UK ends ‘free’ Internet access
The charges are designed to help fund the soaring costs of international Internet access from the UK. Over the past four years access costs have risen from £1 million ($1.7 m) to £7 million ...
Common framework for Europe moves closer
The move came about because the French government is frustrated at the slow pace of schemes run by the European Union, such as SOCRATES and the European credit transfer system. Allègre believes t...
Selling physics to unwilling buyers: physics fact and fiction
We’ve all had the following experience. You meet someone at a party, and they ask you what you do. You tell them you are a physicist. Quickly, they change the topic. But if you ask them if they ...
Benefits of informal education
Delacôte suggests there are several lessons that can be applied to science popularisation in general: the emphasis must be on a ‘active experience’; the best techniques work for all a...
Crosswords and cross words on the Internet
The crossword puzzle was created using a software package developed by Lewis. The instructor simply types the clues and their answers into the program, which then creates the crossword grid. Although ...
Exams hinder critical thought
You might not have thought about this analogy before, but exams are rather like experiments. Both are designed to evaluate certain parameters. Lab experiments might measure things like temperature or ...
Nations breach methodology of science tests
The TIMSS exercise tests students at the end of secondary school education in four subjects: general science, physics, mathematics, and advanced mathematics. But according to Rotberg, only 6 of the 16...
Students sign up for physics with finance
Financial institutions already employ physicists because they are uniquely familiar with the mathematical and conceptual thinking needed to understand financial risk in, for example, currencies and pr...
Industry funds ‘son’ of Internet
Three companies are investing in the project. Qwest Communications, one of the world’s fastest growing telecommunications companies, is donating 16000 miles of fibre optic cabling to the project...
PhDs improve US job prospects
The report also found that the PhD unemployment rate varies with the age at which people received their PhD. The rate varies from 0.6 per cent for those receiving PhDs before the age of 26, to 5.8 per...
