broad socio‐economic terms, enabling people to cope in the modern world, gain employment in both the formal and informal sectors, and contribute towards national development. Although science and technology were judged to have enhanced the quality of life, they had introduced conflicts into traditional beliefs and cultures, in part as a result of increasing female emancipation. The attitudes of the students towards the two subjects, and to the impact they have had on everyday life, were congruent with the philosophical aims of the science and technology syllabuses of both countries and with global initiatives such as Project 2000 +.     

Congressional research service: The research and information arm of congress

Although the beginning of legislative reference service by the Library of Congress can be identified as early as 1815, a more specialized organization with the specific responsibility of providing such assistance emerged with support from leaders of the Progressive Movement just before the dawn of World War I. Subsequent revisions of this mandate in 1946 and 1970 have resulted in the current Congressional Research Service, which continues to meet the requirements of responsiveness, objectivity, and tolerance that are much a part of its two hundred years of tradition.