Nokia has added a tablet and two large-screen smartphones to its Lumia family, and is once again counting on its camera technology to attract buyers.
The Lumia 2520 tablet -- which runs Microsoft's much-criticized Windows RT operating system, has a 10-inch HD screen and is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 processor. It has a 6.7-megapixel camera that can take pictures in low light conditions, unlike those on other tablets, according to Nokia. The screen is also bright enough to be read in sunlight, the company said.
Nokia has developed a keyboard with an integrated battery that can add up to five hours of extra life after the integrated 8000 mAh battery has given up. Unlike Microsoft's Surface 2 tablet, whch was released today, the Lumia 2520 has LTE as well as Wi-Fi.
Additionally, the Lumia 2520 includes Storyteller, a Nokia-developed app that combines images and videos as a story on a map, as well as Nokia Video Director, which offers the ability to edit videos shot on the tablet.
The Nokia Lumia 2520 will cost about $499 before taxes and subsidies, and will start shipping in the U.S., the U.K. and Finland before the end of the year. Additional countries to follow shortly after, Nokia said.
"Nokia is fully aware of the challenge it faces in tablets. The 2520 will be a difficult sell owing to the challenges of Windows RT, but Nokia is rightly playing to its strengths," said Geoff Blaber, director of devices and platforms at CCS Insight.
The Lumia 1320 and Lumia 1520 smartphones, revealed today as well, both run Windows Phone 8 and have 6-inch screens. The 1520 is the high-end model, with a full HD screen, LTE, and a quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor. The device has 32GB of storage, which can be expanded by another 64GB using a MicroSD card slot, something that has been missing from recent Nokia smartphones.
Nokia is leaning on its camera technology to differentiate its products from rivals. The Lumia 1520 has a 20-megapixel camera with optical image stabilization. Nokia has also developed a new app called Camera that lets users access settings more easily, the company said.
The Lumia 1520 will start shipping this quarter in Hong Kong, Singapore, the U.S., China, the U.K., France, Germany, and Finland. The price will be $749, before taxes and subsidies.
The Lumia 1320 will cost $339 before taxes and subsidies, but only has a dual-core processor and 720p screen resolution. It also has a simpler 5-megapixel camera, but users can still access the Internet using LTE. Nokia expects to start shipping it in the first quarter of 2014 in China and Vietnam, followed by other Asian markets, India, and Europe.
The lower price will make the smartphone a good fit for the Chinese market, said Pete Cunningham, a principal analyst at Canalys.
Both devices will run a new version of Windows Phone 8 called General Distribution Release 3, to which Nokia has added enhancements such as its Camera app. The software will also be offered to users of existing Lumia devices via an update called Black.
Instagram and Vine will soon be available on Lumia devices too, Nokia announced. App availability is still Windows Phone's Achilles heel, but the availability of those two third-party apps is a step in the right direction.
With these two large-screen smartphones, often called "phablets" due to being halfway in size between a smartphone and a tablet, Nokia is entering a competitive market, up against devices including the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and the HTC One Max.
Nokia also hopes to better compete with low-end Android devices with three new Asha phones, including the Asha 503 with 3G for US$99.
FILE - Arcade Fire pose backstage with the award for album of the year at the 53rd annual Grammy Awards on in this Feb. 13, 2011 file photo taken, in Los Angeles. The Canadian musicians thanked the members of Rara Lakay in a smattering of Haitian Creole, and building on their beats launched into songs from a new album heavily influenced by Haiti's unique rhythms Thursday Oct. 24, 2013. The Thursday night show at the Little Haiti Cultural Center was the second of two Miami performances this week that billed the band as "The Reflektors." Arcade Fire's new album "Reflektor" comes out next week. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
FILE - Arcade Fire pose backstage with the award for album of the year at the 53rd annual Grammy Awards on in this Feb. 13, 2011 file photo taken, in Los Angeles. The Canadian musicians thanked the members of Rara Lakay in a smattering of Haitian Creole, and building on their beats launched into songs from a new album heavily influenced by Haiti's unique rhythms Thursday Oct. 24, 2013. The Thursday night show at the Little Haiti Cultural Center was the second of two Miami performances this week that billed the band as "The Reflektors." Arcade Fire's new album "Reflektor" comes out next week. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
MIAMI (AP) — A traditional Haitian rara band loudly snaked through the crowd, its insistent drums and horns drawing the members of Arcade Fire to a small outdoor stage.
The Canadian musicians thanked the members of Rara Lakay in a smattering of Haitian Creole, and building on their beats launched into songs from a new album heavily influenced by Haiti's unique rhythms.
"We wouldn't have been able to make this album without Haiti," said Arcade Fire frontman Win Butler.
The Thursday night show at the Little Haiti Cultural Center was the second of two Miami performances this week that billed the band as "The Reflektors." Arcade Fire's new album "Reflektor" comes out next week.
Butler's wife and bandmate Regine Chassagne is Haitian, and the band has traveled to the Caribbean country in recent years, including a trip to Haiti's Carnival in Jacmel.
Butler told Rolling Stone magazine this week that the songs on "Reflektor" explore the transformative experiences the band has had in Haiti, particularly the song "Here Comes the Night Time." It builds to a rara-inspired chaos, and Butler ad-libbed lyrics Thursday night referencing the thousands of Haitians who have attempted to flee their country's desperate conditions in boats, only to encounter hostility from U.S. authorities.
"Yeah, heaven's a place," Butler sang. "... It's behind the gate, they won't let you in, they'll send you to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, particularly if your boat seems to be coming from Port-au-Prince, Haiti."
Thursday's performance in Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood was a kind of homecoming for the album. With traditional drummers banging on tall drums wrapped in reflective material, the band performed on a stage that regularly hosts popular Haitian bands for local Haitian-American crowds dancing under palm trees.
Arcade Fire didn't exactly attract a true Little Haiti crowd, but some older residents and shopkeepers gathered in doorways before the show to watch the band's fans, dressed in formal wear or costumes, line up for face painting that matched the bright, primary colors of the neighborhood's main street.
The show also served as a fundraiser for the cultural center and Partners in Health. Butler introduced "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)" from the band's previous album as a song based on the Tracy Kidder biography of Dr. Paul Farmer, co-founder of Partners in Health.
As an encore, the band played its song titled "Haiti." Before beginning its opening trills, Butler pledged to support Haiti's ongoing rebuilding efforts.
"Haiti is going to come back," he said. "We believe we can build it together — the Haitians are going to build it themselves and we're going to support them, OK?"
___
Follow Jennifer Kay on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jnkay .
In July, abortion rights advocates marched in Austin, Texas, to protest legislation that could shut down all but five abortion clinics and restrict abortion rights throughout the state.
Tamir Kalifa/AP
In July, abortion rights advocates marched in Austin, Texas, to protest legislation that could shut down all but five abortion clinics and restrict abortion rights throughout the state.
Tamir Kalifa/AP
The fight over abortion in Texas is being played out in federal court, where abortion rights activists are challenging a new state law.
The measure bans abortions at 20 weeks, adds building requirements for clinics and places more rules on doctors who perform abortions. Some clinics have shut down, saying they can't comply with the law set to go into effect Oct. 29.
Abortion rights activists call the new law a dramatic change that will affect all clinics across the state, including a huge Planned Parenthood facility in Fort Worth that opened in June.
It's a $6.5 million center with three surgical suites and 19,000 square feet of space, built specifically to meet the building standards that activists saw coming.
"You know, we did not think the laws would come as quickly as they did," says Ken Lambrecht, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas.
He says three nurses are required to be in the clinic when abortions are performed. The law also mandates the size of operating rooms, the type of ventilation systems and the width of the hallways.
"You could fit at least two gurneys in this hallway, and it's the size of many hospital corridors," he says. "And it's certainly not necessary for the procedure."
Lambrecht says there's no medical basis for the new law. He thinks the law is intended to increase costs and shut down clinics, most of which do not meet the new building codes.
Abortion rights groups are challenging the law. At a hearing this week, the state's attorney argued that Texas has the right to regulate clinics and has an interest in protecting the rights of the unborn.
"If the woman chooses to proceed with the abortion, she should have the best care and best environment possible," says state Rep. Jodie Laubenberg, who sponsored the measure.
She says the law is designed to make abortions safer.
"Why would anyone argue against making it a better place and a better environment?" she asks. "If a clinic closes, that is their choice. We're not forcing anyone to close."
Laws like the one in Texas have passed in more than a dozen states. As a result, clinics have closed in states from Virginia to Ohio, and in Texas.
Another provision threatening to close clinics requires doctors to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of a facility.
But hospitals do not have to grant admitting privileges. Some say doctors must live in the local community. Others require them to admit a certain number of patients. Some don't approve of abortion.
The doctor in Fort Worth does have privileges, but the hospital is too far from the clinic. That means the brand new Planned Parenthood center there would also have to stop performing abortions.
Across the vast Texas plains, more than 300 miles from Fort Worth, is the city of Lubbock, in the northwest part of the state. It's just an hour from the New Mexico border, and it's home to a much smaller Planned Parenthood clinic. The facility recently stopped scheduling appointments.
Annie Jones recently had an abortion. She's a single mother working and going to school in Lubbock, and she has a 2-year-old daughter, Molly.
Jones, who is 28 years old, says she decided to have an abortion because it was best for her family.
"I knew that if I decided to have the second child, I would be doing it a disservice," she says. "I'd be doing my daughter a disservice because I wouldn't be able to care for them in the way that they deserved."
At least three Texas clinics have closed since the law passed, and Jones is worried that this center could close, too.
"I think that the people who are passing the bills ... are trying to legislate morality, and they see abortion as wrong," she says.
For abortion opponents, passing the measure after a filibuster was a big victory. When Republican Gov. Rick Perry signed the bill, he said it would further what he called "the culture of life in Texas."
"It is our responsibility and duty to give voice to the unborn — the individuals whose survival is at stake," Perry said.
But abortion rights activists say the right to an abortion was decided 40 years ago.
Angela Martinez, director of the Lubbock clinic, says if her facility closes, women seeking abortions would have to travel more than 300 miles.
"We are the only clinic in West Texas who sees patients and performs abortions," Martinez says. "It's frustrating for me. It's frustrating for my staff, just because ... we want to be available."
Just outside the clinic on a recent crisp morning, a few protesters stand holding signs. Krysten Haga says she sees the law as a first step, not as the end of this debate.
"I'd like to see abortion completely banned in the United States," Haga says. "That's ideally what we're looking for — is for abortion to not be an option at all."
A federal judge is expected to rule soon whether part of the new Texas law will go into effect next week.
LONDON (Reuters) - The upturn in Britain's economy could be self-sustaining, but considerable slack in the labour market means monetary policy needs to remain loose, according to Bank of England policymaker David Miles.
"The recent rise in activity and confidence in the UK could be - I believe - sustainable and self-confirming," Miles wrote in a chapter for an e-book on forward guidance.
"What the self-confirming and stronger path for output and confidence does not need right now is tighter monetary policy."
It was not immediately clear when the chapter was written.
Data on Friday is expected to show Britain's economy grew by 0.8 percent in the third quarter compared with the April-June period, its strongest growth in more than three years.
(Reporting by Christina Fincher; editing by William Schomberg)
Contact: John Delaney jdelaney@wcs.org 718-220-3275 Wildlife Conservation Society
Conservationists from the Wildlife Conservation Society and the University of St. Andrews warn that Uganda's African lionsa mainstay of the country's tourism industry and a symbol of Africaare on the verge of disappearing from the country's national parks.
According to the results of a recent survey, African lions in Uganda have decreased by more than 30 percent over the past 10 years in some areas of the country, mostly the result of poisoning by local cattle herders, retaliations for livestock predation, and other human-related conflicts. The downward trend in lion numbers has conservationists concerned about the species' long-term chances in the country, often described as the "Pearl of Africa" for its natural wonders.
The study appears in the latest edition of the journal Oryx. The authors include: Edward Okot Omoya, Tutilo Mudumba, Paul Mulondo, and Andrew J. Plumptre from WCS and Stephen T. Buckland of the University of St. Andrews.
"African lions are a vital component of these ecosystems," said WCS conservationist Edward Okot Omoya, the lead author of the study. "They play an important role in disease control of antelopes and buffalo by killing the sick animals."
The paper describes the results of a "lure count" analysis survey to estimate the density and population distribution of lions and spotted hyenas in Uganda's three major conservation areas, conducted by researchers between November 2008 and November 2009. The researchers used a buffalo calf distress call (broadcast via speakers mounted on a vehicle roof rack) to attract both medium and large carnivores to the "call stations" as a means of calculating a current population estimate for the study locations. Previous survey methods used to count lions have included counting roars, identifying individual cats, and mark-recapture methods, but the methods are time-consuming and expensive.
Overall, the call station surveys attracted a total of 66 lions, 176 spotted hyenas, and seven leopards. The broadcasts also attracted a host of smaller predators, including side-striped jackals, black-backed jackals, white-tailed mongooses, and large spotted genets.
Using the data of animals observed, the analysis generated an estimated lion population of 408 animals in the three main strongholds for lions in Uganda, nearly two hundred fewer lions than estimates made in 2000-2002 (a statistical decrease of more than 30 percent). In Queen Elizabeth Conservation Area, estimated lion numbers have decreased from 206 to 144 over the past decade (a 30 percent drop). In Murchison Falls Conservation Area, the team estimates a nearly 60 percent drop (from 324 to 132 lions in the past decade). Only in Kidepo Valley National Park did the researchers detect an increase in estimated lion numbers (climbing from 58 to 132).
"Lions are the species tourists most want to see in Uganda's savannas according to research by WCS. Surveys of tourists have shown that they would be 50% less likely to visit the parks in Uganda if they couldn't see lions, and if they did visit they would want to pay less for the experience. As an industry that generates more foreign currency in the country than any other business this could have significant consequences for Uganda" reported Dr. Andrew Plumptre, WCS's Director for the Albertine Rift.
The study also represents the first survey of hyena numbers from these areas, generating a population estimate of 324 hyenas (the researchers suspectbut cannot prove hyenas to be in decline as well).
"Conservation areas such as Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls, which formerly contained the highest biomass of mammals on Earth, depend on the delicate balance between predators and prey," said Dr. James Deutsch, Executive Director of WCS's Africa Program. "Their loss would permanently alter two of Africa's great ecosystems."
The crisis in lion conservation in Uganda reflects the status of the species across Africa, where lion populations have dropped by 30 percent over the past two decades as a result of illegal killing and the loss of both habitat and prey. The most recent estimate of Africa's total lion population is approximately 32,000 animals. A group study led by WCS estimated that 42 percent of major lion populations are in decline. The species is nearly extinct in West and Central Africa. The species is listed as "Vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature but there is a current proposal to list the species as "Endangered" under the U.S. Endangered Species Act because of the continuing global declines.
###
The Wildlife Conservation Society's Bronx Zoo exhibits African lions in its African Plains habitat, a naturalistic exhibit space that exhibits both predator and prey species separated only by moats. The Bronx Zoo's lions are part of the Species Survival Plan (SSP), a breeding cooperative administered by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums designed to enhance the genetic viability and diversity of animal populations in accredited zoos.
WCS is grateful to Panthera and the U.S. Agency for International Development for the training and funding support provided to make this research possible.
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King of beasts losing ground in Uganda's paradise
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
24-Oct-2013
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Contact: John Delaney jdelaney@wcs.org 718-220-3275 Wildlife Conservation Society
Conservationists from the Wildlife Conservation Society and the University of St. Andrews warn that Uganda's African lionsa mainstay of the country's tourism industry and a symbol of Africaare on the verge of disappearing from the country's national parks.
According to the results of a recent survey, African lions in Uganda have decreased by more than 30 percent over the past 10 years in some areas of the country, mostly the result of poisoning by local cattle herders, retaliations for livestock predation, and other human-related conflicts. The downward trend in lion numbers has conservationists concerned about the species' long-term chances in the country, often described as the "Pearl of Africa" for its natural wonders.
The study appears in the latest edition of the journal Oryx. The authors include: Edward Okot Omoya, Tutilo Mudumba, Paul Mulondo, and Andrew J. Plumptre from WCS and Stephen T. Buckland of the University of St. Andrews.
"African lions are a vital component of these ecosystems," said WCS conservationist Edward Okot Omoya, the lead author of the study. "They play an important role in disease control of antelopes and buffalo by killing the sick animals."
The paper describes the results of a "lure count" analysis survey to estimate the density and population distribution of lions and spotted hyenas in Uganda's three major conservation areas, conducted by researchers between November 2008 and November 2009. The researchers used a buffalo calf distress call (broadcast via speakers mounted on a vehicle roof rack) to attract both medium and large carnivores to the "call stations" as a means of calculating a current population estimate for the study locations. Previous survey methods used to count lions have included counting roars, identifying individual cats, and mark-recapture methods, but the methods are time-consuming and expensive.
Overall, the call station surveys attracted a total of 66 lions, 176 spotted hyenas, and seven leopards. The broadcasts also attracted a host of smaller predators, including side-striped jackals, black-backed jackals, white-tailed mongooses, and large spotted genets.
Using the data of animals observed, the analysis generated an estimated lion population of 408 animals in the three main strongholds for lions in Uganda, nearly two hundred fewer lions than estimates made in 2000-2002 (a statistical decrease of more than 30 percent). In Queen Elizabeth Conservation Area, estimated lion numbers have decreased from 206 to 144 over the past decade (a 30 percent drop). In Murchison Falls Conservation Area, the team estimates a nearly 60 percent drop (from 324 to 132 lions in the past decade). Only in Kidepo Valley National Park did the researchers detect an increase in estimated lion numbers (climbing from 58 to 132).
"Lions are the species tourists most want to see in Uganda's savannas according to research by WCS. Surveys of tourists have shown that they would be 50% less likely to visit the parks in Uganda if they couldn't see lions, and if they did visit they would want to pay less for the experience. As an industry that generates more foreign currency in the country than any other business this could have significant consequences for Uganda" reported Dr. Andrew Plumptre, WCS's Director for the Albertine Rift.
The study also represents the first survey of hyena numbers from these areas, generating a population estimate of 324 hyenas (the researchers suspectbut cannot prove hyenas to be in decline as well).
"Conservation areas such as Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls, which formerly contained the highest biomass of mammals on Earth, depend on the delicate balance between predators and prey," said Dr. James Deutsch, Executive Director of WCS's Africa Program. "Their loss would permanently alter two of Africa's great ecosystems."
The crisis in lion conservation in Uganda reflects the status of the species across Africa, where lion populations have dropped by 30 percent over the past two decades as a result of illegal killing and the loss of both habitat and prey. The most recent estimate of Africa's total lion population is approximately 32,000 animals. A group study led by WCS estimated that 42 percent of major lion populations are in decline. The species is nearly extinct in West and Central Africa. The species is listed as "Vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature but there is a current proposal to list the species as "Endangered" under the U.S. Endangered Species Act because of the continuing global declines.
###
The Wildlife Conservation Society's Bronx Zoo exhibits African lions in its African Plains habitat, a naturalistic exhibit space that exhibits both predator and prey species separated only by moats. The Bronx Zoo's lions are part of the Species Survival Plan (SSP), a breeding cooperative administered by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums designed to enhance the genetic viability and diversity of animal populations in accredited zoos.
WCS is grateful to Panthera and the U.S. Agency for International Development for the training and funding support provided to make this research possible.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
FILE - In a Sept. 24, 2013, file photo Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.com, holds the 8.9-inch version of the new Amazon Kindle HDX tablet computer in Seattle. Amazon.com's revenue rose more than Wall Street expected in its fiscal third quarter, but the online retailer posted another loss due to ongoing investments in its business. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, file)
FILE - In a Sept. 24, 2013, file photo Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.com, holds the 8.9-inch version of the new Amazon Kindle HDX tablet computer in Seattle. Amazon.com's revenue rose more than Wall Street expected in its fiscal third quarter, but the online retailer posted another loss due to ongoing investments in its business. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, file)
Amazon.com's revenue rose more than Wall Street expected in its fiscal third quarter, but the online retailer posted another loss due to ongoing investments in its business.
Steady profits have proven elusive for the world's largest online retailer as it spends heavily on filling orders, marketing and technological improvements and innovations. But investors were cheered by its revenue forecast for the fourth-quarter, a sign of confidence and optimism as it enters the key holiday shopping season. Shares rose 8 percent in after-hours trading.
Amazon has been busy launching new products, expanding the number of fulfillment centers and adding robots to its line to help get packages out the door. Operating expenses rose 24 percent during the quarter.
The Seattle-based company posted a loss of $41 million, or 9 cents per share, for the quarter that ended in September, matching analyst expectations. That compared with a loss of $274 million, or 60 cents per share, in the same quarter last year. The prior year includes a one-time $169 million loss related to its stake in online deals site LivingSocial.
Revenue jumped 24 percent $17.09 billion from $13.81 billion. Wall Street predicted $16.76 billion, according to FactSet.
Amazon said it expects revenue for its fourth quarter to fall between $23.5 billion and $26.5 billion, bracketing analysts' prediction of $25.88 billion. That's also up 10 to 25 percent from its fourth quarter last year.
Shares of Amazon.com Inc. increased $27.19 to $359.90 after the market's close. Its shares increased $5.45 to close regular trading at $332.21 Thursday, up 32 percent this year.
Inquiry course into radioactivity wins Science magazine prize
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
24-Oct-2013
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Contact: Natasha Pinol npinol@aaas.org 202-326-6440 American Association for the Advancement of Science
College students who are not science majors grasp an understanding of the world at the atomic scale
When physics education researcher Andy Johnson first taught at the college level, he worked hard to find just the right way to explain physics concepts to his students. He noticed, though, that his lectures were not hitting home. "I said all these wonderful things, said them just the right way, but I could hear that it wasn't coming across," Johnson says. Refusing to go on lecturing ineffectively, Johnson started a long-range process of researching what methods of teaching physics were getting the best results.
As one result of his exploration, his course materials entitled Inquiry into Radioactivity have been selected to win the Science Prize for Inquiry-Based Instruction.
The Science Prize for Inquiry-Based Instruction was developed to showcase outstanding materials, usable in a wide range of schools and settings, for teaching introductory science courses at the college level. The materials must be designed to encourage students' natural curiosity about how the world works, rather than to deliver facts and principles about what scientists have already discovered. Organized as one free-standing "module," the materials should offer real understanding of the nature of science, as well as providing an experience in generating and evaluating scientific evidence. Each month, Science publishes an essay by a recipient of the award, which explains the winning project. The essay about Inquiry into Radioactivity will be published on October 25.
"Improving science education is an important goal for all of us at Science," says Bruce Alberts, Science editor-in-chief emeritus. "We hope to help those innovators who have developed outstanding laboratory modules promoting student inquiry to reach a wider audience. Each winning module will be featured in an article in Science that is aimed at guiding science educators from around the world to these valuable free resources."
Johnson, who grew up in Denver, was always interested in science. As he puts it, he was always interested in how things worked, and he studied physics in college. Even he, however, started to feel a disconnect between what he was interested in and what he was learning. "I was not learning what I wanted," Johnson says. "It was getting pretty stale."
After getting his Master's degree, Johnson taught college physics for two years. It was then that he felt certain the traditional model of teaching physics through lecture classes just wasn't working.
"Some professors just go right on lecturing," he says. "I don't know how they do it in good conscience."
Johnson started reading articles in the American Journal of Physics on physics education research, and he saw that some educators were getting better results with new methods. He decided to get a PhD at the University of California at San Diego and San Diego State University, where he would study with some of the leaders in the field, including physics education researcher Fred Goldberg.
The curriculum developed at San Diego State University, the Constructing Physics Understanding (CPU) method, had a scheme underlying it that put an emphasis on inquiry. That scheme started with asking students what they thought or knew about a certain topic, followed by a discussion that explored the students' own ideas. Next, some form of experimentation or inquiry was brought in to provide new experiences and food for thought to the students. Throughout, the teacher's role was to guide the students as they followed their own curiosity.
When Johnson went to Black Hills University, where he became the associate director for science education at the South Dakota Center for Math and Science Education, he brought the CPU curriculum with him. He also made a commitment to helping non-science majors to understand radioactivity and radiation at a time when nuclear power was being reconsidered as an attractive source of electricity.
"If we were going to have a nuclear renaissance, we were going to have to have a radiation-literate population," Johnson says.
Despite his commitment to making students radiation-literate, plus the methods he had adopted during his PhD program, Johnson still had to hone his curriculum to truly reach his students, he says. In order to understand radioactivity, for instance, students needed an understanding of atoms. When Johnson discovered that understanding was lacking, he created a homework assignment for his classes, but he says it didn't help. "I just kept seeing what wasn't working and changing things," he says.
Then he spent an entire three weeks of classroom time on atoms.
Ultimately, he developed a special computer simulation that allows students to "build" atoms and then to play with how ions attract and repel, and how unstable isotopes explode, so that his students could develop an understanding of atoms, ions and nuclear stability.
A dramatic highlight of the class occurs when Johnson arranges radioactive antiques, rocks and commercially available radioactive sources around his classroom. "I bring my radioactive sources into the classroom, and the Geiger counters click like crazy."
Students are apprehensive when Johnson asks them to touch a radioactive object for an entire minute, although they later learn that the amount of radiation that reaches their finger is about the same amount that would reach it in eight hours if they weren't touching a radioactive source.
"Inquiry into Radioactivity allows students to measure and explore radioactive decay in a relevant context, such as their classroom and homes, allowing them to address common misconceptions revolving around the topic of radioactivity," says Melissa McCartney, associate editor at Science.
Whether confronting his students with the relative risks of radiation, or simply asking them to develop and work on their own questions about the topic, Johnson has to convince his students that what they're doing is worthwhile. Because his approach is quite different from lecturing and assigning content to memorize, he finds some students need to be encouraged to activate their own motivation and curiosity.
"I have to work hard to get them to accept what I'm doing," Johnson says. "If I do succeed in that, they really enjoy the class."
One strategy Johnson has developed is showing students the online comments written by previous students. Some comments say, "Professor Johnson is really great. This is the first time I've ever understood science. I'm really loving this." Others say, "Professor Johnson never teaches us anything. You have to teach yourself. Why am I paying tuition to teach myself?"
Asking students which class they would choose to take, he then reveals that all of the comments come from the same class, Physics 101. "How could they have such a different experience," he asks his students. "It just depends on what you bring to the class."
According to Johnson's research, students walk away from his class with an understanding of radiation and of the world at the atomic scale. They also develop scientific reasoning abilities. Both are important to the basic science literacy needed to make decisions. Surprisingly, the occasional non-science major gets seriously hooked on the class and decides to go on taking physics classes.
Encouraged with his results, Johnson hopes that his winning the IBI prize and having an essay in Science will lead more educators to the Inquiry into Radioactivity curriculum.
"The materials are all available for download, and I encourage people to use them," he says.
###
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the world's largest general scientific society, and publisher of the journal, Science as well as Science Translational Medicine and Science Signaling. AAAS was founded in 1848, and includes some 261 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. Science has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world, with an estimated total readership of 1 million. The non-profit AAAS is open to all and fulfills its mission to "advance science and serve society" through initiatives in science policy; international programs; science education; and more. For the latest research news, log onto EurekAlert!, the premier science-news Web site, a service of AAAS.
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Inquiry course into radioactivity wins Science magazine prize
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
24-Oct-2013
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Contact: Natasha Pinol npinol@aaas.org 202-326-6440 American Association for the Advancement of Science
College students who are not science majors grasp an understanding of the world at the atomic scale
When physics education researcher Andy Johnson first taught at the college level, he worked hard to find just the right way to explain physics concepts to his students. He noticed, though, that his lectures were not hitting home. "I said all these wonderful things, said them just the right way, but I could hear that it wasn't coming across," Johnson says. Refusing to go on lecturing ineffectively, Johnson started a long-range process of researching what methods of teaching physics were getting the best results.
As one result of his exploration, his course materials entitled Inquiry into Radioactivity have been selected to win the Science Prize for Inquiry-Based Instruction.
The Science Prize for Inquiry-Based Instruction was developed to showcase outstanding materials, usable in a wide range of schools and settings, for teaching introductory science courses at the college level. The materials must be designed to encourage students' natural curiosity about how the world works, rather than to deliver facts and principles about what scientists have already discovered. Organized as one free-standing "module," the materials should offer real understanding of the nature of science, as well as providing an experience in generating and evaluating scientific evidence. Each month, Science publishes an essay by a recipient of the award, which explains the winning project. The essay about Inquiry into Radioactivity will be published on October 25.
"Improving science education is an important goal for all of us at Science," says Bruce Alberts, Science editor-in-chief emeritus. "We hope to help those innovators who have developed outstanding laboratory modules promoting student inquiry to reach a wider audience. Each winning module will be featured in an article in Science that is aimed at guiding science educators from around the world to these valuable free resources."
Johnson, who grew up in Denver, was always interested in science. As he puts it, he was always interested in how things worked, and he studied physics in college. Even he, however, started to feel a disconnect between what he was interested in and what he was learning. "I was not learning what I wanted," Johnson says. "It was getting pretty stale."
After getting his Master's degree, Johnson taught college physics for two years. It was then that he felt certain the traditional model of teaching physics through lecture classes just wasn't working.
"Some professors just go right on lecturing," he says. "I don't know how they do it in good conscience."
Johnson started reading articles in the American Journal of Physics on physics education research, and he saw that some educators were getting better results with new methods. He decided to get a PhD at the University of California at San Diego and San Diego State University, where he would study with some of the leaders in the field, including physics education researcher Fred Goldberg.
The curriculum developed at San Diego State University, the Constructing Physics Understanding (CPU) method, had a scheme underlying it that put an emphasis on inquiry. That scheme started with asking students what they thought or knew about a certain topic, followed by a discussion that explored the students' own ideas. Next, some form of experimentation or inquiry was brought in to provide new experiences and food for thought to the students. Throughout, the teacher's role was to guide the students as they followed their own curiosity.
When Johnson went to Black Hills University, where he became the associate director for science education at the South Dakota Center for Math and Science Education, he brought the CPU curriculum with him. He also made a commitment to helping non-science majors to understand radioactivity and radiation at a time when nuclear power was being reconsidered as an attractive source of electricity.
"If we were going to have a nuclear renaissance, we were going to have to have a radiation-literate population," Johnson says.
Despite his commitment to making students radiation-literate, plus the methods he had adopted during his PhD program, Johnson still had to hone his curriculum to truly reach his students, he says. In order to understand radioactivity, for instance, students needed an understanding of atoms. When Johnson discovered that understanding was lacking, he created a homework assignment for his classes, but he says it didn't help. "I just kept seeing what wasn't working and changing things," he says.
Then he spent an entire three weeks of classroom time on atoms.
Ultimately, he developed a special computer simulation that allows students to "build" atoms and then to play with how ions attract and repel, and how unstable isotopes explode, so that his students could develop an understanding of atoms, ions and nuclear stability.
A dramatic highlight of the class occurs when Johnson arranges radioactive antiques, rocks and commercially available radioactive sources around his classroom. "I bring my radioactive sources into the classroom, and the Geiger counters click like crazy."
Students are apprehensive when Johnson asks them to touch a radioactive object for an entire minute, although they later learn that the amount of radiation that reaches their finger is about the same amount that would reach it in eight hours if they weren't touching a radioactive source.
"Inquiry into Radioactivity allows students to measure and explore radioactive decay in a relevant context, such as their classroom and homes, allowing them to address common misconceptions revolving around the topic of radioactivity," says Melissa McCartney, associate editor at Science.
Whether confronting his students with the relative risks of radiation, or simply asking them to develop and work on their own questions about the topic, Johnson has to convince his students that what they're doing is worthwhile. Because his approach is quite different from lecturing and assigning content to memorize, he finds some students need to be encouraged to activate their own motivation and curiosity.
"I have to work hard to get them to accept what I'm doing," Johnson says. "If I do succeed in that, they really enjoy the class."
One strategy Johnson has developed is showing students the online comments written by previous students. Some comments say, "Professor Johnson is really great. This is the first time I've ever understood science. I'm really loving this." Others say, "Professor Johnson never teaches us anything. You have to teach yourself. Why am I paying tuition to teach myself?"
Asking students which class they would choose to take, he then reveals that all of the comments come from the same class, Physics 101. "How could they have such a different experience," he asks his students. "It just depends on what you bring to the class."
According to Johnson's research, students walk away from his class with an understanding of radiation and of the world at the atomic scale. They also develop scientific reasoning abilities. Both are important to the basic science literacy needed to make decisions. Surprisingly, the occasional non-science major gets seriously hooked on the class and decides to go on taking physics classes.
Encouraged with his results, Johnson hopes that his winning the IBI prize and having an essay in Science will lead more educators to the Inquiry into Radioactivity curriculum.
"The materials are all available for download, and I encourage people to use them," he says.
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