Calibration: A Conceptual Framework Applied to Scientific Practices Which Investigate Natural Phenomena by Means of Standardized Instruments

A feature of science is its production of evidence-based explanations. Scientific models can both provide causal explanations and be predictive of natural phenomena. Modeling-based inquiry (MBI) is a pedagogical strategy that promotes students' deep learning about phenomena via engagement in authentic scientific practices. Some university instructors have begun to facilitate MBI in their courses, notably those aimed at aspiring K–12 science educators who, per the Next Generation Science Standards, are encouraged to implement MBI. Yet exploration of curriculum and teaching with MBI in postsecondary environments is scarce. We detail a novel MBI curriculum implemented in a postsecondary ecology course that included students interested in future careers in education. The curriculum engages students in modeling why there is greater biological diversity in tropical than in temperate regions. This biological phenomenon continues to be of great interest to the scientific community. We briefly detail how the curriculum impacted students' understanding of participation in aspects of scientific practices and their comfort with facilitating MBI.

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Clases naturales: una revisión crítica desde la causalidad y la complejidad

Contrastes Revista Internacional de Filosofía ◽

10.24310/contrastescontrastes.v20i1.2302 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Elisabeth Martínez Bautista

Keyword(s):

Critical Review ◽

Natural Kind ◽

Epistemic Value ◽

Scientific Practices ◽

Natural Phenomena ◽

Natural Processes ◽

Biology I ◽

Epistemic Approach ◽

Philosophical Understanding

RESUMENLas clases naturales tienen un importante valor heurístico que no ha sido explorado a nivel epistémico. Una revisión crítica del concepto de “clase natural” sugerido por la teoría del Cúmulo de Propiedades Homeostáticas (HPC) , desde la complejidad y la causalidad, muestra que es incompatible con las prácticas científicas, en especial las de la biología. Debido a los múltiples problemas que presenta en ese ámbito científico el concepto de ‘clase natural’ debería ser reconfigurado con el fin de estar acorde con las inferencias explicativas y predictivas de la biología. Esto tendría como consecuencia un mejor entendimiento filosófico de los procesos y entidades naturales a la vez que ayudaría a resolver algunos problemas filosóficos y científicos.PALABRAS CLAVECLASE NATURAL, CAUSALIDAD, COMPLEJIDAD, PRACTICAS CIENTÍFICAS, ESPACIOS DE POSIBILIDAD EPISTÉMICOSABSTRACTNatural kinds have an important epistemic value that has not been studied due to the fact that the philosophical research has been focused on both semantics and logical aspects. I propose a critical review from causality and complexity to the concept of «natural kind» advanced by Homeostatic Properties Cluster Theory (HPC) in order to demonstrate that the kinds in the HPC style s are not supported by scientific practices such as biology. I think that a different concept of “natural kind” should be based on scientific practices in order to obtain a better philosophical understanding compared to HPC of both, natural processes and obtaining successful inferences. I hold that this epistemic approach provides us a new characterization of “natural kind” that will be useful as a unifying concept of natural phenomena, as well as for generating new spaces of epistemic possibilityKEY WORDSNATURAL KINDS, CAUSALITY, COMPLEXITY, SCIENTIFIC PRACTICES, EPISTEMIC POSSIBILITY SPACES

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New light on the role of instruments in exploration during the 1830 s

Notes and Records the Royal Society journal of the history of science ◽

10.1098/rsnr.2021.0038 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jane Wess

Keyword(s):

Conceptual Framework ◽

Network Theory ◽

Knowledge Creation ◽

Actor Network Theory ◽

Detailed Comparison ◽

Natural Phenomena ◽

Scientific Instruments ◽

Geographical Society ◽

New Interpretation

This paper sets out a new interpretation of the agency of scientific instruments in the field. It uses Actor Network Theory as a conceptual framework, which invokes the concept of non-human agency, meaning that scientific instruments can affect outcomes and processes. It argues that the instruments taken on expeditions by travellers on behalf of the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) had agency in knowledge creation simply by being present. Having bequeathed the instruments, the RGS had sanctioned the expedition, and knowledge had to result regardless of whether the instruments had been utilized as intended. The paper builds on the work of historians on the morality of precision, but, by engaging in a detailed comparison of rhetoric and action in two case studies, it suggests a different approach. Observing the strategies of the RGS for knowledge creation in varying circumstances, it argues that the instruments had agency owing to their embedded resource rather than their tangible numerical outputs. The instruments did not always work as mediators between humans and natural phenomena, as the human actants were not able to exploit them as such. Nevertheless, they had agency in knowledge creation as their presence ensured success. The paper is based on published and unpublished material, the latter in the RGS–Institute of British Geographers archives.

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A conceptual framework for advanced practice: an action research project operationalizing anadvanced practitioner/consultant nurse role

Journal of Clinical Nursing ◽

10.1046/j.1365-2702.1997.00143.x ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 6 (3) ◽

pp. 179-190 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Kim Manley

Keyword(s):

Action Research ◽

Conceptual Framework ◽

Advanced Practice ◽

Action Research Project ◽

Research Project ◽

Nurse Role

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Evaluating research in developmental disabilities: a conceptual framework for reviewing treatment outcomes

Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology ◽

10.1017/s0012162299000110 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 41 (1) ◽

pp. 55-59 ◽

Cited By ~ 51

Author(s):

Charlene Butler ◽

Henry Chambers ◽

Murray Goldstein ◽

Susan Harris ◽

Judy Leach ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Developmental Disabilities ◽

Conceptual Framework ◽

Treatment Outcomes

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Understanding Why Older People Develop a Wish to Die

Crisis ◽

10.1027/0227-5910/a000078 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 32 (4) ◽

pp. 204-216 ◽

Cited By ~ 52

Author(s):

M. L. Rurup ◽

H. R. W. Pasman ◽

J. Goedhart ◽

D. J. H. Deeg ◽

A. J. F. M. Kerkhof ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older People ◽

Cohort Studies ◽

Conceptual Framework ◽

Life Events ◽

Traumatic Life Events ◽

Quantitative Studies ◽

Wish To Die ◽

Open Coding ◽

Death Wishes ◽

Depth Interviews

Background: Quantitative studies in several European countries showed that 10–20% of older people have or have had a wish to die. Aims: To improve our understanding of why some older people develop a wish to die. Methods: In-depth interviews with people with a wish to die (n = 31) were carried out. Through open coding and inductive analysis, we developed a conceptual framework to describe the development of death wishes. Respondents were selected from two cohort studies. Results: The wish to die had either been triggered suddenly after traumatic life events or had developed gradually after a life full of adversity, as a consequence of aging or illness, or after recurring depression. The respondents were in a situation they considered unacceptable, yet they felt they had no control to change their situation and thus progressively “gave up” trying. Recurring themes included being widowed, feeling lonely, being a victim, being dependent, and wanting to be useful. Developing thoughts about death as a positive thing or a release from problems seemed to them like a way to reclaim control. Conclusions: People who wish to die originally develop thoughts about death as a positive solution to life events or to an adverse situation, and eventually reach a balance of the wish to live and to die.

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