We explored the potential for addressing nature of science through a historic narrative about disagreement between researchers concerning a socio-scientific issue, incidence of juvenile thyroid cancer following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident. The narrative was developed from authentic sources and tested in two cycles. Eight groups of three…

Socio-scientific decision-making necessitates reasoning from multiple perspectives and the use of trade-offs. This study examines how students decide on socio-scientific issues when they engage in an instructional intervention to enhance their socio-scientific decision-making towards consensus building that, in this study, emphasises generating…

Innovative education approaches include citizen science projects that allow students to participate in locally relevant scientific work, connecting content to the real world. Global collaboration provides students with a broader perspective on local issues, allowing students to become more globally aware.

A value-centered approach to science, technology and society (STS) education illuminates the need of reflexive and relational learning through communication and public engagement. Visualization is a key to represent and compare mental models such as assumptions, background theories and value systems that tacitly shape our own understanding,…

Systemic understanding of potential research activities and available technology seeds at university level is an essential condition to promote interdisciplinary and vision-driven collaboration in an attempt to cope with complex sustainability and environmental problems. Nonetheless, any such practices have been hardly conducted at universities…

With the development of science and technology, a basically optimistic ideology of progress has emerged. This deterministic attitude has been challenged in recent decades as a result of harmful side-effects generated by the way technology and science have been approached and used. The study presented here is a part of a larger international and…

According to Freeman Dyson, an emeritus professor of physics at the Institute for Advanced Study, the debate about global warming has become too narrow and opinions have become too entrenched. Relying on a computer model designed by the Yale University economist William D. Nordhaus, Dyson compared the effectiveness and economic feasibility of…

Described are research efforts in the United States designed to help improve the competitive nature of high technology manufacturing in the U.S. U.S. policies and techniques are compared with those of Japan. Six recommendations for improving manufacturing practices in the U.S. are detailed. (CW)

Summarizes a research study performed to assess curriculum changes in engineering education. Discusses the implications of the various curriculum strategies and initiatives and identifies the necessary socio-technological ingredients for world-class education of engineers. (DDR)

Discusses some of the major sources of information about basic biochemical research in Japan. Describes major publications, Japanese word processors, and future autotranslations. (TW)

Compared are some of the environmental planning policies and developmental policies of three regions of the Far East. Discusses the relationship between social structures and environmental problems such as pollution, erosion, waste disposal, and the uses of technology. (CW)

Discusses cooperative research and development between the United States and Japan. Describes the mechanisms and misconceptions of the Japanese cooperative research system. Reports past experiences involving cooperation and gives some suggestions for future activities. (YP)

Investigates Japanese efforts to enter a new phase of its postwar technological period with a focus on internationalization of its economy and industry. Analyzes which technologies will dominate the early 21st century and their relationships to each other. (MVL)

Examines how centrality in world science is affected by performance and reputation. This study uses surveys of academic researchers and literature in engineering to ascertain the surging Japanese and the relatively declining American research performance. Findings show that reputation outweighs performance as the United States continues to…

Discusses some of the similarities and differences between the attitudes of Japanese and American citizens toward science. Reports on major discrepancies between the two populations' views about such things as evolution, the development of new plants and animals, and the effect of rocket launchings on the weather. (TW)