In 1975, the Montana Board of Regents charged the Commissioner of Higher Education with reviewing the five Ph.D. programs in the state that are offered at more than one campus: microbiology, botany, zoology, chemistry, and mathematics. Teams from other universities reviewed the programs and submitted reports, with recommendations. The…

Describes a survey conducted by Sigma Xi of its membership in 1986 on science policy issues. Lists the four most important issues identified by the survey and discusses how bioscientists, specifically, responded. Compares how bioscientists identify themselves politically with other scientists. Identifies some of the complaints of bioscientists…

This research examines the critical factors in a science/math methods course and its effect on the dispositions of preservice elementary education majors. In order to break the cyclical axiom that "teachers teach as they were taught," this study used a paired-t test design to indicate any significance. The preservice education majors indicated…

The bibliographic methodology of citation tabulation was applied to the problem of identifying highly cited Soviet scientific papers (in Science Citation Index). Findings indicate that lists generated are indicative of areas of strong Soviet research and that institutions producing these papers include the most important Soviet labs. (Author/JN)

Reported are the results of a survey of undergraduate students regarding the knowledge and attitudes about Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Survey methods, limitations, results, and implications are discussed. Results are compared with a previous survey to assess change over time. (CW)

The results of a study conducted with elementary school students in Tanzania are presented. A number of alternative conceptions were revealed. The role of sociocultural beliefs in forming these conceptions is described, and the implications of these findings for science teaching and teacher education are discussed. (Author/CW)

Described is a survey of firms which hire biologists. Summarized are required knowledge, skills, qualifications, and attributes required of candidates; types of jobs being filled; and methods of finding qualified candidates. Careers in biotechnology areas are highlighted. (CW)

Discussed are some of the strategies required to try to detect and explain DNA markers that account for small amounts of behavioral variation. Situations in both animal and human behavior are described. The link between molecular biology and behavior is highlighted. (CW)

The University of Minnesota trapped and killed birds to reduce bird damage to research grain plots. When the Animal Rights Coalition demanded the practice be stopped, the situation became a public controversy. Presents an abridged form of this case as a focus for consideration of research methods, interest group agenda, and the universities' role…

Coordinated by the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) is a Web-based system that provides increased access to data and information on the nation's biological resources. This article-an individual case study-addresses the structure of the NBII related to thematic, infrastructure and place-based…

Identifies core journals in the life sciences for Cornell University researchers by analyzing the frequency of Cornell-authored citations in Biosis Previews between 1996 and 2001. Discusses distribution, Bradford's Law of Scatter, the 80/20 Rule, and prices, and recommends this methodology to provide guidance on which titles to purchase for…

This paper describes a final year biosciences module consisting of workshops to which web-based tools were introduced. The ability of the online tools to facilitate group work and assess the students was investigated. The online module was delivered via WebCT as the VLE (Virtual Learning Environment). The initial concept was to enhance rather than…

The impact of introducing computer-based self-assessment quizzes on examination performance was monitored in 5 modules delivered to undergraduate students in the first, second, and final years at university over a 2-3 year period. The patterns of usage were also monitored to determine the extent to which the quizzes were used and whether there…

It has been suggested that retrieval during a nonreinforced test induces reconsolidation instead of extinction of the mnemonic trace. Reconsolidation would preserve the original memory from the labilization induced by its nonreinforced recall through a hitherto uncharacterized mechanism requiring protein synthesis. Given the importance that such a…

The difficulty of 44 items from the life sciences subscale of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 1985-86 science assessment was analyzed in terms of item attributes and science educators' judgments of difficulty. The attributes included ratings of various characteristics of the items' text and option set, the items' cognitive…