Radiation fields from polygonal sources

The calculation of the radiation field D(x, y, z) produced by a uniform polygonal source is of considerable practical importance. Fock showed that there are advantages in replacing the traditional surface integral by a contour integral, using Stokes' theorem. This innovation, however, has not yet penetrated very deeply. It seemed worthwhile, therefore, to systematize the procedure and to show how easily results can be obtained by the Fock method. An incidental conclusion of the paper is that the radiation field from a polygonal source often differs by less than one per cent from the field produced by a circular disk of the same area. Thus the simple disk formula can often be substituted for the more complicated polygonal formula.     

Policy-Participation Trajectories in English Higher Education

The pattern of expansion that brought mass characteristics to English higher education is very different from that intended to achieve near‐universal access by the end of the present decade. The spectacular growth of the late 1980s and early 1990s was neither projected nor planned, with important consequences for the shape of the English system. By contrast, the policies of renewed expansion and widening participation from the late 1990s represent a radical attempt to change the traditional pattern of demand for English undergraduate education, with future growth focused on the short‐cycle forms of vocational higher education. Although influenced by the example of Scotland in building expansion at levels below the first degree, the policy experiment pursued in England is highly distinctive, including the invention of a new undergraduate qualification and a partnership role for further education colleges.     

The EPSRC’s Policy of Responsible Innovation from a Trading Zones Perspective

Responsible innovation (RI) is gathering momentum as an academic and policy debate linking science and society. Advocates of RI in research policy argue that scientific research should be opened up at an early stage so that many actors and issues can steer innovation trajectories. If this is done, they suggest, new technologies will be more responsible in different ways, better aligned with what society wants, and mistakes of the past will be avoided. This paper analyses the dynamics of RI in policy and practice and makes recommendations for future development. More specifically, we draw on the theory of ‘trading zones’ developed by Peter Galison and use it to analyse two related processes: (i) the development and inclusion of RI in research policy at the UK’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC); (ii) the implementation of RI in relation to the Stratospheric Particle Injection for Climate Engineering (SPICE) project. Our analysis reveals an RI trading zone comprised of three quasi-autonomous traditions of the research domain – applied science, social science and research policy. It also shows how language and expertise are linking and coordinating these traditions in ways shaped by local conditions and the wider context of research. Building on such insights, we argue that a sensible goal for RI policy and practice at this stage is better local coordination of those involved and we suggest ways how this might be achieved.     

Growing Plants and Scientists: Fostering Positive Attitudes toward Science among All Participants in an Afterschool Hydroponics Program

This study examines an out-of-school time program targeting elementary-aged youth from populations that are typically underrepresented in science fields (primarily African-American, Hispanic, and/or English Language Learner participants). The program aimed to foster positive attitudes toward science among youth by engaging them in growing plants hydroponically (in water without soil). Participants’ attitudes toward science, including anxiety, desire, and self-concept, were examined through pre-post survey data (n = 234) over the course of an afterschool program at three separate sites. Data showed that participants’ anxiety decreased and desire increased for both male and female participants over the program. Self-concept increased for female participants at all three sites but did not change significantly for male participants. Participants’ first language (English or Spanish) was not a factor in attitude outcomes. The primarily positive outcomes suggest that hydroponics can be a useful educational platform for engaging participants in garden-based programming year round, particularly for settings that do not have the physical space or climate to conduct outdoor gardening. Similarities in positive attitude outcomes at the three sites despite differences in format, implementation, and instructor background experience suggest that the program is resilient to variation in context. Understanding which aspects of the program facilitated positive outcomes in the varied contexts could be useful for the design of future programs.     

Reading ads,reading the world

This paper challenges the reductive notion of children as ‘efferent'¹1 A term used by Rosenblatt (1938 Rosenblatt, L. 1938. Literature as Exploration. New York: Appleton-Century. [Google Scholar]) to critique the teaching of reading which involved students in ‘taking away’ a particular meaning. readers who learn to decode written language in order to ‘take away’ knowledge. This anachronistic idea has become entrenched in current UK curriculum and education policy. However, it is well established that decoding letters and sounds is only one aspect of reading, that reading is cultural and that learning to read, not only words but also images and sounds, develops children's comprehension and criticality. With this in mind, I seek to share a process through which children and young people were able to develop as readers with a particular focus on the reading of media texts. I present an account of media education activity which focused on the way children read media texts, in the classroom. I suggest that with appropriate pedagogic and conceptual tools children develop as critical, cultural and collaborative readers of words, images, sounds and texts and thereby of the world.     

Family adversity,positive peer relationships,and children's externalizing behavior: a longitudinal perspective on risk and resilience

Peer acceptance and friendships were examined as moderators in the link between family adversity and child externalizing behavioral problems. Data on family adversity (i.e., ecological disadvantage, violent marital conflict, and harsh discipline) and child temperament and social information processing were collected during home visits from 585 families with 5-year-old children. Children's peer acceptance, friendship, and friends' aggressiveness were assessed with sociometric methods in kindergarten and grade 1. Teachers provided ratings of children's externalizing behavior problems in grade 2. Peer acceptance served as a moderator for all three measures of family adversity, and friendship served as a moderator for harsh discipline. Examination of regression slopes indicated that family adversity was not significantly associated with child externalizing behavior at high levels of positive peer relationships. These moderating effects generally were not qualified by child gender, ethnicity, or friends' aggressiveness, nor were they accounted for by child temperament or social information-processing patterns. The need for process-oriented studies of risk and protective factors is stressed.