The best-and worst-of times for science teachers?
After years of input from leading scientists, America's science teachers are energized by a shared vision of how they can make the subject more meaningful and exciting for K-12 students. But that vision faces a grave threat: standardized tests, which many teachers believe fail to reflect students' full comprehension of science. "Students who study hard to earn high grades in science, but score poorly on standardized tests, are led to think they lack the right stuff," Rita Peterson, a UCI Department of Education lecturer and president of the Pacific Division of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), said in a keynote talk at the recent National Science Teachers Association meeting. But as more states adopt such tests as a means of measuring performance of students and schools themselves, what can be done? At an AAAS conference June 22 in San Francisco, Peterson will moderate a panel of experts who will discuss steps teachers can take to fight what is conside
Contact: Tracy Childs, (949) 824-5484, [email protected]
African fashion wraps the globe
With a new twist of old threads, African artisans are weaving together cultures in a growing global couture. The fabric is African-mud cloth from Mali, Kente cloth from Ghana-hand-woven and dyed using traditional techniques. Once symbolic of hunting prowess or tribal rank, today the fabric is made into wedding gowns, trendy vests and hats or ceremonial stoles with African-American and European style influences. According to Leslie Rabine, a professor in UCI's School of Humanities, the informal, low-tech international fashion system is promoted chiefly by word-of-mouth. Custom-cut and tailored, the garments reach markets in south central Los Angeles and other urban centers via "suitcase vendors" who carry the goods with them, said Rabine, who is writing a book on the globalization of African fashion. And like any successful fashion trend, the American-African creations are inspiring knock-offs by manufacturers in Southeast Asia.
Contact: Karen Morris, (949) 824-7913, [email protected]
Can magnets reverse paralysis?
New hope for paralyzed victims of spinal cord injuries may spring from an unusual source: magnetic coils. Dr. Vernon Lin, head of UCI's spinal cord injury service (located at the Long Beach Veterans Affairs Medical Center) and a scientist at the university's Reeve-Irvine Research Center, has found that small, disk-shaped magnets placed on a patient's back can induce coughing and other muscle reactions in paralyzed patients. "This means the magnetic field is coercing nerve cells in the spinal cord to move muscles, even in those who are paralyzed," said Lin, whose findings were published in the Journal of Applied Physiology. He's now exploring how these coils can be used to restore other muscle functions to paralyzed patients, including breathing and possibly independent arm and leg movements.
Contact: Andrew Porterfield, (949) 824-3969, [email protected]
All the news that's fit to read, dude
One advantage of the Internet: the wealth of news and information it provides. One disadvantage: the wealth of news and information it provides. Now UCI Department of Information and Computer Science researchers are helping to end the overload by creating cutting-edge ways that computers can learn to give users the information they're most likely to want. Doctoral student Daniel Billsus, working with computer science Chair Michael Pazzani, created "News Dude," a website in which a wizard character reads the latest news aloud, and "The Daily Learner," a website that presents the news in articles. Both sites allow users to specify favorite categories, from sports to technology. Through artificial intelligence techniques, a server learns which stories will interest each user, and which will be duds. The websites can be used free at http://dailylearner.ics.uci.edu/.
Contact: Alicia Di Rado, (949) 824-6455, [email protected]
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