scholarly journals Commission 38 (Exchange of astronomers) and Commission 46 (Teaching of astronomy): two commissions that played a unique role in the history and development of the IAU

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (S349) ◽  
pp. 374-387
Author(s):  
John B. Hearnshaw
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Working Group ◽  
International School ◽  
Astronomy Education ◽  
Unique Role ◽  
Hands On ◽  
History Of ◽  
Education And Development ◽  
General Secretary ◽  
Active Change

AbstractThe founding and development of two commissions of the IAU that played a unique role in IAU history are traced. Commission 38 for the Exchange of astronomers was founded in 1946 with Frederick Stratton as first president, and it expended funds (initially granted by UNESCO) for astronomers to travel on exchange visits. Commission 46 for the Teaching of astronomy was founded in 1964 with Evry Schatzmann as first president. This was a time of rapidly growing interest in the IAU for teaching astronomy and in due course for promoting astronomy in developing countries. For a while, both commissions operated under the wing of the Executive Committee. Their role was unique as they were the only IAU commissions to have their own budget, as well as aspiring to bring about social change in the astronomical community. By 2000 both commissions merged into C46 (Astronomy education and development) and by that time various programmes such as the International School for Young Astronomers (ISYA), the working group World-wide Development of Astronomy (WWDA) and the working group Teaching Astronomy for Development (TAD), which grew out of the Visiting Lecturers’ Program (VLP), were all run by C46. When the IAU established the Office of Astronomy for Development in 2011, many of these functions were removed from the commission and in any case C46 ceased to exist in 2015 when all the old commissions were disestablished. In 2015 the Office for Young Astronomers took over the running of the ISYA. The history of C38 and C46 represents a time of active change in the way the IAU was engaging with people. It was more than just a union for scientific research, but in the world of scientific unions, it was remarkable for taking an active hands-on role in implementing social change. In the history of these two commissions, the Swiss astronomer Edith Müller played a leading dynamic role. She served as president of C46 (1967-73), of C38 (1985-88) as well as IAU General Secretary (1976-79).

scholarly journals A history of IAU Commission C1: a look from the Newsletters

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (S349) ◽  
pp. 419-430
Author(s):  
Paulo S. Bretones
Keyword(s):  
International Schools ◽  
Vice Presidents ◽  
Astronomy Education ◽  
School Activities ◽  
Business Meetings ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Education And Development ◽  
Over 40 Years

AbstractThis work aims to present the partial results of a project to collect and analyze all the issues of the Newsletters of Commission C1 (Astronomy Education and Development), formerly named Commission 46. The sources and the (hard) work to obtain printed editions, digitalize and make them available on the Internet are shown. Over 40 years, 86 issues from 1977 until 2017 were published. The Newsletters list the structure of the Commission featuring the names of presidents, vice-presidents, organizing committee, editors, printing and distribution responsible with editorial and presidential letters in the cover. A preliminary analysis of contents of the published material is done. The results present the main subjects of stories that were related to papers, teaching materials, book reviews, courses and meetings. Many solar eclipses and other phenomena were reported. Reports of important projects of the commission were published, such as: International Schools for Young Astronomers (ISYAs), the travelling telescope among others WG projects. Stories of travels and triennial reports from many countries were continuously published presenting many actions and activities for all school levels, non-school activities such as planetariums and many other astronomy subjects. Reports of the education sessions and business meetings held during the IAU GAs and projects in developing countries complemented these publications. Occasionally, papers dealing with great questions and subjects can be found. There are many published contributions that show the participation of many members from many countries and the efforts to improve the astronomy education throughout the world. The surveyed material can be very useful for the next generations of astronomy education researchers, practitioners and teachers, not only as a repository of historical documents, but also as an inspiration for future projects.

scholarly journals Hands-On Astrophysics: Variable Stars for Astronomy Education and Development

2001 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 88-94
Author(s):  
Janet A. Mattei ◽  
John R. Percy
Keyword(s):  
Variable Stars ◽  
International Database ◽  
Astronomy Education ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Measurement And Analysis ◽  
Astronomical Research ◽  
University Level ◽  
Education And Development ◽  
Classroom Use

AbstractAmateur astronomers, and students, can contribute to astronomical research by measuring the brightness of variable stars. Hands-On Astrophysics (HOA) is a project which uses the unique methods and the International Database of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) to develop and integrate a wide range of science, mathematical and computer skills, through the measurement and analysis of variable stars. It is very flexible and can be used at many levels, in many contexts — for classroom use from high school to university level, or for individual projects. In this paper we describe HOA, and how it can be used to promote international astronomy education and development, through research-based science education.

scholarly journals Before OAD

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (S349) ◽  
pp. 388-393
Author(s):  
Alan H. Batten
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Executive Committee ◽  
Working Group ◽  
International Schools ◽  
Outer Space ◽  
Vice President ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
Astronomy Education ◽  
Education And Development ◽  
Year 2000

AbstractOAD, the Office of Astronomy for Development, one of the most significant innovations within the IAU, was created at the XXVII General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro in 2009 and opened in 2011. The new office brought together and strengthened several activities of the IAU aimed at helping astronomers in developing or isolated countries to keep in touch with their colleagues elsewhere and up-to-date with the developments in our science. Those activities were mediated through the old commission structure by Commission 38 (Exchange of Astronomers) and Commission 46 (Astronomy Education and Development) which oversaw the International Schools of Young Astronomers (ISYA), the Visiting Lecturer Programme (VLP) and Teaching for Astronomy Development (TAD). In addition, Jorge Sahade, during his term as IAU President (1985–1988), formed the Working Group for the Promotion and Development of Astronomy, as a sub-committee of the Executive Committee, and asked the present writer, then a Vice-President, to act as chair. That Working Group (later renamed the Working Group for the Worldwide Development of Astronomy, WGWWDA) operated within the context of the already existing services of the IAU and in cooperation with the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS). In this paper, the writer gives an account of the activities of the WGWWDA both during and between General Assemblies, until the year 2000, shortly after which he relinquished responsibility for them.

scholarly journals C46 ‘ASTRONOMY EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT’: A PECULIAR COMMISSION

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (T29A) ◽  
pp. 205-208
Author(s):  
Jean-Pierre de Greve ◽  
Beatriz García ◽  
Michèle Gerbaldi ◽  
Roger Ferlet ◽  
Edward Guinan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Executive Committee ◽  
Working Group ◽  
Astronomy Education ◽  
Education And Development ◽  
Education Outreach

C46 was a Commission of the Executive Committee of the IAU under Division XII (Union-Wide Activities), then after 2012 under Division C (Education, Outreach, and Heritage). It was the only commission dealing exclusively with astronomy education; a previous Commission 38 (Exchange of Astronomers), which allocated travel grants to astronomers who needed them, and a Working Group on the Worldwide Development of Astronomy, have been absorbed by Commission 46.

An Introduction to Nonlinear Chemical Dynamics

1998 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irving R. Epstein ◽  
John A. Pojman
Keyword(s):  
Flow Reactor ◽  
Chemical Dynamics ◽  
Design Data ◽  
Chemical Oscillators ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Undergraduate Laboratory ◽  
History Of ◽  
Mechanistic Basis ◽  
Nonlinear Chemical Dynamics

Just a few decades ago, chemical oscillations were thought to be exotic reactions of only theoretical interest. Now known to govern an array of physical and biological processes, including the regulation of the heart, these oscillations are being studied by a diverse group across the sciences. This book is the first introduction to nonlinear chemical dynamics written specifically for chemists. It covers oscillating reactions, chaos, and chemical pattern formation, and includes numerous practical suggestions on reactor design, data analysis, and computer simulations. Assuming only an undergraduate knowledge of chemistry, the book is an ideal starting point for research in the field. The book begins with a brief history of nonlinear chemical dynamics and a review of the basic mathematics and chemistry. The authors then provide an extensive overview of nonlinear dynamics, starting with the flow reactor and moving on to a detailed discussion of chemical oscillators. Throughout the authors emphasize the chemical mechanistic basis for self-organization. The overview is followed by a series of chapters on more advanced topics, including complex oscillations, biological systems, polymers, interactions between fields and waves, and Turing patterns. Underscoring the hands-on nature of the material, the book concludes with a series of classroom-tested demonstrations and experiments appropriate for an undergraduate laboratory.

Introduction

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan E. Whyman
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Social Change ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Economic Change ◽  
History Of The Book ◽  
Formal Schooling ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
Literate Society

The introduction shows the convergence and intertwining of the Industrial Revolution and the provincial Enlightenment. At the centre of this industrial universe lay Birmingham; and at its centre was Hutton. England’s second city is described in the mid-eighteenth century, and Hutton is used as a lens to explore the book’s themes: the importance of a literate society shared by non-elites; the social category of ‘rough diamonds’; how individuals responded to economic change; political participation in industrial towns; shifts in the modes of authorship; and an analysis of social change. The strategy of using microhistory, biography, and the history of the book is discussed, and exciting new sources are introduced. The discovery that self-education allowed unschooled people to participate in literate society renders visible people who were assumed to be illiterate. This suggests that eighteenth-century literacy was greater than statistics based on formal schooling indicate.

The History of ‘the Reading Public’

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Collini
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Social Change ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Literary History ◽  
Reading Public ◽  
Reading Matter ◽  
History Of ◽  
Victorian Periodicals

This chapter argues that accounts of ‘the reading public’ are always fundamentally historical, usually involving stories of ‘growth’ or ‘decline’. It examines Q. D. Leavis’s Fiction and the Reading Public, which builds a relentlessly pessimistic critique of the debased standards of the present out of a highly selective account of literature and its publics since the Elizabethan period. It goes on to exhibit the complicated analysis of the role of previous publics in F. R. Leavis’s revisionist literary history, including his ambivalent admiration for the great Victorian periodicals. And it shows how Richard Hoggart’s The Uses of Literacy carries an almost buried interpretation of social change from the nineteenth century onwards, constantly contrasting the vibrant and healthy forms of entertainment built up in old working-class communities with the slick, commercialized reading matter introduced by post-1945 prosperity.

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