The Lise Meitner-Minerva Center for Computational Quantum Chemistry: 18 Years of Israeli-German Collaboration

We tell the story of the Lise Meitner-Minerva Center, its establishment and activities, its members and their scientific activity, and its instrumental role in weaving intense relationships with the theoretical community in Germany, and in amalgamating the Israeli community of computational quantum chemistry into a national center that enjoys a high international reputation.     

Office of Technology Assessment: History,implementation, and participatory critique

The Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), which was created by the Technology Assignment Act of 1972, was—and still remains even after its abolishment in 1995—a unique congressional agency. OTA provided members of Congress with their own means of understanding and evaluating complex science and technology matters—of which there are no shortages. It spurred an entire literature of academic research both about OTA and the idea of technology assessment more generally. Understanding the legislative history and implementation of the Technology Assessment Act is crucial not just for scholarship, though. OTA was a blueprint for institutionalizing politically accountable technology assessment. Even as technologies advance at rapid rates, OTA still offers valuable lessons that scholars and policy-makers alike ought to glean. This paper places OTA in a contemporary context of (institutionalized) technology assessment. It contributes to a better understanding of OTA's origins by tracing its lineage to a set of federal reports beginning in 1929. It then analyzes OTA's response to pragmatic implementation questions of how to strike a balance between speed, depth, scope, and temporal focus. Lastly, it uses a public values framework to critique OTA's failure to adequately incorporate participatory elements into its processes.     

Green synthesis of porous Ni-silicate catalyst for hydrogen generation via ammonia decomposition

A simple synthetic method without organic template is proposed for the synthesis of Ni-silicate. The resulting Ni-phyllosilicates are reconstructed by hydrothermal treatment to a porous structure with a high surface area (552 m² g⁻¹). Notably, the residual filtrate has a Ni²⁺ ion content of less than 0.1 ppm, and therefore satisfies the effluent standard in Taiwan (<1.0 ppm). As a result, it can be disposed of directly without the need for additional treatment. The effects of the pH value and hydrothermal treatment time on the structure, morphology, and surface area of the Ni-silicate composites have been investigated. When applied to hydrogen production, the mesoporous Ni-silicate shows a high catalytic capability (>99%) toward ammonia decomposition at a temperature of 400°C. Overall, the proposed synthetic method is facile and easily extendable to the production of other metal-silicate materials for hydrogen generation.     

From making things public to the design of creative democracy: Dewey’s democratic vision and participatory design

ABSTRACT

Participatory design’s (PD) shift from the workplace to civic settings has led to a reorientation of the field’s political bearings. Informed by science and technology studies, practice is now often framed in terms of design things, infrastructuring, and John Dewey’s concept of ‘publics’. Taking the publics concept as a starting point, the present article seeks to contribute by providing a broader outline of Dewey’s democratic vision. It is proposed that Dewey’s vision may be seen to offer a potentially useful perspective that directly relates the ‘publics’ concept to the areas of freedom, experientialism, and the institutions of government. Linking to contemporary developments in PD and beyond, the vision is seen to carry conceptual and practical implications, which, if borne out, would connect the discipline’s capacity to ‘spark’ publics into being to the processes of policy formation and institutional reform.     

Teaching construction sciences with the integration of BIM to undergraduate architecture students

This study aims to test two hypotheses: teaching building information modeling (BIM) in relation to construction science provides students with a remarkable understanding of the nature of construction science (Hypothesis 1), and if the student has positive attitude toward the use of the BIM program, then efficiency by which construction science is taught by its means is improved (Hypothesis 2). Results and process of a case study with a novel teaching methodology were discussed in terms of the benefits of the students. A questionnaire study was conducted on the student group with which the case study was performed to test each student's attitude. Results were evaluated statistically. When BIM is integrated with the teaching of basic construction courses within architecture degree programs, the students understood the building system principles simply and effectively. As a result of the statistical analysis, the students find the applied method effective. Moreover, their attitude toward BIM affects the process.     

水文水资源学家陈守煜先生学术研究的知识图谱分析

为探索水文水资源学家陈守煜先生学术研究历程及其演变规律,以其335篇文献作为数据基础,采用共现分析等文献计量可视化分析方法,通过文献发表的时间分布、学科和期刊分布、高被引文献分布和研究主题等方面的知识图谱分析,系统分析了陈先生的学术研究历程。结果显示:陈守煜先生学术研究生命周期历时达62年,在其60岁后出现了2个学术创新高峰期;其学术研究特色荟萃于其河渠非恒定流计算、模糊集理论的水文水资源应用、模糊水文水资源学基本理论、模糊聚类-识别-优选统一理论、可变模糊集理论和可变模糊集理论的水文水资源应用6个研究主题,其中主题1为后续的5个模糊水文水资源学创新主题奠定了数值计算的研究方法论,主题2为模糊集现有理论的应用探索,主题3至主题5为面向工程应用的模糊集理论不断深入创新,主题6为可变模糊集理论的应用探索,形成了"紧密结合应用-持续理论创新-创新理论再应用"这种理论与实践互馈的研究特色。他每一阶段的研究目标比较集中、明确,与其研究主题密切对应,显著提高了研究效率;他的学术研究影响广泛,合计被引8554次,缘于他的源头理论创新。陈先生的研究,理论与应用不断互馈,贵在厚积薄发、深入钻研、持续创新,其研究理念和方法论,对水利科学的学术创新研究具有重要的启示作用和深远影响。