In this paper, in order to pursue the conversation begun by Fages and Albe ("Cult Stud Sci Educ" 2014), I highlight three conceptual contributions that could be made by familiarizing nanoscience and nanotechnology researchers and engineers with the work being carried out in science and technology studies and public understanding of…

Based on a 2010-11 study involving senior researchers from seven disciplines, this article explores critically some of the diverse interpretations of impact in different disciplines, sub-fields and modes of research, and researchers' views about how these interpretations articulate with top-down impact agendas and with university structures…

This article focuses on the understudied role of research groups contributing to develop the knowledge base of developing universities in regions lagging behind in human, financial and scientific resources. We analyse the evolution of a research group that, in less than 10 years, achieved worldwide recognition in the field of microelectronics,…

Over a decade ago, the National Science Board (NSB) highlighted the importance of international collaboration in its call for increased government commitment to promoting international science and engineering (S&E) research and education. The NSB also identified the National Science Foundation (NSF) as having an important leadership role in…

Much research has been conducted in the past decade and a half on the effectiveness of Laboratory for Innovative Technology and Engineering Education (LITEE) Case Studies in engineering education. A case study, as defined in this study context, is an online, multimedia tool designed to bring real-world problems into the classroom. Much past and…

Participants with teaching and research experience across eight disciplinary areas were introduced to the idea of "threshold concepts" and were then invited to identify potential threshold concepts in their own disciplines through small-scale research activities. Participants conceptualized their involvement in different ways: for some it provided…

One of the themes of the recent sociology of higher education has been the globalisation of knowledge and the professional transfer of scientists and researchers. In this paper we show how these transfers of people and knowledge are disproportionately characteristic of: (a) some institutions; and (b) some cost centres. We argue that universities…

The writer's strategy to combine the exposition of factual information with personal judgement and interaction with the reader has been analysed in a number of studies (Hunston, 1994; Hyland, 1998a, 1998b; Latour and Woolgar, 1979; Skelton, 1997). Myers' studies (1989, 1992) on the pragmatics of politeness in scientific articles analyse politeness…

This study reports on a multi-year effort to create and evaluate cognitive-based curricular materials for secondary school science classrooms. A team of secondary teachers, educational researchers, and academic biomedical engineers developed a series of curriculum units that are based in biomedical engineering for secondary level students in…

A survey of almost 1,000 research and development staff at large industrial corporations in Britain and Japan investigated differences in employment structures (market-oriented vs. organization-oriented), learning in higher education, and career expectations. Significant differences were found in attitudes of workers in the two countries.…

The Presidential Young Investigators (PYI) program of the National Science Foundation (NSF) has the goals of attracting and retaining outstanding young faculty members in science and engineering, improving the research capabilities of academic institutions, promoting research funding from the private sector, and fostering cooperation between…